Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-01-18

~'sSSSSNSANNE% ~
GOV. CHARLES S. pENEEN.
The report so submitted was a COM
prehensive showing of the present
condition and future possibilities OF
development of Illinois waterways.
Lakes to Gulf Waterway.
'The subject to which the report
chiefly devotes attention is the practi-
cability of establishing water COM
munication between the Great Lakes
and the Gulf of Mexico. This it dem
onstrates to be entirely feasible. It
gives an outline of the work necessary
to construct waterway of depth and
est commercial uses.
'The federal rivers and harbors act
of June 10, 1902, appropriated the sum
of 100000 for making such surveys,
examinations and investigation as
may be required to determine the
feasibility of and prepare and report
plans and estimates of cost of nav
tgable waterway fourteen feet in
depth from Lockport, Illinois,
TO St. Louis, Mo-
"The survey thus provided for, so
far as it related to the Mississippi riv-
or, was conducted by the Mississippi
river commission, whilst that from
Lockport to the mouth of the Illinois
river was conducted by three United
States army engineers.
mo argument is needed to demon
~ 70 he aI -
q waterway between the Great Lakes
and the Mississippi. 1t was recognized
in the act creating the sanitary dis
trict OF Chicago, which provided that
the Chicago drainage channel should
also be ship canal and should be
subject to the control of the federal
government for purposes of navtga-
ton whenever the general GOVERN
ment shall improve the Desplaines al j
Illinois rivers for navigation and has
been alluded to in numerous enact
ments, federal and state, and in his
torical documents from the period Of
discovery onward.
OF Interest to Illinois.
"The feature of main interest to
Improvement commission is the dis
cussion of the possibilities of water
power development in the proposed
extension of the waterway between
Lockport and Utica. This power is es-
timated by the commission at approx
imately 1900 gross electrical horse
power. For the sake of conservatism,
however. this was estimated, III it's
calculations showing the relation of
revenue derivable from water power
to the cost of waterway construction,
lat 100000 electrical horse power At
the market price of $500 per horse
power per annum, this would provide
q net annual income to the state OF
from S2,500,000 to $2,750000 As the
total estimated cost of construction Of
this division of the waterway and the
development of all water power posi-
bilities incident thereto is S1S,652, 1856,
1it Is estimated by the internal i'm
provement commission that this reve-
nue. will repay the cost of waterway
construction and water power devel-
opment In from fourteen to seventeen
years ITOm the 1ncepuOn OF the WOrk.
Revenue In Third Year.
THE work itself can be completed in
from four to five years and it is be-
lieved a revenue from water power
will be afforded at the end of the third
year. When. therefore, the report of
the internal improvement commission
made evident the fact that the water
power could be made to dig the water
way, the Forty-Fifth general assem-
bly, submitted to the voters the con-
stitutional amendment providing for
the issuance of $4,000, 900 in bonds,
which was adopted at the last general
election. The vote on the amendment
was 675,S98 for and 1926 against
majority of 4s2,6 02, the largest ever
recorded in favor of any proposition
submitted to the voters of this state
shortly after the submission of the
amendment, however. 1t was found
that private corporation. the Econ
omy light and DOVER COMPANY. has