Middletown transcript., 1872-04-20
~ Ms Nsillassa Tssaserirs
Ship Canal,

parpcis about making another canal across
this peuinsuls. Tho present canal, the
Chesapeake 4 Delaware. vas first talked
Of being made . ship canal. though rough
cut and what not, but they vero glad TO
let themselves down to IN upper and lower
level. and 7 to 9 feet depth. (sud that is
only maintained BY = powerful pump. or
pumps, that vss not thought Of At first.
and BY ooRstant removal Of sand at the
deep cut). FOR q canal Of 10 ieet Of va.
ter. the best route il by the Sassaffas river
and Appoquinimink creek. and low ground
TO the hsrbor Of Reedy Island. the only
good harbor on the Delaware river: and
BY going up the eastward Of Pea Patch
Island, and Of Bulk Head Bar, the die
tancc TO Philadelphia IL not two miles far
thcs than from Delaware City aud going
down the bay there Is . saving Of Eve
miles over Delaware City.
| Canals Of from Eve to ten feet can
readily bc built. but when you begin 10
talk Of ship canal that 10 for heavy, sea-
going vessels. with depth Of rs feet.
(you want all Of that depth. for II . ship
draws q or 22 feet Of water. you want
some water below the keel or you cant
steer i,). such canal 10 quite = different
matter from onc-horsc canal. In read
ing the Baltimore Sun q person might be
led to suppose that the Chesapeake Bay.
one Of the finest bays in the world, had
suddenly filed up. and that the commerce
Of Baltimore. city Of 800, 900 or $3.50. 900
population. wanted more direct route to
Europe; and that by outing canal from
somewhere about the mouth Of the Chester
river, on the Chesapeake Bay, to the Del
aware Bay at the mouth, or out in the
Bay. opposite tho mouth Of Mispillion or
Murdcrkill creeks. distance Of say So
miles. and save, as is assumed in the Bait
Sun. 1S0 miles going and $50 miles return
ing. Now let US look at the time il takes by
the different routes. At speed Of 10
miles an hour. the $50 mils would take
IS hours by the bay aud sea route. Sup
pose the canal was made (Which think |
will prove will never be donc), with the
best Of luck. with no vessel in the way, it
would take one hour to snub and lock II
ship through the first lock, aud as there
( would have to bc ut least four locks, tax
ing four hours; then two miles an hour is
high rate Of speed for ship to pass
through canal, and 55 miles would take
u! hours now hours for lockagc aud
, you have 81 hours by the canal, or i3i
! hours more than by the bay and sea route,
/: to say nothing of general canal detention
} lac, us look a, the possibility Of making
, such canal and its problblc cost. On
this proposed route, at an average depth
a Of > feet, you strike water and sand and
e unless prevented the sand will run in a.
fas, as taken out, which can only be dou,
i by enormous cut stone walls and the seam.
a cenen,ed. For the purpose Of showing
' the whole scheme up as an absurli,y. VI
5 will take the lock n, ST. Georges. on the
Chesapeake a Delaware canal 1, is.
! believe $50 feet long, with ten feet dcpil
) Of water and % fee, wide This cham
a Der. ! have been told, cost Sl0o, 900. au,
+ that, ,oa. having the advantage of tn,
I. canal to deliver stone ou the spot. Now
e if ls0 feet loug and 10 feet deep COS
II 2loO 900, what would $50 fec, long, I,
feet wide and % feet deep cost or 81,
4 three times the width Of the lock, which
| would be AZ narrow as ship canal eoul,
d be, and then ms you 20 down below the Il
1 feet to get 20 feet, the wall would have {,
D be doubled and thrilled. and other cxpcu
i srs in proportion, so that each length o
lso feet. three times the width, IS feet
Z and ~ feet deep would cost Loo. 900
81 an! as there are nearly 80 times the lgngtl
of o. fee, lock in mile, it would b
/. abou, $50, ,000. 900 to tho mile, aud 81
h miles assumed, it would cost the molera,
4 sum Of 1850 millions of dollars. To cx
i, tend the mouth of i, out in bay from Il
i TO 40 miles wide to get the proper deptl
e and to mako the proper harbors and nle,s
and transportation Of stone for the cana
| and bay walls out in the bay to deep wa
h ter, would cost $3.50 millions more, maxim,
e in all 1000 millions Of dollars TO make
i ship canal TO accommodate city Of $40.
j 900 population that would not probabl
y dispatch more than one or two ship.
j. week 10 Europcsn port The inieres
4 alone on that amount, yearly, would b
"a 40 Mllions--nbout one.half Of all III
: real and personal property Of the city o
| Baltimore /; but. this is the age Of humbu!
i projects The city Of Philadelphia wou''
" no, rest until she obtained u charter 4
/. build bridge across the Delaware 80 4
d 100 feet high in the centre. When the,
c came to look the matter in the face. an'
couu, the cost, il vanished into thin air
and is not now talked Of Some yisionay,
n men 10 England talked sometimes Of tun
. neling the English Chanel, from Englan,
!, to France. aud sometimes Of bridging it
n II is all moonshinc !; but 10 declare III
q Chesapeake Bay a nuisance. aud nt,emp
to dig q ship canal across a quick san,
= plane and out into shoal sand-bu
bay. as the Delaware is. to save 80 miles
o beats oil the projects ever heard Of.
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