The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-12-26

Tire sympathy OF the crowd ana as
he one by one effectually disposed of
every possible objection and used them
as arguments for the proposed loca-
tion, it howled in delight. The first
thing advanced by him was state
ment of a few facts. In the first
place at least nine feet of water must
be had or the work would not be of
any practicable value and consequent
ly shcould moi be doEe. This has been
proven by actual experiment on the
lower river. The location of the dam
below town alone would give the de-
sired depth. There is shoal before
the town 2l00 feet long. This shoal
is of rock and cannot he dredged at all
even if dredging were practicable. But
even il the shoal were of.sand, dredg-
ing would be useless expense. Then
again shoal at the head of pool is
constant menace to navigation while
above the dam it is actually an adj
vantage in that it strengthens the
dam and lock and protects it from the
force Of the water against the bottom.
Even if there was no creek emptying
ia here the evil and good would be OF
considerable consequence but with
Decker's Creek as we have it these
factors are greatly enhanced. The
very construction of the series of locks
at all rests upon whether or not they
will be a paying investment and that
depends upon whether Lock No. 10
as located where the engineers have
decided or not. So then this first
argument clnches the whole matter
and decides that the lock will be loca-
ted as at first determined. But in
order to convince his hearers more
thoroughly he proceeded to answer all
their objections. First it was asked
whether or not it might be possible to
add tive feet to No. 0 and secure the
necessary depth. The answer to this
was that the dam would scarcely
stand now and that any addition to
its height would prove disastrous. The
question as to gong down the river
was raised and the answer was that
further down the cost would be very
greatly increased and that at the pro-
posed location ledge of rock extended
across the river making it an ideal To-
cation in every respect. Then the
matter of the health of Morgantown
which was probably urged with greater
persistence than any other objection
was answered. 1t was alleged that
the location below town would back
Decker's creek thus forming a great
pool of water almost surrounding the
town and affording a breeding place
for divers pestilences and evil diseases.
The gentleman then conclusively
proved that a condition of affairs by
which we were given more water is
better than the present one. The
greater the body of water the greater
capacity it has for the destruction OF
disease germs, other things being
equal. Then instead Of being men,
ace to our health it will actually be a
great advantage to us. And the in
crease in the depth in the river chan
mel beside being thing of great beau
ty will actually be health giving
agency. This has been proven in
many instances and is an actual state
ment of fact. The Major however
that the sewerage of the town
be carried below the dam and there
discharged. This wonld probably add
some cost but the added benefits
would more than make that up. The
river lots above the dam would not
be damaged but actually enhanced in
value as their value depends greatly
on the depth of water in front of
them. The matter of ability to pass
under the bridge with the added depth
was then taken up and it was shown
that exhaustive measurements had
been taken and it was undeniable that
at any time at which boats could get
through the lock that the largest of
them could readily go under the
bridge. The only remaining argument
was the one relating to the wharf
which it was alleged would be utterly
ruined if ten feet of water were put
on it and that the b. & o. bridge
would stop all passage under it. Ma
jor Hoxie asked if the wharf were nat
ural or artificial and informed the OBJ
jectors that it was artificial and that
even with the added height of water
five feet more can actually be obtain
ed by the construction of new wharf
giving 10 feet in the clear where IA
are now had. But this could also be
by the construction of a
wharf boat, which was very thorough
ly urged by the Major. The dam is to
be 2l00 feet below the wharf and there
it will be built. No. II will be To-
Gated near Morgan's mill thus build
ing two locks right in sight of Nor
gantOwn, and the total amount to be
in this county will approx
mate 81, 900, 900. This means pros
perity of the most decided character
for our citizens and that of the most
enduring and substantial kind. An
other advantage in the proposed loca-
tion was not mentioned in the meet
ing but the item of cost in moving the
pump station will not be incurred. If
the dam is above town, the station
would have to be moved but as at
present decided it will remain where
It is. Matters will now move on
until the entire work is COM
pleted and nothing is in the way to
prevent it.
j. Fay Watson, a prominent real es-
tate man of Fairmont, Mayor A. j.
Stone, j. M. Jacobs and N. ID. Hell
mick were present as representatives
Of the Fairmont Chamber of Com
MERGE and the Ohio Valley Improve
ment Company.
After Major Hoxie finished his ex-
PLANTATION the following resolutions
were drawn up by the meeting and
unanimously adopted:
Whereas, 1t is Of the utmost i'm
portance to the material interests of
Jhe upper Monongahela valley, and es-
pecially Of Monongalia county, and Of
that the plans of the
war department for the construction
Of the locks and dams for the COM
Dletion Of slackwater navigation on
The Monongahela from Morgantown to
Fairmont should be carried out with
,ut avoidable delay; and
Whereas, Objections have been
made and filed with the Secretary OF
War to the location of lock and dam
No. 10, a short distance below Nor
yantown, as fixed by the United