The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-11-30

Of freight, the commission merchant obtains
more business, and everybody is happy excep
the other fellow and the bontman And in
majority of cases the boatman is the other fel
low, for the most Of the river and canal ship
pers own their boats either in whole or il
part.
Along the line of the canal there are few rail
road houses. They are, however, building one
at Utica and one at Marseiles. The Knapp 4
| Thaycr Cunnl house at Mnooka has been clos
ed all summer, the owners having been hand
somcly recOuped in the use of the railroad
house At Seneca they are putting up lot of
cribs and steam corn shelter alongside tn,
track. One of the Peru houses has received
from the railroad an inducement sufficiently
strong for its owners to erect q steam cOnveyor
TO the railroad track fully 300 feet distant
lOvertures have been made to two of the larg
est shippers IN Ottawa to abandon the canal
and transfer their patronage to the railroad
| To one of the houses the company has offered
to put down free of cost "a switch and side
track, provided the owncrwill obtain the right
of way which is supposed will cost in the
neighborhood of 81 600. 1t is more than like.
ly that the proposition will be accepted, for
the reason that firm is ready to build rail.
road elevator IN case it should be rejected.
The instances cited are reported at all the
gram points along the canal and river. So
long rs the railroad allows the rebate of four
cents on a freight rate of from six to eight
cents, ust so long will the grain seek the rail
ROAD instead of the canal Remove the bust
ness from the latter and 1t viii have no revenue,
The Legislature is expressly prohibited from
making any appropriations IN its aid.
WHAT THEN WILL FURNISH THE MONEY
to keep it in repair after this surplus Of 500.
600 shall have been expended? Every winter
it requires dredging out owing to the allu
vial deposit which it flooded down from the
Chicago River and Ogden Ditch. The banks,
culvcrts and bridges have to be kept up. The
locks are constantly requiring repairs to Il
greater or less extent, and without money how
can these things be done? Let the canal 60 in
to disuse for one summer, and free from repairs
for one winter and it will be utterly impossi-
BILE to fix il in a serviceable condition without
great expenditure Of money. Then will the
railroad have accomplished its Infamous pur-
pose.
There are at the present time about 140 boats
engaged in canal traffic OF these about 100
are engaged in the grain trade and hail from
the following places Lockport, .; Joliet, / :;
Birds Bridge, 1 MinOoka, |; Wilmington,2;
Rockville, 2; Morris, s. Seneca, 3; Marseil-
les, 4 Ottawa, -; Utica / La Sale, g. Peru,
1; Icpuc, - IlcIncplH,o, llciIl,5 LAGOON, :
Chilhcothe, 4; Spring Bay, |; Peoria );
Bath, /; different points running wild, 20. OF
these eighteen are steam propelerS. This fleet
represents moncyed investment of about
100000 There are in addition about forty
boats engaged in carrying coal and stone
making a total of 40 boats. Last year this
fleet carried GO5,9l2 tons of freight This sea
sons business will aggregate fully as much.
Following shows the amount of corn, oats,
flour, and lumber transported on the canal dur
ing the years named: