The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-19
WATER TRANSPORTATION.

The prospective opening of the Pan
ANA canal has given impetus to num-
ber of projects for water transporta'
tion in the Mississippi Valley. First
of all. there is the improvement of the
river itself in contemplation, to give
good navigable stage of water in the
river as far up as the Illinois, dur
ing the whole navigable season. A nine
foot channel could easily be provided
partly by dredging aud partly by con
fining the channel itself for the whole
distance from the mouth of the Illinois
to the mouth of the Mississippi, The
project OF better navigation in the
Ohio river is also made prominent, and
in this connection as we'll as in aid of
the Mississippi, the idea of impounding
flood waters at the head of the Missis'
sippi, Of the Ohio, and Of the Missouri
is coming more and more into favor
Such impounding would diminish, if not
altogether prevent, the destruction Of
property by floods in the flood season,
and the waters so held back would be
welcome reinforcement to the streams
later on in the season in aid of naviga-
| tion.
There is also the great project OF
dredging the Illinois river and connect
ing the Chicago drainage canal with
the Improvement of that river in such
way as to make good navigation from
the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. In
this the State of Illinois has voted to
help, but the legislature has been neg.
lectful of passing the necessary enact
ments. The old project Of ship canal
from Lake Michigan to Lake Erie
across the southern portion of the State
of Michigan, is also revived Another
project of ship canal from Lake Erie
to the Upper Ohio river at Pittsburgh
is also on the tapis, with prospect of
ample financial backing. The great en-
largement of the Erie canal by the
State OF New York at cost of over
500, 0,O00,0 600 is In progress, and that will
be pattern for many other waterways,
partly natural and partly artificial.
The transportation needs Of the coun-
try are so very great that additional re-
| lief is absolutely forced, and these va
nous water projects Will In themselves
be their own sufficient warrant, and
they will provide on the most extensive
scale for the needs of the people.
The Missouri river used to be naviga-
BILE up to Fort Benton in Montana, in
the season of high water. For many
wears il has not been navigable
stream to any great extent. but it
could be made so, and doubtless in
time it will again be q navigable
| stream from Fort Benton to the dis
charge of the river into the Mississippi.
1t will be an enormous work to make
the Missouri navigable stream, but
the needs of the country will eventually
compel it. The Upper Mississippi and
number of it's large tributaries must
also come under the general scheme of
better development for water transpor-
tation. The fact of it is, that the mag
nifcent railway development of the
country in the past fifty years has OBJ
scured the desirability of water navi-
| CATION, but that desirability is just now
| becoming better recognized. and when
| the amplitude of possibility in this di-
rection is realized, the United States
will be seen to have natural facility
of water transportation greater than
that of any other country upon earth,
and this susceptible of Improvement be-
youd all present Imagination.