The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-08-23

practical workman will aggregate this. No
wonder that thirty sighk ysars ard iah
million Of dollAssA aye bees wasted h~s vitk
4rykie or = Ssaetis1 advantsgeso the
~ alpn, 500 assertiea5 . the coassary,
tsot1 e lsandine. e
EAHAe NlrHI rnpA4sLE c(rS ~ sucl woa1a
81 / tkntoldf bsltse tn ~, soaseos1dsts
hsssk hen taken ct ten dollars SOD but
tn. 81 understand, was when Government
tssailksd machinery.
Nj an satisfied it cannot be done at An aver.
age cost 81 less than twelve dollars soiid
measure; that is a. estimate he efoss secs
ton. Then for the whole cost of excavation,
you haSe fifteen mi!!ioasl sz'1
What becomes of your two hundred thous>
and dollars tovards accomplishing such .
work. It will 90 as former- appropriations
have gone, TO demonstrate the falaey Of the
plan. have had some experience in the
construction of river works and understand
that since 1887, when this plan of blowing
out . channel was proposed, engineering has
made some advanees Yet here is an old ri
diculous plan persisted in with carelessness,
or exhibition of ignorance. Is TO the progress,
which deserves the public condemnation.
The author of this plan for improving these
rapids also planned an improvement of the
ST. Louis harbor by driving piling at the head
of Bloody Island II the city of St. Louis
had not abandoned that and adopted the one
had the trouble to execute, the city OF St.
Louis would not to day be great city OF the
Union with ample shore and wster to accom>
modste thousand steamers.
TINE TO DO THE WORK.
| The normal character Of excavation is q
smooth solid bed of limestone. Some few
yards can be scaled off the sides of assures by
heavy conclusions, but . few feet make your
slope and you come into solid bound thorough
cuts, where the drill and blasting must be
done under water. High water, wind, and
winter, viii prevent working more than 1870
days in year, which may also be much rev
dueed by accidents to floating machinery
| which would have to be accumulated in great
abundance to press the work. Employing
500 hands in the space required. would be as
much as could be applied. Estimating their
| labor at So day, you have for years work
$4,000, which is double or treble the
amount done before in one year. At this rate
of progress we might gel the whole work done
in about 10 years. But there must be no
drawbacks by way Of delay of appropriations,
or otherwise. or hundred years will be re-
quired.
Similar results, as to time, may be demon
strated by estimating The number Of yards
men can excavate standing ct proper
distances, and using necessary graplings TO
take away the excavations. TO make The
proposed channel improvement rHi require a
hundred years.
My estimate for making canal around the
This was Is years ago when was familiar
with such works Prices have since increased,
probably double | would therefore double
my estimate to be safe. | then estimated the
work could be done in two years | am Of
the same opinion now. My plan was pub
lished with drawings, but have only one
copy left and cannot spare it, ! organized ;
corporate company to induce capitalists 10
take hold of the work but, as you are aware,
long since abandoned the organization, and
| now have no earthly interest, other than
that of citizen owning, as you also know,
only a small amount of property IN Keoknk.
Besides being the only safe snre plan for
improving these rapids, slackwa,er canal
will create q large water power at this place,
much to the regret OF rival towns who have
not the same advantages.
S. r. Curtis.