The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-03-09

than by the Rock Island route. Moline
will have annually from twenty to thirty
thousand tons of canal freight from Chr
cago if the canal is built by either OF the
upper routes. By either of these lines
this freight will come to the Mississippi
above Moline and will be readily floated
down to the water power pool. A canal
to the foot Of Rock Island rapids would
| be of little or no value to Moline, and
| Moline has little interest in the canal
as well as Rock Island. Five hundred
tons would be large estimate of the
freight likely to beshipped eastward from
Moline on the canal All that Moline has
ever asked in the matter has been this.
That the appropriation be secnred and
| the west end of the line be left undeter-
mined until the canal is fixed
| TACT. But the congressman from
Iowa, who claims this canal as
his especial charge, (the identical con-
grcesman also who told Major Benyuard
in 1882 that he would beat his id canal
if he persisted in urging the Meredosia
route and thereby very possibly may have
injured the prospects OF the Rock island
route, ii it had any, quite as much as
could do) has utterly refused to give the
friends of the other two lines any chance
to be heard in the matter. The position
OF the iricnds>of the Watertown line has
been this from the beginning. First to
get the canal started and then discuss the
western terminus, thus uniting the
friends of the three routes against the
enemies of the canal. The position of
the friends of the Rock Island route is
this Give us the line we want to start
with, or we will defeat the whole enter
prise We have decided on the Rock Isl
and line; if you breathe an intimalion that
there is a better line, better for the arse
nal, better for the country. better for
YOU, you are rsking the whole enterprise;
the Rock Island line is better for you
than nothing You say the government
hls not consl dered the interests OF Mo-
line or Rock Island, but of the whole
northwest in selecting the Rock Island
route rs The most desirable line, and the
most economical to be pursued This is
truly monumental check. WllyOu please
point out an act OF the government a
w1Id IN the official report of the surveys,
10 show that the government has ever Sc
, lecIgd or even in the slightest de
gree favored the Rock Island route,
Please demonstrate. if You can, how
the cities Of st. Paul and Minneapolis
with nearly two hundred and fifty thous
and popula'ion, the cities Of Winona, la
Crosse, Dubuque, Clinton and Lyons. t.
say nothing of smaller towns of the up
per Mississippi are beaedied by the Rock
, Island line over the Two upper lines. l.
it by shipping coal, iron or steel from
. Chicago or points on the canal over the
worst rapids on the Mississippi, from
twenty to forty miles further thar
by either OF the other lines, or IS il BY
shipping grain or other products down
past the mouth of both these lines Ovel
the worst rapids of the river AN extra dis
lance OF from twenty to forty miles, t,
be from fifteen to twenty-five feet lowel
than at the terminus of the other routes
so as to require locking back? The Rocl
Island route would undoubtedly be fully
as good a line, though little longer, f0
towns from the mouth of Rock to Musca
tine and even to Burlington if any us
was made of the canal rs, tar down TIN
river as that Count up the importan
g towns on the river from Rock river t,
: keokuk, distance of about one hundred
e and thirty miles, if you will, and namt
r those likely to furnish large business
for this great national enterprise. Tn
| fingers OF one hand will serve to coun
: every one having a population of on
z thousand or upwards aud leave TIL
{ thumb to spare-MusCatine, Burlington
/ NauvOo aud Fort Madison Does an,
saue man believe that the canal will eve
, get a ton of freight for the east below
, keokuk? If Mr. Murphy and the parti
sans OF the Rock Island route will sub
init the res pective claims of the Water
town and the Rock Island routes to thu
| chief OF engineers at Washington or t,
any board of engineers to be selected b,
! the chief OF engineers, we shall not fol
) an instant fear the result Of their dccis
, ion. If they decide in favor of the Roci
Island route, we will submit without
4 murmur. We know that the Rock Islant
route has Il special champion on the foo
: OF the lower house, while neither of tn
other routes have any. That champion ha
f subnnttedarepOrt at the present session il
. which he utterly ignores the other twt
e routes. and any member of congress VIII,
E should examine that report without an,
r previous knowledge would find nOthn!
! in it to indicate that more than one rout
D had been surveyed instead of five, or II
S indicate that any route had been favored
by the report OF the engineers As lb
- report now stands in the Office of III
e chief Of engineers at Washington, tn
c Rock Island is the most expensive line o
ca the three, it is the longest by thlrteci
4 miles, it would be of very little, if AM
0 value to the country from the foot 0
Y Rock Island to st Paul.
: If you will allow me little more spac
: | will briefly allude to statement madt
: by morning paper in your city that
/ have been guilty of an unscrupulOu
n trick, in this matter. If supposed tina
. the writer of that sentence was able t,
: fully comprehend the meaning of such al
5 expression | might characterize it as
D deserves. If, however he would like al
n illustration of what would be an I'm
scruplous trick, | will suppose an ex
ample.
Y Suppose the friends of the Watertow
l route had, under false pretenscs, lObbie
k through the county board IL scheme t
rob the county treasury, without warran
IS of law, of 5000. and fearing an injunctio
Y had Immediately secured the plumber an
4 with it had FASTENED to Washington t
q lobby directly against the interests of on
d half of the county. | should call that
? trick, and one that would not max
v friends in the county for their enterprise
= but would make many enemies,
i Finally, if the canal should eventual
70 be built by the Watertown line and
Is could convince the people of Rock ISLAM
. that my efforts had conduced in any con
), siderable degree to the defeat of tbs Roc
Is Island route and the success of the Wa
!. tertown, should expect, within tiv
G years to see all the people of the east par
| OF Rock Island and large majority o
4 the people of the whole city Of Rock Isl