Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-21
WITH 16 DELEGATES
Pittsburg Will be Ably Represented
at the Waterway Convention.
TO-DAY'S IMPORTANT MEETING.
The Ohio and Beaver Dam and Canal
Scheme Goes Booming.
BIG IMPROVEMENTS ON MoNONGAHELA

The meeting of all river coal operators
and steamboatmen in the Office Of John A.
Wood & Sons Sc Water street, this after
noon at o'clock means more than would
at first appear to those outside of the circle.
Ostensibly they are to meet to elect dele
gates to the Western Waterway Convention,
to be held in Cincinnati on September 4.
Heretofore such q meeting in regard to
the annual convention has not created much
of an excitement among the rivermen; now
they are all looking forward to the conven-
tion as the most important step toward re-
trieving the waning prestige of the river
coal kings.
As a gentleman in John A. Woods
Office said yesterday, business on the river
has continued to be very dull, and the
rivermen and coal operators say something
must be done. The one thing that will
bring back the old days and enliven river
trade, in their opinion is the proposed sys-
tenn of dams to Beaver on the Ohio, and
the canal thence to the lakes.
Capt. l. N. Bunton, of Jos. Walton 81
Co., said Yesterday that the delegates who
will be sent to the convention from Pitts
burg will advocate strongly the dam and
canal scheme above all other improve
ments on the Ohio, and would do all possi-
BILE to have the project carried through.
PITTsBURG's BIG DELEGATION.
Sixteen delegates, at least, will be ap-
pointed to-day to 60 the convention. Besides
the dam and canal project, they will look
after the proper location of a couple of new
bridges at Wheeling and Louisville, and
also general agreement as to the improve.
a. hv,tf h. mi 1lchf mt n
the proposed canal project will be the chief
topic brought by the members of this sec
ton before the convention. The end to be
achieved is to show the feasibility OF the
project, and the great results to commerce
that would accrue therefrom.
Governor Beaver has already written the
rivermen here, allowing them to name men
for the commission authorized by the Legis-
lature to look up the canal and dam project
and the men will be selected soon.
The decrease in the Southern coal trade
is attributed by some as due to the cheap
ness of mining the Alabama and Tennessee
coal and other mines South. The coal is
far inferior, but is used on account of its
cheapness.
Captain Joseph Walton said that in
many of the mines convicts are employed,
costing little more than their keep"
The convention in September will repre-
sent all the steamboatmen of the Mississippi,
Ohio and their tributaries with the interests
of navigation involved by all.
A AMoNoNGAHELA TRIUMPH.
Dam No. 8, on the Monongahela river, is
expected to be completed by December 1.
This dam will be of immense importance to
Morgantown, W. Va, and is of considerable
interest to this neighborhood also, especially
to the river packet company. When finished
a Morgantowner can take boat in the even
ing and come to this city by morning, rest
ing during the night in his stateroom IS
comfortably as at home. and be in this city
in the morning refreshed and ready for
business Colonel Merrill is authority for
the statement that the dam will be finished
this season.
The building of this dam affords another
illustration of how-not-to-do-it method of
Government building. The lock has been fin
ished for quite awhile. and at times portions
of the work on the dam have been built, but
successive freshets not only stopped work
but carried much away that had been done.
This delay has also been aggravated by the
Government method of making appropria-
tions which have been the cause of the loss
of much of the work. When the appropria-
ton is exhausted work ceases.
President NJ. K. Moorhead, of the Mo-
nongahela Navigation Company, also states
that West Virginia influence has stood in
the way of the prosperity of the section
about Morgantown. The navigation COM
pany owns dam No. z, and No. was in
tended to have been built before No. 9, but
West Virginia thought best to have No.
built before No. 8, thinking the building of
the former would expedite that of the latter.
MR.. MooRHEAD's POINT.
Mr.. Moorhead makes point on the mat
ter in the controversy between his company
and the Government. He says that dam
No. has already cost S236, 900 and is not
completed, while the Government has ap-
pealed from the award OF S207, 900 for dam
No. 8, which is lower than No. z, being
further down the river. 1t seems that the
Monongahela Navigation Company will
likely go on collecting tolls for four or five
years yet in consequence of the appeal, as it
is thought that much time will be consumed
before the legal ENHANCEMENT is straight
ened