The Western news., 1903-01-14

Illinois river to the mouth of the Mis-
svurl, 1000 feet.
The expenditures since 1874 have
failed to meet the requirements of the
people engaged in the navigation Of
the river and in commercial and in
dlstrial enterprises in the upper Mis-
sissippi valley. The only pact of the
river that has been thoroughly i'm
proved is a short piece extending from
st. Paul to Red Wing, MINI. Just
above Lake Pepin the river is now a
broad sheet of water and occupies the
entire valley from bluff to bluff. In
that part of the. river the improvement
works are almost continuous and the
results obtained have been very sue
cessful. While the river there is the
smallest in volume than any other
place in it's course, and the channel is
only 800 feet wide, there is contin-
uous good channel the year round-far
better, in fact, than is sometimes found
between Cairo and st. Louis, after the
| river has received the tributaries for
100 miles of its course, including the
Missouri, which is as large as the Mis-
sissippi itself So far the work done
has been very local in character, and
improvements have been made princi-
paily at places where experience has
shown they We're needed most These
improved places are often dsconnect-
ed by miles of unimproved river, and
at the unimproved places sandbars still
develop which give trouble at the low
water season.
Plea for Reservoir System.
The people near the headwaters, par
ticularly in st. Paul and Minneapolis,
are urging an enlargement of the res
ervoir system, but this plan does not
receive much consideration at the
hands Of engineers, who claim that the
natural reservoir is Lake Pepin and
that 1t is adequate.
The most radical element among the
river improvement promoters want an
ultimate development of the river to
twelve feet. This would necessitate,
according to the engineers, the build
ing of movable dams similar to those
on the Ohio River. The most optimis-
tic see with the eyes of faith a day
when the headwaters of the river will
be connected with Lake Superior thus
furnishing water outlet in prac-
tically straight line from the great
lakes to the isthmian canal, but this
idea has no place in the present plan
of development.
1t Is estimated that S15,OOOOOO will
give the required depth at all points
on the upper Mississippi and provide
for those plans which seem local In
their character, but are inseparably
connected with the general scheme of
Improvement of hydraulic dredges in
place of the dipper dredges and the
sand pumps which now masquerade as
hydraulic dredges, for even after the
proposed improvements were made |
dredging would be necessary. Espe-
cially would this be true after a storm.
when 1t might he necessary to remove
a sand bar promptly instead Of wait
ing for the river currents to do so.
Effect on River Commerce.,
Dwellers in the upper Mississippi
valley expect that a favorable solu-
ton of the Improvement problem re-
!ating> to navigation will have q pow
erful effect upon Mississippi commerce
and industry, for after all the main
problem involved is commercial-the
extension of trade and commerce on
the part Of the people of the upper
mississippi River not only among the
people on Its own banks and in the
country south. but with the peoplo Of
the world through its outlet to the pu,f
The men who have organized the
Upper Mississippi River Improvement
Association insist that the imDroye-
ment OF their section of the river is not
I local question: that it is not a mere
matter of building q dam or q dyke !
n removing sand bar. They assert
that the upper Mississippi valley is
me of the most important commercial
ma industrial sections of the Union:
hat the paternal care the government
sormerly-eXercised over the stream has
stimulated manufactures and has lpd
he people 10 rely upon the government
70 keep the river in such shape that II
IAN be fully utilized as highway of
middle west commerce. They pOnt TO
he marvellous Development of wafer
ways in France in recent years where
W eana.ization even the smallest
itrcams have been made available for
he transportation of the nations com.
nerce. They feel that they are entj-
led to share with other sections Of
he country in the benefits of pbe-
iomenal national commercial growth
therefore, they regard the proposed
Improvement of the upper Mississipni
Is national question-a question OF
promoting national commerce in tho
Aeart of the continent and eytendin,
md expanding Mississippi valley com
merce as part of the general plan of
national trade expansion.
Queer Qualification.