Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-03-06
OPPONENTS RAISE
OLD CRY IN FIGHT
AGAINST WATERWAY
CLAIM SCHEME HAS BEEN A
RUSE ALMOST AS AGED AS
STATE ITSELF - PROS SHOW
NEED OF TRAFFIC.

Springfield, H.. March G. Agitation
for channel as provided III the adj
ministration waterway bill expected
to come before the Legislature any day,
antedatcs the statehood of Illinois by
almost a century and half, accord
ing to proponents of the measure.
The first written record re.ating to
waterway connecting Lake Michi-
gan and the Illinois River was dated
Aug. 1, 1874 1t was written by Mar
quette to Father Daben, according to
Charles A. Gregory Of Eovlng'on,
chairman of the house waterway com
mittee. who has gathered a mass OF
data. This was le2 years before the
signing of the declaration of independ
encc The letter is believed to have
been prompted by a portage made by
La Sale in 1870 between Lake Mich.
igan and the Illinois River in the
course of which the eXplOres spent
ten days a; Peoria
Since the beginning of the agita.
ton for water route from the lakes
to the ocean ON the south, records
show that there have been seven fed
era! surveys and three by the state up
to 1911 This does not take into ac
count the engineering work done
since the present administration came
in two years ago.
Compared With Rhine.
To show the need FOR q waterway
Chairman Gregory points to the fact
the Rhine in 1912 carried more than
10000 900 tons Of freight He is Of the
opinion that the lakes 70 the gulf
water channel could be made its equal
il deepened France, he says only
three times the size Of Illinois, has
.483 miles of canals compared with
200 miles in this state.
1t is estimated that in transporting
one ton of freight one mile the aver
age cost by horse and wagon is .
cents; by steam truck, cents; by
railroad threefourths OF a cent; by
lake steamer, two.thirds OF mill, and
by river transpor. ration BY the use OF
barges, one-third Of a mill. In other
words" Nr Gregory says, "One dol
lar will pay for transporting one ton
of freight a distance OF four miles by
horse and wagon. twenty miles hyI
steam truck, 1873 miles over the aver
age railroad, ! 800 miles by lake
steamer. and 1900 miles by barge
over river or canal
n a., ~. 4ti ,,., bl a
with tie eight-foot depth proposed in
the I.owden measure, the locks viii
be adequate. it is said Barges Of a
capacity of $50 20 1000 tons will be
used, probably three being hauled by
single tug
The canal is intended principally
for barge traffic. MI Gregory says,
and probably will be used principally
for transportation of grain, coal, raw
material and slow freight
Check High Rail Rates.
The advantage Of the waterway i'll
is pointed out is the equalization OF
freight rates on ocean shipment sol
that Chicago and other Illinois cities
can compete with eastern cities On
manufactured articles routed through
the Panama Canal.
From Chicago to New Orleans the
distance is about l,Go0 miles. The
distance from Lockport to La Sale is
approximately siXty-tive miles. wien
this strip of sixty-fve miles deep
ened" Mr.. Gregory states, there
would be a nayigable waterway OF
more than eight feet in depth from
Chicago to New Orleans
There is now seven-foot channel
262 miles OF the 327 in Illinois, accord
ing to Mr.. Gregory. The remaining
distance is four and one-half feet deep
over the Lockport-La Sale stretch.
The depth from St. Louis to Cairo at
low water stage is given as eight feet
and in the distance of 364 miles from
Chicago to st. Louis there is a fall OF
1893 feet.
This fall is said to be the same as
the canal from Mannheim to Rotter-
dam which hauls 6000G, 600 tons OF
freight each year in normal times and
which has been extended eighty miles
to Strassburg. There is a fall of l76
feet in the 800 niles from Lake Michi
gan to the Illinois, according to ell
gineers figures, and 14S feet from the
lake to Utica,
q The volume of water flowing in the
Rhine varies from 5000 to 10000 cubic
feet per second it is said. The Hi
nois River has a flow of from 5000
to S,G00 cubic feet per second. TO
this the added 7-000 cubic feet from
Lake Michigan, it is pointed out,
would make a total of about l4,OOO
cubic feet which would be sufficient
to produce a twentyfour-foot depth
from Peoria to st, Louis.