Rock Island daily Argus., 1888-12-13
IMPROVING NAVIGATION.

Capt. Whitney's Big Batch Of Con-
tracts Obstacles Which Have Been
Overcome in the Past-Pi esent and
Future Needs.
The district of Mississippi improve
ment W ork covered by Capt. Whitney's
contract as just awarded, embraces three
divisions; viz; Keokuk to La Grange.
La Grange to Hannibal, and Hannibal To
the Illinois river. The division between
Keokuk and La Grange will receive $780,
900 in improvements the ensuing year.
The second division will receive the same
and the third will receive $35, 900 worth
of Improvements. Consequently 1t will
be seen that $95. 900 worth of bids have
been let to Capt. Whitney.
Notwithstanding the work done by the
United States engineer department in
the past to improve the navigation of the
upper Mississippi, there was, said an ex-
change, as much obstruction during the
season just closed as ever before. There
have been seasons of much lower water.
but for the purposes of through nayiga-
ton the river has been practically useless
during the closing two months, as only two
boats have gone through from st. Louis
.n1 e;p /.
ficulty lies, not in the deficiency of
water, but in the bars in the upper river.
After all the money that has been ex>
pended and the work done, it is alleged
BY experienced river men that these bars
are worse now between st. Paul and
Hastings than they were twenty years
ago. The wing dam system employed
| by the government engineers cuts out
the bar at and Immediately below the
dam. but, it is alleged, the sand floats on
down stream to the next piece of shoal
water, when it procedes to form another
dam as destructive as its predecessor
and thus the process goes on indefinitely
One of the remedies that first suggest!
itself is the strict prohibition of all avoid
able dumpage into the river. But NOR,
effective mechanical device for dealin
with the bars IN the river would also seer
to be a necessity in view of the confesse
failure of the means employed for fittee
long years TO accomplish the desired re
suit The models of an apparatus de
signed and patented by Captain Edwi
Bell, practical steamboat man of man
years experience. seems well worth tryin
for this purpose. 1t embraces systel
of removing the sand and debris from Il
channel with the assistance of the Gu
rent itself, and the use of the eXcav,
tor. By this system, scows with si(
boards are turned to the bar TO be r
moved, and placed in position. II
side boards are pushed down to the bo
tom of the liver so ss to force the Gu
the excavstor. The apparatus loatil
down with the current removes the sal
which is carried under the scows psral
with the river and prevented from retur
ing to the channel by an effective met
cd. Thus whole bar can be perm
nently removed in few hours as claim
by the inventor, and one machine wou
keep the upper river in boating stage
$50 miles, as it is now necessary to let t
river get low before commencing opeI
tons The expense of constructing
complete apparatus would be less tn
$4,000. The reluctance with which
officers of the engineer bureau consent
experiment with new devices, but in vi,
of the great interests involved and
large expenditures now annually ms
with so slight practical benefit, the til
has come for experiments in new dIrt
tions in search of effective instrumel
for improving navigation.