Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1874-01-22

| WdtCi HtNiSaLiOh Can oc outdiucu ".
means of damming up the river at GER
tain points and building locks. The
"rise" to be overcome in these forty
miles is 1l6 feet. From Fort Edward
to Whitehall, at the foot of the lake, 4:
distance of % $40 miles, it is proposed
to use the ChamplainCanai already con
structed by enlarging it so as to pass
vessels Of 1000 tons. 1t is proposed tt
make the canal $50 feet wide on the sur.
face and ITO feet wide on the bottom
with depth of ten feet for its entire
length. After leaving Fort Ed
ward. l16 feet higher than the river lev.
el at Troy, there is another rise of thir.
ty-one feet to place called Summit
which is the highest point. From Sum-
nit to the lake there is descent of fif
ty-one feet. 1t is said that only eigh-
teen locks would be required-eleven In
the river between Troy and Fort Ed
ward and Summit, and five to make the
descent from Summit to the lake al
Whitehall. The distance from New
York is now 213 miles. From White
hall the course is clear through Lake
Champlain to Rouse's Point, distance
Of Ill miles,and thence through the Riv-
er Richelieu to st. Johns, a distance of
% miles. The River Richelieu is navi-
gable to its junction with the st. Law
renee, but the distance greatly diminish
ed by canal from st. Johns across to
Caughnawaga,a distance of 80 miles.
This canal belongs to Canada, and is to
be built by the Canadians. The line of
this canal passes through q very level
country, its greatest rise being only 25
feet. 1t is said the entire work can be
built by half-cutting; that is, cut Of
feet and bank of 6 feet is all that
would be required to construct a canal
of IL feet in depth. The lockage is of
course very light, and the cost OF the
whole work is estimated at less than $3,-
100000. From Caughnawaga, on the
st. Lawrence, the route to the West is
the same as that described above.
The project OF building a ship canal
around the Niagara Falls has been more
or less discussed since 1882, period of
80 years. The first survey was made in
1882, and,1S0S another was made by Or
der of the Legislature, the route being
from Schlosser to Lewiston. In 1885 the
Federal G overnment detached Captain
W. c. Williams, United States Topo-
graphical Engineers, to make surveys
for ship canal around Niagara Falls.
His survey was on the shortest line
from Schlosser to Lewiston, seven miles
and 1000, feet in length. The plan
provided for a channel ITO feet wide, with
locks 200 feet long, so feet wide, and 10
feet deep. The estimated cost of this
canal was $2,56s, ,ss5, SO with single locks
or $3,6l0,596,s1 with double locks, at
prices for materials in 1885. In 1858 an
other survey was made by General
Charles B. Stewart and Major Edward
Serrill for ship canal between Niagara
River and Lake Ontario. This survey
included five different lines for canal
l60 feet wide at the surface, and IA feet
deep, with locks 300 feet long, 20 feet
wide, having an average lockage lift of
1511s feet. The line from Schlosser to
Lewiston, eight miles in lenght, includ-
ing the deepening of the harbor TO IA
feet, was estimated to cost, with single
locks, SIS, ,290, Also, and with double
locks sl3, ,l69, ,959.69, at prices for mater
ial and labor as they were in 1858. The
average cost of the lines surveyed by
Stewart and Serrill was $5,95S, ,947. .25
with single locks, or 1888 ,529 with
double locks, and their average length
was eight miles and 42S feet. The line
of one ofthese prodosed routes passed
through Lockport, and that of another
extended TO Buffalo. At the present
cost of labor and materials it is thought
that a canal of the dimensions proposed
in the last survey would cost $4,000
600. is not necessary to say more of
these chimerical schemes, for nothing is
more certain than that Niagara ship
canal could never be made to pay. The
same is true of the Oswego and Hudson
proposed ship canal, to say nothing of
other still more preposterous subjects.
THE CHAMPLAIN SHIP CANAL.
Commercial men and legislators still
differ in their opinions as to the feasibi-
lily of ofopening the Champlain route to
the West. Those who favor the under
taking claim that it is not only feasible
but absolutely necessary to retain the
commerce which heretofore passed
through the State of New York. They
contend that the expense would be
much less than the expense of building
ship canal by any other route, and
but trifiing when compared with the
beneficial results that must flow from
the work.
The time from Chicago to New York,
1t is said, would be from five to seven
days less by this route than it is by the
Erie Canal and the cost much less, as
there would be no breaking of bulk on
the way for vessels OF 1000 tons and
less.
THE ROUTE FROM NEW YORK TO CHICAGO
All vessels coming from the West
the lakes are OH equal terms
until they reach the foot of Lake Erie,
where the great barrier which nature
has placed in the way is encountered.
At that point the products of the West
take different routes to differen. mark
cts. 1t is claimed that if the Cham
plain route were opened vessels could
come from Port Colborn, near the foot
of Lake Erie, to tide-water in four days
time, allowing them the same rate of
speed only through the s4 miles of canal
and slack-wa.er navigation between the
S.. Lawrence and the Hudson as is now
made by boats on the Erie Canal. The
average time for canal-boat from Buff
falo is now about ten days. The lowest
estimate of the saving on freight from
Chicago to New York over the Cham
plain ship canal is 80 per cent. 1t is
well known that thefreightage to Mon
treal is much cheaper than the freight
age to New York. In 1865 the average
rate paid per bushel by propeller from
Chicago to Montreal was 13 cents in
gold, against % cents via Buffalo or Os-