128 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL

 Now, in the construction or dredging of this canal in the eastern portion of
 the State of Florida and south Georgia, for that matter, we find a sandy loam
 soil which is very easy to dredge and which can be dredged at a very low cost.
 Acroer the main ridge we encounter mostly a sand and clay formation, and in
 the low strips, in the vicinity of Silver Spring, Fla., and Paynes Prairie, Fla.,
 all of that central portion, including also the Okefenoke Swamp section and
 the Suwannee Valley section, we have a soft, mucky soil, which is very easily
 dredged.
 On the western side of the State of Florida and also the central portion of
 south Georgla we encounter there a soft-rock formation which can be dredged
 and removed with our modern dredges at a very reasonable price per cubic
 yard. I shall be glad to put the actual cost of construction per yard in my
 remarks.
 This canal, as a steamship canal, will carry a bottom width of about 250
 feet in the contracted rock sections and will be widened out to about 400
 feet in the sandy or soil sections. It will be 85 feet deep. As for it being
 feasible, I do not believe that any of the engineers now in the Public Works
 Administration or with the Board of Army Engineers hold anything except
 that one or more of these routes is entirely feasible, and that they justify
 construction. That is, the cost of construction is fully justified as a rivers
 and harbors project and as an employment-relief project.
 Mr. Maserms. Will the gentleman yield?
 Mr. Gamn. I am glad to yield to the chairman of the Rivers and Harbors
 Committee.
 Mr. MAnmsnm. Is it contemplated that ships will go through there under
 their own power?
 Mr. GOmr. It is contemplated that ships can go through there, I understand,
 under their own power. There shall be no impediment to ships passing directly
 from the Atlantic Ocean on out through into the Gulf of Mexico.
 Under the provisions of this bill the President is authorized to accept any
 route which has now been surveyed, or he may have surveyed additional routes,
 and determine which is the most feasible and logical route for the canal. He
 is given full latitude to employ such engineering facilities of the Government,
 such engineering facilities in civilian life, and such funds as may be now avail-
 able or may in the future be available for rivers and harbors projects or for
 unemployment-relief projects, or any Public Works projects, money which may
 now or in the future be available.
 I yield to the gentleman from Missouri.
 Mr. CocHuAN. Will the gentleman please tell us how much mileage will be
saved if the canal Is constructed?
 Mr. Ga= I shall be glad to do that The various routes differ as to the
length of the canal. The shortest route from tidewater to tidewater is less
than 70 miles. The canal on that route would probably be, from the Atlantic
to the Gulf, some 90 or 95 miles long. The route through the Santa Fe section
probably will reach a little better than 100 miles in length. The route through
the Oklawaha-St. Johns-Withlacooebee Ogala section, which is the one shown
on the map by the large marker, and which has been by many engineers con-
sidered very feasible, will be a little more than 150 miles in length.
 Mr. CoarXAw. But what lt the distance around now?
 Mr. GUam. Something like 1,000 miles from New Orleans to New York will
be saved in distance, and more than 8 days' round trip running time from
New Orleans to New York will be saved.
 Mr. CocLaNr. Then, if this canal is constructed, ships from Germany, Eng-
land, and other foreign nations, as well as our own ships, will be able to get
to Houston, Galveston, New Orleans, and the other ports on the Gulf, at least
8 days sooner than they would if obliged to go around as they are now?
 Mr. Gasm. There is no doubt about saving in time.
 But it will save more than $6,0000,00 annually to the producers and con-
sumers of America in transportation costs. The producers and consumers in
the Mississippi Valley will receive greater benefits than any section of the
country.
 I do not believe any advantage will be taken away from the Mssissippi
Valley section or the control of the Mississippi Valley. The river itself is
more than 2,400 miles long; it has a basin of more than 1,250,000 square
miles; and every industry In this great valley section will reap the benefit of
this canal across Florida. Take, for instance, the iron industry in Pittsburgh.
Why has it been possible for it to endure? Because Pittsburgh gets its raw