The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1902-12-02
A GIGANTIC PLAN
Hot Fight Over Ohio River Improve
ment, in Congress,
A Plan for River Improvements That
will Mean the Expenditure
Of Millions.
STRONG OPPOSITION TO IT


the Louisville Times said yesterday {:
One Of the pretty fights Of the coming
session of the congress will be over
an appropriation for the survey Of
the Ohio river, looking to the adop-
tion Of broad and comprehensive
scheme for river and hsrbor improve
ments. Representative Bishop, Of the
committee, who has just returned from
an inspection Of the works along the
lower Mississippi, says that he thinks
il will cost too much to do what is
proposed. Representative Burton,
chairman of the committee, will say
but little about the matter, but he is
known to be unfavorable. This is
sufficient to show where the fight will
come. This great committee, which
creates legislative appropriations at
the rate of a million dollars week, is
made up Of men from the region Of
the great lakes and from harbor dis
tricts along the seaooast. This is but
natural, as these have been the most
interested in the appropriations.
The congressman from the interior
states have never taken kindly to this
big appropriation bill, although they
generally admit that the money is
wisely expended for the general good
of commerce. Representative Hep
burn for twenty years has made an an
nual speech. proclaiminR the injustice
of his farmer district being compelled
to pay for these water improvements.
This has grown to be a sort Of tire
less joke, but Mr.. Hepburn is none
the less in earnest.
Now the way is shown for the
granger Legislators to get even with
their maritime brethren. This survey
will lead to the adoption Of scheme
Of river improvements which will cost
millions and hundreds Of millions.
The sea and lake members on the COM
mittee will try to stop it, but in the
end they will be powerless. The
senators and representatives from West
Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, South.
ern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri,
Kentucky, Tennessee, and even Mis-
sissippi and Arkansas, will certainly
say to the rivers and hsrbors commit
tee that there must be a fairer division
When the Legislators from the north
west appreciate that the improvement
Of the Ohio in q practical manner
means the same thing for the upper
Mississippi, they will be with the hus-
tiers from the lower part Of the valley.
The proposal is Of direct importance
to the whole Mississippi valley. 1t
oontemplates saltwater navigation by
means Of q series Of locks and nova
BILE dams, and by the means of dams
and pools maintain navigabIe levels
the greater portion Of the year. There
is plenty Of water comes down the
OHIO to give navigable depth for all
seasons when the river is open. The
trouble is that a great deal of it comes
down in freshets or ordinarily high
water times and runs to waste. II will
be proposed to store great deal Of
this water in pools Perhaps later on
the government engineers would go
into the Allegheny mountains along
the upper prongs of the Youghionghe-
ny, Monongahela and Allegheny, where
there is no navigation, and. by the con-
struction Of great dams where the riv-
ers burst through mountain ridges,
form great lakes, which would act ss
storage pools. A little artificial work
would furnish millions of tons Of
stored water in many instances.
These pools would be empty in the
spring, the dams closed to take mp the
surplus of floods, and used as needed
in the Summer when the river levels
were naturally falling.