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Show WATERWAY A I FACT UNDER GOV. LOWDF.N H Illinois Executive Carries Project H to Success After Others I LINKS UKES TO MISSISSIPPI H Improvement ( Vat Importance t H Mississippi Valley and NerthWMt H All Dart to Actual Ctv H structlon Removed. H One of (lio outstanding achievements H of Gov. Frank O, Lowdcn's admtnls- H Irntlon In Illinois was tho putting H through of the Illinois waterways proj- B ect which will cost $20,000,000 and H provide water connection between the H Great Lakes and tlio Mississippi river. H Tlio project lias been under dlscus- Hfl slon for more limn 10 years, and Hfl several statu administrations lmve H struggled In vain with this important J problem. It remained for Governor Hfl Lowtlen to carry the grcnt improve- H ' ment through to success, H The last bar to the project was re- Hfl moved January 10 with the issuance Hfl 'Of a permit by the secretary of wur H authorizing the state to proceed at Hfl once with the Improvement. The be- H ginning of actual construction work H Is now but a mutter of u short time, H and completion of the wntcr link at H last becomes a visible goal. Tromcn- H dous benefits will be renllzcd by nil H .classes of business Interests In the H Mississippi valley as the result of H , . ' the opening of the water route. H "The waterway will be of Immense H value to farmers of the great produc- H lug region of the entire Mississippi H valley and tlio Northwest," Governor H Lowden said, "Tho Illinois project H will be in nccord with tho Improve- H ment of the Mississippi, Ohio and. Mis- H , sourl rivers by the federal govern- H ment for navigation. Leeks will bo 000 H feet long, 110 feet wide, nccommortut- H -.. lug fleets of barges carrying 0,000 to m 8,000 tons of freight, the equivalent H of six to eight average train loads. H "licfore the war and the Increnso H , of rail freight rates a ton of freight H was carried n thousand miles by wn- B ' tor as cheaply as fifty miles by rail. M This is a fair Indication of the bcuetlt H v- to bo nfforded the public by the work ;j when it Is completed. Its value is H i now enhanced by tho government re- H ,' qulrement of Interchange of. freight by M '' railroad at suitable water terinlnnl H points throughout the country." B . w,v.j ynuj.'rh waterway will follow the H drainage canal from Chicago to Lock- M port from which the connection will H be mude with tho Illinois river at H Utlca by n barge canal eight feet deep, H which may later be decpenel to 1-1 H feet, as conditions require. In addl- H Hon to the great advantages to coin- H merce, water power valued nt npproxl- M mately $1,000,000 n year will bo dovel- m oped which will effect a saving of up-H up-H t proximately 500,000 tons of coal an- H nunlly. H The surveys and engineering work H for the Improvement have been under H the direction of M. G. Burues who, B during the Roosevelt administration, H designed for the government the strue- H turc of the runania canal. Construe- H Uon work wilt he supervised by Prank H I. Bennett, director of tho depart- M meat of public works nnd buildings, m and Wllllnm L. Sackett. superintend- H ent of the division of waterways. M These ofllcers state that much of tho H preliminary work has already been ac- H complliihed. Funds for carrying on H the construction were provided H through tho action of tho last leglsla- M ture authorising the Issuance of $20,- 1 000,000 bonds which have been af- H finned by a vote of the people. |