, 1870-05-02
MONDAY, MAY 2, 1870.
THE WISCONSIN CANAL JOB,

WV AA@~s~ A~~S@'0A q 0p} IL LIE I'LL no u
before Congress for the improvement o
the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, and the pur
chnse and enlargement of the canal which
: is.tn connect them; also copies of the ar
guments of the Governors of Iowa, Mime
sofa, and Wisconsin in favor of the appro
priation- The bill gives no figures. 1
provides:
l. That the Secretary Of War be directed
to 13eomplete" the improvement of The
Wisconsin River, according to the plans Of
the Engineer Corps, 80 as to secure fou,
feet depth for navigation at low .vater.
2. That the Secretary Of War is suthor.
lied to purchase the rights, property, and
franchises OF the Green Bay and Mississippi
Canal Company, in and to the line Of water
communication between the Wisconsin
Riverand the mouth of Fo1 River, includ-
ing its 1oeks, dams, canals, dc.
s. That all tolls and revenues, afte,
providing for the current cxpedseso of opera.
ting the canal and keeping it in repair, shall
be paid into the Treasury OF the United
States, until the amount pnid out shall bf
reimbursed. Governor Fairchlld, Of Wis
consin, however, explains that the improve.
mont is to be tho construction OF canal 1C
feet wide at the bottom, so feet vide at tht
: top with the ndes paved in cuta, with 8
lock lift Of 1ss feet; the locks to be 1eo,
so feet; this canal to be constra acted along.
side the Wisconsin River from Portage City
>r to Prairie du Chen, distance Of lis miles,
: and this Is estimated by General Warren to
cost g, ,o00, 900. The. cost Of completing
the Fox River improvement is put down at
S444, S444, 600. But the amount Of money to be
paid to the company who now own the Fox
River mprovemcnt1an and canalsIs not stated,
and-heEein will bs found the secret Of tho
whole job. Congress, twenty years ago,
voted for this Fo1 River canal and improve
meut grant of land OF 5000 acre. per
mile, for distance Of 1G0 miles, amounting
to 51a, 600 acres Of land The State of
Wisconsin chartered this 9s Green Bay and
Mississippi Canal Company;" gave it the
land, and the exclusive right to use
Fox River and its canals. About the
time the canal was built and Fo1
River had been doctored the water in the
Wisconsin River gave out, and that stream
has not been navigable since, except in
season Of freshets, aud Is getting less avail
able every day. A few miniature steam
boats were put on Fox River, but never q
canal boat nor cargo Of grain, nor Of any
other produce from the Mississippi passed
over the route, OF ever will The stock of
the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Comps
ny represents nominal capital Of several
millions Of dollars, md is worth about one
mill on the dollar. The company, fully
aware Of the utter failure Of the whole
scheme, is, Of course, wiling to sell out to
the United States, and this bill is nothing
more nor less than a scheme to ems
BILE q bankrupt private corporation,
having nominal properly which
no individual would take as fres gift, to
sell It's statutory franchises, ita di1apidated
locks and bitches, to the United States for
cash, the United States having, originally,
furnished every dollar of capital expended
d" by the company. -..
Some days ago, IN commenting upon this
matter, and before we knew the precise
nature of tie proposed improvement we
stated that the Wisconsin River could not
be made navigabla for want OF water; and
q Milwaukee paper indignantly asserted
that there wnz an abundance Of water IN
that riyer-it only needed few dams and
locks It now appears that the river itself
IS to be abandoned, and that there is to be
3 canal built the entire distance ffom Port
age City to the mouth of the river, showing
that VT were right The canal is to be
navigated By steam vessels, and the 118
miles Will not cost less tran 10000, 900.
It will take e, 500, ,00O more to adapt the
Fox River improvement and canal to that
class OF business, and then the Green Bay
and Mississippi Canal Company, which OWLS
the whole route, viii have to be satisfied
It is a'remarkablec coincidence that neither
ts Governor :" who has made pilgrimage pag1 to
Washington in favor Of this job ever mado
mention of this company nor Of its rights,
nor the value Of its property, and yet under
thin covering this company il the Eoal
body and soul of the whole scheme
Governor Austin, Of Minnesota, stated
Tint the saving Of freight On the grain crop
Of his State would pay the entire cost of the
cand IN ton years Governor Merrill, OF
Iowa, said it would save his State O., 0oo, ,ooo
q year; Governor Harvey, Of Kansas,
thought his State would save immensely
and IS for Wisconsin, the saving would ex
ceed the present cost OF transportation
The 1ockaee on this canal il to be Is.
feet from the Mississippi to the Summit
and 200 feet down to the lake at Greer
Bay. and it is contemplated that boats vii
carry freight the a7s miles for seven mill
per ton per mile How the Governors ar
abla to estimate what the rates o
f1a5eht will be when this canal l
cunpleted we do not know The toll
On the Erie Cana1, with 754 feet Of lookage
are, On grain, s.. - per ton of 9, 600 pounds
the freight averages tho same. Putting tn
tolls On the Wisconsin Canal at one-hait
and the freight the same, We have charg
of cents per bushel of wheat, or 81 Z
Der ton for moving the grain 21s mi'es-
vos a common thing last year to t1anspo1
grain from the Mississippi River to Ne
York city, by rail, for one can't per ton pc
mile. and Wisconsin sent -four to New 9or
city, q distance of I, 100 miles, at 81 pe
barrel, or so cents per hundred, an
less than one cent per ton per mile. Th
r,ronoters of this job to sell out the banl
rupt Green Bay and Mississippi Ever Cam
Company'a franchises to the governme1
offer, as an inducement for the e1penditul
of s15,oOo, 600 by the government, to cara
FREIGHT from Pradzie du Chen to Green B.
ut n 1ate in G1essS ;or, that charged duriu
certain seas6hs ycar on the RAILROAD
to the seabcan:.
The whole thing is transparent job.
is even far worse than the Louisville Cana
which the city Of Louisville and the city
Cincinnati refuse to accept as gift
the people of Wisconsin, and Iowa, al
Minnesota want this canal, and the Go
ernors represent that the three States won
save, in a single year, the cost OF the who
work. let Congress vote its consent, that Il
three Suites may unitedly construct the
nal according to General Warrens pla'
and have General Warren's aid and skill
50 doing, and that they may buy out Il
Green Bay and Mississippi River Cana1 Cor
pany, and that they may have all the tol
they can collect, until reimbursed with COZ
pound interest, and may forever run Il
whole work to the great financial profit
the three States, and to the great saving {
freights 20 the people thereof. Let Il
three Governors be sr-o1fcio Commissions
Of the work, aad let the States intereste
have all the honor and RlorT, as well as 8