Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-26
FROM LAKE TO GULF
Chicago Wants a Ship Canal to the
Mississippi
OF GREAT COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE
Large Part Of the Work Has Al
ready Been Done.
ENTIRELY PRACTICAL L E

Chicago has recently built and opened the
largest sewer In the world. On the face of
1t. this would not seem to be important to
anyone except the people of Chicago. AS
matter Of fact 1t is an event which is likely
to prove important to every person in the
United States. For the sewer is a ship
canal SIS well. In all human probability
Congress will make it the first link in
great waterway for ships drawing fourteen
feet OF water. connecting the great lakes
and the Gulf OF Mexico. This would give
two great advantages TO the whole nation.
1t would permit the passage Of gunboats into
the great lakes from the gulf and the Mis-
sissippi. and 1t would give cheap trans
portation north and south. for all kinds OF
produce and manufactures.
As Great Britain controls the water ap
preach to the great lakes at the other end,
q naval passage way. through our own ter
ritory, even though il were available only
for shallow draught craft, would be of
strategic value 1t is on the commercial
side, however, that the combination ship
canal and sewer liz likely to prove one of the
greatest achievements ever undertaken. For
at the cost of few millions dollars in
deepening and widening natural water
ways connection may be made with the
Mississippi river below the limit point of
navigation and there may sweep up and
down the vast and fertile valley of the
mighty river such a tide of prosperity as
that region has hardly dreamed Of.
The Connecting Link.
This connection will be made through the
dredging OF the natural channel afforded
by the Des PLANES and Illinois rivers. These
streams would have to be deepened through
almost their entire length and widened in
many parts, but the work presents con-
siderable engineering difficulties. and engi-
s25ooOOOO: about SIp,U00.o0O less than the
canal has thus far cost the city OF Chicago.
The TRANSPORTATION facilities thus attained
would be Of inestmable value to the middle
west.
The distance from the lake at Chicago 70
st. Louis. is only little more than $40
miles. Thlrty-four miles of this have al
ready been covered by the drainage canal
and the distance viii be further reduced by
a few miles when the canal is extended to
Joliet. Fifteen miles more may be cut off
because the Illinois river joins the Missis-
eippi al Grafton. about that distance above
st. Louis. So there remains for the federal
government TO provide only about 800 miles
OF naVigable water. in order to make a
waterway avalabls for the passage OF
ships from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of
Mexico. The intention is to have the mini
mum depth of the completed waterway
fourteen feet. This. while insufficient for
the passage Of d large sea-gOing ship, will
prove available for a type of vessel which
Will be equal in capacity to the greatest
ocean liners. while far less in draught.
River Type Of whnIe-Back.
The whale-back is a cgar-shaped steel
shell. slightly fattened al top and bottom
and turned up at the pointed end or bow.
1t is now in very general use for lake trans
poriation. and has demonstrated its value
as an ocean-going craft. Men well posted
on the matter of whale-back construction
say that with q guaranteed depth of four
feet M oil
or this type, Slightly modified may be con-
structed whose freight carrying power will
compare favorably with that of ocean
steamships. This Is, Of course. due to some
extent To the fact that for the river and
canal traffic II will not be necessary TO
sacrifice any freight capacity to precau-
tons against heavy weather Plans have
already been crudely prepared for a vessel
or this character which II is confidently be-
Eeved will carry greater weight per inch of
draught than any ship so far constructed.
II TINS is successful, a fleet of river whale
backs VIII be projected as soon as the new
waterway is definitely contracted for Ii is
not impossible that the ship canal which
has been proposed from OSwego to the
Hudson river. through the Mohawk valley
In New York state, may eventually be
built. II the canal from Chicago to the
gulf becomes reality, there will be anoth-
er pretty fight between our two greatest
cities. Chicago would gain a great advan-
tage over New York by the gulf and lakes
waterway. which could only be offset by
the construction of the OsWego ship canal
Another interesting point is brought out by
the advocates OF the Mississippi valley wa
terWay. They assert that its advantages
are greatly increased by the probability of
the construction of the Nicaragua canal
Thus. they argue. Chicago and the whole
lake region would not only be placed In
clrect Water-communication through Ameri-
can waterways with Europe, but the whole
region would be able to transport its goods
70 the orient and Import cargoes therefrom
by q direct all-water route.
Buflding the Great Sewer
Chicagos great sewer is known officially
as the Chicago drainage and ship canal. II
was originally devised because OF the neces-
sity i0r hndlns some way OF dispos!ns or
the sewage Of Chicago. other than by lei
ting II flow into Lake Michigan. for from
Lake Michigan the city must draw its water
supply. The sewage undoubtedly polluted
It The Chicago river. which IS practically
an open sewer constantly stirred up nv
ousy navigation, was also a menace to the
city, health. The only way out OF the dir
fculty was TO drain into the Des PLANES
river. This meant a canal about thirty-dye
miles long and very costly. because a good
part OF the distance would have to be cur
through solid rock The burden on the civ
would naturally be a heavy one But the
men who had charge of the preparation or
the preliminary work were far-sghted men,
and they saw that while Chicago needed A
drainage canal. not only Chicago. but the
whole nation. needed a waterway from the
great lakes to the gulf so instead of build
Ing a mere open drain they built on large
scale and made ship canal OF their purify
Ing sewer.
Early in this session the city OF Chicago
presented to Congress the plan for making
this magnificent canal useful to the nation
In connection with the Chicago river-wh!ch
has been materially widened and improved
several curves have been done away with
and new bridges built. admitting the pas
sage OF larger vessels than was formerly
possible) there is now an available chan
mel. up TO January l enough for navigation
by vessels OF twenty-feet draught from
Lake Michigan TO Lockport. a distance OF
more than thirty-four miles. The govern
ment has not paid penny of the enormous
cost which has been necessary for the con-