THE DEEP-WATER ROUTE FROM CHICAGO 

 TO THE GULF 



THE energetic demands of the 

 Mississippi Valley for a deep- 

 water route from the Great 

 Lakes to the Gulf are not fully appre- 

 ciated by other sections t)f the country. 

 The hundred and more millions of dol- 

 lars that may be required to construct 

 and maintain a 14-foot channel from the 

 Gulf to Chicago, up a river famous for 

 its floods and shifting mud banks, make 

 the plan seem extravagant and visionary 

 to those not acquainted with the situa- 

 tion. But that the Middle West is in 

 earnest is shown by the fact that the 

 people of Chicago are willing to con- 

 tribute to the water route a canal on 

 which they have expended over $50,000,- 

 000. The national government has been 

 very successful in its work in "reclaiming 

 the West" by irrigation, in "saving the 

 forests" by forest reserves and a capable 

 forest service, in promoting our fisheries 

 by distributing billions of eggs and fish 

 annually, and it is now asserted, inas- 

 much as our inland commerce has far 

 outstripped the railways, that the govern- 

 ment should make our rivers useful. 



Nature has favored no portion of the 

 world with such a magnificent system of 

 waterways as it has bestowed on the 

 Mississippi Valley. The Mississippi and 

 its great feeders, the Arkansas, the Mis- 

 souri, the Illinois, the Ohio, the Tennes- 

 see, etc., offer nearly 15,000 miles of 

 splendid river highways, but as yet com- 

 merce has made comparatively little use 

 of them. 



THE G.VRDEN SPOT OP THE AMERICAN 

 CONTINENT 



Twenty-two states are included in the 

 Mississippi basin. They comprise 40 per 

 cent of the total area of our country, and 

 produce 75 per cent of all our exports. 

 They furnish the great bulk of our agri- 

 cultural products, about two-thirds of 

 our manufacturing industries, and about 



$10,000,000,000 worth of finished prod- 

 ucts each year. 



"The Mississippi River, with its tribu- 

 taries, from its headwaters to the Gulf, 

 embraces within its territory a constella- 

 tion of states which, for wealth, mineral 

 resources, agricultural products, soil, and 

 climate, is not excelled by any other 

 like group of states within our domain. 

 The Mississippi Valley can, under proper 

 conditions and culture, furnish the grain, 

 the meats, and the fruits for the average 

 consumption of the people of the civilized 

 world. Her resources in minerals are 

 but slightly developed, and, so far as 

 known, are practically inexhaustible. 

 Her people are healthy, educated, robust, 

 energetic, and capable of accomplishing 

 anything to which they may turn their 

 hand or direct the energy of their body 

 or brain." 



Until recent years railways had been 

 built fast enough to take care of the tre- 

 mendous traffic in this region, but the 

 extraordinary development of the past 

 ten years, the growth of business between 

 the North and South, and the increasing 

 tendency of much of our commerce to 

 seek an outlet from the Gulf, instead of 

 on the Atlantic, has brought about an un- 

 satisfactory situation. The railways can- 

 not carry quickly and satisfactorily all the 

 freight offered. More additional railway 

 mileage is required than can be built, and 

 the railways which have usually opposed 

 the development of our waterways are 

 now among the most earnest advocates 

 of river improvements. 



Parts of a statement on this subject by 

 Mr James J. Hill, read in the House of 

 Representatives during the last session, 

 are given below. 



"The business of the United States is 

 today so congested that from every por- 

 tion of the country arises clamor for 

 relief. The railroads everywhere are 

 taxed beyond their power. The people 



