Omaha daily bee., 1900-01-18
FIGHT OVER CHICAGO CANAL
State Of Missour Seeks to ERon Illino
and Chicago,
DRAINAGE CANAL TRUSTEES LIFT GATES
Governor Tanner signs Formal Per-
mit-Onicinls Lose No Time to
start water on Its Way
to the Gulf.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1.-THE state Of
Missouri, by its attorney general, E. b.
Grow, made application in the supreme
court today and asked leave to file a bill
praying for an injunction against the state
OF Illinois and the city of Chicago to re-
strain them from operating the recently
opened drainage canal! The court took the
motion, but did not indicate when action
would be taken.
The principal ground Of objection raised
by tho bill of complaint filed by Mr. Grow
S that the sewage from the canal will polIutc
tho water of the Mississippi river 1t Is
set forth that there are several cities and
towns on the Mississippi river below the
mouth of the Illinois river which derive
their water for cooking and other purposes
from the Mississippi and that these waters
ARE indispensable to life and health and
business OF many thousands of the lnhab-
itants of the state" 1t Is contendcd that
Lake Michigan is the natural receptacle of
the drainage OF Chicago, and that unless
diverted it would find its way into the lake
instead of the Mississippi river
Mr.. Grow also represents that not only
will the current filth of 800 900 people be
turned into the Mississippi through the
canal but also that which has accumulated
on the banks of the Chicago river for years
past amounting daily to about 1900 tons of
poisonous and nON!ous matters" II this
be permitted he says, the waters of the
Mississippi will Cf a certainty be poisoned
and polluted and rendered wholly unfit and
unhealthful for drinking and domestic uses"
also that 1t Will render useless the various
waterworks plants on the Mississippi below
the entrance Of the Illinois. On this ac-
count II is urged that the health ana lives
of the people will be endangered and their
business interests irre9arably injured. He
asks for both temporary and permanent
Injunction.
Opening OF the Canal.
LOCkPORT, Ill, Jan. 17.-Thc beartrap
dam separating the drainage canal from the
Dcsplaines river was lowered by the, sanl-
tary district trustees, with the consent OF
the canal commissioners and Governor Tan
ner, at ll:1B o'clock today and 200 900 cubic
feet of water per minute rushed with a
roar into the Desplaines river On it's way
to the Gulf of Mexico.
The opening of the drainage canal today
was the elimination of an all-night Will
by the Board of Trustees and canal COM
missioners at Joliet. which resulted in the
securing of the necessary permission from
Governor Tanner. A special train carried
cago to Joliet at O'Clock this morning
After frutless efforts to reach Governor
Tanner at Springfield by telegraph, COM
muncation was secured by telephone and
conference was held with the governor
At 1890 o'clock this morning he telephonel
permission to lower the dam at Lockport.
The trustees and commissioners crowded to-
gether on the top of the south abutment and
about 200 spectators gained other points of
vantage. Colonel Isaac l.. Taylor, president
of the canal commissioners, said:
This is the completion of one of the
greatest engineering feats of modern times.
We have found, after a careful investigation
by one OF the best engineers of the coun-
try, that the sanitary commission has COM
piled fully with the law of 1889 and Gov
ernor Tanner has granted permission to
open this canal. | take this occasion to
state that this is but the commencement
of a greater work which will connect the
shipping of the great lakes of the north with
the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mex
leo.
Under permission granted by Governor
Tanner of the state of Illinois | hereby
authorize you to lower the dam