The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-12-03
WATER POWER PHASE
Communities Interested Would be Elk
pected to Supply the Needed
Funds for the Great
Projects.
United press Special service.l

he Forthcoming report to congress by
The National Waterways commission,
Of which Senator Burton, Of Ohio, is
chairman.
, One of these waterways Is project
ed to extend from Toledo, Ohio, by /
way of Fort Wayne, Ind, to Michigan
City, on Lake Michigan The other is
designed to connect Lake Erie, from
a point in northeastern Ohio, with |
Ohio river navigation at Pittsburg.
Reports as to the character of
both routes recording the result OF
by members of the
army engineer corps have been placed
in the hands of the commission The
commission is composed of senators
and representatives, and number OF
them returned short time ago from
an inspection of the proposed route
from Toledo to the SOUTHERN end of
Lake Michigan.
In a report Lieut.. Col Finn says the
distance from Toledo to Michigan City,
via Fort Wayne would be about 215
miles. AS to the cost he sets forth
that the canal constructed from To-
ledo to Cincinnati in 1896 cost $780,
AGO per mile.
Assuming cost OF 100000 mile,
the report adds, and canal 215
miles long, with an enlarged cross
section, the total cost would be $43,-
100000, but any estimate based upon
present available data is little more
than a guess"
A dampener4 on the subject having
serious influence upon the cost of
construction, the dimensions of
canal for the transportation of mer
chandise on an advantageous basis
is comparison of canal and the
great lakes routes in transportation.
"The distance from Michigan City
to Toledo in straight line" says the
report, lis It's miles; from Chicago,
which is 81 miles from Michigan City,
to Toledo, via the lakes, is CAT miles.
If we assume that the average speed
of ship on the lakes is 10 miles per
hour and in ship canal miles per
hour, the time of passage from Chi
cago to Toledo, via the lakes, would
be 67 hours and via canal, assumed as
200 miles long, will be SO hours, or
gain by the canal of 13 hours. The
time of passage from Chicago to Buff
falo would be, at the same rate of
speed, SO and 70 hours, or a gain of
10 hours"
nt,,f ie oil ID 1,44 >11y
barges could be used on the canal
while the lake ships would carry
great cargoes The report says that
engineering considerations alone seem
to indicate that the proper route OF
canal from Toledo to Michigan City
should pass through Fort Wayne ana
South Bend, Ind.
A more optimistic view Of the canal
from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan is
presented in report made of the
enterprise by Frank B. Taylor, of
Fort Wayne.
"Ths would shorten the distance
from Chicago to the sea about 100
miles," says Taylor, "and would make
the long haul, all water route from
Chicago to the seaboard of substan-
TALLY the same length as the present
all rail route. No better solution of
the middle-west-to-seab transpor.
tation problem is attainable. Cars
would be better for some things and
boats for others: and equality of dis
tances would tend to make the adap-
ton of trade to them more perfect
and thus give the best possible SER
vice to the public. This canal is
really an Indispensable part of the
east and west main water route to
the sea and will surely be built soon
er or latter
Regarding water power TAYLOR
said:
Zone Of the most important bene-
Ats to be derived from a canal like
that proposed is the development OF
water power. In Illinois, where the
supply of water is practically unlimit-
ed and the canal of large capacity, it
is designed to develop great amount
of water power under the control of
the state and to devote the proceeds
to the cost of running and repairs,
and also to contribute much towords
paying the ORIGINAL cost OF construc-
ton. 1t Is estimated that the water
power there will be worth about
$4,000. 900 per year. The proposed
Michigan & Erie canal would afford
splendid facilities for developing
water power at many places particu-
larly at Huntington, Wabash. South
Bend, Elkhart, near Lake Michigan,
and at Maumee, and the revenues thus
derived should be applied TO the ex-
pense of running and repairing the
canal"
In report on the canal from Lake
Erie to PIttsburg. Lieut.. Colonel New.