The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-04-05
Thousands of Horse-Pow Is
Now Going TO Waste.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DUTY
Millions Are Spent On Streams South
Pennies Put in Those Would Bene-
iii Farmers HereabOuts.
From Wednesdays Daily.

One OF the interesting and mstruc-
tive addresses of last evenings ses-
sion of the Southern Minnesota De-
velopment association was that of
A. b. Kaercher of Ortonville, presi-
dent of the Minnesota River Improve
ment company, on The Possibilities
of the Minnesota River" a subject in
which MankatO people are especially
interested. Mr.. Kaercher said:
The magnitude of the proposed
Improvement of the Minnesota river
and the great benefit that such inn
provement will be, not only to the
people of the Minnesota river valley
but to the entire state, is perhaps
not fully appreciated by many. II
is seldom that an Improvement of
any kind will accomplish a three
fold purpose as in this case. The
object of the improvement primar-
lily is to make the Minnesota river
navigable. Second, to redeem wet
and overlooked lands. Third, in
cidentally the development of water
powers, and thereby aside from all
other benefits creating a perpetual
revenue that will not only pay in
terest on the investment but pay for
maintenance and construction. To
make the river navigable it will be
necessary to construct reservoirs to
hold back the flood waters-which
is equivalent to storing coal or
electricity-and allow such waters
TO run off uniformity during the en-
tire season; to dredge the stream
from one reservoir to another there
by preventing over flow of and
draining adjacent land. In doing
this you bring back the fall in the
river to the reservoir dam and in
so doing necessarily make a water
power. In other words, you are
killing three birds with one stone,
making the stream navigable. drain
ing the wet and overlooked lands
and making water powers.
Benefits to Be Derived.
at seems useless for me to dwell
upon the benefits to the cities and
villages along the Minnesota river,
country tributary that will naturally
be derived from making the Min
nesota river navigable from st. Paul
to Morton and eventually to Big
Stone and Traverse lakes, especially
i'm view OF the fact that under our
present freight rates the railroad
companies discriminate against the
smaller cities and villages, making
il almost impossible to maintain in
such manufacturing establishments,
whereas with water navigation this
would be entirely overcome and
would necessarily build up manu-
featuring Industries along the river
towns and develope to the fullest
extent possible the stone quarries,
brick, tile and fire clay beds so
numerous along the Minnesota river,
all of which would be further stimu-
lated by the development of the
water mowers i'm furnishing cheap
power. Imagine the largest Missis-
sippi river steamboats, making daily
trims from ST. Paul to Morton and
eventually to Traverse Lake with
ample depth OF water during the
entire navigation season. Is it not
difficult to compute in dollars and
cents the benefit that this would
bring to the country adjacent to the
Minnesota river valley? You may
saw that navigation in this day and
age by water is too slow, and that
the railroads would cut their rates
SO low that navigation by river
would be Improbable. To the first
objection let me suggest that the diff
ference in a water and rail rate
would more than make up for the
additional time required, especially
in the shipment of products of the
kind that are produced along the
Minnesota river, and, to the second,
I will simply say that if the rail-
road companies would so cut their
rates. then we shall have accom-
plished the object sought by water
navigation, namely-cheap freight
rates.
Bio Loss BY Overflow.
The Minnesota River Improvement
league, in 1909, after a careful in
yesitgation in the counties below
Renville alone, found that there
were $4,000 acres along the Mime
sofa river subject to overflow, $4,000
of which was overfiowed in 1906,
10000 acres in 1907, $4,000 in 1908,
and it was found that the average
annual loss for those years was
$4,000 each year, or for the period
of but three years $1,90O,0O0 saying
nothing about the damages caused
by overflow from Renville county to