Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-02-12

Dallas News: Mr.. A. Baker, one of
the oldest farmers in Dallas county,
who used to run a canal boat, said
yesterday:
I'm these days of sharp competi ,iDn
the producer in the United States must
have cheap transportation to realize
reasonable profit on the products of his
labor. OF course the people will never
get anything of this kind as long as
the most of the political leaders are the
subsidized agents of private corpora
tions controlling transportation.
Gibbs or no other earnest advocate or
political reform in transportation meth
DDS and rates ever received much IA
vor from the masses to be benefited.
Even before the political rule of pow
erful railroad corporations Dewitt
Clinton was politically crucified and
ridiculed for originating and advocat-
ing the Erie canal idea. An inter-
state canal reaching from Galveston to
Canada is not only feasible, but would
in the matter of cheap transportation
put the west on transportation equal
Ny with territory tributary to the Mis-
souri, river-it would fix water rate
basis of freight. This interstate canal
could commence at Galveston, thence
up the Trinity river to Red river,
thence up north fork of Red river
and through Indian Territory, Kansas,
Nebraska and Dakota and through Da-
kota to the Canadian line. This would
be very easily made an interstate canal
BY following the route on the map 1t
will be seen that the principal rivers
nearly all run in southeasterly direc-
ton and nearly all have their heads in
the Rocky mountains and an abundant
supply of water. Those not used as
part OF the canal could be made to
help furnish the water supply. 1t Is
we'll known to every man who has
studied the canal question that a canal
can be made of any hill or mountain
where supply of water can be had on
top the hill or mountain. l know OF
one place in the Ohio canal at Akron
where the canal grade is 315 feet in
two miles. From Akron to Cleveland
there are forty-nine locks and fall
of over 600 feet in thirty-eight miles.
1t crosses at Akron the great CONT
mental divide. Water at Akron runs
north and not two miles south of Ak
ron it runs south. This international
canal would start high up the never
failing Missouri river and add to the
water supply of every river 1t would
cross. BY building dam across Red
river in Montague or Clay county the
water could be forced over the divide
so as to come down the Trinity river.
This canal could be made 200 feet wide
and eight feet deep, and boats of 1000
tons capacity could be brought through
the locks. This canal could also be
used for irrigation purposes and to fill
up artificial lakes en- route when the
melting SHOWS or great rainfall gave
surplus of water. In building this
canal it is very doubtful if there would
be at any place on the line as much
engineering skill needed as was neces-
sary in the building of bridge across
the Mississippi. By following the
course of certain rivers, such as the
Trinity and Red river, there would not
be needed so much excavation as might
seem probable at the first blush. The
system of locks and dams is now per-
fectly understood by all skilled engi-
neers and there would be no trouble
about rock or water supply. Along
this canal would spring up manufac-
turing cities equal to those in the east,
with cheap transportation to the COM
merce Of the world on the sea, where
the real clearing house of the worlds
commerce is located. This canal at
each lock would furnish electric pow
err for manufacturing. Enough electric
power could be generated to furnish
motor power for the canal boats.
"2. Left off boating on the Ohio canal
the year before Garfield began and
know something about the practicable
ity of canalizing rivers, especially with
the improved methods. Would not
this concentration of water and its
reservation have tendency to in
crease the rainfall in the west? Its
building would employ our surplus la
Dor. 1t would put the west in the mat
ter of transportation on an equality
with the east and make our farmers
prosperous. 1t would cost the govern
ment less than a war with Spain to de-
termine whether the Spaniards or
Cuban negroes should rule Cuba. 1t
would cost less than to buy the rail-
roads.
1T would save the people from being
the serfs of railroad corporations,
whose bonds are held in Europe. 1t
would do more for us than free silver.
"Why can't the News and Gibbs and
others get up an interstate canal con-
vention just as they did the deep water
convention which resulted in the Gal
weston harbor improvement? Why not
the people favorable to a general sys-
tenn of irrigation take it up? Why
not the press of the west force poll
ticians to study this question? When
Gibbs and a few others called a deep
water convention at Fort Worth some