The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-01-06
THE FILTH TURNED LOOSE.
Chicago's Sewage Started. on It's
Journey of Pollution Towards
the Mississippi.
OPENING OF THE BIG DRAINAGE CANAL.

less than q Dozen Persons Outside
Of Engineers and Omcials Wit
messed the Cutting Away Of the
Last Barrlcr-Thc Water II Being
Let In Gradually.
Chicago, JAM. 3.--The S33, 1000, 1000
canal. at present USED for sewage dis
posal. but ultimately to be a ship
canal also, is in use to-day, after seven
| years of hard work by the trustees of
the Sanitary District, which is the
name of a corporation including the
larger part of the city of Chicago and
many of its suburbs. At least the
Chicago end of it is in use, but the
water has not yet reached the other
end ut Lockport, ILL.,, ana will not
reach it fer several days.
Absolute Lnck of Ceremony.
Probably never before has tie COM
pletion of a public work of such mag
nitude been marked with such absolute
Lick of ceremony. There were no
speeches, no exercises and no cheering.
About s a. m. the Sanitary Distric.
trustees and engineer gathered at the
Gene. Besides 4 few workmen there
! were not a dozen spectators present.
There was no grand rush of water, 10
be followed by the cheers of specta-
tors. Indeed, the opening of the canal
resembled more the tiny stream of wa
ter thai flowed over the Holland dyke
! and grew larger and larger until it.
swept a great hole in the wall of earth.
That is the way the great canal was
opened. This method was used to
avoid tie danger of a sudden rush of
waters. but it robbed the opening of
Ill impressiveness.
The Collateral Channel.
What is called the collateral channel
had been completed for some time
from a branch of the Chicago river in
the southwestern part of the city, to
within Is feet of the channel. Mon
day night Il big steam dredge began TO
cut away this wall of earth, but the
work had not been finished when the
Sanitary District trustees arrived OF
the scene yesterday morning. Shortly
before 9 a. III. a small stream OF water
was flowing through the hole in the
Ia-foot wall. 1t backed up against q
sluice gate, and at nine o'clock the
gate was opened. Then a small stream
of dirty water flowed half way &c the
canal and stopped. BY this time the
iredge had cut away some more earth
and mere water caIic ever the dam.
This, with what had gone before, trick
LED out on the ~ice-covered bed Of the
main channel, and the greet canal had
been opened.
Dynamite Failed.
The men at work on the earth lam
tried 4 charge of dynamite to remove
an ice jam that was interfering with
the flow of water, but the opening was
not enlarged.
Water Began to Flow.
At last the dredge worked itself up
close to the dam of earth. and with
a few sweeps Of its arm cut a big hole
i'll the dam. Quite a strean. of water
came through, but the dredge %contin-
ued for hours to cut away the 15-foot
wall of earth. Finally the cut III the
dam was discharging 10000 cubic feet
of water a minute and the flow was
down The channel. The dredge
continued at work all day so as to
make the discharge 10000 cubic feet or
more a minute.
n Flow Restricted
The canal has been built to carry
900, 900 cubic feet a minute, hut only
$4,000 cubic feet Il minute will be adj
until the channel is full If the
Chicago river had been turned into
the empty canal at the rate of 100000
feet a minute the engineers would have.
piers in the canal channel and
the controlling works at Lockport
und the city of Joliet, 40 miles away.
There would have been also great Ian
ger in the Chicago river from a sud-
den fall Of water and Il consequent in
from Lake Michigan. These
nre the reasons the water is being i'd
gradually.
Lak Michigan and the Gulf.
About mon to-day the water is ex-
TO reach LOckport, and about
four days from the time the flow be-
gan, according to the estimate of the
engineer, the canal will be full
Md the water will begin TO II over
The stills of the controlling gates at
Lockpcrt, % miles from Chicago. There
It will fall into the Desplaines river
then into the Illinois and Missis-
'ippi rivers. and so finally Lake Mich
gan will shake hands with the Gulf of
h Enec IN Chicago River.
Chicago people are already eagerly
watching the effect on the Chicago riv-
-r of the opening of the canal. This
which is so Objectionable in it's
condition, is expected to be
comparatively pure and certainly to
ose all its features objectionable from
! sanitary point of view when the
~stCgnation gives wa to a full,
'trong current from Lake Michigan.