Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-12-24

sentiment III tNe upper MISSISSIPPI var
ley in favor of demanding permanent,
Improvement Of the upper river ade-
quate for the needs of commerce and
Industry in that region in particular
and for the benefit of the country In
general. This sentiment found form
and expression in large and repre-
sentative convention held at Quincy,
in which twenty-four river towns We're
represented by men prominent in the
commercial and industrial life of their
communities.
Fifteen millions of dollars is the sum
they ask Congress to appropriate. and
to secure this they have organized the
first Upper Mississippi River Improve
ment Association ever formed. These
men represent an enormous constit-
uency in tile upper Mississippi valley
and they will base their claims upon
the broad ground that the contempla-
ted improvements in the upper river
make for the general improvement of
the entire stream from its leadwaters
| to the gulf.
1t must not be taken for granted that
the government has wholly neglected
the upper division of the Mississippi
On the contrary, it has recently APP
proved Of u project for improving that
division. but has failed to provide Il
sum which the people of the valley
consider sufficient. The present avail
able appropriation for the upper diyis-
ion is 100000 year, while on the
lower division the appropriations are
about 100000 year, or ten times
greater. A large part of the latter
amount, however, Is used for the con-
struction of levees made necessary by
floods.
| Project Now in Hand.
The upper river Improvement prof
ect, which has been approved by Con
gress calls for a channel of four and
one-half feet in depth, to be increased
to six feet. This is on the basis OF
the extreme low water of 1854, which
does not occur at periods of more thar
once in ten years. 1t practically means
a low-water channel of six feet n
ordinary low water, to be increased t.
eight feet.
In carrying out this project tile De:
Mcines rapids at Keokuk have beer
overcome by a canal with three lock.
S0x350 feet. The depth of the cana
was placed at five feet below eXtrem,
low water. The Des Moines rapid
are Immediately above the city of Keo
kuk, Iowa, between the States of Hi
nois and Iowa, with the State OF Mis-
souri, few miles TO the southwest an,
beyond the Des Moines River. TIL
canal extends along this west or low;
shore between Nashville and Keokuk
1t was opened to navigation In 1897
1t is seven and one-half miles long an,
surmounts a fall of twenty feet, whicl
Is the slope of the river from the hea,
Of the canal to the foot. AT high waite
boats go down outside of the canal
but when the river reeedes to a stag
Of three feet above low water all boat
] pass through the canal.
In the opinion of the government Ell
gineers this canal has been the mean
of preserving navigation on the uppe
, Mississippi for the past twenty years
During that time there has been
/ gradual chcapening of freight rate
and the decline in that particular j
connection with the heavy charges nee
essary to transfer freight over the raj
ids by rail or by flatboat when til
water was low would have been
greater tax than the traffic would ben
and as result river navigation woul
have fallen into disuse.
keokuk Canal J. clss.
The locks of the Keoluk canal al
massive structures of solid stone an
the gates are operated by hydraul
pressure from the central point of til
locks. Two men operate the locks an
1t is an impressive sight to see toy
ering steamboat enter the lock, IL
gate close, the water subside. the opp
site gate open and the boat pass on
all under the control of two puny HI
man instruments.
The Keokuk canal offers the difficu
ty Of long and shallow channel Il
terrupted by three locks. Twenty mil
utes' time is consumed at each lock l
the passage of a large boat, while IL
compensating advantage Is absolu
safety and certainty.
A movement is afoot which Is a pa
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