The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-11-13
COOPER SPEAKS
TO BUSINESS men.
St. Louis Business Mems League
Listens to keokuk Engineers
Talk on Mississippi, River
Affairs
FOURTEEN Fl. CHANNEL.
Proposed Channel 70 Gulf Is lmpraeti.
cable Declares Mr.. Cooper In
His Address Last
Night.

This mornings issue OF the st.
Louis Globe Democrat says the fol-
lowing Of the address OF Hugh Il.
Cooper at the Business Mems League
meeting last night:
A new plan for the development OF
the Mississippi river, which would en-
able st. Louis to reap the benefits Of
IFS location, was outlined yesterday
at the MONDAY luncheon Of the Bust
ness Mems League at the Planters
Hotel, by Hugh L. Cooper. vice presi-
dent and chief engineer of the Missis-
sippi River Power Company, the en-
gineer who put the power dam across
tie Mississippi at Keokuk. The speak
er declared the loudly extolled 14-foot
channel from the lakes to the gulf
was an engineering impossibility and
asserted the money expended and the
enthusiasm developed at the deep wa
terways conventions was misdirected.
The new plan he suggested was the
appointment of strong commission
Of engineers and business men to
study the problem fundamentally.
He said:
Il think you gentlemen could do no
more effective work for the city Of st.
Louis than to join in petition to con.
gress to appropriate at the coming
session a large sum for a real engt-
.,oar;nc n,,d mn, ~, o.-n;o1 study nf
this whole question from the
gulf to ST. Paul. This. engineering
and commercial study would require
from Ave to six years of continuous
hard work by well-selected commits
sion, and would require the disburse-
ment of possibly $2,O00.O0O in the
studies and plans necessary for a
unified, practical navigation system.
This board should be paid literally
what their services are worth in priv
ate life; they should give their whole
time to the work and finally furnish
a report of the kind that would obtain
if private capital was to be employed
in building their recommendations
Suggests Board Personnel.
The commission should contain at
least two experienced financial men,
skilled in practical finances of water
transportation. or the engineers on
this commission majority should be
from the United States Army Corps.
The civil engineers should be appoint
ed by some appropriate committee of
the American Society of Civil Engi.
neers, and in this way men would be
procured who by right of experienced
brains are entitled to sit at the bedside
of this really sick Mississippi prob
lem.
Then, when we get report from
such a committee it would have our
full confidence and even though the
outlay We're many millions we would
have the courage to battle for the
success of plans that would bring OPP
portunities of great moral and bust
ness value to the entire citizenship
Of this valley. Anything short OF
such a radical measure as this will
fail of the best results.
Coopers subject was The Tnflu-
ence of the Keokuk Dam on the
Business Interests of ST. Louis He
declared the contracting of the Mo-
American Company for 10000 horse
power of the dams product, GO per
cent of this amount to be retailed by
the Union Electric Light and Power
Company of st. Louis and 40 percent
10 be used by the United Railways
Company Of st. Louis, was the real
influence which brought about the
building of the dam. He said that
mad he not been able to show finan-
clers an income, he could not have OBJ
tanned funds for the dam.
Cooper declared 10000 horsepower
was not of, great Importance compar.
ed to the entire power consumption
OF ST. Louis. He said that the smoke
abatement that would result from the
new power was not great
The 10000 horsepower will re
place 100000 tons of coal year." he
said: Your present coal consumption