The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-02-08
WHAT is A SHIP CANAL.

under which the state placed itself IN accept
! ing the canal land grant from the general gov
eminent, 10 construct and forever maintain il
running order said canal The last shift o
! this kind il the ridiculous proposition, Il
which both houses Of our legislature HAY,
given their assent, to ask the general govern
mcnt 10 take the ditch of our hands, cnarg,
it into II ship canal, and run it as natlona
institution. OF course this Is but another shall
low contrvancc OF the enemy. Every mar
with thImblctul of brains knows that con
grcss will never enter into any such quiNotlC
speculation. The construction of such cana
by the federal government, with its army O
engineers, commissioners, superintendent and
rings of contractors, would waste both untold
millions Of money and years Of precious time
Besides such canal under government con
troll could never be made to pay running cX
pcnscs, and being heavy continuous burden
upon the national treasury, would soon be
abandoned AS "a useless expenditure.
While, however it is no function OF the ma
tiOnal government to build canals and rail.
roads and erect toll houses, or collect fares, it
can wisely and appropriately extend aid from
the national treasury to works that are of man
iiest national importance. Such "a work is in
disputably the Illinois and Michigan canal.
Connecting the navigation of the lakes with
that of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, is
certainly a matter of more Conccrnmcnt to 10.
calItcs outside of Illinois than to Illinois il.
self for as We have already said, more than
half Of our own state has no interest in 1t
while the interest of Minnesota,
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and the whole North
and Southwest, to say nothing OF the lake re-
giOn and so on eastward to New York and
Boston, is Of obvious and incalculable lmpor
lance
The general government by its lanu grant
having inveigled Illinois into the responsible
ity of constructing and keeping open this i'm,
portant national link Of interstate commerce.
now that the cXigencics Of the times have out
grown its primitive design and capacity, has
no right to leave the state in the lurch and
cast upon 1t the burden Of lis enlargement to-
meet the new requirements of the age. The
general government is bound no less in duty
han in honor and good faith to aid the state
now to enlarge this ditch to ship canal
As it now is, it no longer answers It's purpose.
It's limited business is being gobbled by the
to which it only serves as Il check
IN cxtortionatc freight charges, and which have
therefore combined to get rid of the Inconycn.
lent check
AS ship canal, however, the railroads canI
maintain no such competition wifi it, What
10 we mean by ship canal? Some wiseacre
n the Springfield JoUrnai, writing doubtless
lnder railroad inspiration, says ship canal
INVOLVES the deepening of the canal to - feet /
md OF course raising the dams in the Illinois
'lver to give constant equal depth of water.
That writer is a fool or knavc We said few
weeks ago that there were more tons of freight
'arrlcd on the Ohio river last season, and att
'heapcr rates, than on the lakes and Erie canal
'u' together And the carrying was done by
what this Springfield dabstcr probably ncverl
lcard oi-the tug and barge system. A SINGLE
team tug boat, with dozen barges attached
will carry 1000 tons of freight at a trip from
'itsburg to New Orleans at rates that would
'c less than half a cent busbcl for corn from
"a Sale to Chicago. Yet the Ohio river last
cason averaged less than five feet of water the
ummcr through
What we ask the general government to do |
aiding US to construct ship canal Is there.
ore to give us such Il water line from the
Mississippi river to Chicago as will enable us
traverse those 300 miles with tugs and
arges on the Ohio river plan. This can be
ccomplishcd by building three more dams
The Illinois river below Coppcras Creek at
carefully estimated expense of not over
9,0OOOOO; then about four dams between La.
allc and Joliet nj an expense of 81 5000
nd deepening the canal about two feet from
oliet to Chicago, at an expense certainly of
OF over 81 100000 more. In all, S5,O0OOOO.
Win such river improvement and canal
lgs and bargcs can carry corn and wheat from
t. Louis to Chicago al 3 cents, from Omaha
Kansas City to Chicago at cents, and
rom La Sale To Chicago at cent a bushel
nd make money. THIS Is what Illinois
leans when Il asks the aid of congress to
ulld ship canal, and This is the project
'hich the railroads look upon with such dread
5 the utter extinction of all their schemes of
ndleSs cXtortion on the producers of the
orthwcst by drying up its great water ways.
And now the Illinois legislature aches to
how It's contempt for things sacred by propos