The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-05-11
CAN WE AFFORD TO DRY UP THE CANAL.

| While il costs from 10 to Is cts. per bushel
to ship corn from Princeton and points beyond
to Chicago by RAIL- 1t can be senttrom La Sale,
or any point east of there, by rail or canal for
3 cents and from any point in the Illinois Val
ley from Grafton north for or 5 cts. Have
our farmers-our grain, pork and cattle raisers
ever thought of this? Have they even re-
mote conception of what vast advantage in
the way of frcights, both on what they buy
and sell, they enjoy over most other parts of
the state by reason of the Illinois and Mich.
gan canal We make bold to say that every
farm within fifteen miles of the canal or in the
Illinois river valley is worth from three to five
dollars per acre more today than it would be
but for such vicinity
There is thus a vast district in this state Wit
ally interested in the maintenance ofthe canal
That district could easily afford to tax itself
with the entire cost of operating and keeping
the canal in repair without collecting dollar
of toll. The additional price it receives for
grain cattle &c, shipped by canal, and the
saving on lumber and other freights brought
back would more than ovcrbalanCc the tax, to
say nothing of The vast saving in freight on
other goods necessarily shipped by rail
Yet the district referred to must bear in mind
that the canal has arrayed against it a fearful
and deadly opposition in the entire railroad
system of the state Not only the Rock Island
and G. B. & @. railroads are hostile to the can
al, but the Chicago and Alton, the Illinois
Central, the Chicago e Paducah and every
other railroad in the state which in traverSing
1t longitudinally or latcrally touches the
canal region or Illinois valley, is alike arrayod
in deadly hostility to the "ditch," and there
are no means they will not resort to TO close it.
Can they accomplish that object? Ten years
ago the canal yielded revenue above expens-
es of $4,000. Gradually railroad opposition
has whitfield it down to less than $4,000.
Wherever bushel Of grain car be gobblcd by
rail within reach of the canal a warehouse is
erected, "a grain buyer stationed and special
rates are offered TO prevent the grain from go
ing to the canal Just now there is a move
mcnt on foot to builda bridge across Fox RIv.
or at Wedron on a promise that If the towns
of Serena Rutland, &C. will ship 300 600 bush
els of grain from that point it shall be carried
to Chicago tor 3 cts Take 100000 bushels
from the present shipments by canal here, and
another 100000 there, and the surplus revenue
of the canal will soon be wiped out. Then the
canal must be run at an expense to the state,
Do the people in the canal and river region
imagine that the Illinois Legislature will ever
appropriate dollar towards running the Ca
nal after it ceases to pay its own expenses ?
The day the canal reaches that point it will
closets sure as fate it will close
What then? Is anybody fool enough to i'm
agnc that one week after the canal closes the
railroads will continue to carry corn from We'd
ron, or Dayton, or Grand Ridge to Chicago for
3 or 4 cents Quick as flash freights will go
up to 10 and 10 cents and for all time to come
they will stay there. How much, then, will
the farmers in the canal region have made by
their three cents freights for one or two sum-
mers when afterwards indefinitely they will
pay on their 100000 bushels of grain, instead
of thcir'prescnt $1S0000 by river and canal,
$4,000 every year to ship by rail because
they have foolishly contributed to dry up the
canal?
We have barely touched this subject, which
is capable of indefinite enlargement, and shall
rccur TO it again.