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Show ANOTHER DRAINAGE CANAL. The St. Louis Merchants' exchange, the St. Louis Business Men's league and other associations of this sort through the Mississippi Mis-sissippi valley are being furnished with copies of tha report just made by the Chicago Commercial association in favor of the deep waterway from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. A committee of tha last-named body had been at work on this question for several sev-eral months, and it- ahows the project to be feasible, at a comparatively small expenditure. expendi-ture. St. Louis has an especial interest in this acheme, and ita commercial bodies are arranging arrang-ing to use all their influence in favor of it. Chicago proposes to hand over to the National Na-tional Government the drainago canal, which has cost that city $50,000,000, if tha Gov. ernment agrees te continue the deep water thronch the Illinois and tbe Mississippi to the Gulf. This will mean only to Cairo, for below that place, where the Ohio enters the Mississippi, the water is deep enouch for ordinary or-dinary purposes of navigation throughout most of the season. It is estimated that thia work would not cost the Government more than $27,000,000. Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Mem-phis, New Orleans and the other important towns of the Mississippi watershed will work to secure favorable action from Cotfgress next winter on this project. Deep water connection between the Mississippi Mis-sissippi and the Lak.es would make St. Louis a seaport. Vessels could be loaded at her levees to go to London, Hongkong, Rio de Janeiro and all tbe rest of the world's great ports. They could go by way of tha Gulf or by the Lakes and the 8t. LawTenoa or the Erie canal. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. |