The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-02-15
TIE CANAL PROBLEM.

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The sudden alarm that has arisen for the
safety of the Illinois canal on account Of the
hostile attitude assumed towards it by the rail
roads. has evoked II number of heterogeneous
projects for lis protection, some wild and IRA
Ifnnal to Il degree, others more sensible, and
now it remains to see Wi G hcr from all some
practical suggestions may not be selected and
utilized.
But firstly, as to suggestions that are no,
practical There is no practical good to be
derived from abuse, hostile legislation, OF
prosecution in the courts against the Rock
| Island Railroad That road, rs we take It, looks
upon this furry with the utmost serenity, con
! fdenl that it has violated no law and is above
| ,c-i,'ati reach in the matter ~ we under
stand it, the Michigan Central Railroad and
Iconnccting eastern trunk lines were stealing Il
large amount OF grain from the canal at Joliet
BY shipping it on the cut off VIA Detroit &c.
ana the Michigan southern and lis connect.
Liar eastern trunk lines, 10 get even with their
rivals, offered 10 pay shippers on the Rock Is,
Iallu 4 Gus. ouSIlcl loI All tolH tutI SH'uIu
snip on that road to the NJ Southern at Chica-
TO- That Is all. The Rock Island itself
charges the regular schedule rates of the Hi
lnois anticXtorIon law, and washes its hands
Of the whole rebate business
Secondly lhere is the same mpractlcablc
absurdity involved in the plan of the Spring.
field and Peoria Jou,nol, Mike Haley &c, to
cut down expenses by dismissing the canal
board, superintendent and toll collectors and
turning the management OF the canal over
TO the railroad commissioners. How the rail
road commissioners are to run it without the
aid of an intelligent superintendent, division
bosses, &c, is not explained. But arc these
wiscacrcs so illy-nlormed as not to know that
the salaries of the canal board, &c, are not
paid out of the canal fund?
: And thirdly, in the list of projects, that to
transfer the canal to the general government
doubtless deserves the premium over all others
for impractiCabilty and absurdity. Could the
general government even be persuaded ulti-
matcly to enter into the scheme it will take ten
years of hard lobby work at Washington to
get it through congress, and meantime the ca
nal dries up and goes to waste. Then it
will take ten more years to make the improve
ment, showing off all practical benefit from it
beyond the present business generation. But
the project is not worthy Of further argument
The Dructical suggestions that have been
.Vp oil hu t.n IL uSin fpr orn in Of fun
The first is, the immediate appropriation by
the Illinois Legislature of about 100000 ont of
the SOL 900 heretofore paid by the canal into
the state treasury to DC set aside as contingent
fund to cover Deficiencies Of tolls, should any
arse, to run the canal for the next two years
and secondly in the meantime, TO beslegc con-
grcss, with all the address and might our uni-
ted delegation IN congress are capable of, for
an appropriation of at least half a million
year to complete the improvement Of the
Illinois river, Ivy locks ard dams, so as to
make 1t navigabc for craft drawing six feet Of
water from Alton to Joliet, and to enlarge the
canal to the same depth from Joliet to Chicago.
The canal lobby at Springfield, speaking
through Hon G. W. Armstrong and canal su.
pcrintcndent Thomas to the senate committee
on canal and river improvement on Tuesday as
reported by a Times correspondent, hit the nail
exactly on the head, in contcnding for the first
Of these suggestions; and our representative
Hayes in congress is equally on the right road
in asking for an appropriation of 100000 in
aid of our canal enlargement and river i'm.
provcment from the national treasury.
And now let the canal convention ut Ottawa
next week, and all the canal meetings from
this time out, keep these two objects steadily
in view and by unyielding persistence both
can be attained. As to getting the proposed
contingent fund of 100000 voted by our leg.
islature, let this be borne in mind Thirty
five years ago, when even in the states lowest
financial condition the Legislature was besicgcd
for appropriations to build the canal, it was ex.
cecdngly impoItlc for any politician who as
prcd to become Governor or L. $. Senator, to
oppose the canal, The feeling of all the canal
and river counties is quite rs earnest on the
subject to-day rs it was then, and they include
half the population of the state. Our CON
"rcssmcn, in the matter Of making "A united
effort to get the proposed appropriation from
he general government may proftably heed
the same lesson The canal in its present
state is safe enough, and It's enlargement by
national aid reasonably certain of attainment,
ii our people Will only be sufficiently pcrsis-
tent, determined and united in contending in
season and out OF season for the grand objects
We have indicated
THAT STINK.
"a, u unll ntt,nlnl