The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-25

L0lOi
Inesota. This reservoir would have q
storage capacity equal to all demands.
High Dam at Granite Falls.
"Ihc dam at Granite Falls would be
high enough to raise the level of the
surface of the great reservoir to a
point even with the highest point of
each of the two divides between
Granite Falls and Duluth Superior.
Across Minnesota, by way of st. Cloud,
to the upper st. Croix valley in north
western Wisconsin, and on to the har-
Dor at Superior, L would next dig
ship canal, twenty feet deep, which
would be amply fed by water from the
great reservoir, now flowing through
| this canal to the Northeast.
"From St. Cloud to the Twin Cities,
the Mississippi makes descent of 200
feet, and it is not now navigabie.
| Between st. Cloud and the cities
would canalize the river, by a system
of locks, dams and pools which would
afford ample bondage for a futher
development of water power to the
amount of probably 100000 horse pow
Ter. At the same time it would afford
a channel through which vessels from
Duluth, drawing twenty feet of water,
could pass to and from the main
canal
Ship Harb0r Between Twins
This twenty foot canalized stretch
of the Mississippi would terminate in
the gorge between st. Anthony Falls
and Fort Smelling. l would raise the
lower of the two dams there built, by
the government, not to a height of
thirty five feet nearly, but to height
of one hundred feet. The result of this
last proposal would be to create "a!
magnificent ship harbor between st.
Paul and Minneapolis, at which vessels
could load and unload, making of the
Midway a great commercial district.
At the same time, additional power !
would be developed to several times !
the volume of that now in use at Min |
neapolis. Not single mill owner
would lose, but all would gain by the |
change, since the water power would |
be more constant and available for a !
longer period annually. |
Barges From New York
Through this project, in its entirety, :
a very large portion of Minnesota
would be furnished with water trans
portation, as it were at its very doors.
Barges laden with goods from New
York city could be propelled through
the Erie canal to the lakes, across the |
lakes to Duluth and then through the
ship canal to the Twin Cities, or to
Granite Falls; across the great reser
voir to the mouth of the twelve foot !
canal and thence northward to Lake
of the Woods. They could carry back
cargoes of all sorts of Minnesota prod
ucts. Larger vessels, passing through
the twenty foot ship canal from Duluth |
could bring to the Twin Cities, or dis
tribute along the route to Granite
Falls, without trans shipment, all the
coal now brought hther by rail and
at cost of not more than one-half
the cost by rail. Again, with the
opening of the lakes to the gulf route,
cargoes could be shipped without break
ing bulk, all the way to and from
New Orleans. Reaching still further,
the imagination may picture vessels
from st. Paul and Minneapolis passing /
through the Welland canal, the st.
Lawrence, and on to all ports of Eu-
rope. But the faclitation of our home
traffic, over small areas, will probably
be the most profitable result, from the
carrying out of the scheme, from the
standpoint of transportation.
Affords a Drainage Scheme.
another feature of the plan is this:
1t affords complete, systematic scheme
of drainage for all those parts of Min
nesota now annually exposed to de-
structive floods, or barred in their agri-
cultural development by the presence
of swamps. 1t converts the drain
age waters of swamps into sources of
wealth
Growth of Manufacturing.
IN the development of waterpower,
for which there is an unlimited de-
mand, the scheme points to certain
large growth of manufacturing enter
prises all over the state; to the build
ing of trolley lines in sections where
they would not for long time be
built if dependent on coal for the pro-
ducing of current; to the cheap light
ing of cities and towns, and to max
ing farmers participate along with
city folks in the luxuries of electric
lights. In its large development, the
scheme looks to the canalization of the
Red river, from Lake Traverse to Mis-
sissippi; and to a connection with wa
ter routes in North Dakota and in
Canada. 1t looks to large particpa-
ton, by Canada in the benefits arising
from the drainage of the swamps about |
Winnipeg. And finally, it is destined
to be an important factor in the gen.
eral chcapening of transportation
through the development of natural
waterway system, and so in lessening |
the cost of living
One Egg Crop Would Pay the Bill.