The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1877-03-14
The 8nlIetin.
"rHe FIRST STEP"
The Improvement Of the ohio River.
philadelphia North American

finally passed the bill providing for the
/ construction of dam on the Ohio, five
miles below Piitsburg, by vote of more
than two to one. The proposed dam, for
which congress has made one appropria-
! ton OF one hundred thousand dollars.
and will unquestionably add enough to
| amount to half million, will cross the
river where It is twelve hundred feet
wide and consist Of three equal divisions.
| The dam will secure more than six feet
of water around Pitt shurg and a Allegheny
at all seasons Of the year and In the
dryest periods Though at first opposed
by the coal interests, as detrimental to
their welfare, and so pertinaciously that
II was defeated, the strong influence In
its behalf quashed that opposition and
with the assurance OF a relatively larger
majority in the senate.
Will. the arguments which have been
made in support 81 the measure have
not convinced us that this legislation
will achieve the ends laid upon il, we
| are well pleased with it AS "a beginning
by which more Will b. accomplished
than We apprehended at first. With this
enactment we have the commencement
OF those improvements in the Ohio by
wing and other dams. and by occasional
reservoirs easily constructed upon afiIu-
ents, which will enable as great a
draught of water TO be carried TO Cairo
a. Is found at Pttsburg. Such construc-
ton would render the Ohio a really nav
igable stream. instead of being as now
for long periods unavailable to anything
ccpt fiat-boats and the ligh.est draught
stern-wbeelers. The immediate conse-
guences would place the coal OF western
Pennsylvania on an equality with that
Of Virginia. Indiana and Ohio at every
port of the Mississippi and at is mouth.
aud place il there al such rates that "
would compete fayorab,y with the car
borne bitumnous coal OF Alabama and
Georgia. This business is growing and
to grow, and every act which assists it il
worthy OF support.
There is another equal or greater in
tercst Involved. More than dozen
years ago an iron sidc-wheel steamboat.
the Jacob Stradcr, was placed in the
Louisville trade, and ran with great sue
cess. fhe boat was strong. swift, Ca
pacious aiid buoyant and II was be-
licved at the time that she would sup
plant the Underwood boats formerly
and sti!l employed, The expectation
was not yerif fed. With the construction
OF the Pittsburg dam and the deepening
of the channel Of the Ohio, 1t becomes
feasible to create another great iron
shipbuiding port in the interior, from
whcrcc boats may be cheaply provided
for all the immense system of interior
are found united with capital and knowl-
edge and the necessary plant so that.
as soon as the requisite depth for con-
struction is secured, iron boats may be
built: and aS soon as the Ohio is i'm
proved they will be, and will By their
exemption from fire, by their superior
strength to resist snags and sawyers,
floating logs and ice, and to survive col
lisions, as well as by their ability To
| carry greater cargocs on an equal
| draught, take the place OF wooden boats
| which annually cost more.
| Such a result, which concerns every
| commodity borne on the rivers, does not
| halt here. Sooner or later, and at no
remote day, the navigation interests OF
the valley, stimulated by the advanta-
ges given by the jetties at the Passes,
will seek the commerce of the Gull.
| Then, for two thousand miles between
| Cape Florida and the mouth of the
| Orinoco; for fifteen hundred miles OF
Caribbean navigation; tor twenty-five
hundred miles along the coast of Cen
trail America and Mexico, and fifteen
hundred mile, additional, to Cape Flor
ida, with as much more among the pro-
ductiye islands OF the Gulf, and thence
TO the WIndward, our commerce has to
be increased until it surpasses all
in amount. regularly, capacity
economy. speed and safety, and makes
that great sea substantially our own
This commerce, and all the exchange
dependant upon it is now limited. and
occasional increase hardly holds the
ground lost by frequent losses and with
drawals and English, Spanish, French
and German competition, There is ne
reason why Pittsburs, startin. with thu
advantages she has, should not float hel
tonnage in all these waters. AS well AS il
the Monongahela and Ohio, and by
owning the vessels control the trade and
manage the exchanges Of much OF thu
Mississippi valley with the valleys o
the Ornoco and the Amazon, furnish
the steamboats, for the South American
, | rivers and derive direct profit from tn
inter-oce anic canal. Time and labor ant
energy are needed but the first step la
been taken and In good time the other