The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-09-29


/ JUDGE WILLIAM LOGAN.
| This is the first time this story has
been told in print.
1t is the story of the day that it was
make or break for the Keokuk dam
and power house proposition; the day
Iowa plain speaking pitted itself
against New York skepticism, and
Iwon.
4 l sat on the veranda of the keokuk
Country club, overlooking miles OF the
/ upper Mississippi, that shone like sll
Yer tissue under the harvest moon
land heard Judge William Logan oil
! keokuk-he got his title from an an
! cient Missouri supervisorship-tell the
story in his own racy, vehement, In
comparable way. 1t lasted an hour
and it was packed with names, dates
and figures, the reproduction of which
! in detail would only burden this nara.
tive. The venerable man--for calling
/ him venerable he would probably roar
at me-had at his fingers ends every
| incident and statement OF the biggest
days work for the Mississippi valley
he ever did, or will do in his life, but
can give only the human outlines OF
, the tale.
/ Financiers showed no interest after
congress in 1905 had given the keo'
kuk people the franchise to build the
dam and power house, the project
backed water and hung fire in way
, that was as curious as it was heart
breaking. Engineers like Lyman E.
Cooley and Montgomery Meigs, son OF
, Lincoln's old quartermaster general,
had pronounced it sound, and James j.
Hill, despite his railroad interests was
sympathetic toward 1t. But respon-
sible financiers declined to take an in
terest.
The four years battle for the fran
chise in congress had been weary
business but it was a CHEEKY job COM
pared with the task of financing the
franchise into a dam and power house.
In congress Allison and Hepburn had
helped and the fight had been won
against committee on interstate and
foreign commerce that at the start was
8 to 5 against the proposition. But
now it was Keolluk's fight solely. Cor
poration lawyers and promoters were
quaking and cringing in New York.
largely In the offices of William Mel.
son Cromwell who represented inter.
ests which in their turn were affiliated
with or acting for interests with which
the power promoters wanted to sign
contracts for power. Here l omit
yards Of intricate financial history to
disentangle the threads OF which
would drive a layman like me crazy
and nearly has.1
The point for US is that the signing
of such contracts would insure some
think like million and a half year
for the immediate launching of work.
The rest OF the financing would be
easy. Furthermore, time was running
desperately short. In period meas
ured by months the franchise voted by
congress would expire.
But nothing or nobody got any for
warder.
LOGAN Goes to New York.
Finally the lawyers and promoting
engineers said to Judge Logan, now
known az the father of the Keokuk
dam, Logan, you're the last straw.
Come to New York and talk to Crom-
we'll"
"What do you want me to say?"
1--WE don't know. What are you
going TO say?"
81 don't know"
This would be in 1909.
They all met up in the office of Mr.
Cromwell, the man to whom the
French republic handed as pretty a
fee for managing the sale of the Pan
anna canal wreckage to our country as
a lawyer ever received.