The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1921-06-23
VIII Garry Fight Against
Chicago Drainage Canal
to u. S. Courts.
TO PROTECT KENOSHA
Holds Continuance of lowering
of Lake Levels Direct Men
ace to Cities Water Supply.
nv limited Pressl

(By united HreSSJ
Madison, Wisconsin - The murky
waters of the Chicago Drainage
Canal are carrying the states OF
Wisconsin and Illinois into United
States Supreme Court, if an official
request from State Attorney General
William j. Morgan to the Wisconsin
legislature today is favorably acted
upon.
Lowering the level of Lake Michigan
costs the state of Wisconsin millions
of dollars to dredge out her harborsl
and this lowering is ascribed by the
state authorities to the drainage can
al The drainage canal is not navig-
able, and the state of Wisconsin wants
it opened to traffic.
The state, through Morgan, wants to
ask the highest federal court for an
injunction to prevent Illinois from OBJ
structing water navigation between
Lake Michigan and the Mississippi
river.
If the action goes through Chicago
must either open the drainage canal
to navigation or get some other way
to dispose Of her sewage. The suit
will also attempt to prevent her from
filling in the wide lake front district
as proposed.
The Illinois network of proposed wa
terways, as we'll as Chicago's priceless
waterfront and her $80,000,000 drain
age canal, are involved in the proposed
suit.
Contest Three Projects.
Wisconsin has right to relief in
the following three matters, accord
ing to Morgan's letter to the two
houses Of the legislature:
1. Lowering Lake Michigan by the
Chicago Drainage Canal, This non
navigable stream draws $50, 900 cubic
feet of water per minute from Lake
Michigan for the purpose of diluting
Chicago's sewage"
2. "The state of Illinois should be
forced to open to free waterway traf-
fic the proposed state-owned Illinois
waterway from Lockport to a point
near La Sale, Water from Lake Mich
igan to be used in this project"
by the city of Chicago to fill in a
large section Of it's lakefrOnt for the
benefit of the Illinois Central railway
and for the Chicago South Park sys-
tenn"
Morgan's proposed suit before the
United States supreme court will con-
test the right of the state of Illinois
and the city of Chicago to undertake
any of these projects.
Open Canal for Traffic
All waterways between Lake Michi-
gan and the Mississippi are national
waterways, according to a supreme
court decision on the Ordinance of
1887" Morgan's letter to the legisla-
ture asserted.
This interpretation of the Ordinance
of 1887" handed down by the United
States supreme court last April, de-
clares that the Des PLANES, Chicago
and Illinois rivers, all of which are
part of the drainage canal, are parts
Of the Lake Michigan Mississippi wa
terway.
This ruling opened the way to the
present action Morgan's demands Will
be that Chicago be compelled to throw
the drainage canal open to traffic, and
that she be prohibited from filling in
her lakefront.
Up to 1915 the drainage canal had
lowered the level of Lake Michigan
six inches. No engineers reports have
been made since that time. Many Wis
onsin ports have been compelled to
end much money in dredging their
narbors for shipping. Milwaukee alone
up to 1918 spent $150,000 and much
more since in dredging her harbor.
Wisconsin's discomfort over the
drainage canal began in 1909, when E.
T. Onhill, a Chicago attorney who is
now in Washington, D. c., called the
attention of Wisconsin state officials
to it. He was authorized to represent
the state Of Wisconsin and began his
investigation. He is now working on
the case with Ralph M. Hoyt, deputy
attorney general of Wisconsin, and
will present to the supreme court if
the legislature authorizes action.