The Coolidge examiner., 1935-05-31

Frs-s-es - Nsfiaest Crzrsrstt sar3efy
H lrEfaa. 81. c--W@r sefr.-e
~ CAR or hy steamer. a trip
X around OBJ. Great Lakes Is a
- fagr 90 Amer.cau commerce
aul n5lstry II they only lay
there. bsskiug iu the sun or raging
ufh storms. our lnlagi seas would
o. impressive. But they have served
America as 10 lniand sra has
served another land AZ every cor
uer ~ the Great lakes. and because
80 them. busy cites have risen un
the hanks of a hundred tiny creeks
commerce has planted lts loading
piers or elevators
uur bridges crossed our lakes as
err before they crossed river.
Scarceiy "a skygcraper whose frame.
work has not wailowcd Ia the swell
"f uur big Sea Water before
cHmh,uE our urban skies The story
of our Great Lakes Is one ~ unhe
tevahly cheap freight rates. of mar.
se.uusiy active fFeiEhtcrs. ~ fur
ard lumber. Iron and grain
Or the days when the principal
crop ~ America was cold bred fur.
the 81 Lawrence was the gateway
O. orT Midwest. Fur was the ln-
ceutve - Nicolei. Joliet. Marquette
and IA Sale. 20 whom the water.
eavd between the Great lakes and
fte wide Mississippi hasin was IN
mIfar while the British were still
settling the seacoasL
ln tS1 most ~ this land became
ours through the Louisiana rur-
c',asp. and The vast territory which
ra- trade aud Indian alliances bad
won Tor France gave frans-Appain-
VtIan colonization new impetus For
little less than four cents an acre
rtr younE American Republic &C.
guir~d rich agricultural lands
stretching % the headwaiers % the
Missouri and the Yellowstone
Around the lakes. fur ceded It's
primary place % grain or lum-
l,er Hiawatha's forest prlmeval'
crashed before Paul Bunyan's saw
and av.
Then came front
A. the northern end % the lakes
whole rusi-red mountains of ore
stood ready for the steam shoyeis
toal moved north and iron south.
combination providing profitable re-
turn carEoes. Wherever a creek
reached the south shore OF lake
Erie. coHi and ore were tossed hack
and forth by car upple and clam
she'll
Buffalo . Busy Port.
HuTalo IL busy gateway to the
Great Lakes region. Protected
from early traffic competition by
the Niagara falls. which were later
- furnish i,s light and power. this
rich inland port stands ai the east
end ef the upper lakes and the
west end of the only convenient
break IN the Appalachlans Had an
Indian Interpreter not made a mis-
take II wouid have been called
Beaver" a startling but suitable
uame for this busy creek side port.
ON June -. 1888. NJ Chicago. salt
water from the Gulf n Mexico was
blended with Lake Michigan water
when a roiIlla os Mississippi river
harges. bearing spices. coffee. and
sugar. arrived at Lake Michigan.
The nine-foot channel does today
v-hat river and glacier did more
than once In the past-lInks the
Great Lakes with the gulf. II took
~1So years for Jollets dream Of
fakes-to-gu,f waterway 10 come
rrue.
-Four routes 70 tldewater now ex-
fst: the Illinois waterway. with n
nlne-font channel: the New York
state Barge canal and It's branch 10
Oswero. both with a depth of u
feet: and the 81. Lawrence canals.
I'm which there are 18 feet Of water.
The deepest artificial link Is the
new Welland canal. which not only
has ~ feet % water on the sills Of
SIS spectacular locks. but also ac-
compllshes the sieepest lift-336is
feet IN - miles. While retaining
frs pre-eminence in the transfer OF
grain. Buffalo has since become our
uililn. metropolis.
In October. 1859. when the brig
OSceola brought l.6TS bushels OF
wheat from Chicago to Buffalo. It
took several days TO unload the
cargo. Buffalo's 30 elevators could
COW unload that much wheat In less
than nine seconds Yet. were they
empty. Il wonld take eight eight
hour DAYS 10 I'll them TO their ca
pacIfv OF 5O.OOO.0O0 bushels.
clsveland's cuyahoea Flats.
. ed6ak -AsS S..l.s Lrom the mead
af lake Superior TO the foot OF
lake Erie for about three cents a
hnshel. But -four can't be handled
in buIk ike so much ore or lime
stone. and. as a consequence, mill
ing has moved east TO a center