New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-07-27
TOPICS IN CHICAGO.
TUNNELS CAUSE DECAY OF COMMERCE.
ANOTHER SETBACK FOR BRIBERS.

Chicago. July 25.-Colonel Ernst the United
States Government engineer in charge OF the
Chicago district, in his annual report to the
Secretary of War; warns the city that the de-
cay Of its lake traffic, which has been
going rapidly for ten years cannot be
checked while the river tunnels remain. The
figures that he presents in proof of the cty's
grievous injury are entirely convincing. and
have created considerable alarm in business cir
cles. The amount of freight entered and cleared
from Chicago by vessels in 1901 was 6.1S4. 241
tons, as against 7.95S963 tons in 1893. The
immense growth of lake traffic in the last dec
ade and the great business revival OF recent
years have not sufficed to the city from
an actual loss of % per cent of its former lake
traffic. The cause OF all this. according TO
Colonel Ernst, is the tunnels. He presents the
situation in few words, as follows:
These tunnels now have about seventeen feet
of water over them and limit safe navigation to
vessels of sixteen feet draught. No lake port
which cannot safely accommodate vessels draw
ing more than sixteen feet can hold Its own IN
these days of deep oraught vessels.
That Chicago was fast losing it's position as
great shipping point for lake trade has long
been known, but that the inroads upon this
trade had reached point that threatened TO
make the city practically an inland town was
not fully realized, and the average citizen has
been more concerned about the facilities Tor
getting safely away from the broken down
bridges than over the growth of the cty's COM
merce along the river.
It has been pointed out that. while the trustees
of the sanitary district are spending millions or
dollars on the river to II for its ignoble work
as a sewer the comparatively trivial task OF
lowering the tunnels Is postponed year after
year The responsibility for this costly delay
is now laid at the door of Mayor Harrison. who,
it is said. has purposey allowed the question to
remain unsettled in order that he might Keep
the traction issue, his main campaign material
before the people The Mayors sincerity In the
matter has been openly challenged. prominent
sanitary trustee avowing that If the Mayor
really meant to have the tunnels lowered he
could have brought 1t about several years ago.
The failure OF the city authorities to take a
busInesslike view of the situation is clearly
shown by the fact that statistics have been pre-
pared which indicate that the expense of low
ering the tunnels would be equalized every two
years by the freight charges on added commerce
through the Chicago River.
BY appearing before the grand jury and giving
TO 1t the names of two aldermen who. he says
under oath, told him that they were to receive
5000 each for obtaining the passage of the Allis
| Chalmers switch track ordinance Joseph Han
reddy. contractor has put in concrete form
! the charges which caused so much confusion
among members or the CITY Councli Wheh Hrst
made by him. The two aldermen whose names
are mentioned by Hanreddy deny with vigor that
/ they ever told him that they were to receive
| money for the passage of the ordinance, and one
of them, Alderman Leininger, has begun suit
! for SANDER against Hanreddy, fixing the damage
| TO his reputation at $4,000 The ordinance in
question passed the Council by a unanimous
vote occasion, but was vetoed by the
Mayor. Since that time it has been pressed for
ward on several occasions by the industrious
alderman of the Sixteenth Ward In spite of the
serious objections that have been urged against
| IT, together with more or less pointed hints at