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Document 49 –

Letter of Complaint from R. Oliver of the Great Western
Cereal Company to Canal Officers
 

September 3, 1904
 

Document 49
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Transcription

 

                                                 Sept. 3 1904.
Canal Officers:-
              Lockport Ill.
Dear Sirs:-
               We wish to enter serious protest against the practice of
parties above us throwing manure in the Canal.
               This with the refuse of the gas company has been a serious
inconvenience to us, as our water wheel rack is frequently choked. Damag
to water wheel governor is apt to result from this constant fluctuation
of the head of water.
               The acid put into canal by wire plant above, causes a gas to
form in our sprinkler system on upper floors of buildings, causing the
heads to corrode. We have been deluged with water twice, through the
building, on account of this.
               We wish you would take an active stand against the above
evils, for we have brought this matter up several times before, with no
lasting result. It is a matter which we believe is to the interest of
the Canal to remedy.
                                     Yours sincerely
                                                      G.W.C.Co.
                                                              R. Oliver

Explanation

The Great Western Cereal Company paid $2,748 in 1904 to lease water power generated by the deep basin at Joliet. The previous year the Summit Division of the canal, that part extending from Chicago to Lockport, effectively no longer was open to traffic. Instead this part of the route had been taken over by the new Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (see document 47 explanation). When the Summit Division stopped handling boat traffic the I and M no longer received tolls from it.

For 1904 the number of boats on the then truncated line had increased to 107. But the total tonnage transported had dropped to 47,616 and the number of miles traveled had shrunk to 58,839. Leading items carried continued to be corn, wheat, flour, and lumber. While tolls in 1904 only amounted to $4,551, other revenue sources included water power leases, $18,989; land sales, $11,997; water pipe and sprinkling leases, $4,372; land leases, $3,001; and ice cutting leases, $300.

Points To Consider

What was the Great Western Cereal Company complaining about?

What kind of image does the name "Mother’s Oats" convey?

How was the Great Western Cereal Company mill at Joliet powered?

Contrast this company’s product images with the conditions under which they were manufactured.

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