Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1903-01-23

System of Improvement
I'M improving some sections ~
upper river the work has been d.,
means of shore protection. G'|
dams and wing dams, construct
brush and stone, which are fon,
abundance on the banks Of tha n
By this method of improvemen
the side channels are closed nv Il
are termed closing dams, thus |,
! ming the low water flow to n
channel. One bank of this CHAM
usually protected from caving bv
revetment and the river contract
the construction Of wing dams II
the opposite shore. The width Of
traction varies from st. Paul NJ
mouth of the Missouri in accoM
with the low water discharge M
river at different places. At St /
the prescribed width Of the INN,
river is 400 feet; at the mouth NJ
st. Croix it widens to 600 feet; n
Lake Pepin it is 800 feet; below
mouth Of the Wisconsin river
feet; at Quincy, 1,200 feet; from /
Illinois river to the mouth of tho 1
souri,, 1000 feet.
The expenditures since 1874 4
failed to meet the Requirements d
people engaged in the navigatn
the river and in commercial ami
dustrial enterprises in the upper
sissippi valley. The only part Of,
river that has been thoroughly j
proved is a short piece extending
st. Paul to Red Wing, MINI. Z
above Lake Pepin the river is MA
broad sheet Of water and occupjs
entire valley from bluff to bluff
that part Of the river the improves
works are almost continuous and
results obtained have been very
cessful. While the river there ID
smallest in volume than any N
place in it's course and the cham
only 300 feet wide, there is a cod
uous good channel the year round
better, in fact, than is sometimes ID,
between Cairo and st. Louis, after
river has received the tributaris
700 miles Of it's course, including
Missouri, which is as large as the
sissippi itself. So far the work I.
has been very local in character {
improvements have been made pt,
pally at places where experience /
shown they We're needed most. I'd
improved places + often discom'
ed by miles Of unimproved river, I
at the unimproved places sandbaH
develop which give trouble at the |
water season.
Plea for Reservoir System. I
The people near the headwateS 4
ticularly in st. Paul and MinneapI
are urging an enlargement Of the I
Sfvoir system, but this plan does
receive much consideration at
hands Of engineers, who claim thstl
natural reservoir is Lake Pepil
that it is adequate.
The most radical element among
river improvement promoters waH'
ultimate development Of the riva|
twelve feet. This would necess1
according to the engineers, the b
ing of movable dams similar to U
on the Ohio River. The most Opt3
tic see with the eyes of faith al
when the headwaters Of the river 1
be connected with Lake Superior, |
furnishing a water outlet In q a
tically straight line from the q
lakes to the isthmian canal, but
idea has no place in the present
of development.
1t Is estimated that SIS, 100000
give the required depth at all pH
on the upper Mississippi and prof
for those plans which seem Local
their character, but are INSOFAR
connected with the general schem'
Improvement of hydraulic dredge
place of the dipper dredges and
sand pumps which now masqueradi
hydraulic dredges, for even after
proposed improvements were 0
dredging would be necessary. D
cially would this be true after a SD
when 1t might be necessary to reu
a sand bar promptly instead Of =
ing for the river currents to do 3
Effect on River Com merce.
Dwellers in the upper MissiS
valley expect that a favorable
ton Of the Improvement probleu
lating to navigation will have a !
erful effect upon Mississippi conn
and industry, for after all the
problem involved is commercial
extension of trade and commerc
The part of the people of the
Mississippi River not only amons
people OH its own hanks and ID