THE HENNEPIN CANAL. IMPORTANT TO SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES DESIR¬ OUS OF INFORMATION UPON THE SUBJECT OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER OUTLET TO THE PROPOSED HENNEPIN (\\NAL. Dear Sir:- The Board of Trade of the City of ('lincon desire to simply call your attention to the importance of leaving the .Mis.iissip])i river out¬ let of the proposed Hennepin canal to be determined by the Secretary of War. The following letter written by a practical engineer, and the reso¬ lutions of the Iowa General .\ssembly, are herewith submitted to you for your information. I'he Clinton (Iowa) Board of Trade, I o the Editor:—There is mnv be- jg have careful surveys made to de- fore congress a project knosvn as the termine the practicability and the Hennepin and Mississippi canal, the gg^t of connecting the waters of the design of which is to furnish a water liUnois with the .Mississippi river by communication between Lake .Mich- means of the Hennepin and Missis- igan and the upper Mississippi river, sippi canal, and in order to ascertain to transport in barges the freight and (he shortest, cheapest and most feas- produce which may seek this medium ible route, several routes suggested between the Northwest and the lakes were required to be surveyed con- to the seaboard. This ]troject, hav- meeting with the Mississippi river, iug been endorsed by the Itoard of -phe secretary of war delegated this trade of New York city, and those of work to Maj. W. H. H. Benyaurd, a numerous other Eastern cities, as it competent and practical government wotdd furnish an all water communi- engineer, who caused surveys to be cation to the seaboard from the up- made upon lines with three different per .Mississippi at St. Paid and Min- vermini at the Mississippi river, the neapolis, and thus materially reduce g^e about two miles below the cities the cost of transportation of wheat gf Rgck Island and Davenport, and fiotir and many bulky articles of known in Maj Benvaurd's report as nn-rchandise, is regarded in many the Rock Island line, and below the sections as of national import. If a Rgck Island rapids ; one at a place national importance is attached to called Watertown, and known as the this connecting link of water transit. Watertown line, and terminating in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as the midst of the rapids ; the north- the entire Northwest, have a special grlv one, known as the Marais interest in securing its location and d'Ósier, (commonly called .Meredo- constructionupon the shortest,quick- sia) line, terminating above the rap- est, safest and cheapest line. That ids and thirty miles above the Rock the bill now before congress violates Island line. Twenty-five miles of the every one of the above considera- easterly end are common to the three tions, is the object of this communi lines. ' A careful perusal of Maj. Ci.iNioN, low.^, July 6th, 1886. From the St. PruI Pioneer Pres?. St. P,\ui., March 19. Per S. SHOECRAF r. Prest. cation, .^t the last session of con- gres= an appropriation was made and the then secretary of war authorized Benyaurd's report elicits the follow¬ ing facts; The Marais d' Osier line, 64 miles long, lockages eight, cost $5,81 t,- 367.50 ; W'atertown line. 65.2 miles long, lockages nine, cost 57,207.646.- 88 ; Rock Island line. 74-V miles long, lockages twelve, cost, 56,672,890.67.. Whilst .Maj. Benyaurd presents in his report not a single reconimenda tion of either the Watertown or Rock Island lines over the iMeredosia, I make the following e.xtracts from his report just issued by the secretary of war. The major says; " In an engineering point of view the Marais d'Osier line presents de¬ cided advantages from the nature of the country and character ot the soil. No rock is met with as on the other routes. An objection has been urged to this route that it is impracticable to carry a canal through the Marais d'Osier. It may be observed on the contrary, that no other portion of this or the other lines presents such favorable features for canal construc¬ tion. * * * On the question of water supply, the Marais d'(.)sier route is fed from the Dixon dam only as far as the crossing of the Rock River, an advantage to thi--- route. * * * The number of ne¬ cessary works, such as cuh'erts, bridges, etc., on the other routes is double what is necessary on the .Ma¬ rais d'Osier, adding not only to the first cost of construction, but in¬ creasing the annual cost of mainte¬ nance and the liabilities for extraor¬ dinary repairs and renewals hereaf¬ ter. This route also affords a pro¬ tected basin at its western extremity, which cannot be found on the other lines, except at a great expense. In a commercial point of view the se¬ lection of either one of the lines de¬ pends upon the section of the country it is intended to benefit. The dis¬ tance from the upper line to St. Paul is 350 miles, and if the canal be con¬ sidered as an extension eastward of the navigation of that part of the upper Mississippi, the distance to Chicago is, by the Marais d'Osier route, twenty-one miles shorter than by M'atertown and forty miles short¬ er than via Rock Island and at the same time the navigation 0\ er the Rock Island rapids is avoided. * The .Marais d'Osier route presents these advantages over the others It is the shortest and most practicable route between the two rivers. The nature of the country through which it passes renders the construction of all work upon it easier, and hence its cost of construction is less. The annual cost of maintenance is less, and it is more than likely that the ex¬ pense of extraordinary repairs and renewals will be less. The supply of water is the best and better regu¬ lated." CONGRKSS SHOUI.D INVl-tSTlG-ATK. The bill now before congress to secure the construction of this canal was framed and introduced by Judge IMurphy of Davenport, and referred to the committee on railroads and canals, of whom Murphy of Daven¬ port and Henderson of Rock Island are members, and of course these gentlemen want the terminus of this canal at their own cities; and the bill it seems easily run the gauntlet of the committee, entirely ignoring the superior merits of the northern route (Marais d'Osier), and ties the location down to the Rock Island line. We think the government that expends the people's money for the general good should be permitted the responsibility of the location of work of this general importance, but if not it behooves congress to exam¬ ine into the merits of the several routes and the demerits of the bill before it becomes a law and is be¬ yond their control. Insufficient time was given to make more detail¬ ed surveys. It is quice probable from the maps accompanying the re¬ port that by lengthening the line of the Marais d'Osier line three or tour miles, one-third of the length of the feeder line could be dispensed with. If the Hennepin canal were the onlv water route to and from the lakes and the lower Mississippi there might be some valid claim for its lo¬ cation upon the Rock Island line, though at a greater length and great¬ ly increased cost of construction ; yet we think we can prove to the contrary. The government has been constructing locks and dams upon the Illinois river below Heniiepin and soon will hat e a better outlet to the lower .Mississippi than that af¬ forded by the construction of the Hennepin canal. Only the territory a short distance below the Rock Is land rapids would be subserved by the construction of a canal upon any location between the upijer Missis¬ sippi and the lakes. It will hardly be denied by any intelligent observer that nineteen- twenli»-ths of the tonnage upon the Hennepin canal, if built, would be furnished by and for the territory north of the Rock Island rapids, hrom -Maj. Bc'yaurd's report we learn it would be forty miles further from St. Paul to Chicago via Rock Island than via .Marais d'Osier line; thirty miles by river over the rapids and ten and a half miles by slow ca¬ nal navigation and also the time of four additional lockages. By the re¬ verse of this, It would be twenty miles further from Rock Island to Chicago via Marais d'Osier line than via the Rock Island line, but ten and a half miles of slow canal navigation and elso the time consumed of four lockages would be avoided, which we think on an average would fully oftset the time for the thirty miles of river navigation. Tllli QUKSTION OF TIME. Time is the only element here in the cost of transportation. If we grant, for the sake of comparison, one hour's difference in time in favor of the Rock Island line from Rock Island, as against the .Marais d'Osier line, say five hours for the thirty miles of river navigation and four hours for the ten and one-half miles of extra canal navigation and four additional lockages, it would stand thus: Nineteen twentieths of the business of the canal must, be sub¬ jected to nine hours additional time in transit, that one twentieth of the business may save one hour's time. The ratio of time and business would be: 9x19=171. or as 171 is to i. If one-twentieth of the business which is furnished below the rapids, could save say $1.000 annually by the saving of one hour's time by the Rock Island line, the other nineteen- twentieths of the business above the rapids must be subjected to an in¬ creased tax for navigation of $171, 000. We do not believe there would be any difference in time between Rocklsland'and Chicago, if any it would be in favor generally of the Marais d'Osier route. One very serious objection against the Rock Island route to a person conversant with canal navigation is that the canal is located for fifteen or sixteen miles of its length in the Greene and Rock rivers and made available by pools from dams and locks. The green river is a small stream, and when swollen by floods from local rains the current will be too rapid and strong for the towing of barges carrying 300 tons by the means proposed upon this canal, which must often cause delays in navigation until such floods have subsided. We believe the same dif¬ ficulty would exist even with refer¬ ence to Rock river. It is more than probable, if the Hennepin canal should be constructed that St. Paul and Minneapolis would send and re¬ ceive more ;han one-half the tonnage upon it. It is important, then, that the senators and representatives of this locality, as well as of the entire Northwest, should familiarize them¬ selves with the report of -Maj. Ben- yaurd, and carefully watch and guard the bill for the construction of the Hennepin canal, and not permit, through indifference or carelessness, the interests of the Northwest to be sacrificed to the whims or greed of any locality. If a million dollars can be saved in the construction of this canal upon the northern over the southern line, and the general welfare of the country better sub¬ served, as shown by the report and estimates, let the million dollars sav¬ ed be applied in improving the Rock Island rapids or in damming up the Hoods of the tributaries of the upper Mississippi, to be utilized in improv¬ ing its navigation when most needed, (luring its lowest stages of water. The improvement of the Mississippi in a low stage of water, will be in¬ deed doubly necessary by the con- stiuctioii of such a canal, which would virtuallv make St. Paul and Min neapolis the head of the great chain of lakes connecting with the seaboard. In view of a probable Northern connection by rail and wa¬ ter with Hudson's bay, which would divert a portion of the foreign traffic nf the Northwest away from the pre¬ sent channel througl' St. Paul and Minneapolis, is made all-important the requirement, if congress shall provide for the construction of the Hennepin canal, that it should be lo¬ cated upon the shortest and most secure line, a line that would save the section of country intended to be benefited hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and be the most available as a competing line, as well as the cheapest and most oermanent in construction, and as a consequence the least expensive thereafter in ordi¬ nary and extraordinary repairs and renewals. We believe the boards of trade of St. Paul and Minneapolis should institute such active meas¬ ures as will result in their greatest good from this commercial enter¬ prise, and that at least the secretary of war, through his skilled and ex¬ pert lieutenants, should determine by further surveys if necessary, upon what hue this Hennepin cam! shall be built. B. 15. H. STATE OF IOWA. MID.MOKJ.M. A.ND .lOI.XT KESOUUTION UELATIVU TO THE tONSTliUOTlON OF A CAXAE FHOM THE MISSISSIPPI KIVEK TO ITIE lEI.lNOlS P.IVKR AT HENNEPlJi, !S THE STATE OF U.LI- NOIS. Wui:kea5, Thf.' of cheup troifsporta- lioft by an uniiilorruptt'd water rouie between the Mii-sisis'ippi liiver and the Atlantic seaboard, by way of the great lakes, has long Ik-oii one of alî- absorblng interest to the people of the food jiro- ducing States of the Northwest; and Wherkas, The (-Teneral Assembly of Iowa bas? repeatedly niemoralized Congress for t!ie con¬ struction of such water route, ami exviressly did. by memorial and joint i-esohition. approved I'eb. 24th, lyTli, uige upon eongi'ess the eonstruciion of the same from some point on the Mi>.i Hiver and its tributaries, with the Eastern Atlantic sea¬ board and the Gulf of Mexico. That it has been the poliey of congress and the desire of the people of the Northwest for many years, to inaugurate and complete a system of water-channel iin])rovement having the Mississippi for its liase; that to give greater erticieiiey to this policy there should be constructed from the Mis¬ sissippi Hiver, on the most feasible route to the Illinois Hivor at Hennepin, and thence to the lake at Chicago, a canal adequate to the pri'sent and future transportation needs of that great port of internal improvement is an imperative necessity for a relief from excessive freight rales on Ibe produce and commerce of the country, and that the work so needed should immediately lie com¬ menced: now therefore Be it Hdfolvctl by the General Asiicnthly of the State tif I'liva: That our senators in Congress be instructed, and our Representatives therein, be reqnesteil to vote for, and use their active intUicnce to oiTect legislation liy Congress, as ^vill secure the con¬ struction at an early day of said canal, uiion such route as shall be found to be most practicable, and so designated liy the Secretary of War, ami for the best interests of the whole peo]>le. and to vote a liberal appropriation therefore, to the end that said canal may be completed and opened to the commerce of the country at the earliest possible date. Approved January 30,1884.