The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-01-18

and hope that through the means of this
grant, they may soon have n railway ter
minating on their beautiful harbor With
/ that and the waters restored to their nat
ural channel, the future Of that city is fully
assured.
That portion of the Executive Message
which refers directly to our harbor, presents
some important considerations before the
! public. The Governor adverting to the
fact that the natural features of this region,
marked Superior Bay, even to early explor-
ers, as the only safe harbor that could ever
exist near the head of Lake Superior, and
the beautiful plateau of land upon its bor-
der as the only eligible site for. Q town hele
says satch being the case, settlers were at
tractcd at an early day, and the city of Su-
| perior laid out as early as 1854" In other
words the early settlers and owners of this
| place have gested rights in maintaining the
natural system Of harborage in its integrity,
a point too important to be overlooked in
any discussion Of the case, and one that will
have its full weight in a legal settlement Of
our affairs
1t is observable, in the opinion of our
Executive, that parties connected with the
Lake Superior and Mississippi Railway,
"adopted a line Of policy" meant to des-
troy Superior as a rival town, recklessly
disregarding the rights of the State of Wis
consin, and of the citizens Of Superior.
The Governor without the fear of a Cabinet
official before MS eyes, plainly disavows all
responsibility Of the State of Wisconsin for
the construction and maintenance Of the
nuisance across the navigable waters Of
Superior Bay, and puts it where it belongs,
upon the Secretary Of War, who acted in
this matter without notice to the State of
Wisconsin, and to its great detriment, (and
the Governor might have added, as if we
were State in rebellion, having no rights
that the War Department IS bound to res
pect
As to the nuisance mentioned, its only
effect is rightly stated in the message, as
| destroying navigation and cutting off Su-
perior from access to a public highway.
In saying that this nuisance will be abated
and the illegal cut through Minnesota Point
! closed. Gov. Washburne marks out the on
" right policy, the only policy in this mat
ter worthy of the Sovereign State of Wis
consin, and the only policy that viii con
serve all the maritime rights Of two adjoin-
ing States without iniuring either. Let us
then return to the original and natural. .f6a-
/ TIRES Of tie hdrb0r system j.: nothing short
of this will prevent the success Of the ne
farious policy marked out by the unprinci-
pied spectators who have used every
power that malicious misrepresentation and
the unstinted use of money could command
for the past four years, to effectively and
permanently destroy all commercial advan-
tages possessed by the State of Wisconsin
at the head of Lake Superior.
1t is now a certainty that the State of
Wisconsin will follow up the course, so OBJ
viously the just and proper one, and thus
officially defined in her Executive papers Of
State. The citizens and property owners
of this place are relieved to know that the
State is determined to secure the vested
rights of the commonwealth, and of her
citizens in this important section. And now
let our able and resoute Chief Magistrate
speak for himself on the
| HARBoR OF SUPERIOR.
! The Legislature of 1871 appropriated the
sum of $4,000, and the last Legislature the
sum of Sl0,OOO for the protection of the
harbor of Superior Of those sums, ST.
839. SO was expended by my predecessor,
and S4,l0652 by me, Of which last named
sum 50, ,802. 50, was expended for engineer
ing services.
/ For the purpose of comprehending this
subject, it is proper to make some explain
atoms.
! The harbor Of Superior is the only natur-
al harbor upon Lake Superior west of Bay
field, distance of fifty miles. [ cannot
better describe it than in the language of
Col. J. Is. Wheeler, of the L. ). Engineer
Corps, in his report to the Chief Engineer
of the Army. (See Executive Documents
1865, part ,, pages so and SD lie says
that ''rhis harbor is situated at the western
extremity of Lake Superior. III the Bay OF
Superior. which is about SIX miles IN length
and one mile in width, and Is separated
from the head of the lake by long narrow
spit extending from the bluffs Of the Min
nesota shore, in direct line to the en-
trance of the harbor, nearly seven miles
This renders the Bay Of superior . safe
harbor in all winds. The channel of the
St. Louis river runs diagonally and nearly
in straight line across the bay from the
mouth of the Bay of st. Louis to the harbor
entry, which is the proper mouth Of the St.
Louis river This channel has width of
about 500 feet, and depth OF from A to 30
C. rTho Rav of Superinr Is tho most i'm