The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-01-25

10e MOCK 4s1a8o anu AS00sp1A Canal
The proposed canal to this point il bsins
urged:more Egenerallysthan at any time
since the project was 6rst discussed. and
if there il united efforts made, the canal
will become a fact. The importance Of
this lenterprise to Rock Island interests
ought to be sufficient incentive to cause an
interest in its behalf, and it Ii somewhat
surprising that our merchants and pro>
perry owners do not take some united
action, The Gensseo sRepubtic contains
a Communication from Major Allen, Of
Geneseo. which is so to tbs point that we
copy it in full Below is the letter as
published in the Republic. 1t will bear
careful persuaI:
10 support Of your defense OF the canal
movement We desire 20 say that no great
good comes TO masses Of people without
| their first being subjected To great wrong
and then 40 great II TT - uud" the ale
| chief done, aud then TO subnme arti"n IN
| establishing the right, No sooner Is one
geeat wrong done away than another. or
whole brood OF them, comes to poster
the industrious, creduleus passes
| MhOS people Oh kO0u eoOa cohocs
aud good intentions are prone to conclude
that there is no use ia trying 10 stem the
tide or to resist the power OF strong COM
binations and corporations Such men
are good on dress parade. but poor sol
disrs,
Tia truth and The right toU preuaI
slavery il the United States MAS the moh
strongly fortified wrong prior to 1860 that
over existed Forty years ago ths com
mon preachers and the eminent dlvlnes, the
great lawyers and many msn con- mon, the
merchants, the mechanics, the farmers
the lsborsrs Of all grades and classes, both
north and south. With very rare exesp-
tons. were defenders OF slavery.
The slave power Of The southern states
ruled the territory south OF Masons and
Dxon's line with absolute power. By
eon bination it managed easily to control
the political parties OF the Moth. The
feeble efforts Of the few To stem the tide
of dsspotlsm seemed tor Il l'rg time to fet d
the fauass Of at preston. aud give strength
20 he save sarchy BuJ The ooa oatne
after q terrible ADD desperate struggle
With the death Of slavery came new toi IL y
of tyranny and oppression The n0uey
power OF the North toCk possession OF the
crown but recently monopoiized by the
, Slave King The presChCfs, the lawyers
merchants. mechanics. manufacturers,
Farmers and laborors ct all kinds very
generally join in one grand chorus threat
is Diana OF the Ephesiaus.
Yet since the change from Slave kinR
to Gold King, there has been some Skin
mishing between the great corporations
and the people, in which the people seem
to have gained some advantage But the
m5hopoists have been SO generally sue
cessful 10 controlling the socalled re.
pressnratives of tho people in the Lesis
latures and in Congress. as to be cmbold
ened TO unoeasing efforts in becoming
very soon complete masters of the whole
country, Soon the war will come. The
people Us. the great corporations. When
it comes the end is easily foretold. The
peep:e will triumph.
| Transportation by was.er 10 much
be carried frem Peru to New Orleans By
water and the barses brought back te
Peru for less than the ice can be taker
from Peru to Chicago by rail. Ice ear
ba carried from Pittsbug down the Ohio
and Mississippi across the Gulf and ur
the Atlantic coast to New York cheaper
than from Pittsburg direct by rail te
] New York. At least such was the fact q
few years since The relative advantages
of the two methods of carryisg heavy
freights are not different now aud then.
The Illinois and Michigan canal with
only forty foot water line and four feel
deep. saved to the people more than one
million dollars directly by carrying freighti
cheaper than the railways in the year
1873. Its influence ever the railways
in reducing their charges must have
been as much more. That little canal i!
only ninety miles long, 1t saves mil
lions of the people yearly Ii it isextend
ed to Rock Island. it's length will then be
more than seven hundreds miles. While
the labor of lis extensions ends at Rock
Island, the canal will extend down
the river at least to Burlington. and up
stream to st. Paul. Thus by making
s.xty-fve miles of canal in addition t
the ninety now built We will have cana
J more tnan seven hundred miles in length
If the little canal from Chieago to Is
Sale is now worth millions to the people
what will be the advantages to the peo
pie of the Northwest in it's extension tc
the upper Mississippi and thus making
it practically more than seven hundred
miles long. Las it be remembered that
! the advantages will increase more than
such as will come from that Of the dist
ance. Six hundred miles of the uppsl
Mississippi running through the centre
of the Northwestern States and at right
angles with the canal, from Rock Island
and all the railways from east to west
centering in Chicago, will give q greatly
J increased ratio to the distance
There is no proposition for improve
) ment in water ways now before the Am
eriean people that can begin to compare
with the one herein eoutem plated. Ii is
utterly i'm possible to fnd another oppor-
tunity for investing money promising such
! grand results, With the completion oil
this work aud the Improvement of the
Illinois river. every railway from St. Louis
to St. Paul. will be nicely balanced in
their relations to the producers of the
Northwest, JAS NJ, ALLAN.
NOTES HERE AND THERE.