Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1895-08-01

Oshkosh, Wis, July 24.-Gen i D
Doe, assistant secretary Of war
examining the Fox river urunble
not sampling the water except nv g.
ger touch, he. '.The goyernmen,
he said, has appropriated S303a 75o
for the Improvement of Fox river ~
purposes of navigation, not for N.
purposes of manufacture. HE war 40
partment has considered it its dptv 4
take care OF navigation, whatever ~
consequences to manufacture NAV nv
Yesterday tour OF investigation va
made, and the general was shown ,be
evil effects of low water, as they an.
pear in the vicinity Of this CITY Hs
was accompanied by a party of over
one hundred prominent business mon
and local mill owners. Among tboso
who went We're Mayor Kellogg and OK.
Senator Sawyer. Gen. Doe and
smaller party were taken to Neenah
on Senator Sawyer'S private Yacht Mn
late in the afternoon. To-day
trip will be made down the river
perhaps as far as Green Bay. The sen.
timent among Oshkosh boat men and
lumber men is decidedly against com.
promise which is suspected to be tba
object of Gen Does visit despite hs
rather strong talk about the amount Of
money that has been expended for pur.
poses of navigation.
Gen. Doe and Major Marshall, wbo
came with him, were given a reception
at the Hotel Athearn at which Cen.
Doe aud Maj. Marshall We're visited
by mauy of the best known men Of
the city. Later, a conference was held
in the hotel parl9rs between the two
government officials and the following
Oshkosh boatmen and manufacturers:
o. Cook, G.. NJ. Paine, ex-Mayor Dich.
mann. George Champion, Robert
Campbell, Capt. ]. H. Crawford, VII.
liam Radford, r. McMillen, j. Hime
baugh and L. K. Morgan Mr. Cook
explained the situation. He claimed
that the trouble was at Neenah aud
Merfasha The cutting away of Neenaa.
point had widened the channel and in.
creased the flow so that Lake Wineba.
bago could now be drained. The
dredging of Butte des Morris bar had
been rendered necessary by this. He
also asserted that the water was
wasted and that enforcing the reglla.
lions was best for all, since the less
head the less power. 1t developed that
the water is now five inches above 0
on the government guage, or half an
incll lower than on May ~, when the
first government interdict was issued
1t is now 16 1-2 inches below the crest
of the MenaSha dam. Sixteen inches
means a difference Of 120 tons DAY
in freight to Mckenzie 4 Crawford,
and 100 tons a day to the Cook-BroWn
Lime company. With the water al tAe
crest Of Menasha dam there would DC
6-foot channel between here ana
Green Bay, and this Maj. Marshall ex'
planned was the intent OF the FOX
river Improvement. That the chanhei
is today less than feet, he said, was
due to the fact that the mill men nave
been using more water than they are
entitled to. All agreed that the cutting
off Of Neenah point and the dredging
out the solid rockbed Of the Menasaa
channel had made the draining u Lac
Winnebago possible, but this woaa
not have occurred had not the NIL
men violated the regulations.
G. NJ. Paine declared that the elect
on the lumber business was SERIOUS
Millions of feet of logs had been car
ried in here and unloaded in MARSHES
and were hung up here and up river
for lack of water, thus causing grew
loss. The lower Fox men, MT. Paile
said, had had ample opportunity Y
prepare for the present condition 9.
affairs. For several years there nau
been, he said, intimaIion of this trouus
coming. Even if there had been noln
ing of the kind, the shut down OF Ma!
last was sufficient to warn them tA''
the water supply was precarloOs
Some had FASTENED to put in steam
and others were doing so. MI Faiu'
admitted that the temporary ellipas
rassment In the valley might De siee'
but thought even this was no reas'l
why the industries Of Fond gu ~,
Oshkosh and the upper Fox ana WI
rivers should be made to suffer. lAN
section, he held, had equal rlgh's y
consideration with the valley lug1'
Menasha was fully equipped "''-
steam, and the other cities partially y
r. McMiIlen also denounced the a'a.
rice Of the mill men and intimatea NE.
the improvement was done for tnsA
benefit.
Mai. Marshall averred that aA n.
water flowing out Of the lake was n. \.
sufficient to run all Of the big mig
He said that the volume Of VIZ
with ten-fot head and foWas,
GO.OO0 cubic feet minute Wouip
through an aperture FIVE feet s'un I'm
SO that there was little for the VI
men to fight over anyway,
The position Of the Oshkosh HILL s
+ha+ Ana e,ovp,-n ulpnt strictly emu