Evening star., 1925-01-21
MAY HONOR LEADER
Of LAKES FIGHT
Dozen States, 80 Cities and
Canada May Pay Tribute
for Preventing Drainage.

BY Consolidated Press.
CHICAGO January 2I.-whiIe ma
tIons, States and cities wage the
greatest. legal, legislative and verba
battle of the present day, involving
future naVigabiIity of the Great
Lakes, the man, aged and worn, who
started the whole fight between Chi
cago and Northern United States and
Canada remains obscure, unmen-
Stoned and unrewarded.
His part in this affair, which has
aroused more heat than any contro-
verSy in years and which puts at
stake hundreds of millions of dollars
may soon receive official recognition
S well as some measure Of reward
from the Wisconsin Legislature. And
once Wisconsin starts, Canada. the
dozen States and the eighty large
cities involved may chime in.
But since his work started the
battle, Edward T Cahill, now of
Washington, d. G.. has never so much
s received public mention. He had
spent all of his earnings as a Chicago
attorney, and almost all of his time
FOR years to bring about the recent
verdict of the United States Supreme
Court that Chicago was illegally dry
ing up the Great Lakes to avoid the
necessity OF constructing modern
sewage disposal plants.
Fight Begun in 1905.
Ever since 1908 efforts have been
made TO restrain Chicago from turn
ing huge quantities of water from
the Great Lakes into the Desplaines
river in order to dispose of her sew
age, Cahiil was of counsel represent
ing the Attorney General of Wis
consin in the action started at that
time. lie had made the study of
uavigable waterways and the laws
governing them his life work.
The ease dragged for years in the
courts until finally just before he re-
tired from the bench, Judge lands
decided that the diversion of water
above the War Department allotment
was illegal. Then in 1921 the Su-
preme Court held the Desplaines a
navigable river subject to the ordi-
nance of 1857. No one even tho@tSiIt
of the import of these cases at the
time except Mr.. Cahiu, who investi
gated and found that although the
cases had been decided against the
Chicago position, no judgment had
been entered.
Although his funds were exhaust
ed, his health completely broken by
overwork in his investiga which
showed to his satisfaction that Chi
cago was gradually draining the
Great Lakes and causing millions of
dollars of loss annually to shipping,
Mr.. Cahill went to Attorney General
William j. Morgan of Wisconsin.
Supreme Court Acts.
Mr.. Morgan became interested at
once and started the proceedings that
have just resulted in a Supreme Court
decision holding Chicago to be divert
ing lake water illegally. Canada,
all of the States from Wisconsin to
of the United States and every large
Great Lake city but Chicago Joined
in the fray.
As a direct result of Mr.. Cahilps
answering attention to the case.
Chicago is to be forced to spend what
It's engineers estimate will be two
hundred millions of dollars on modern
sewage disposal plants, and must
shut off the water now being carried
away from Lake Michigan in such
quantities that the level has dropped
nearly foot, to the detriment of
navigation in lake hsrbors.
Mr.. Cahill, little, aged, broken
man, his health and money gone from
the years of work he devoted to his
had the reward that
comes of satisfaction when the
Supreme Court upheld his connections
and accepted his facts. Now Wis
consin is to be asked TO give official
recognition to his work.