Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-12-06

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=.0ST601T EVENING =. ,...pEc. ..
rA..> observation-disclosures
Sene - sAe MassassaPPs.
-. mo ~, following extract from the
ssh II Hon. 4. h. Washburne, 1t the
sp~..s, Convention hold 1t Morris, ILL.,,
. ~ Isvs since. II u worthy Of the most
,h.".h.fal consideration. The question II
~ casscs il Of vital Importance 10 the Peo-
d. rfo-. We may give further extracts |
nm this speech at another time.
r.. -a,nrn for 4 moment to the question |
ri. contention was called upon more par
. 49,. 10 consider. The question OF get
80. ~. nroducts Of thcfarmer to market q
= ~ ssn.r rate. The capacity Of the present
No. ~ ,,.nsit from the lakes To the see
hoard il not sufficient to carry OIL our pro
ductions. You propose opening new chan
ncl, in that direction, and that must be done
And done speedily. Kindred to this pro-
iect and in aid Of it, tending to the same
end by relieving the channels east OF their
aurplus business, instituting genuine com
petition, and reducing prices OF transPorta-
ton for the benefit Of the producer, is the I'm
provement Of the Mississippi River. lol
must pardon me q word in that direction
Living fos nearly quarter OF . century 80
near that great and majestic highway oil
commerce. have come to feel that genuine
Affection for the Father Of Waters which |
believe il felt BY all who have lived upon
the beautiful and fertile banks Of that mag
nlflceut stream. You all know that the
great drswb to the navigation OF that
river consists in the Rock Island and De,
Moines rapids. These distractions inter
fsre with the free navigation Of the river to
an extent little known and but lightly ap-
preciated. They are tax Of millions upon
millions Of dollars annually upon the people
Of the Mississippi Valley who live above
them. With the rapids "clcarcd OUT the
fabulous amounts Of grain raised in West
crn and Northwestern Illinois, Western Wis
consin. Iowa and Minnesota, would find a
market by way Of the Mississippi River and
New Orleans, intcad Of by the lakes and
canals, unless the prices Of freight by this
last named route should be reduced so that
grain could go a. cheap that way as by the
river. In such a case, the farmers every
where would have The benefit OF the rcduc-
ton Of rates forced by the Mississippi com
petition.
With the "Rapids" improved so that they
would no longer be an impedmcnt to the
river navigation, there il no doubt in the
minds Of practical men who have thorough
" investigated the subject that grain aud
flour can be taken to the seaLoard market in
the East vastly cheaper than present IA cs
by the lakes and canals viii good navi-
CATION. with elevators and other facilities for
moving grain at st. Louis and New Orleans,
with new and competing lines Of transpor
tAti0n, a bushel Of wheat can be transported
from the Upper Mississippi to New York
for thirty Ave cents per bushel, while TO day
il costs sixty cents per bushc to send it by
the way Of Chicago and Buffalo. This is a
saving to the producer of twenty five cents
per bushc in favor Of the river route to mar
ket The idea that wheat and corn will
not bear transportation through the heats
Of the Gulf stream IL utterly exploded. :
With the regular and swift lines Of propcl
lcrs from New Orleans to the eastern cities,
tho transit Of the products Of the Valley Of
the Mississippi would be quick and certain
When c.6gure the prod gious amount Of
wheat raised in the States have mention
cd, which would find its way to market by
the river, were it unobstructcd. we can
steadily see the millions Of dollars which
would be saved to the people Of that section
every year, counting the saving at twenty
five, twenty, or even fifteen cents per bush
81. Though living comparatively near the
lake, you are greatly intcrestcdin the open
ing Of this competing route, because, when
fully opened by the improvement Of the
rapids, the rates Of your freight east by
the canals must be reduced. Hence | say
we are on both sides of the State equally in
tcrested in the improvement Of the Missis-
sippi, aud that measure must he connected
with, and made part Of the great project Ol
opening up the new lines Of cominunicati or
you have particularly in view. The subject
Of the removal Of these river instructions is
not new one. Public attention has been
turned to it, and appropriations of oney
for that object have been made more than
once by Congress The importance of il
was early recognized. A. long 80 as
1926, Lieut.. Martin Thomas, U. S. A., the
agent Of the United States lead mines q
Galena, in On official communication re com
mcnded to the Government to remove these
instructions in order to facilitate, even at
that early period, the transportation Of its
lead from the Galcna mines. II such an
improvement could at that time be con
sidercd practicable, how imperatively it is
demanded now, when, instead Of few
hundred people working the lead mines,
an empire has been Luilt up
An appropriation of two millions of dol
lars would SO improve the Navigation Of
the Mississippi that at all times during a
season Of ordinary good boating, n boat
could be loaded at st. Anthony Falls and
30 through to New Orleans without break
ing bulk. And | would like to see also
your canal enlarged to ship canal, 50
that we could load a steamboat at Galana
with wheat, flour, lead, and the other pro.
ducts of the mines, and send her down
the Mississippi, bring her through the
Illinois river and canal to Chicago. Ii
would not cost us half as much to send
our stuff that way as it now costs by rail
road. And permit me to add here that
no event during the war brought a truer
Joy to the hearts of the people on the
Mississippi, than the capture OF Vicksburg
and the opening Of the navigation Of that
stream, SO long kept closed by rebels and
traitors. When that unrivalled soldier and
patriotic and undetermined man, that gal
liant son Of Illinois, Ulysses s. Grant, crown.
cd the crests Of Nicksburg with his in.
domitable legons, the brave boys from the
Northwest, We hailed him as our deliverer
from great bondage. Ard to-day, the
people everywhere in the great Valley are
reaping the fruits Of that inestrnable ser
vice. We are not only feeling the bene-
ft Of it all along the Mississippi, but even
on the Ohio river they are finding great
relief. ! cut the following from the Gin.
cinnati Gazette of few days ago:
'slmmenso quantities Of western produce
will be sent to the East this winter via
New Orleans. A large portion Of the hog
product up here will take that water route.
This will render it impossible for railroads
to maintain the high rates that have pre-.
vailed. Foreign merchandise now brought
from New York via railroad, will be import
ed via New Orleans. This will save import