Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1910-02-12
IMPROVEMENT OF THE RIVER.

OttumWa mas reason 10 leel eie'eo
over the news from Washington mat
the board of reviewing engineers Oh
the war department has approved the
report of Major Richie on the Des
Moines river and that $4,000 has been
allotted for the immediate beginning
OF the survey OttumWa has been
working early and late on the river
Improvement project and shares Wlth
Des Moines the credit for securing
the favorable report. This paragraph
from a Washington dispatch in the
Des Moines Register and Leader this
morning refers to the part Ottumwa
has played
Not only is Des Moines greatly in
terested in the Improvement OF the
river, but so are Ottumwa and other
cities and towns along the river. Cap
tain Hull said today that he had as
many letters from Ottumwa rs from
Des Moines with regard to it.
Ottumwa has another reason to feel
elated in that the work contemplated
Includes not only the improving of the
stream for the purposes Of navigation.
but the Strengthening and deepening
of the channel in order to minimize
The present costly annual losses from
spring floods. The Courier, rejecting
the sentiment Of the people OF this
section Of the state, has called atten-
hon to the heavy loss occasiored by
failure to keep the waters of Iowa
streams within their banks. A. G. Mil
Ter. of Des Moines, who is given the
greatest measure of credit for his I'M
firing efforts in the Des Moines river
Improvement campaign, calls attention
to this phase Of the question. In
statement last night denying the re-
port that the Des Moines river prop
er is not to be used as a waterway,
but. that a canal running parallel with
the river is to be utilized, Mr. Miller
said:
There will be no canal. The Des
Moines river proper will be straight
ened and deepened. interspersed with
locks and dams and used for the trans
portation of all kinds of light and
heavy freight and for the furnishing
Of water power to factories along the
line"
Representative Hull believes that
The survey work, which will begin
within the next three or four weeks,
will cost about 100000. He says there
Is no longer dlly uOuDI lAttI lhO iifSi
will be improved, as the government
would not have authorized the survey
unless it was positive the showing
made justified the improving of the
stream The total cost Of the improve
ment Captain Hull believes will be be-
tween S40O0,000 and $6,000,000, but he
does not think the cost will be exces-
sive even at the latter figure in view
of the volume Of traffic that can be
carried by the water Of this river.
The improvement Of the river will
make it possible for the Des Moines
valley to be the greatest manufactur-
Ing center of the middle west. Improv-
ing the river with locks and dams
will generate power for factories along
the entire length Of the stream The
navigable river will insure cheap
transportation The suggestion has
been made in 2 communication from
the readers of one of the Des Moines
papers that the improvement of the
river will open q way for string Of
cotton goods factories from Keokuk
to Des Moines. With waterway open
up the Mississippi and up the Des
Moines he points out, raw cotton from
Memphis or New Orleans could be de-
livered to the mills all along the Des
Moines river at much cheaper
freight cost than it could be delivered
to the mills in Fall River.
The Improvement of the Des Moines
river should go far to supply Iowa's
greatest need-more factories,