Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-02-26
THE RIVER.

Proposed Improvement at st. Paul Which
Will Prevent the Overflow of the Sixth
Chamber of Commerce.
The following memorial has been print
ed and forwarded to Washington to be
laid upon the desk of each member OF
congress. 1t was prepared by j. W.
Mclung, Esq, and adopted by the
Chamber. 1t ought to result in levee
at St. Paul:
ST. PAUL, Mimi, Feb. 20.
To the Honorables William Window, w.
D. Washburn, Mark H. Dunnell and II.
3. Strait:
GENTLEMEN: The chamber of COM
merce of this city respectfully calls your
attention to the following joint resolu-
ton, which passed both houses of the
Minnesota legislature and was approved
by the governor February IS, 1879:
A Joint resolution to congress for the i'm
provement of the western channel OF the
Mississippi river at st. Paul.
WHEREAS, By reason of sand bars in the
Mississippi river at st. Paul, Minnesota, the
navigation of said river is entirely INSTRUCTED
on the west side of said river, making it i'm
possible for steamboats, to- land and COM
municate with the carrying trade OF
the rich country adjacent and tributary
and,
WHEREAS, The interests of commerce and
agriculture require that the river, at this
great center of the commerce of the North
west, should be made available to connect
with all the railroad systems OF the state,
centering at this point on both sides of the
river; and,
WHERE'S, The said obstruction to the free
navigation of the river can be removed at
small cost to the general government, by the
use of the dredge boat used IN moving sand
bars from the SAID river now, therefore,
be it
ReSOlced, That the senator's and representa-
tives OF this state in congress be, and hereby
are, requested to use their influence to secure,
at the present or subsequent session OF con-
gress, an appropriation of twenty-five thou
sand da,lars (S25, 000), or so much thereof as
may by necessary to provide for the improve
ment named, at as early date as may be
practicable.
Approved Feb. IS, 1879.
In the spring of 1881 tbs legislature, a
second time, passed upon this same sub
iect, and sent a memorial to congress
asking the sum of $4,000, and basing
the request on the necessity of preserving
the banks Of the river, to prevent over
flows and the destruction of property, as
well as to promote the interests of COM
merce at this port-a copy of which last
memorial was recently sent to you by this
chamber.
This Joint resolution is now sent to you
to call yoor attention to the fact that the
Improvement therein asked for is not
merely local matter, nor simply state
matter, but of subj material Importance
to the commerce of the country that the
legislature mas asked it as commercial
necessity. The commercial necessity is
much more of "a reality than would ap
pear upon casual glance. 1t is well
known that the available levee room of
st. Paul is already limited and inadequate
to the necessities Of It's present river COM
merce, which is now merely in its infan-
cy, is destined to assume almost unlimit-
ed proportions in the future, and make it
necessary to have all the room
that is possible on both sides of
this river at St. Paul to handle
the heavy freights that must come and go
through this port, which, as the head of
navigation, must always be the depot and
entrepot of commerce which will be
New it is impossible to use the Mississippi
river at all, even if we had six feet of
water from ST. Paul to New Orleans, I'M
less the sand-bars at this port are moved,
so that vessels may arrive and depart
without delay or difficulty. The expendi-
ture of millions to clear out Its mouth, so
that commerce may have egress to the
ocean, is useless, if its head waters remain
closed up and INSTRUCTED, so that COM
merce from the interior is excluded from
its waters. We respectfully suggest that
the river cannot afford transportation
facilities to the west without proper i'm
provements of ports, at which to receive
and discharge the easier. Hence, that the
same reasons exist for clearing out the
bars at this head of navigation that were
urged for clearing out the bars at the
mouth of the river.
The object of this communication,
therefore, is to ask each of you to insist
that fifty thousand dollars, ($50,000) at
least, of the sum appropriated for the
Mississippi river, be applied to that por-
ton of the river used as port at this
city, in accordance with thejoint resolu-
ton accompanying this; and to insist up
on It, not merely as q local matter, but to
accommodate and give ample
room TO the commerce of the state and
nation, and the rapidly developing areas
to the west and northwest of us, which
Will come soon in such volume as to tax
all our resources.
You will not infer, from the foregoing,
that we are now suspicious that any one
of you is in the least thoughtless or neg
lectful of our interests. We fully appre-
ciate the multiplicity of duties and cares
that demand and absorb all the time and
energies of public men, especially those
from the Western states, and we adopt
this method of calling your attention to
this matter of state and national i'm
portance, that it may not be wholly lost
sight Of, among the innumerable duties
and cares that devolve upon you.
JOHN B. SANBoRN. President.
F. a. FoGG, Secretary.