, 1866-01-12
THE GENESEO CONVENTION.
The Proposed Canal from the Missls-
A1ppi 10 Lake Michigan.
s44 Sc STATE STnEHr.
CHICAGO, Jan, 10 1860 {

S46 Sc S1AT1 STREET.
CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 1861
Editors Chicago Tribune: ~,
Inotico In your issue Of this date, under tho
caption Of" Canal Convention" an editorial
notice of = meeting to be held at Geoeseo, on
the 10th inst, to take into consideration the
matter Of 4 proposed 3" Canal from the MIsgis-
eippl to the Illinois river, nearly on line
with tho Rock Island railroad" This pro-
posed Convention, with others recently held
in different parts Of the Northwest, indicate q
determination on the port Of the people to
secure for their surplus productions cheaper
and more expeditions transitso the seAboard.
II has long been apparent that far too much
Of the labor Of cultivation 1s consumed, If not
wasted, in getting results to market, when tho
farmer secs from two TO three bushels OF corn
vanish in the process Of converting one into
Rrcenbacks, 1t Is but natural that be should
scrutinize this mystic disappearance OF values
closely and give his beat attention and study
to remedies that promise to cure the evil.
The wonder Is that agitation, through the
medium ofconventiona, has so long been de-
layed-
With how much truthfnlneas these conveu-
Gons hare charged the root OF the difficulty
as resting in the e1tortionate management Of
tho railroad companies, the public h-n6t yet
satisfied. With how great measure Of sue
cess these corporations can be coerced into the
adoption Of reformatory rates Of charges, by
the agencies now discussed or any that may
BE- fixed upon, is question more difficult of
solution. and which 1t will take years Of stub
born litigation, aided by novel legislation, to
determine.
TowhlteTer extent, however, railroads are
monopolies and oppress, by m unjust cxer-
else Of their prerogativez, those giving them
business, all who condemn their action and
ull who do not, agree in believing that the
thorough system Of competing lines.
The discussion elected upon this subject
has again called public attention to the com!
parauve advantages OF land and water routes.
That water transportation, in competition
with parallel railroads, is not without Its
many friends and advocates. Is evidenced by
the fact that Horace Il. Day, Esq., Of New
York, who represents, upon novel plan, the
proposed canal around Niagara Falls, is so
we'll received by, and listened to so attentive
IT., in the several Boards Of Trade East
and West; and, by the additional
fact, that nn men who survey the
map Of the Northwest, With any
rous Of shaping events In keeping with its
splendid future, concede the point that The
Mississippi and great Lakes nus4 be Joined In
eternal bonds By one or more ship-cana1s OF
capacity adequate to the demands Of com
merce. A general conviction has seized upon
the public mind that that union cannot long
be delayed. The undertaking may well be
said 10 be fairly Initiated when surveys are
being Voluntarily prosecuted, ut private ex-
pense, to determine the most eligible route
and The points at which the union Gun be
affected.
But in the work OF prosecuting the neces-
sary surveys, the Government bus anticipated
the people. As early as 1887, Col. r. ]. Cram,
now Colonel, then Captain Of U. 8. Corps En-
gincers, under orders Of the War Department,
surveyed the whole region Of country lying
between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi,
to ascertain what routes were feasible. His
report was made to the Secretary Of War, and
calls attention to uree as being practicable
one on The line Of the Illinois river; one by
the way Of the Fox md Wisconsin rivers, in
Wisconsin, and middle route, through Wis
consin, In the valley Of Rock river. These
reports wcrs duly communicated to Congress,
md, at the time, published as part Of the
CONGRESSIONAL records. It Il presumed by the
writer that the fact Of these several surveys
and reports is unknown to those now engaged
IN exploring and surveying the same region
with the same end in view. They will lind,
On reference, that, preliminary to action, lit
lie remains to be done hut to verify the con-
clnsious there deduced.
1t Is part Of the legislative history Of Con-
grcss that 1t was not wholly unmindlul Of the
prospective wants of the Northwest. and that
1t passed judgment on the comparative merits
Of the several routes surveyed. In 1910 that
body granted 1ands to Wisconsin, on its ad-
mission into the Union, in aid Of the improve.
ment Of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In
In I4x1tf& &.l $sH {Gn
grant, and Immediately entered upon tho
business Of prosecuting the work. At this be-
riod the population ofthe State was confined
mainly to the southern tier of counties, and
that belt Of country bordering on the
west 'shore Of Lake Michigan, aud
extending little further north than She
boyEnn. It may be said that the valleys
OF the tox and Wisconsin rivers were without
population, If We except Green Bay, not then
containing 500 souls all told. Il could not
be expected that the Lake shore towns would
Eavc looked with peculiar favor upon The
opening Of channel OF communication,
which would have diverted their trade, and
the southern tier Of counties had little, II any,
sympathy With an enterprise from which
they were 90 far distant. The result WAS
what might have Geen expected. The Legis-
1ature had the disposition Of the grant, and
the polititions saw In II not arnaenilceutfund
and sacred trust, but bone well worth pick
aux 4Ao ek0AfIA A11SSst[S-uu OIL pAltY HULL
the Lake shore and Southern counties, like
pack of famished wolves, scented their prey,
and two yea1s did not elapse before the mag
niflcent grant was consigned to their keeping.
Before tive years had rolled round, the sub
stance of.the grant was eaten ont and its vital
forces spent, with little TO show On ths line
OF the works but evidences Of bad en-
ginceripg. In 1855 the work Was trans.
ferred to IN Incorporated company
-.;assumipg to finish The structure tor the
then unsold lands and such as Congress
might further donate. This company nd
yanccd no money, but secured an additional
land grant from Congress, selecting In salts
faction OF It many lands which would not to-
day sell for the taxes the Stnte has imposed
upon them. Until the financial crash IL 1851,
thls company, however, had little difficulty
In meeting construction expenses, snd the
Bui since ihst time, owing to The Impossible
ity Of readily realizing from the sa1es of land,
little more. has been done than to1keepIthe
improvements In repair;