New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-05-28


,sn,s h v.rv bIsh on the Canals 81 the country
"A fact which nobody denies but It Is putting this isc'
10 harJ service 10 "a an argument 70 the enage
nsBt of the Ere Canal, as some oil the wing ph" are
doing. -. a., go,
will not be any lessn widen the roads. The true
remedy would be build more carriages 20 IN this
,os,,cr az he sns The looy 10 diinisk The rates Of reg
Is 10 h4Os saore b0as II the state Government must IN
terre In this the cheapest and most eNpeuluous
way Of doing would be 10 build boats 70 bring the pro
dnc,s of the country 20 market With twice ss many
boats ss have nov. the price Of freight would 10.
s,snty fall TO a reasonable rate the boats might be- 500
for nearly what the State paid for them and should
escspe the evil OF any material addition 10 the State
Debt" Ere PoH
We know Of no other journal which propounds
md maintains it's theories with such 9 cool con
tempt Of notorious facts as this same Evening Post
Surely no man who has any practical knowledge
of the Erie Canal its capacities aud Its embarrass-
meuts. could have written the above. OF the half
million people who live within sight of that Ca
nal there cannot be one SO blind not TO know
that tire difficulties now encountered are caused by
n deficiency OF Water ou the higher levels and Of
lockagc power wherever the locks have not been
doubled under the policy Of Enlargement. Double
the locks throughout and increase the number and
capacity of some of the feeders, and the boats now
in use could and would accomplish fifty per cent.
more transportation than they now do. Each boat
would carry more freight, aud make the trip from
Buffalo or Rochester TO Albany in two-thirds to
three fourths of the time now required. At present
a boat must not be loaded so to draw over forty
two inches if any is, it is subject to penalty 1t
Is stopped on the average every four or five miles
by a lock, and. coming up finds boat therein
and must wait its turn and If a break occurs or
boat sticks in lock elsewhere, awedge OF boats
three TO five miles long Immediately sccumulates
ON either side, causing enormous delays not mere
ly while the stoppsge continues but at the locks
each side for long tine aterward. SIMPLY
doubling the locks, and providing water to Ill
them as the Enlargement contempates would IN
crease the capacity OF the present boats immense
ly: but let the Canal be thoroughly enlarged VS. II
already is partially and these same boats will car
nv twice as much as they now do with greater
ease and far greater speed than is now attained
1.-THE capacity of the Canal were ample, its boats
would be doubled by private enterprise within six
ty days whenever an increase should be really need
ed as indicated by the rates OF transportation
There would have been hundreds OF new boat
built the past Winter, the strength oilsst Fall
high freghts, II the State had provided water Il
Goat them. And yet the Post gravely argues tina
widening the Canal would not reduce freights any
more than widening the roads would reduce the ex
pense Of travelling Are there any roads now Sc
choked with travel that man journeying Thereon
three hundred miles must stand still third of the
time waiting for opportunity to proceed Then we
say such roads should be wdened and that the
coat of travel and transportation thereon would b'
diminished thereby. Can any doubt It
The Post quotes from the Albany Evening Jour
nal remark that the present rates OF freight vii
not probably continue through the season, snC
asks
"why noti Because there will be- not more water Il
the CsnsL but . larger supply OF boats Why SHOULD
We make the present rate OF freight an argument 10 eS
pend money the Canal. when We know and scknow
ledge that Ia 10 rate which cannot be Kept up
You mistake, neighbor! Freights will fall OF
Aca9se ne pressure of PyodUes coming doom and Q
Goods yong up cal Be diminished. Should tn,
amount 10 be- transported weekly through the Ca
mails continue great through July aud August a
il has has been through May we shall have litt'
reduction in ireghts even though the State wer'
10 build i've hundred new boats in addition to thos
already in usa The more boats there running
the greater will be the hindranee in locksge, tn
more tedious the passage, the more considerable III
actual cost of running each boat through But en-
large the Canei so that eseu oVa' "sy 0a'i! Vn
Hundred Tons as easily as it now does Forty, an
the number Of boats and locksges will be dlmlr
ished, the Canal will be less choked aud the pas
sage through will be made Ia one-fourth less tim
than at present Then freights will be great.
lower than now because they can be afforded mucl
lower aud because there will be room ON the Ca
nal for all that seeks that channel All this is yer,
clear and simple to those familiar with the Canal,
That ireights will be lower in Midsummer thai
they now are is very true but they will almos
certainly rise again in October. Whenever Their
isa great deal to be conveyed on the Canal freight
viii be high until its capacity is much increased
The Railroads may draw off some freight bu
the population aud prOdOctiveness of the West ar
so rapidly increasing that the extraordinary CON
merce OF this year will be rivslsd by the ordinar
business of years not far distant And shall New
York invite this business or repel it