State

Page Six THE STATE February 10, 1934 Cape Lookout AND WHAT IS BEING PLANNED IN THE WAY OF FUTURE by - DEVELOPMENT DOWN THERE ★ JAMES G. WHITEHURST ★ “My particular interest in Cape Lookout was in the possibility of estab¬ lishing a port of entry, not just a harbor of refuge; but the first step toward this realization was the construction of an improved harbor of refuge,” former Senator Furnifold McL. Sinnnons re¬ cently told the writer, while discussing North Carolina's most important un¬ developed natural resource. First Survey in 1897 The first survey of Cape Lookout, to determine its port potentialities, was conducted in 1897 at the instance of Senator Matt W. Ransom, who was later minister to Mexico. The report made as a result of this survey was exceed¬ ingly favorable. The Rowland Improvement Com¬ pany leased the old “Mullet Road” — officially known ns the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad — in 1903. This was tho road from Goldsboro to Morehead City. The Rowland syndi¬ cate then built the bridge from More- head City to Beaufort, with the definite idea of continuing the road on to Cape Lookout. Late in 1900, shortly after the first train came across the bridge to Beau¬ fort. the Howland Improvement Com¬ pany sold its lease on the Mullet Road — along with its good will and the bridge extension to Beaufort — to tho Norfolk and Southern Railroad. Following this sale, there was no immediate indication on the part of the Norfolk and Southern that the road would he extended to Cape Lookout. Senatorial Committee Visits State In 1907 Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, then chairman of the all-important Sen¬ ate Finance Committee, and a power in the Senate, came to Beaufort with a committee of Senators to personally in¬ vestigate the potentialities of Cape Lookout. This official visit was the di¬ rect result of the agitation Senator Sim¬ mons had stirred up in Uncle Sam’s senatorial halls. Unfortunately for Senator Aldrich and most unfortunate for the people of North Carolina, inclement weather pre¬ vented the senatorial committee from visiting Cape Lookout, although several days were spent in Beaufort waiting for favorable weather. It is the private opinion of many even today that had Senator Aldrich had the opportunity of seeing for himself the vast possibili¬ ties of Cape Lookout and the Harbor of Refuge, things would have been en¬ tirely different today at this point, and North Carolina would have felt the stimulating effects that result from a large and important port. Appropriation of $3,000,000 During these years Senator Simmons had not been idle. Finally he succeed¬ ed in getting Congress to authorize $3,000,000 for the construction of a breakwater at Cape Lookout, which would greatly extend the sheltering lim¬ its of the Ilarhor of Refuge. In ob¬ taining this authorization, many ob¬ stacles had to bo surmounted. General Jadwin. then Chief of En¬ gineers, had in early life worked in the vicinity of Lookout, and was thoroughly familiar with it. lie knew only too well that there was no land connection. Re insisted that before any of this $3,000,000 was appropriated and ex- ended the federal government should avesome assurance that there would be a land connection by the time the break¬ water was completed. Senator Simmons finally obtained a tacit understanding for the federal gov¬ ernment from the Norfolk and South¬ ern Railroad whereby the railroad agreed to extend its road to Lookout. The first appropriation was then made and the breakwater was started in 1913. When the United States entered the World War, the breakwater was little more than half completed. One million and three hundred thousand dollars of the authorized $3,000,000 had been ap¬ propriated and expended. Due to the war, all but emergency river and har¬ bor projects were abandoned in tho early part of 1917. A Deloy of Scvcrol Ycors There was no immediate resumption of tho work on the Capo Lookout break¬ water following the armistice. It was several years after the conclusion of hostilities that the federal government decided to continue the work at Lookout. Before he would concur with another appropriation for the continuance of the breakwater construction, the Chief of Engineers thought it wise to see if the Norfolk Southern Railroad — which had been reorganized from the old Nor¬ folk and Southern — was willing to con¬ tinue with the agreement of its prede¬ cessor concerning the extension of the railroad to Cape Lookout from Beaufort. When the Norfolk Southern refused to continue with this tacit agreement, the Chief of Engineers would not give his support to the appropriation of more money for the resumption of construc¬ tion work on the Lookout breakwater. And there the matter has rested to this day. The unexpended balance of the three million dollars authorized, which amounts to $1,700,000, is still available for the completion of the breakwater, whenever the federal government is given tho assurance that a railroad con¬ nection will be made as soon as the breakwater is completed. Trying to Build о Highway The federal Public Works Adminis¬ tration now has under consideration an application for a loan, which, if ob¬ tained, will permit tho Cape Lookout Highway, Inc., to construct a highway to Lookout. It is thought that as soon as this highway is completed that a rail¬ road will follow, and then the break¬ water will be completed by tho federal government. It is said that if the breakwater was completed the entire merchant marine of the United States could be floated in the Harbor of Refuge at one time, with ample room for maneuvering. The minimum depth there is thirty-five feet, compared with forty in New York harbor. This is rather interesting, in view of the fact that Lookout’s harbor is natural, while it takes constant dredg¬ ing to maintain the minimum depth of the New York harbor. The geographical location of Look¬ out is another thing that is said to be decidedly in its favor. The Harbor of Refuge is situated just below Capo Hat- terns and the formidable Diamond Shoals, which are the dividing point be¬ tween southern and northern naviga¬ tion. As Senator Simmons has pointed out, the development of a port of entry at Cape Lookout would result in a bulk of the north-bound freight being trans¬ ferred from ships to freight trains at Lookout, rather than risk Hatteras and the danger of Diamond Shoals; and similarly, freight from the Northern States bound to Southern and South American points, could be shipped to Lookout by rail and then by water to the proper destinations.