Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-08-25

OF the craft has called for large harbor
expenditures from year to year Just at
the time when the tendency toward larg-
or sized lake craft began Chicago commits
ted the folly Of practising blockading ncr
river near its mouth against dccp drntight
vessels by building huge walls across IL
t" accommodate by tunnels the street cars
That run to the North side and to the
West Side. These tunnels have become l.
very serious barrier to the navigation uf
the stream. Large vessels cannot take -
run load at the elevators and get out to
the lake without scraping against the
tunnel roofs, and unless some remedy can
re round Chicago must cease to be IL first
class port. several plans have been Sug-
gcstcd like tho lowering Of the tunnels,
the removal Of lake business to Il new
harbor at South Chicago, and what finally
may be the solution of the difficulty the
conversion Of q part Of this drainage
canal into broad commercial channel
with wharf facilities on both sides This
would he one of the most expensive UNI
d"rtakings ever dreamed Of. and no city
except Chicago would think of it, But
TINS canal project may however. open the
way to solution Of tn" harbur problem.
with which 1t is intimately connected. The
canal is not being constructed now as IL
commercial highway throughout its length
although the cutting being made Is said
to constitute nearly two-tnitds of tho rn-
cago to the Mississippi which would be
naNigablc to the largest boats able to ply
between st. Louis and New Orleans. Chi-
cagoHnS believe this Is q beginning, and
that the commercial highway will follow,
either at the expense of the Federal gov-
crnment or the State OF Illinois. or pcr-
maps Chicago i'm conjunction with ono or
the other or with both
IN" pollution problem has proved oven
less serious than that Of harbor levels At
first, an Illinois Valley Protective Assoc
citation was formed, and some endeavoss
mad at Springfield to chcckmatc the
drainage canal But the Illinois Valley
people soon saw that whatever its diSld-
NantaHoS. the drainage canal would ho f
considerable value to them in furnishing
IN steady current of water in streams
winch mad been periodically dry The
| DeSplaiuos has been almost dry during
| the summer months 80 that no town along
| its banks had made il 4.
basis Of water supply. This. too.
| WIS dnpthcr piece Of Chicago's
good fortune. Then the oxygen Of tho air
VIII greatly improve the quality Of the
stream AFTER flowing thirty miles and be-
! iOre 1t reaches ST. Louis. 2SG miles AWAY
| the harmful effects will have vanished:
! ana then. as the entering wedge Of what
| may become great highway Of COM
mere" the people along the line are quite
ie'ohoIIed to some temporary inconveu-
| fences.
| me value of the canal when once in OBJ
GRAFTON to the water supply Of Chicago
cannot be overestimated. Tnat now COM, =
| IRON four cribs. as they are called located
about four miles out into the lake. but
| even at that distance, i'm times when the
ChlcaSo River overfiows. the pollution is
! quite serious The canal is a gravity
stream, and so the expense of maintc-
nance when once completed will be littla
more than ordinary repairs and an occa-
slonal dredging.