The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-10-27
From Fridays Daily.

L
representing the Mankato CONNER
cial club, attended the waterway i'm
provement meeting held in st. Paul
yesterday.
Whether or not the government
board of engineers for rivers and
harbors will report favorably to
congress on the proposition to build
a reservoir at Lac qui Parle at a
cost of $1,375,O0O to provide a navi-
gable channel on the Minnesota
river from the mouth to Morton,
Mimi, probably will depend on the
work of the cities affected in fur
nishing statistics within the next
two weeks to be used in studying
the problem.
The board which held a public
hearing at the Commercial club, St.
Paul, yesterday, gave the boosters
of the project to understand that
the government must know exactly
where it stands before it will under
take project involving such an
outlay. At the request of Congress-
man Fred c. Stevens, who was in.
strumental in securing the hearing,
the board allowed the men behind
the undertaking two weeks in which
to gather facts and figures.
Headed BY Colonel Rossell.
The board, which was headed by
Colonel William T. Rossell, includ-
ed Colonel S. w. Ressler, Lieutenant
Colonel w. F. Langfitt, Major Her
bert Deakyne and Major w. J. Barden,
all of the United States army engi-
neering corps, and A. H. Weber, as
sistant engineer and secretary of
the board.
Close to two hundred citizens of
towns along the Minnesota and Mis-
sissippi rivers attended the hearing,
and made recommendations Among
the speakers were Congressman Stew
ems, Volstead and Stevenson, Lieu
tenant Colonel Skunk, State Senator
Charles Johnson, A. B. Kaercher, Or
tonville, George A. Ralph, engineer
of the state drainage commission;
DIR. L. A. Fritche, New Ulm; J. e.
Townsend, Belle PLANE; Colonel J.
H. Davidson, ST. Paul; S. L. Meyer,
Montevideo, and E. w. Ewing, Lac
qui Parle.
Lieutenant Colonel Skunk, district
engineer, made a survey of the prof.
ect and recommended it to the board
some time ago. On account of the
cost of the project, especially $780,
600 necessary for flowage rights,
compensation for existing improve
ments and raising of railroad tracks,
the board refused to concur in the
report, and decided to make a per-
sonal investigation.
The members believe that the i'm
provement of the river between
Chaska and the mouth, providing a
channel five or six feet deep, would
show whether or not the expected
commercial possibilities would de-
velop and would indicate the effort
of a four-foot channel to Morton.
River Development League Repre-
scented.
Members of the Minnesota River
Development league, for whom A. B.
kaercher spoke, produced resolutions
at the hearing to the effect that if
the government makes the improve
ments the organization will see to
it that wharves, docks and traffic
handling facilities are provided with
out expense to the government, and
that a large amount of capital will
be expended in various commercial
undertakings as soon as assurance
is given that the reservoir will be
built.
George A. Ralph, state drainage
engineer, pointed out to the board
that the reservoir would be a great
step toward preventing floods. He
regarded this as more important
than the water power and navigation
features. 1t was also shown that
hundreds of acres of land, now
worthless, could be reclaimed, as the
reservoir and the resulting deepen
ing of the channel would serve as
an immense drainage ditch to the
valley.
Members of the board refused to