The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-03-28
THE MISSISSIPPI.
ITS IMPROVEMENT BETWEEN
ALTON AND ST. LOUIS.
AN ELABORATE PLAN SUBMIT
TED BY THE SECRE-
TARY OF WAR.
AN APPROPRIATION OF NEARLY
HALF A MILLION DOL
LARS RECOMMENDED
FOR THE PRO-
jet.

WASHINGTON, March 25.-The secre-
tary of war has transmitted to congress
statement from the engineers department,
submitting plans for the permanent i'm
provement of the Mississippi river be.
teen st. Louis and Alton by board of
engineer officers, appointed to investigate
the present condition of the river between
those two points. The recommends tions
are as follows:
l. 1t is proposed to close the channel
west of Ellis island, so as to throw all the
water through the eastern or harbor chan
mel at Alton. This is to be done by
high or low dixie as. may be determined
upon.
2. The board do not believe that there
are valid grounds for apprchending that
the Mississippi will change its course so as
to flow into the valley of Long lake or will
form any considerable channel through
it.
3. The proposition to prevent, or at least
lessen, the erosion opposite the mouth of
the Missouri by reopening Mobile chute is
worthy of consideration, and they recon-
mend that the snags and other obstruc-
tions which now obstruct the flow of water
through that channel be removed.
4. They prefer to protect: the banks in
Sawyer's bend by revertment rather than
to adopt the plan of DETECTING portion
or all of the volume of discharge through
Cabaret slough.
They are of the opinion that the river
throughout the entire length of the city
front of st. Louis, should and will event
ually be made to flow in permanent
channel, and that the eastern bank of the
river will have to be brought up to line
parallel, or nearly SO, to the opposite city
levee at distance from il at low water OF
not.over. 200 or 1900 feet, and rendered
permanent. The present demands are that
from Bischof's dixie down the East St.
Louis levee, the channel should be con-
fined within the above limit. To do this
they recommend the raising and extension
Of the two Venice bikes and the long dixie
and they believe that when these dkes
shall have been built as proposed, the de.
mands of business will soon cause the ri.
parian owners to fill in between them
and to connect the end of the bikes by a
continuous levee, thus giving permanent
river bank as demanded
| Thpy mint nt,t m pooos,;,,, 90, 4
recommend, careful measurem ents of the
slopes and volumes of the river at the
highest and lowest stages, and careful sur
veys ofthe bed of the stream at all places
where the general navigation requires an
increase of depth at low water between St
winch the following estimates are submit
ted: For erection of dixie at tho harbor
of Alton, six feet above low water,
100000; for the protection Of two miles of
bank at Sawyer's Bend, Sl42,2ll c.; for
the extension and raising of bikes in the
northern harbor of st. Louis Sl97,323 90
for survey of the Mississippi river from
St. Louis to the mouth of the Ohio river,
$4,000. Tosal, $i09,535 so. In addi-
ton, Lieut. Col. Reynolds likewise recon-
mends the appropriation of $25, 900 for the
removal Of distractions in Mobile chute,
as well as the employment of the snag-
boats provided for western rivers, a
recommendation in which the secretary
concurs. lie therefore recommends the
appropriation of $4,000 for the purposes
named.