Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1866-12-29
THE ILLINOIS Il MasslSSlRP1
CANAL,



CANAL,
Important Facts and b'fgurcs.
tthe convention held at Rock Island on
Thursday last, many important things were
said and many excellent points prese-ted
which were taken down by the short hand
reporters for the Chicago papers which did
not appear in our report. We therefore
present them as taken from the Chicago
Times report:
LETTER FROM COZ. MosAU-fHg PROPOSED IN.
PRovExENr.
Alderman c. c. p. Holden, Of Chicago.
said be had been appointed BY the common
coucil Of Chicago : delegats 10 this conven.
ton. and had called upon Col. r. r. Mossu,
member Of the Chicago board Of public
works, for the deepening Of the Illinois and
Michigan canal. who had sent him a CON-
munication giving his views on the propos-
ed improvement The letter contains the
following points:
!. In lowering the summit Of the Illinois
and Michigan canal, he believed that this
work will accomplish the cleansing Of the
Chicago river, and dispense with the large
and expensive pumping works at Bridge
port, and with the Caiamet feeder, thereby
lessening the expense of operating the canal,
and aiiording a large yearly income for the
payment Of the canal debt
9 The improvement Of tho Illinois river
The State he says has q canal 100 miles in
length. With perhaps an average of two
months in year, the Illinois river is navi-
gable for canal boats the balance Of the
year the boats were confined to the canal.
Improve the Illinois river and VIC substan-
TALLY add 800 miles or more to our canal.
with good navigation the entire season. He
thought that the improvement would add
100 per cent. to the business Of the present
canal, and that the net increase from both
Improvements would soon pay the canal
debt and the river improvement. TO the
means for improving the river he add that
il the State cannot, under its constitution,
raise the money to do it, why not raise the
money BY tax. The taxable property Of the
State he estimates At $500. .OOO, 900, on
which tax Of one mill per year, for three
years. would nearly pay the improvement,
and that State would receive large income
from the increased sales.
.. The canal from the Illinois river to
Rock Island, with feeder to Dixon, on
Rock river. This, he Gays. would be a
great advantage, at a moderate cost, allow
ing canal boats TO be taken from the mouth
Of the canal at Rock Island to all points on
the river between there and St Paul open
ing an entire water communication between
St Paul and New York, with no breaking
Of bulk except .. Chicago and at Buffalo or
Oswcgo. The improvement Of the river
should be for he largest class Of steamers,
with the exception that the llinors and
Michigan canal will be enlarged to admit
them to Chicago With these improvements
he thinks that much of the business Of the
upper Mississippi would he done very much
as it is done on the Hudson river, in canal
boats, and barges towed by tug boats, and
the Rock Island canal and the Illinois and
Michigan canal will be to Illinois what the
Erie canal is to New York
The letter was referred to the committee
on resolutions.
SPEECH By GEN. ). u. WILSON.
Gen. J. II. Wilson, detailed by the War
Department at Warrington to sup erintcnd
the survey of the Mississippi, Illinois and
Rock rivers, for the purpose Of eiIecting an
improvement Of navigation, addressed tho
convention at some length. lie considered
the improvement Of tho Mississippi to be .
work of first Importance, and believed there
was but one opinion among the people in re>
gard to this WORK His plans for the iu>
provement Of that great river would be
ready within the next three weeks; there
would be distractions to navigation SO far
as the rapids were concerned. The rapids
on the Illinois and Rock rivers are not in
oh - ~
mates To be formed. They would bs ready
in January. He believed the State of llli>
nois so be blessed with greater facilities for
internal navigation than any other State in
the Union, and her advancement in wealth
and commerce depended upon her improve
ment 0fthose facilities. Measures should he
Immediately taken 10 connect the Illinois
with the inexhaustabIe summit Of Lake
Michigan, when the commerce along that
river 10 developed. Rock river must be i'm.
proved through Lake Horizon to Green
Bay Chicago, ST. Louis, and all the neigh
boring cities are interested in these i'm
provemcnts. In making his surveys he
had been surprised to find what would be
the cost of making navigable depth of four
feet, and also TO see how steamboats, could
be got through from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi.
Gen. Wilson submitted the following un-
official memorandum of facts relating to the
Of the Illinois river In order
to give seven feet of navigation between La
Sale and the mouth, TO overcome the fall
without flooding too large a tract Of low
ground, six locks will be required: Lock No.
l ai Chillcothe 1t will have $40 feet lift,
the dam about 81 feet high, and length Of
pond about Al y miles Lock No. ,, about
miles below Copperas creek Lift Z feet,
dam 13 feet high pond IA miles. Lock
No. 3, at Frederick lift Z $40 feet dam
Is feet high; pond 43 miles. Lock No. 4,
1t Naples, feet lift dam l2 feet; pond
81 miles. Lock No. s, at Eastport, near
A pplc creek feet lift, dam 12 feet; pond
% miles. Total cost Of six locks and dams,
t2.477.254. Total cost of dredging, &l,-
OO8, GAS.
RHroRr or ENGINEER RUDNUrr.
BY request Of the convention, Col. j. A.
Hudnutt, chief engineer Of the canal sur
vcy, made report Of the result Of hs in
vestigation last summer. The report was
published in these columns in full about the
Tth Of November last, and is therefore not
repeated. The survey demonstrated the
VeCttcSOiIty Ot c1UHI ssOm TIC lluno!S
river, at La Sale, to the Mississippi, at
Rock Island also that such water oonnec>
tion can be made BY constructing 64 miles
Of main line, and that it can be supplied
with water atundantly by a feeder from
Dixon, Of IS miles in length. on total
length Of canal and feeder Of 10 miles,
costing about $4,5oO.0OO The notes Of
Col. lludnntt shows the following figures
in regardtto the elevation of various points,
the descent from Lake Michigan to La Sale
is l20. feet; to Bureau junction, los feet;
Sheffield is IS feet above Lake Michigan =
the bed Of Rock river is SO feet below Lake
Michigan, at Rock Island bridge The Mis-.
eissippi at Rock Island is 40 feet below
Lake Michigan; There is 10 feet differ,
encc between the Mississippi,a at Rock Island
and LaSalle from La Sale to Alton y feet
fall.
RRMARKs BY COL. w0RRELl.
Col. Worrell, the State Ingioser engaged
10 the survey Of the Mississippi, Rock and
Illinois rivers, made short address, giving
some account Of the extent and progress OF
the ourvey. In order 10 get correct view
Of the magnitude Of the great work, he obs
served, he must first take glance at the
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