The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-05-01
IRECOMMENDNEW
| IMPROVEMENTS|N
| LOCKS AND DAMS.
Important Program Suggested
for Monongahela River
Improvements.
LOCK NO. 9 TO co.
MonongaheIa River Has Best
Tonnage of All Rivers
in The World

in The World
Possibility OF improvements on
the Monongahela River in the sec
tion running from Pittsburgh to
just below Morgantown at lock No
g at Hoard, W. Va, in the i'm:
mediate future, to the extent OF
100000 is outlined in the re-
cent recommendations to Congress
OF engineers of the United States
army. Several locks will be widen
ed and heightened under the pro
posed plan Of action . if carried as
part of the River and Habor
Bill in the present session.
The report. followed complete
investigation of the situation by
the army engineers, authorized by
an act Of Congress and bears the
approval of the board OF engineers
for rivers and harbors.
The engineers recommend an ex
tension of both guide and guard
walls of the locks up to and in.
large enough to care for modern
boats and barges. They also re
commend the doing away with
locks No. z, No. s and No. 8, and
the substitution for them of two
new modern locks and dams, so
as to permit the larger boats and
barges 10 reach the upper pools of
the river, from which, it is ex-
pected, there will be large volume
OF traffic when the new dams have
been completed
1t is said that the recommends
tion stands good chance of being
Incorporated in to the Rivers a1d
Harbors BILL
While the immediate program
only touches Fairmont indirectly,
yet there isssa great amount of in
terest locally in the project be-
cause of; theFspos sibi1itiess holds
out for the future Edeyelopmentso of,
'riverss traffic from very source to
the mouth of Monongahela. Many
in Fairmont have already held 4toi
the theory that if adequate dams
and locks were provided SO that
large craft could pass sthrough a,
real bushes in freight could bel
carried on between this city and,
Pittburgh and intermediate points.
With the Fairmont region appar-
emily in the clutches of exhorbi-.
tant freight rates for some years.
to come unless real opposition del
against the railroads. the!
of the upper pools OF.
the Monongahela River offers a
the hearts of the local shippers.
May Revive River Traffic
T. D. Connell, secretary Of the
Chamber OF Commerce, in discuss
ing the proposition this morning.
did not seem to think that the pro !
posal as outlined at the present
time would have any bearing on
the local situation as its scope |
only ran to the West Virginia
state line; but he admitted that if!
a complete program was carriedi
out all the way to F'airmont. with
locks and dams capable of takins
care of modern barges and other
craft it would mean a return Of.
freight traffic on a large scale on
the Monongahe1a River between
here and Pittsburgh.
According to Mai. J. Franklinsi
Bell United States engineer of thei
Pittsburgh district. the Mononga-l
hela River ranks first in the en-
tire world in volume of tonnage.
The tonnage originating ion the |
River far surpasscsi
that or the Mississippi and is five
times as great as that on the Ohio
a according to Major Bell.
In regard to this Mr.. ConnellE /
says that great amount of the
tonnage on the Monongahela River
comes from the Gates mine of the!
Fl. G.. Frick Coal & Coke Co.,
which loads. into 'barges at Gates
The tonnage of the mines of the
at Filbert, LAMBERT
Leckrone. Burlington
and Footdale arc also run. out
the Gates opening. it ,s
said
Major Bell declared that the rat
Of gain on the Monongahela River
has no equal elsewhere in the
and expressed the belief
hat with the improvements as re-
in the report of Gen-i
eral Beach the river will double or
treble its present tonnage.
1t is pointed out by those who
,avor the improvements that pref
vious to 1850 the tonnage on the
River was less than
[ 900, 900 tons a, year. By 1890 itl
,ad reached nearly 100000 tonsIs
i year. coal contributing about 90
Der cent OF this, and it has gained
since until last year
he total tonnage was more than
,4,000,000.
OUTRIGHT INELIGIBLE.
MORGANTOWN, May 1. s- Paul
-ufrirI,t tE star ennis n1ayer IN th o \: