New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-11-20

! we portage, SO that boats of five feet ffai
f may pass with facility in the lowest stage
OF water. The total distance is one hun
dred and eighteen miles and the fall on
hundred and sixty-nine feet.
The works of improvement now in opera
: ton upon said river are owned ky tb
Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company
and chiefly extend from the portage to th
mouth OF the Fox, distance of one hun
dred and sixty miles, and therein overcom,
afall OF two hundred feet.
! - 1t is understood that this COMPANY viii
make the navigation of the Fox river a.
good as the Government will make th,
Wisconsin, so that the project before us i.
narrowed down to the Improvement of one
hundred and eighteen miles of river naviga.
ton.
a careful scrutiny Of the above will
show the experienced steamboatman that
the most hopeful result likely to be obtain
ed would be rather unsatisfactory. A
depth ranging from three to five feet in a
stream, having fall of two hundred feet in
one hundred and sixty -nine miles is hardly
enough for navigation. And when we add
to this that the Wisconsin river is infested
throughout its entire course with innum-
cradle moving sand bars, the case seems to
be one of peculiar difficulty.
Although this subject has been brought
TO the attention of most of the people of
this State it is by no means modern dis
covery. At least twenty years ago
the State Of Wisconsin granted n
large quantity of swamp lands
to the Fox and Wisconsin Improvement
Company in aid of the enterprise. 1t was
Tor many years famous political lob. ont
oil which the Wisconsin Democracy made
capital. But as there was obviously
nothing to be expected from the completion
OF the Improvement, it has been left in the |
hands of politicians, who only work it to
fill in time.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, in noticing
the Prairie du Chen convention and its oh
lect, has The following:
There is little difficulty in this country in
creating companies for the prosecution of
pubic works where the profits are almost
2ertaln. Ia such cases nobody calls on the
Government for assistance. On the con-
lary; tne Government is excluded. It
'nly IN cases where the benefit to certain
u.esesS would De great but the question of
'Ion' ID oouDt, that efforts are made to call
lpon tne government for aid. The proposed
Sorh would no doubt be an advantage to
ne particular section of the country in the /
Ielghborhood of it; but whether i utorIS
re of sufficient benefit to the whole pst;on
o as to justify the entailment of tho oont I
n the Inhabitants of all parts of the TTniteJ
tates, may well be doubted. The Con-
entlon at Prairie du Chen annarentin
eing somewhat doubtful upon this snbieni :
esolve that the work is ''important os a
leans of defense in time of war" This is f
very common resolution, and has lost tic
irength as matter of novelty. We sim.
ose that it will be conceded that everv !
lghroad, street, lane, tramway, railway or q
anal over which troops NAV be oarried q
light be useful to the government in tino ii
war, If it should happen that n was P
ecessary to transport troops over if h
ut that prospective fact does not es. n
ollsh that it is the duty of the United
.ates government to open and construct
b! the high roads, streets, lanes. tramwavs a
always and canals in the country, This il
lnal would be of no use for the transporta- O.
On Oh troops. Government could send y
ZEN quicker and quite as economically ii
ON tne mississippi to the lakes by rail. e,
IS doubtful whether it would be used for al
g transmission of ammunition or stores Ii
the supplies of troops, because m
Ialiroad would carry them with y,
eater speed. There ought to be no III
lection to this Improvement if The neo. n,
concerned make it at their own ey- in
nse; but when they call upon the inbab- ac
nts of the country to bear taxation for as
elr particular benefit, they must eypect 70
meet with dissent aud disapprobation. b.