The Saint Paul globe., 1896-07-14
GREAT THINGJFoR THE CITY.
HE is ENTHUSIASTIC OVEN THE
PROSPECTS FOR ITS COM
FICTION.
MAY GET sTHE loLD PosToFFIcE.
Federal Building May be Turned
Over to the City When 1t Is
Abandoned.


meeting Of the chamber of commerce.
was the presence of Congressman Al.
II. Kiefer, who delivered an interest
Ing address upon the Superior canal,
towards the completion of which he
has introduced and supported valuable
legislation. II
A formal vote of thanks was rendered
Col,l Kiefer at the conclusion of the
address.
A portion of Congressman's Kiefer's
description of the canal was as fol-
lows:
me canai starts at Allouez bay. 1t con-
tenpiates the construction OF. an artificial
lanai lanai 70 the Brule, distance Of about eight
tsea zen miies ihegBrule Ia then to be canal
i1eu iol distance OF seven miles. Then
comes the summit level extending thirty-fiye-
niles 70 and through upper Lake ST. Croix
FROM the south end OF this summit level the
o.. Crox river is followed to the Mississippi
river, q dlstances of LAT miles, making the
in length. 's----Ess
In considering this project from a COM
mercial point Of view; the effrst consideration
tnat appeals to one Is the magnificent ter
mlnai harbors at either end of the route.
AT the northern end. Allouez bay is, as have
stated, part OF Duiuth-Superior harbor, and
under the improvement authorized to be con-
tracted for by the last river and harbor BILL
1t will be increased to depth of twenty
feet. AT the southern end Is the great lake
st. Croix, twenty-three miles in length, and
OF depth varying from thirty to fifty feet
except over few bars which can be easily
removed. Below the slake is the Mississippi
river, with its navigable channel reaching
around to st. Paul, the head Of commercial
navigation.
Careful examinations have been made of
the soil to determine it's characteristics with
reference to the construction of work Of this
character. Tests have been made Of the fow-
age Oh every stream hatsintersects the route
of the proposed canal to determine the exact
sources and amount of the water supply, and
for ali my statements of fact am indebted
to the information thus collected and pre-
sented in the report Of the engineers.
Starting at Allouez Bay it is proposed,
I have already said, to construct a canal to
the Brule, distance of Is miles. The only
objection to this portion of the waterway is
that 1t crosses the natural line Of drainage,
which is generally north and south, while
the line of the canal is generally east and
west. The streams have washed deeply into
the clay soil and their beds now lie at the
bottoms Of the deep ravines which of course
cannot be avoided. On the whole, however,
these ravine crossings are not serious dis
advantages. The canal may be carried across
them on v1aductS, or dams may be built on
the lower side Of the canals, which would
pond the waters in the ravines for many miles
up stream and create reservoirs which may
eventually be used for many purposes.
LAUNDERING operations through the region
tIaversed by the proposed canal have been
practically completed. The land is compar-
atively worthless and it's costs is but trifing.
The soil is clay which. when it first settles,
is practically water-tight and the dams could
be constructed at small expense from the soil
excavated from the bed ofathe canal. Culverts
at or near their bases, of size sufficient to
accommodate the ordinary flow OF these little
streams, and equipped with gates or valves
of proper construction, could easily be util-
ized for power purposes to generate cleo
tricity to operate canal boats, or for other
uses.
Flights of locks have been avoided in the
plans, and vertical hydraulic lifts substi-
tuted and each lift has been made as great
as possible consistent with practical expert
ence and theory.
The calculations for water supply, based
upon careful observations after the most ap-
proved methods, show that the water supply
is ample for a large canal of the dimensions
I have mentioned, and further investigation
may disclose supply sufficient for steam
boat canal, 100 feet wide at the bottom, LII
feet wide at the water surface and feet deep.
This statement applies as well to the summit
level and the southern slope as to the north
ern slope.
From the point where the Brule river is in
tercepted and it's water raised and turned into
the canal by DAM the bed and valley of the
Brule are utilized. Advantage Is taken Of
every typographical feature. The different
levels are arranged SO that they mt the sur
roundings Damage To improved property is
avoided where 1t is possible. There VIII be
no change OF grade required OF any railroad
crossing or parallelhng the canal. This
section of the canal wall oner excellent Iaclil-
ties for navigation. ~ u
The summit level thirtv-five miles approx
mately, is partly excavation and partly
formed in the valleys Of the aBrule and St.
Croix rivers and Upper ST. Croix lake, whose
water surface Is 416 feetf above the level OF
Lake Superior. There in along this level a
long chain Of lakes and swamps separated by
sandy knolls Of no great height which can be
oo1;1xv cd und ,fuy11f furnish
ample supply Of water for the upper level.
From the summit DOWN the channel OF the
St Croix river is used b Two locks, high
dam at a favorable point, and one vertical
lift complete the canalizatton Of the upper st.
Croix From this dams near the outlet OF
the Nanekagon river, to the head OF Kettle
river rapids slack water navigation is easily
possible. A. low dam, canal INK around
these rapids with one lift, and the river bed
can again be utilized. At this point approx
mately 1880 horse power can be constantly
developed. a~ g
There are no serious obstructions to navi-
cation on this stretch Of river until the dam
at Nevers is reached. This dam is an enor-
nous structure, eighteen feet high. BY low
ering the sills Of Its gate 1t can be used
for navigation.
The last serious obstruction In the river is
found at Taylor's Falls and St criox. Here
It becomes. necessary to build dam high
enough to smother the chain OF rapids above.
and to carry . link of the canal around
through the village Of Taylor's Falls.
Is there a commercial necessity for the
canal7 Would its construction by the gov
ernment benefit so considerable number of
people that the government would be justified
in undertaking the work? Would the vol
ume Of business that would be done over the
canal produce an amount OF revenue that
would attract the capital necessary for the
undertaking II constructed by private en-
terprise?
In seeking reply to these questions. I
must first beg your attention to a few con-
siderations on the subject of water transpor-
tation. The general government has always
recognized the advantages of and necessity
for water communication. In the earlier
days the encouragement that congress held
out to the improvement of these channels of
communication took the form of grants of
land in aid of various enterprises. From
1927 to 1865 grants aggregating 5,839. .2S3 acres
were made to ten canal projects, and the
Improvement of few rivers. From 1924 to
1895 the government has expended on river
and harbor work. not including subsidies
$246, ,06S, $50, and as you will remember, the
river and harbor billss passed since the last
date mentioned carried upwards of $12,000,-
600 cash appropriations and authorized con-
tracts aggregating moro ethan 100000 be-
sides.
These figures show theT solicitude that the
general government has salways felt toward
the construction of new waterways and the
Improvement Of thess which nature gave
to US.
We here at st. Paul are peculiarly situated.
We are at the head of navigation Of the
Mississippi river. The statement is fre-
Quently made that this fact is of no partic-
uIar advantage to us commercially. and cas-
ual consideration might appear to justify the
statement 1t is, however, far from the
truth. The great river is not the advantage
to us that 1t might be for the reason that
it leads away to the south, while all our
main lines Of communication lie to the east
and west. Nevertheless, it is true and those
Of you who have done business here for a
series of years will bear me out In the
statement that the fact the river Is here