St. Paul daily globe., 1888-02-08
Shall Minneapolis Take Her
Place at the Head Of
Navigation?
Why the 0ld-Time Commerce
Was Broken Off Two Dec
AIDES Ago.
The Present Opportunity to
Be Discussed by the Board
of Trade To-Day.
Probably the Last Chance--A
Few Navigation Reminis-
cenceS.

Minneapolis will have an opportunity
to-day, and probably the last, to say
whether st. Anth Ony Falls shall be the
head of navigation or whether it shall
remain, as it has been for twenty years,
at st. Paul. This is not question of
rivalry between the cities, for st. Paul
united with Minneapolis at the river
convention in the resolutions asking
congress to improve the Mississippi TO
the falls; it is simply question whether
Minneapolis shall take advantage of the
great natural highway which stretches
TO New Orleans. 1t is possible that the
vast benefits arising from navigation are
not fully understood, as river traffic is
carried on so silently as to attract com
paratively little attention. The publi-
cation recently of the passenger and
tonnage traffic by steamboat at ST. Paul
was scarcely credited, fact though it
was. 1t may scarcely be believed,
though il was shown at the recent river
convention at Dubuque, that the ton
mage passing under the Illinois Central
bridge over the Mississippi was greater
than the railroad tonnage over it. 1t
will also be surprising TO learn that sta
tiSticS were presented to congress ten
years ago, showing the river tonnage at
PittSburg to be greater than the total
tonnage of New York city. This gives
some idea of the value and Importance
of freight and passenger traffic OH
rivers.
THE OLD DAYS.
Twenty years ago the river between
no NJ nd
Paul was in way navigable, and the
question has often arisen, why was the
traffic abandoned? The fact that il
once was and is no longer has operated
somewhat against any resumption and
against an appropriation making the
channel navigable. The reasons are
few and short. There were two lines
running on the upper MisSiSSippi-the
Davidson and Diamond 10 lines. Com
mOdore Davidson went into steamboat
ing for the money there was in it. He
cast his fortunes with st. Paul and en-
barked on the river to build up for
tune. He ended the line at st. Paul be-
cause he had located there, bought
property and desired to see that prop
erty advance. He made st. Paul the
upper terminus of his line, and as Min
neapOliS and st. Anthony amounted to
but little III those days, boats gradually
stopped coming to this city. Smaller
craft were frozen out of the trade, and
finally the last boat ended its trips to ST.
Anthony. The channel filled with
sand, bars formed at curves and boul-
derS rolled in unmOlested.
The Diamond JO line was not put on
for the business there was in it. Reyn-
OldS put on his boats and bargeS to
transport his own grain, and the general
traffic business became first all incident
and then an object. st. Paul was the
northwestern end of his line also. Min
neapolis had little traffic, and what
little there was was not gone after.
Years changed the river. The channel
was blocked and filled in from the bar
at Minnehaha to the rapids at the falls,
and the days of navigation were tenn
pOrarily over. To all purposes, Mime
apOlis became an inland city, ,and though
the Father of Waters flowed past the
mills and turned the wheels, its bosom
tloated off none of the rich argOsies
which have since attracted the railroad
attention of the world. The generation
which knew of navigation here passed
away, and the new generationdreamed
Of it only as tradition never to be re-
vived.
THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY
is brought about by a combination of
circumstances and Is fortuitOus. Dia-
mOnd 10, it is said, is going out of busi-
ness. Capt. Davis, of Rock Island,
says Mr.. Reynolds is old and wealthy
and is about to abandon his river traffic
He has business obligations and inter
ests elsewhere that are demanding his
attention, notably large mine III the
West. At all events, he is to abandon
his line. The DavidsOns. it is also said,
have no disposition to continue in the
business and are disposing of their river
interests. Now seems the time, if ever,
for Minneapolis to push herself into a
traffic that will be second only. in i'm
pOrtance. to the construction of the 500
system of railroads. The river has
been surveyed and Maj. Aliens report
shows that $50, 900 will make the stream
again navigable between the Twin
cities. This does not contemplate any
expensive series of locks and dams, but
by simply dredging the bars and remOv-
Ing the boulderS, create a channel of an
average depth of five feet in the sum-
mer season. If the Minnesota con-
greSsional delegation will exert itself at
Washington, the appropriation may be
secured in season for work to begin in
July, so that the worst of the obstruc-
tlOns may be removed this SumuIer.
Maj. Allen is enthusiastic in his sup
port of the plan, and there is now little
doubt that the appropriation will be Sc
cured. The champions of navigation
have been untiring in their agitation
and are looking forward to an early and
successful termination of their labOrS.
A BUSINESS PROPOSITION.
After the river is cleared and cleaned
the next thing will be boats. Where do
we get them? The board of trade will
discuss that question to-day. Capt.
John b. Davis, of Rock Island, is here
with proposition that will be accepted
or declined to-day. If the former. i'm
mediate steps will be taken looking to
the construction of steamboat. THE
tween Minneapolis and st. Louis. If
declined, the offer will go elsewhere,
probably to st. Paul. Capt. Davis
never thought of Minneapolis, and
would never have come here but
for the stir made by our
delegates at the Dubuque convention.
His proposition is build large, light
draft, side-wheel steamboat TO cost S75,-
600, of which he and Mr.. Deere, the
Moline plOw man, will take half and the
remainder tG be taken in MINNEAPOLIS.
Half of the half, or s1S, ,75G, is to be paid
in by summer, with the expectation OF
having the boat make sufficient money
to obViate the necessity of calling in
more on the stock. That sum seems
very little to be raised in Minneapolis
In such al emergency. In one hight
100000 was subscribed for the cxposi-
ton. aid in one week S250,O00 was Sc
cured for the thresber works. To-day
will decide the boat case. And if it
isn't taken," said Maj. j. C. Reno, 81
end my efforts III the direction of nayi-
CATION for Minneapolis
NORTH HWESTERN WHEAT.