A
AL TO CONGRESS
TO SECURE
QUATE APPROPRIATION
A PROMIPT AND THOROUGH
OE TE  II ASASSIPPPI RIVEI
WITH AN APPENDIX BY
SYLVESTER WATERHOUSE,
Of Washington  TTEniversity.
EDITION, 5000 COPIES.
ST. LOUIS:
JOHN J. DALY & Co., PRINTERS, 213 NORTH THIRD STREET                1877.
A
N 
The following resolution was adopted by the River
Improvement Convention, held at St. Paul, Mini., Oct.
11th and 12th, 1877:
-Resolved. That the President of this Convention select an Executive
Committee of Nine (together with the President of this Convention)
whose duty it shall be to prepare a memorial to Congress, setting forth
more in detail the views of this Convention upon the subject of the
improvement of the channel of the Mississippi river; to call future
conventions if they deem it expedient to do so; to collect and publish
statistics bearing on the subject, for the information of the people and
of the Government; and to use all furthlier means to procure early and
favorable action upon this subject by Congress.
In accordance with the above resolution, the following
gentlemen were appointed members of said Committee:
HoN. J. HAM. DAVIDSON, St. Paul, Minn.
HoN. JOHN HOGAN, St. Louis, Mo.
HoN. M. Y. JOHNSON, Galena, Ills.
Gov. E. O. STANARD, St. Louis, Mo.
HoN. J. B. RICHARtDS, Dubuque, Iowa.
MR. JOHN A. SCUDDER, Pres. Me. Ex., St. Louis.
HoN. J. H. BARBER, Chester, Ills.
PROF. C. J. FORSHEY, New Orleans, La.
MR. FRED'K SCHULENBURG, St. Louis, Mo.
HON. JOSEPH BROWN, Chairman.
S. WATERHOUSE, Secretary. 
MEMORIAL.
IHONORABLE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
On the 11th of October, 1877, a Convention met in the
city of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was not a political organization. Its members were practical business men, and
met under the pressure of a felt necessity to deliberate
upon the commercial interests of the Mississippi valley.
Through Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, and
other organizations, almost every city from the Balize
to St. Paul sent delegations. The representatives of the
commercial interests of eighteen states sat in council.
The Convention, with an earnest concert of action, resolved
to petition Congress to provide adequate means for the
deepening of the channel of the Mississippi, and for the
removal of every obstruction to navigation from St. Paul
to the Balize.  It is confidently hoped that an appeal
which touches such vital interests, and which is sanctioned
by the approval of 12,000,000 of people, will receive the
favorable consideration of your honorable body.
The Executive Committee appointed by the St. Paul
Convention to prepare a memorial to be presented to
"IF. 4,. 
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Congress respectfully submit the following reasons in favor
of an immediate grant of the desired appropriations:
First. The Mississippi valley is entitled to better facilities for the transaction of its enormous business. The
prosperity of a population of 20,000,000, occupying an
area of 1,200,000 square miles, is greatly dependent upon
the condition of the Mississippi river.
Obstructions in the Mississippi impair tile usefulness
and efficiency of 18,000 miles of river navigation. The
following figures exhibit the productiveness and wealth of
the Mississippi valley.   With  the exception of Kansas
and  N'ebraska, whose position renders  them  naturally
tributary to the river, the statistics refer exclusively to
the states that border upon the banks of the Mississippi.
Area in square miles......................................................694,500
Population in 1870........................................................12,000,000
PRODUCTS IN 1870.
Wheat, bushels........................131,000,000..... Value......$118,425,000
" -......................782,000,000......
Oats, ".......................152,000,000..
Barley, "...................... 14,540,000..
Rye, ".........................10,000,000..
Potatoes,"....................... 41,626,000..
Tobacco, pounds.......................220,495,000..
Cotton, "....................... 942,750,000..
Sugar (of La. only),   "......190,672,500..
Hay, tons.............................. 10,611,000..
Milch cows, number.............. 3,839,000..
Cattle, "............... 6,100,000..
Swine, "............... 14,990,000..
Sheep, ".............. 7,260,000..
Horses, "............... 4,462,000..
Mules, "............... 769,000..
Corn,
...... 238,465,000
40,840,000
7,455,000
5,666,000
22,928,000
15,700,000
113,130,000
11,440,000
68,857,000
91,354,000
107,340,000
91,000,000
16,660,000
251,900,000
50,430,000
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These impressive aggregates are only a partial exhibition of the fertility and resources of the Mississippi valley.
But these products are mere commodities, and the commerce which exchanges and distributes them represents
almost incalculable values. The Government Report upon
the Internal Commerce of the United States for 1876
affirms that "probably the total value of our internal commerce is at least twenty-five times greater than the value
of our foreign commerce." But our international trade
now amounts to more than $1,000,000,000 annually. Upon
the extremely modest assumption that only one-fifth of
these exchanges are made in the states that border upon
the Mississippi, then commercial values to the extent of
$5,000,000,000 are measurably affected by the stage of
water in the Mississippi river.   It is indeed true that
only a very small part of this vast traffic is ever borne
upon the waters of the Mississippi, yet it is important to
remember that the rate by river determines the rate by rail.
It is an excess of caution to limit the benefits of an unobstructed Mississippi to the adjacent states-the advantage
would be national. The improvement of the river would
reduce the cost of transportation throughout the country.
Interests of such transcendent magnitude deserve Congressional protection and promotion.
Second. Practical steamboatmen assure this Committee
that, if the Mississippi were free from all impediments,
the total saving in the less cost, lighter draught, and
greater capacity of boats, in greatly reduced rates of insurance, in the avoidance of costly delays, and in the
diminished expenses of running, would be fully one-fourth.
AWith a deepened channel, full freights, and an adequate 
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ocean tonnage, the transportation of wheat from St. Paul
to Liverpool, by the Mississippi route, would cost eight or
ten cents a bushel less than shipments by way of New
York.
It is probable that the economy on the heavy freights
which would naturally seek exchange by an unobstructed
Mississippi would pay for the proposed improvements in
a single year. The permanent deepening of the Mississippi river would attract a large foreign trade, and open a
cheap entrance to an immigration that would people our
wild lands and develop new sources of public wealth. An
enlightened Congress cannot afford to neglect the national
economy which an improved Mississippi would insure.
The possible saving in the movement of our boundless harvests and heavy merchandise is almost inestimable. There
is now an urgent demand for retrenchment-but there is
no economy which would so greatly enrich the nation as
a liberal outlay for tile immediate improvement of the
Mississippi.
Third. The facilities which an unobstructed Mississippi
would afford for national unity and defense cannot wisely
be ignored. Material ties are perhaps the strongest allianilce of states. The bonds of great and recognized interest
are nearly indissoluble. The military service which the
Mississippi and its tributaries rendered in the late war
was memorably efficient. The foremost governments of
Europe long since adopted the policy of effectively improving their rivers. A policy which bears such historic
sanctions of wisdom and utility forcibly commends itself
to the consideration of American statesmen. 
7
Fourth.  In earlier years, our Government did not fully
appreciate the importance of the Mississippi valley. In
the distribution of Congressional appropriations, a disproportionate share was allotted to the sea-board and the
lakes.  But latterly there has been a juster recognition
of the commercial interests of this valley.
It is earnestly hoped that our Government will not forsake the liberal policy which has lately guided its action.
Indeed entire justice to the west would require a still
more generous treatment. There is now in the Mississippi
valley a preponderance of the population and business of
the whole United States.
The Mississippi, which forms the border-line of ten
states, and which, within the limits of navigation, has a
bank-line of 4000 miles, is too important a factor in the
commerce of this country for the Government any longer
to permit its efficacy to be diminished by the presence of
obstructions.
Fifth. There is an urgent need of an immediate and
liberal appropriation for the improvement of the Mississippi river. The speedy completion of this work would
not only open a great thoroughfare to national prosperity
and enable the country to avail itself of exceptionally
favorable conditions for the extension of its foreign trade,
but it would also effect an ultimate saving for the Government itself. Occasionally the appropriations have been so
inadequate and the intervals between them so long, that
before the resumption of the work, the improvements have
been entirely swept away, or only preserved in a state of
partial completion and utter uselessness. 
8
Gen. J. H. Simpson, of the U. S. Engineers, has under
his charge the section of the Mississippi which extends
from the mouth of the Illinois to the mouth of the Ohio.
In response to inquiries, this officer recently addressed a
communication to this Committee, in which he expressed
the following views:
"I am satisfied that seven appropriations of $1,000,000 each would
accomplish fully as much as twenty of $500,000 each in the prosecution
of works of the character required in the Mississippi. If appropriations are to be limited to $200,000, or thereabouts, per year, it would
be as well to abandon the expectation of an improved river, for it will
never be realized. Such sums would enable many local improvements,
of more or less value, to be made, but nothing towards a permanent
deep channel."
There are several public improvements of the Mississippi now in progress.  In their unfinished state, they are
useless and insecure. To prevent an idle expenditure of
money, Congress ought at once to appropriate a sufficient
sum to complete these works and free the navigation of
the Mississippi from every impediment.
In compliance with the instructions of the St. Paul
Convention, this Committee asks Congress to grant an appropriation of $2,000,000 for the improvement of the
Mississippi, and to authorize the expenditure-under the
supervision of Government Engineers-of definite sums
upon specific portions of the river, as follows:
Upon the section from St. Paul to the head of Keokuk Rapids.. $617,000
".  "..    the foot of Keokuk Rapids to the mouth
of the Illinois................................ 383,000
....  A d  the mouth of the Illinois to Cairo......... 500,000
". ".   "           Cairo to New Orleans......................... 500,000
The first amount recommended in this special assignment of appropriations accords with the estimate of the 
9
-U. S. Engineer who has charge of the upper section of
the river.
Your Committee believe that the proposed appropria,tion is justified by every consideration of public economy
;and commercial prosperity.
A river endowed with such vast capabilities of usefulmness should be fitted for its grand destiny. But the Mis.sissippi can never fulfil its great office of commercial ex'change, till it possesses in the lowest stages of water a
permanent channel of the following depth: -
Trom St. Paul to St. Louis.............................................. 5 feet
"  St. Louis to Cairo................................................... 8 "
" Cairo to New Orleans.............................................10 "
By a formal vote, the Executive Committee have
expressed an earnest desire that "the Government, in
addition to appropriations for the improvement of the
Mississippi river, will also provide for the removal of ob"structions from the channels leading to adjacent ports
,where custom-houses are located and imposts collected."
In the name, then, of the commercial interests of this
valley, we respectfully yet earnestly ask your honorable
-ibody to grant the petition of your memorialists, and make
;an early and adequate appropriation for the improvement
of the channel of the Mississippi.
In behalf of the Executive Committee on Mississippi
-River Improvements,
JOSEPH BROWN,
Chairman.
S. WATERHIOUSE,
Secretary.
I i., I -
':. I. 
., "I 
APPENDIX.
The following paper, prepared in the interest of the St
Louis Board of Trade, was submitted to the St. Paul
Convention and referred by that body to its Executive
Committee for action. In accordance with a vote of this
Committee, the article-enlarged by the introduction of a.
few statistics which have been obtained since the date of
the Convention-is annexed to the memorial, as a fuller
presentation of the arguments in favor of a Congressional
appropriation.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY,
SAINT LOUIS, Mo.
Hon. JOSEPH BROWN,
President of the St. Paul River Improvement Convention:
DEAR SIR: Having been honored by
the St. Louis Board of Trade with an appointment as
one of its delegates to this Convention, I greatly regret
that professional duties will prevent my attendance. Ari
enforced absence constrains me to submit my views by
letter.
COST OF DETENTIONS.
A recent trip from St. Paul to St. Louis by boat ha&
deeply impressed me with the necessity of improving the
Mississippi river. One of my associates sailed frorn 
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-Moville, a port of northern Ireland, about the same time
that I left St. Paul, and he actually reached St. Louis
-first, making a journey of over 4000 miles in less time
than I was able to make a voyage of 800 miles!
In good stages of water, it usually takes a boat four
,days to go from St. Paul to St. Louis. The round trip of
1600 miles, including stoppages at every point for passengers and freight, has been made in less than seven days.
But my return, including two days of waiting for the
steamer which had been detained by low water, occupied
thirteen days!
Nor is this an isolated case. During the past summer,
thousands of passengers have experienced similar, though
not perhaps equal, detentions; and thousands of tons of
merchandise have been detained, by the low stage of water,
for days beyond the proper time of shipment and delivery.
In these days of rapid exchanges, nowhere is the truth
of the adage that "time is money" more sensibly felt
than in the transactions of commerce.   The delay of
passengers or goods implies loss. In the consumption of
coal, in the wages of the crew, in the salaries of the offieers, in the interest on vested capital, in the loss of possible
profits, and in the interruption of the errands of friendship
and commerce, the damage which any protracted detention inflicts upon steamboat companies, upon merchants
and passengers, is always serious.
An intelligent steamboat captain, whose judgment has
been informed and matured by more than twenty years of
service, recently assured me that the cost of the detention
of an upper Mississippi steamer was $16 an hour. Upon
the assumption that the cost per hour is only one-half of
this estimate, then the loss on our trip alone was more 
13
than $1300; and the aggregate losses which all of the
boats incurred from detention by low water must amount.
during the present season to an immense sum.
This has been a year of exceptionally low water, but
every season there is more or less interruption of navigation by sand-bars, and the total loss is very heavy. In
1867, the N\ortliern Line Packet Companies paid over
$200,000 for lightering over the Keokuk Rapids, and duringthe last six weeks of that season they did not receive more
than half the grain that was offered, because it cost so
much to transfer it over the rapids. How many hundred
thousand dollars the sand-bars have cost the company this.
year may be inferred from the preceding figures.  But the
damage from obstructed navigation is an annualt assessment upon the prosperity of the country, and the loss of
any one year, however great, sinks into insignificance when
compared with the total losses that have ensued since the
first steamboat cleft the waters of the Mississippi.
The benefits of an unobstructed navigation of the Mississippi have become national, but heretofore the injuries
of an interrupted navigation have been individual. This
is clearly unjust.  At a cost of over $4,000,000, the Government has constructed around the Keokuk Rapids a.
canal eight miles long, three hundred feet wide, and five
feet deep.  The work is a noble, though tardy, recognition
of the material interests of the Mississippi valley.   In
high water, the canal is unnecessary; and in low water,
when itl is most needed, its usefulness is greatly impaired
by the obstructions above and below it.  The presence
of five feet of water in the canal is a fact of vastly less
commercial importance, if in scores of places in the upper
Mississippi there are only two and one-half or three feet 
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of water. It is easy to see how materially the numerous
sand-bars which blockade 500 miles of the upper Missis.sippi restrict the utility of eight miles of uninterrupted
navigation. To complete the usefulness of the canal, the
Government will be compelled to maintain a channel of
equal depth throughout the length of the upper Mississippi.
DISCOURAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY.
According to the judgment of commercial experts, the
value of the traffic on the upper Mississippi, is about
$400,000,000 a year.  The means of verifying this estimate are not at hand. If the statement is only an approximation, it still shows the colossal magnitude of the river
trade. Of this grand aggregate, the business experience
of the Keokuk Northern Line Packet Company* proves
that at least one-half is diverted from river to rail by the
vexations and delays arising from shallow water.   This
diversion generally ilncreases the cost of transportation and
diminishes the profits of agriculture.   Now it is a sound
principle of political economy that the creators of wealth
should never be subjected to oppressive burdens.
To cities situated on the banks of the Mississippi, the
Railroads grant river rates, but heavily assess the towns
which are not adjacent to the stream. These unjust dis,riminations exact a burdensome tribute from the farmers.
When the water is high, the railroads reduce their charges
to the lowest practicable point, in order successfully to
Compete with the river, but when the water is low, or the
river is closed by ice, then the railroads profiting by the
*The testimony of this company is emphasized by the magnitude of their
-commercial operations. Their fleet now consists of sixteen steamers, three tow,oats, and forty-five barges. 
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embarrassments of an obstructed navigation raise their
tariffs, and the difference in the rates comes, partly at
least, out of the pockets of the farmers. This unnecessary
tax disheartens agricultural industry and represses the
production of wealth. When the discouraged farmer finds
that, after all his hard work, it costs nearly as much to
send his grain to market as he gets for it, he is inclined
to restrict his industry to the satisfaction of his domestic
wants, and the country loses those possible values which
a cheap system of transportation would have stimulated
him to produce.
The improvement of the Mississippi river would cheapen
breadstuffs throughout the land and confer a mutual
benefit upon producer and consumer. The western farmer
could save more money and consequently could buy more
goods, while the eastern manufacturer could live more
cheaply and therefore could sell his fabrics at a lower
price. In these times of industrial adversity, a public
work that tends to lessen the cost of subsistence is specially
worthy of the active encouragement of the Government.
THE RELATIVE CHEAPNESS OF WATER FREIGHTS.
Obviously carriage by water is far cheaper than transportation by rail. Rival trains never run on the same
railroad, but any number of competitive boats can ply on
the same river. Every railway company possesses its own
trackl, but no corporation has an exclusive title to the
Mississippi river. Apart from its natural cheapness, river
freightage is still further reduced by the active competition
of different lines of steamers. Even if the Mississippi
were not used for commercial purposes, yet there would be
a great economy in improving its channel, for the mere 
16
possibility of its use would force the railroads to lower
their charges to river rates, and the total saving in the
price of transportation would many times exceed the cost
of the proposed improvements.
CARRYING CAPACITY OF BARGES.
The heavy expense of construction, equipment, running
and repairs, the large force required for their operation,
and the comparatively small work accomplished by a single
engine, must always render railroads a costly system of'
transportation. The bounty of Providence has freely provided the river for our commercial convenience. There is
no cost of construction, but only of improvement. In a
good stage of water, even upon the upper Mississippi, a
steam-tug can tow eight or ten barges, and the freight of
these barges, if fully loaded, would fill respectively trains
of 384 and 480 cars. What a number of engines, force of
men, and outlay of money it would take to transfer by
rail the load of a single tow-boat!  On the lower Mississippi, the achievements of the tow-boats are still more
extraordinary.  A steam-tug once towed into New Orleans
a fleet of barges whose cargo would have freighted 150(>
cars! This exceptional exploit shows the possibility of the
barge system.
Forty-six coal-fleets were once detained at Pittsburg
Landing by low water. Released from their embargo
by a sudden rise of the river, 369 coal-flats, bearing a
freight of more than 4,000,000 bushels of coal, sailed fromn
the port of Pittsburg within the brief period of three days
In 1876, Pittsburg shipped by river-mostly to towns on
the lower Mississippi-more than 62,000,000 bushels of
coal. A large portion of this coal was destined for the 
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use of river and ocean steamers - a fact of significant
importance in its relation to the foreign trade of the
Mississippi valley.   The total investments of Pittsburg
in coal-transports amount to $5,000,000.   These facts,
which are authorized by a Government Report, not only
exhibit the carrying capacity of barges, but also show the
enormous amount of tonnage which its affluents contribute
to the commerce of the Mississippi.
During the present season, more than thirty steamboats
have been running upon the waters of the upper Missouri
and the Yellowstone.
The number and tonnage of all the craft now plying on
the Mississippi and its affluents form aggregates which
will doubtless surprise persons unfamiliar with the magnitude of our river commerce.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, the gross enrolled
tonnage of the Mississippi and its tributaries  was  as
follows:
FISCAL YEAR, 1876.
No. of vessels.............................................2,865
Tons......................................................400,512
Official records justify an addition to this aggregate of
9o5 vessels and 20,000 tons as the unenrolled tonnage of
the port of St. Louis alone.
It will aid ourF conception of the vast amount of merchandise which these fleets can transport to recollect that,
during the business season, even the raft-boats make
numerous trips; and some of the large steamers, plying
on limited courses, make one hundred voyages.  If the
present commerce of the Mississippi is so enormous, what
would be its limit after the channel has been permanently
deepened?
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NATURAL PROUTES OF TRANSIT.
W here there are no obstructions to navigation, Ibulkv
comimodities instinctivelv seek water transit.
The iforegoing statement has been singularly confirmed
by recent changes in the movement of grain.  It is estimated by the Goveriment Statistician that "ninety-two
per cent. of the fieights shipped east from Chicago ly
lake consists of breadstuffs."
The following figures-which are worthy of a careful
examination-all refer to the shipments of wheat from the
Mississippi valley to the Atlantic seaboard:
Shipments during the two weeks ending Mlay 12th, 1877:
By rail....................................................... 2,550,000 bushels.
By lake...........................................................4,490,000 "
Shipments during the two weeks ending October 12th, 1877:
By rail......................................1,955,000 bushels.
By lake............................................................9,563,000   "
Shipments by rail during the eleven weeks ending
October 14th, 1876......................................17,893,800 bushels.
" ".   1877.......................................... 10,653,100   "
It will be observed that the wheat transported in May
was the remnant of the relatively small crop of 1876; but
even then, when the quantity of cereal tonnage was less
than usual, the amount of wheat carried east by vail, was
about one-third larger than the shipments by car in the
busiest portion of 1877, after a harvest of unparalleled
abundance. In view of the extraordinary crop of the present
season, it might naturally be supposed that the quantity
of wheat conveyed by rail would be much larger this year
than it was last year; but statistics show that, during
eleven weeks only of the present season, there has been a
comparative decrease of over 7,000,000 bushels in rail 
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freights.  Since the new harvest was garnered, the railroads have carried scarcely one-half of the grain which
thiey had the facilities to handle.   Meanwhile the  lake
and canal boats have been freighted almost to the limit of
their capacity. The preceding tables show a surprising
increase in transit by the water route.   For a given time
during the present year, the fall shipments by lake and
canal were more than double the spring shipments.   The
season of transit and the extent of the harvest only partially account for this increase; the full explanation of
this larger patronage of the lakes must be soughit in the
popularity and economy of water carriage. These facts
significantly indicate how vast a commerce would float
upon the Mississippi, if its channel were always open to
an unobstructed navigation.
VWith late exceptions, the railroads have for the last
fifteen years been steadily gaining business at the expense
of the water routes. The friends of the river can cherish
no reasonable hope of a successful competition with the
railways in the conveyance of express goods and light merchantdise. It is chiefly in the foreign exportation of cereals
and other heavy wares that a just expectation of a material enlargement of the river trade may be entertained.
The reason why so much business has been diverted from
the Mississippi is obvious. The existing obstacles have
discouraged investments in steamboat property and prevented that full equipment, compact organization, and
vigorous co-operation which have achieved such success on
the lakes. The uncertainty, delay, and cost incident to a
difficult navigation have largely prevented merchants from
forwarding their commodities to foreign markets by the
Mississippi route; while capitalists have been deterred 
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from establishing lines of steamships to New Orleans by
the obstructions at the Balize, and  by doubts of their
ability to procure full and regular cargoes.
With an improved channel, the Mississippi would bear
unfailing supplies of tonnage to Atlantic steamers, and
then a largely increased trade, together with an intimate
co-operation of river and ocean lines, would permit a still
further reduction in the rates of freightage to foreign
markets.
RELATIVE RATES BY RIVER AND RAIL.
MIercantile experience warrants the assertion that three
and one-third mills per ton per mile on cargoes of grain
and heavy merchandise transported  by river is a paying
rate.* But freight cannot be profitably carried on railroadcls for less than eight and three-fourth mills per ton
per mile, and the average tariff, even for through consignmerits, is from one cent to one cent and a half per ton per
mile.   It is indeed true that the charges have at times
been less than these figures, in consequence of the rivalry
of different roads, or of the efforts of railways to divert
shipments from the Mississippi, but this competition has
proved disastrously unprofitable. Perhaps to this unnatural rivalry the bankruptcies of railway companies, and
the turbulence and wild disorder which have lately disturbed the industries of the nation may partly owe their
origin. Possibly the cause of the inability of the railroads
* The above figures are based upon the information of practical steamboatmen. But according to official authority, the statement is an over-estimate of
freight charges by river.
"The cost of transportation on the river is but one mill per ton per mile, or
only about one-tenth of the average cost of the tonnage movement on the railroads west of the Mississippi, and only one-sixth of the average cost of transportation on the Pennsylvania railroad."- U. S. Gotv. Rep. Int o. Co. and av. 
21
to pay their workmen customary wages was an excessive
reduction of rates for the purpose of competing with the
great water routes.   The railways are grandly useful
avenues of commerce, but they should not attempt to
monopolize the carrying trade of the country. With the
revival of industrial prosperity, it will test the capacity of
both river and rail to effect our commercial exchanges; and
meanwhile the railroads should not endeavor, by a competition whose success will inevitably prove fatal to themselves, to divert bulky commodities from their natural
channels of transit. With a uniform stage of deep water,
grain can be shipped from St. Paul to Liverpool by way
of the Gulf eight or ten cents a bushel cheaper than by
any other route.
After the close of navigation, when there is no longer
any regulation of freights by river competition, the railroads increase their charges, and then the difference between the summer rate by river and the winter rate by
rail becomes materially greater. Multiply the cereal exports of the Mississippi valley by the saving per bushel
by the river route, and the product is a startling proof of
the economy which water carriage can effect.
ECONOMY IN THE MOVEMENT OF CEREALS.
. The extent of this possible saving in freightage is impressively shown by the fact that this year the five states
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, will
be able to export 100,000,000 bushels of wheat alone!
Except in California, my eyes never gazed upon such magnificent prospects of agricultural wealth as I recently saw
in the fields of Minnesota.  In whatever direction my
excursions led, on every side there stretched to the limits 
22
of vision broad acres of golden grain.  Bfinnesota alone
produces this season more than  30,000,000 bushels of
wheat, of which 25,000,000 bushels can be spared for
exportation. The wheat crop of the other northwestern
states is equally bountiful.
But wheat is only one of the commodities of this valley.
In 1876, the corn crop of the states contiguous to the
Mississippi, including Kansas and Nebraska, was more than
780,000,000 bushels, and its value was over y238,000,000.
From its bulkiness, corn is naturally a water freight.
This obvious fact is confirmed by commercial statistics.
For the last two years, the shipments of corn from Chicago
wNere as follows:
1875.                     1876.
By lake................... 21,850,000 bushels............ 28,100,000 bushels
By rail.................. 4,321,000 "............ 17,299,000 "
From these figures it will be seen that, in spite of the
desperate competition which the railroads have for the last
few years been carrying on with water carriage, the lake
route has maintained its ascendency.
The foreign consumption of American maize is rapidly
increasing. Our exportations prove that a knowledge of
the excellence of Indian corn as a cheap and nutritive
food for men and animals is fast spreading throughout
Europe.* In 1875, the amount of corn exported from the
* The price of corn is usually less than half the market rate of wheat; and,
according to the following analysis, the nutritious power of Indian corn is but
little inferior to that of the best wheat:
Fine English      Indian Corn
Wheaten Flour.         Meal.
16               14
10               12
2                8
72               66
100              100
Water...........................................................
Gluten.........................................................
Fat..............................................................
Starch, &ec...................................................
Johnston's Chemistry of Common Life. 
23
United States was a little more than 20,000,000 bushels;
in 1876, it was over 50,000,000 bushels; in 1877, it was
upwardcls of 70,000,000 bushels.  W hen the United States
Department in the French Exposition has made Europe
fully familiar with the rich and healthful qualities of our
great staple, then the foreign demand for Indian corn will
be greatly enlarged. The capacity of the west to produce
maize is practically illimitable. In 1877, the corn crop
of the United States was 1,340,000,000 bushels.  Though
nearly all of this immense yield was grown in the Mississippi valley, still only a small portion of our broad prairies
has as yet been brought under cultivation.   A  single
quotation from market rates will show the possible profit
of the corn trade.   On the 21st of last November, the
price of corn in St. Louis was forty-four and one-half
cents per bushel, and in Liverpool eighty-seven cents a
bushel. At that date, the cost of transportation by way
of the Gulf, including transfer and insurance charges, was
thirty-one cents per bushel. A profit of eleven and one-half
cents per bushel on all the surplus corn of the Mississippi
valley would soon restore our olden prosperity.
The lower the cost of water transit, the further farmers
could afford to send their products  to market.  Every
reduction in river rates would bring to the Mississippi the
tribute of a broader empire, and enlarge its commerce by
increasing supplies of freight.  The economies of an improved channel, saving  ten or possibly fifteen  cents  a
bushel on all grain exported by the Gulf route, would give
an immense impulse and expansion to the commerce of this
valley.
After the deepening of the channel, the river will possess
many advantages over the lake route.  From Keokuk  to 
24
the Balize, the Mississippi is sometimes open to navigation
all winter, and in the severest seasons the ice-blockade
seldom lasts more than two months. But on the lakes,
navigation is usually suspended about four months. At
present, most of the grain exported from Chicago is shipped
in propellers, but the carrying capacity of even the largest
of these boats is greatly inferior to the aggregate tonnage
of an ordinary fleet of Mississippi barges. To withstand
the violence of storms, the lake barges are large and
strongly built. The absence of engines is their chief distinction from propellers. The Mississippi barges, not being
exposed to the turbulence of inland seas, admit of a relatively lighter and cheaper construction. The lake barges
probably cost two or three times as much as the river
barges. The tonnage of a lake barge somewhat exceeds
that of a river barge; but on the lakes a steam-tug can
tow only two or three barges, while on the upper Mississippi a steam-tug can tow from six to ten barges, and on the
lower Mississippi an almost unlimited number. The current of the lakes is so slight as to be an unfelt element in
their navigation, but the current of the Mississippi is an
effective force. The rapidity of flow varies from three to
five miles an hour. The energy of the current alone
almost suffices for motive power. As all the cereal cargoes
of the Mississippi are carried down stream, the co-operation of the current is an important element in transportation. With all these various sources of economy, the
improved Mississippi must be a much cheaper course to
foreign markets than the lake route. It is believed that
the improvement of the river and organized competition
would reduce the freight to Liverpool to twenty-five cents 
25
per bushel. Is it not the duty of the Government to open
the channel through which so full a tide of wealth would
flow?
LUMBER TRADE OF TIE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
Lumber interests of an importance scarcely inferior to
that of the grain trade are deeply involved in this scheme
,)f improvement. The total quantity of logs and lumber
rafted down the upper Mississippi now reaches an annual
average of 1,000,000,000 feet, and represents a value of
$15,000,000. Of this amount, about 900,000,000 feet are
absorbed by the towns along the river, and 100,000,000
feet are brought to the lumber yards of St. Louis. The
lumber which is not consumed by the river towns is sent
into the interior by rail. The range of distribution varies
from 100 miles east of the Mississippi to 1000 miles west
of the river. The lumber business can never be diverted
from the Mississippi. Wherever the possibility exists, it
,vill always be done by river. But low water subjects
raftsmnen to embarrassing and expensive detentions.  The
necessity of employing, larger crews and heavier tow-boats
materially increases tile costs of navigation. According
to the judgment of practical lumbermen, the permanent
deepening of the channel of the Mississippi would dimin ishi the expense of rafting by fully one-third of the present
rates. The improvement of the river would reduce the
price of lumber throughout the Mississippi valley.
By the discharge of its duty, the Government would
relieve momentous interests from grave embarrassments,
and confer an appreciated favor upon the humble pioneers
who are struggling to erect homes of their own in the
wilds of the west. 
26
MAGNITUDE OF OTHER COMMODITIES.
Nor does lumber close our inventory of valuable commodities.
During the fiscal year 1876, the United States shipped
to Europe more than 550,000,000 pounds of pork and other
swine products, and the total value of these consignments
was $67,800,000.
During the eighteen months ending March 31st, 1877,
over 34,000,000 pounds of fresh beef-worth $3,000,000were exported from this country. The foreign trade in
American uncured beef is rapidly extending. Its cheapness and excellence strongly recommend this food to the
nations of Europe.   Under  the improved processes of
chilling, the meat reaches foreign stalls fresh and sound.
This trade, now in its infancy, will yet develop into proportions of commanding importance.
But the demands of trans-Atlantic nations cannot exhaust our resources. The Mississippi valley could easily
supply all the meat markets of Europe.
The almost measureless abundance of other kinds of
produce, the heavy southern staples, and the varied products of our factories and work-shops are all seeking
domestic or foreign exchange. An economical movement
of these commodities is a subject worthy of the gravest
attention of our Government. The shipment to market of
our plenteous harvests would revive our languishing
industries and bless the land with a renewal of public
prosperity. Free from obstructions, the Miississippi could
easily and cheaply float these products to market.
The Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, in his Report upon
the Internal Commerce and Navigation of the United 
27
States for 1876, asserts that "the tonnage transported on
the various avenues of internal commerce is more than
one hundred times greater than thle tonnage composing
our foreign commerce."
Of this domestic trade, whose magnitude bewilders the
imagination, more  than  one-half of the  exchanges are
made in the Mississippi valley; and the Mississippi river,
if free from impediments, would be pre-eminently our
greatest single factor in the transaction of this enormous
business.  WVhen the interests involved are so vast  and
when the necessities of public relief are so urgent, is it not
the imperative duty of our Government promptly to remove
from this majestic stream every obstacle to navigation?
In 1867, it was thought that the completion of the
Keokuk canal would effectually open the navigation of the
Mississippi river; but subsequent years of unusually low
water render further action necessary. And now the
same arguments which advocated the construction of that
great work plead for the improvement of the channel of
the upper Mississippi. While the obstructions remain,
the annual loss in costly delays, in interest on capital, in
local decrease of production, in higher tariffs of transit,
and in exorbitant rates of insurance, would more than
pay for the projected improvements.
GRANTS OF LAND AND CREDIT TO RAILROADS.
Our Government wisely assisted in building the Union
Pacific Railroad, and that road, in spite of the mistakes
and frauds which have been committed, has proved a
national benefit.   And I profoundly believe that sound
policy will justify our Government, under safeguards that
will defy any spoliation of our National Treasury, in grant 
28
ing the loan of its credit to the Northern and Southern
Pacific Railways. In the settlement of new lands, in the
development of natural resources, in the increase of taxable
property, in the additional employment and products of
labor, the accession to the public wealth would far exceed
the expenditures upon the work. But why should our
Government lavish $100,000,000* upon the construction
of railroads, and yet hesitate to give half a dozen millions
for the improvement of our rivers?
APPROPRIATIONS FOR HARBORS AND LIGHT-HOUSES.
The many millions which tile Government has spent
upon the harbors and light-houses of the sea-board were
judicious outlays for the protection of life and the encouragement of international trade. But our total foreign commerce-which now amounts to about $1,100,000,000 a
year-is less than the annual traffic upon the Mississippi
and its tributaries. Is our foreign trade alone worthy of
the fostering care of the Government? Discontinue our
foreign commerce, and the essential comforts of the American people would scarcely be diminished; but suspend our
river navigation, and there is not a working-man in the
land who would not feel, in the higher cost of living, this
interruption of cheap exchange. The ocean conveys to
our shores the costly luxuries which embellish the residences of the rich; the river brings to the humble homes
of the poor a cheaper means of livelihood. Which deserves
the first consideration of our Government?  There can be
*Utp to January 1st, 1877, the extent of Government land-grants to the railroads of the United States was over 200,000,000 acres, and the aid ill bonds and
accrued interest amounted to more than $90,000,000. 
29
no valid objection to the improvement of our seaports, but
the rivers of the MIississippi valley are entitled to equal
commercial  facilities.   The  aid which has justly been
granted in the one instance cannot rightfully be withheld
in the other.
DOMESTIC POLICY OF FOREIGN NATIONS.
The imperial powers of Europe have long favored the
policy of internal improvements. France especially has
derived from its public works large dividends of material
prosperity and social well-being. The vast system of improvements which England has constructed in India has
not only preserved its eastern empire, but has also conferredcl benefits and inaugurated reforms which the administration could not otherwise have accomplished. Without
these works, the ghastly tragedy of starvation which has
lately been enacted in that unhappy land would have been
incalculably more destructive. England has already spent
some $500,000,000 upon the railways and other public
improvements of Incdia, and British statesmen are now
urging their Government, with fair probabilities of success,
to expend $150,000,000 more in the construction of works
of irrigation so vast as to insure ample harvests and prevent the recurrence of famine.
A policy that has always proved so beneficial abroad
cannot be unworthy of adoption by our own Government.
INCREASE OF IMMIGRATION.
There are many reasons of a general character why
Congress should take immediate action. The river should
be ready for the enormous commerce which will soon float
upon its waters. The signs of this early expansion of
trade are numerous. Into the broad and fertile tract of 
30
land lying immediately east of the Rocky Mountains and
stretching from Mexico to the British possessions, tens of
thousands of settlers are 1now pouring. For many months
the cars of the Northern Pacific Railroad have been filled
with a steady stream of immigrants, and the freight trains
have been heavily loaded.with their household furniture
and farming implements. On the other roads further
south, the western trains have also been thronged with
immigrants.  And when  the magnitude  of this year's
harvest has been published to the world, the magnificent
advertisement will cause still larger numbers to seek these
new lands. The region extending 500 or 600 miles northwest of St. Paul is as well adapted to wheat culture as
any portion of the Mississippi valley.  This new northwest will export 2,000,000 bushels of wheat this very
season. The products of the extreme northern section
will doubtless seek an outlet by Duluth and the lakes, but
from its southern limits to the borders of Mexico, the
produce of the newly opened farms will naturally find
their way to market by way of the Mississippi river.
Unless there is a cheap means of transit, the cost of transportation from such remote localities would exceed the
profits of production. The inexpensive freightage which
the improved channel of the Mississippi would afford
will enable these farmers profitably to ship their surplus
products to market.  The river should be seasonably prepared for the additional business which it will soon be
required to transact.
FOREIGN TRADE OF SOUTH AMERICA.
From the domestic traffic of the Mississippi river, there
is a natural transition to its foreign exchanges. Promi 
31
nent among the countries with whichl the west could carry
on a direct and greatly profitable trade, stands South
America.  The foreign commerce of the South American
states is immense. Sumerous lines of steamers are steadily pouring the wealth of their rich cargoes into the coffers
of the British and French merchants who control this
trade.  The United Kingdom sends seven or eight steamships a month to South American waters, and there is
scarcely a day in the year in which a steamer does not sail
from some European port for the same destination.. Fromn
South America, the voyage to Liverpool is about 3000 or
4000 miles longer than that to New Orleans.  The freight
on this additional distance is equivalent to a heavy tariff
in favor of North American competition.  Yet England
and France possess almost a monopoly of the foreign trade
of South America.
The commerce of Great Britain, France, and the United
States with South America, is shown in the following exlibit:
TEAR.         COUNTRY.              EXPORTS.          IMPORTS.
1875.............Great Britain................ $S2,120,000........ $105,500,000
"............France.......................... 59,724,000......... 69,179,000
1876.............United States................ 21,600,000......... 64,58,000
From this table it appears that the profits on a total
trade of more than,300,000,000 are now enriching England and France. By an organized and energetic cooperation, a large part of this lucrative business could be
diverted to the United States.  Nearly one-eighth of all
our South American imports come from Brazil, but the
balance-sheet of our commerce with our tropical neighbor
is a disheartening spectacle to a citizen of the United
States. In 1876, our imports from Brazil were $45,453,000,
and our exports $7,253,000! 
32
At present, there is comparatively but little intercourse
between the twin lands of this continent. In the absence
of an American line of steamers, the merchants desirous
of exchanging visits and unwilling to encounter the vexatious delay incident to a voyage on a sailing vessel are
obliged to make a long and costly detour by way of
England.
There are symptoms, however, of an approaching change.
The flour, machinery, and furniture of the United States
are gradually becoming more popular in the markets of
South America. New England, which is now actually
sending cotton goods to Manchester and wresting from
English manufacturers their long-established supremacy
in the markets of China and Japan, will probably in future
years supply Brazil and its neighbor states with their
cotton fabrics.   But the Mississippi valley ought now to
fill all South American orders for heavy machinery ancl
agricultural products. It is, indeed, surprising that the
sagacity and enterprise of the merchants of this valley
have not made earlier efforts to secure this enriching trade
A  company  was recently organized for the purpose of
establishing a line of steamers between New Orleans andl
South American ports. But this undertaking will hardly
succeed, unless a sufficient quantity of cheap freight cam
be obtained at New Orleans; but cheap freight in the
Cresent City implies a transportation untaxed with the
charges of costly interruptions. Here, then, is another
reason of paramount weight for the prompt improvement
of the channel of the Mississippi.
IRON INTERESTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
The physical character of this valley will shape its
industrial dlestiny. Our vast resources of iron and coalt 
foreordain this region to be the great central machineshop of the nation. St. Louis-now the third city in the
United States in manufacturing importance-is already
eminent for the excellence of its hardware. The fame of
its foundries and work-shops has traversed the ocean and
reached distant lands. A large Russian order for machinery was recently filled in this city. These facts have
remote bearings, and possibilities of productive results.
The Britishl exportation of iron and steel ware to Australia is not one-tenth as large as it was three years ago,
while within the same time the Australian demand for
American cutlery and hardware has increased twenty fold.
Now St. Louis is thousands of miles nearer to the markets
of Australia than any eastern or European seat of iron
manufactures; and the completion of the Southern Pacific
Railroad to San Diego will open a thoroughfare 600 or
800 miles shorter than the present route.   Then, with
the channel of the Mississippi freed from all obstacles,
and with the cheap freights which the competition of
an independen?tt Southern Pacific Railway would insure,
seemin(gly it would be possible for St. Louis to control the
profitable hardware trade of that distant continent.
SIGNS OF RETURNING PROSPERITY.
Thle skies so long  overcast are beginning to show gleams
of a brighter day. Already there is an encouraging revival in manufacturing industry. In 1875, the exportation
of cotton fabrics from the United States amounted to only
$3,000,000; in 1877, it rose to $10,000,000. The Atlantic states do not produce one-tenth part of the breadstuffs
which they consume. With all their factories and workshops in successful operation, the proportion of home
3
"j3 
34
grown cereals would be still smaller. Every increase in
the manufatcturing prosperity of the east creates a larger
demand for western products. The facilities for exchange
ought to correspond with the rapidly expandingI needs of
commerce.   Public works which are universdal in their
benefits should be built at the national cost; therefore
our Government, in the exercise of its sovereign right to
regulate commerce, ought to undertake these internal improvements, and directly remove the impediments which
now obstruct our inland navigation.
The boundless -wealth of the pres(ent harvest will (lo
much to restore our golden guide, bring back the American people to their earlier habit of prudent dc(ldinlg, and
re-establish business on a basis of stable values. In 1860,
the Agricultural Bureau, judging from  the growth of
previous years, estimated the total grain crop of the Mississippi valley for the year 1880 at 1,200,000,000 bushels.
In 1874, the product was already 1,455,000,000 busliels;
and in 1877, the aggregate must approach 1,950,000,000
bushels, which  was the estimated yield of 1890.  So
,greatly does the rapidity of our development outstril) calculationi.  Our tillage will fill our tills.  The golden harvest
of 1877 will relieve the financial embarrassmects of thi(e
country and re-establish business on a sound basis.
Thle currency of the Mississippi is gold-bearing.  Tihe
profits arising from the general revival of trade which the
shipments of our crops would cause would far exceed the
outlays required for the improvement of the river. The
imperial stream which is able to play so important a part
in the movement of these harvests and in the restoration
of public prosperity ought at once to be put into a state
of efficient usefulness 
INTERESTS OF AMERICAN SITIPPiING.
)uring the civil war, our commercial marine was swept
from the ocean.  Thousands of sailors have been driven
from lucrative employment, and our country has lost the
rich profits of the carrying-trade and the ready means of
defense which spring from this training-school of marines.
The present moment seems to he favorable for the United
States to regain its maritime ascendency.  American vessels ought to convey the cargoes and secure the profits of
our foreign commerce.
The practical success of the jetties seems now to be an
established fact.*  By their action, the sand-bar at the
mouth of the South Pass has been removed,  and now
Atlantic steamers drawing twenty-two feet of water can
sail without obstruction to the wharves of New Orleans.
With a decpened channel, the Mississippi would hear abunlanlt freights to the ocean steamships, and greatly aid the
Government in its efforts to retrieve our marine prosperity. Deduct from our foreign trade thei commodlities
which are now borme to the sea-board by the Mississippi
river, andl the total is materially lessened.  But the present
traffic is inconsiderable in comparison with the possibilities
of our river commerce. In 1876, more than 190,000,000
hushels of cereals were received at the ports of Portland,
Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore; and of this
lquantity over 100,000,000 bushels were shipped to foreign
* The United States Inspector, whose duty it is to report to the Government
the progress of the work and the depth of the channel, has officially notified the
Secretary of War that on the 22d of December there was a practicable channel
through the jetties two hundred feet wide and twenty-three and a half feet deep
at average flood-tid(le. There is every probability that the natural forces now
operating under the control of the jetties will soon dredge a channel thirty feet
deep through the bar at the mouth of the Mississippi.
35 
lands. It is true that some of this grain is grown too far
north or east to be carried to market by the Mississippi,
but take all the breadstuffs, all the other crops of the farm,
all the products of the mill and the work-shop, which from
the adjacency of the places of growth or manufacture are
naturally tributary to the river trade, and the whole
amount of merchandise which might be conveyed to the
sea-board by the Mississippi would swell our foreign commerce to vast proportions. The beneficial effect which the
river-borne cargoes of this valley would exert upon the
interests of American shipping is still another powerful
argument in favor of the improvement of the Mississippi
river.
INCREASED DEMAND FOR AMERICAN BREADSTUFFS.
Russia  is the greatest wheat-producing counltry in
Europe. Jealous of his military fame, the Czar will never
consent to peace under the humiliation of defeat. The
numerous reverses of the Russian arms-though retrieved
by late successes-render it probable that hostilities will
continue  through  another campaign.   Meanwhile  the
tumults of war will unsettle agricultural industry in southern Russia, and the need of fresh levies will withdraw
the tillers of the soil from productive labor. During the
coming season, Russia will scarcely be able to export grain
to meet the requirements of the rest of Europe. The continuance of the famine in the Madras and Bengal presidencies will diminish the exportation of wheat from India,
while the partial failure of the grain crops in Europe and
the wants of contending armies will probably create an
unusually large demand for American hreadstuffs.  But
there is no need of prediction, for the enlarged demand is
already a recorded fact.
36 
37
Recently published tables of British imports show that
the importation of wheat during the first eight months of
the present year exceeded the receipts for the corresponding months of 1876 by $20,000,000!
Out of 80,000,000 bushels of breadstuffs imported into
England during the current year up to August 31st,
60,000,000 bushels were shipped from the United States.
During the eight weeks preceding October 17th, the export of wheat from this country was over 8,500,000 bushels more than our shipments for the corresponding period
of last year.
SAFETY OF THE GULF ROUTE.
The earlier apprehension that grain exported by the
Mississippi route would be injured by the climate of the
Gulf has been dissipated by commercial experience. During
all the years of shipment by river, the cases of damage
have been so very rare as to prove that any fear of injury
by the moisture or temperature of the Gulf is substantially
baseless. For many years, California, Russia and India
have been carrying on a large and increasing grain-trade
with Europe.   With infrequent exceptions, the freights
have arrived uninjured.  But the wheat exported from
California twice traverses tropical waters; the cereals from
Odessa encounter the sultry climate of the Mediterranean;
and the Indian grain consigned to English markets is exposed to the torrid temperature of the Arabian and Red
Seas.  If cargoes subjected for a longer time to intenser
heat reach their destination in safety, no climatic objection to the Gulf route can be valid.
EXAMPLE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Great Britain has maintained its marvelous commercial
sovereignty by the enterprise of its citizens and the wisdom 
38
otf its le,,islotion.  It has fostered its trade l)y piotective
laws and( vast svstemts of marine and internal improvements.
These public workls not only facilitate tile operations of
commerce, but they also bind together the empire with
the indissoluble ties of material interest, and furnish the
nation with a rapid means of military concentration and
defense.  In its patronage of internal improvements, the
example of Englaind is well worthy of American imitation.
Our Government ought to exercise the forecast and provide the facilities which will win and preserve mercantile
supremacy.
REASONS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION.
The times are specially fatvoiah-le )for the construction of
public works.  Latbor is cheap, and tens of thousands of
working(men are out of employment.   Clearly it is not
the duty of the Government to provide occupation for
men whom a depression of business has thrown  out of
placlce; but, if the improvements are necessary and can now
l)c, matde with unusual economy, it certainly is a stroI)g
artgumenlt in fatvor of the undortatkilig, tlhat a  piesent
prosecution of the work would bring relief to many needy
families, and measurably hasten the return of our disordered
ildustries to a healthful condition.
The special methods of improvement may safely be left
to science.  With an adequate supply of means, civil elngineering, using the disciplined forces of nature, can now
make an easy conquest of physical obstacles.  Assuredly
the skill which abroad has excavated a strait between
oceans and pierced mountain ranges with the avenues of
commerce, and which at home has opened HIurl Gate, built
the jetties, and dug the Keokuk cainal], is equal to the 
39
task of removing sand-bars.  Even in the dryest seasons,
thlere is always enough water in the Mississippi for the
service of commerce, but its diffusion over so broad a bed
causes obstructive shallows.  The stream must be deepened
by contraction within narrower limits, and compelled to
exert its mighty energies to dredge out its own channel;
or else tihe available lakes of Minnesota must he used as
reservoirs to supply a full tide during the season of low
water.
In times past, an occasional extravagance in expenditure,
or imper-)fection in tlhe structntres, hlas aroused pol)u]ltr
prcjutt(lice ag(ainst tle whlole system, andl ternl)orarily defeated
iinl)rovelnents essential to the commercial convenience of
the nratioln.
Thle  most  rigorous economy  and thoroughlly effective
work will alone entitle such undertakings to the present
favor of Congress.
An active co-operation of allied interests, forgetful of
miiiilor issues, persistent in effort, and jetlous only of divisions which would defeat the common hope, would surely
command success.
AnI( then the Mississippi river-whose southward course
was divinely directed, iu order that it miglht, by facilitating
the exchanges of different climes, more comp)letely sul)serve the wants of man- would fulfil its grand and natural
functions in the commerce of the world.
In the hope that the action of this Convention may
result in an early accomplishment of the desired object,
I am,
Respectfully, yours,
SYLVESTERt WATEIeTO USE.
I-. I ".:1  -
I  I -                   .'. "
:..1,, 1.: - - -' 
I i
I I~                               (.. II