The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-10-21
A Reservoir System Favored for the
Upper Mississippi-The Vast
Interests Involved.

/
pi river, and In fifteen minute address ex-
planned the system and extent Of the proposed
| Improvements and giving q sketch OF the
region In which these reservoirs are to be con-
stTucted. The system includes the building
of seven dams on the Upper Mississippi,
which would hold Ia reserve 1882, 800
cubic feet Of water, and would cost 1886, 900,
and make 45O miles OF fine river navigation.
Three dams on the st. Croix with hold
ing capacity OF water to give 14l2 cubic feet
per second for so days. Two more on the
Chippewa to give 5000 cubic feet per second
| for 80 days.
The United States engineers have surveyed
and made estimates for the entire work, and
| their figures demonstrate not only the FEAST
| bility OF the system, but show that for an in
| significant sum 4 feet OF water can be secured
| In the channel of the river from Winnibgosh-
| ish lake to St. Louis.
| Judge Atwater, Of Minnesota, offered re-
solution, but upon being Informed that the
| committee on resolutions were about ready to
| report. withdrew It,
FIGURES FROM THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
nj. Y. Johnson of Galena, said that the
question before the convention is how to
achieve something. The Importance Of the
| Improvement of the river Is recognized by
everybody. What is needed now Is an appro-
priation. It is the duty Of Congress to vote
| it. There are 301 Representatives In Con-
gress, III Of whom are from these States
| The population In these States Is 22,215, ,O22;
| in all the rest of the States 16,343,349 The
navgable rivers In these are 14086 miles, OF
which Illinois has 1877 miles Of water route;
| Eighty-seven per cent of the whole national
crops is produced In these States.
| or wheat alone these States produced In
| 1876, 1880, 900 bushels.
Corn, /, 1875 log 600 bushels.
Cotton, 4, ,438, 600 bales.
Hogs, value In dollars, $137, ,154 ,406.
One towboat the Josh Williams, from Pitts
burg to New Orleans, took 100000 bushels Of
coal at $4,000. To move the tow by rail would
take 1900 cars at $4o,8oo, being 100 trains of 18
cars to q train.
Look at some OF our manufactures. st.
Louis last year had 20 steam Touring mills.
with a capacity OF 1000 barrels q day,
| actually made 1,5O0,0 900 barrels. With her re-
ceipts by railroad and river, the -four handled
there amounted to 2,938, 1873 barrels.
Think of the wheat, slaves, coOperage, fuel,
and capital invested In this one city, and 1t Is
but one In q hundred.
My own little leaden city, with her mineral
productions, grain and manufactures, aggre-
gates In the millions.
But following up st. Louis, the arrivals OF
vessels last year were 2S10; freight received
and shipped, 6,350,393 tons, which Is valued at
sits, ,457 ,9O5. What Is true of ST. Louis, is true
of a Thousand other places, in a less degree,
from the Red river Of the North to the Rio
Grande OF the South.
The difference between river and railroad
transportation is thus illustrated:
roll 90 w ooIa s 10 1oo Wy
Rv rivar to New 0rlaana i70o mlles n nv
ora ges f.. 25 cents
Suppose we save 10 cents to the producer,
one years productions would amount to more
great w water ro11tas A1 ~ ''N
The mouth OF these great rivers when held
by Spain, with France as an ally, almost
caused a war, and we purchased them at
0iyetJe et 10 ,t,tza them and mako fre, and nm
ohstructed hjuhwavs To the nations Of the
world
These rivers are in the keeping of Con-
oraas. thew ara our renresentatiyes. thew
hold orr nJ,rse-strinps, bnt, we furnish the
money
Accordino IN the renorts Of the chief enpi-
neer the whole annrpnriation made hv the
e.oWorn, mn ,oant For riYara and hn rhora m ~ 1915
70 ~, s1o 7s sa1 Willie the ~ Msis adao
sinpi river received bnt 10 66s 769 10 Of that
amount and the Mississ1nni Missouri Ohio
and Arkansas received ~ IA 900 making
S5512,769 and fifteen Southern States re-
Whole idit exnienditnre ' the Fast @ and slopes
OF the Pacific got the balance.
The whole neonla own these HIGHWAYS.
There Is no monopoly here
It is free to all. and we are but trustees for
the inheritance for those that are to come
after, under free government No State or
individual can levy tolls or tax on Its use
+ the productions OF this country must find.
a market, By river It can be moved at one
mill per ton per mile, while railroads, being
an artificial channel, to pay REQUIRE one cent
per tone per mile.
When l tell you there is embraced In the
area represented In this convention more than
two hundred thousand miles Of country and
twenty Thousand miles of navigable waters
leading to the ocean; that the internal con1-
merce Is greater than all the coasting trade
combined, and yet in view Of all these facts
the Eastern rivers and harbors have received
large appropriations ever since we have had
a government aggregating hundreds of mil