Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-05-29
of navigation on Lake Champlain, at II
Point, from 1853 to 1873 inclusive.

|
. 1867 Aprilzl Dec. -
!, lsis.......... April Dec ~
ls69........... April y Dee. !. ~
y ls7O...-...---- April Is Dec. -,
! ls71.......... March 2s Nov q ~
d is.S..-.-.-'--- Apriiss Nov ."
y Another fact may be allowed to stat'
q here is that the st. Lawrence route IL oper
n and free to navigation several days Longer
; each year than the Erie Canal, line that
: has for years been doing an immense busi
v ness and is now largely relied upon as the
9 New York and Boston water-linc for west
: ern produce.
3 This question is settled by this statement
/ of facts. found in the report Of Mr.. Conger,
|, from the committee on commerce, on the
7 Detroit commercial con, ention memorial
Z made to this House during the Forty-sceond
, Congress. That document says:
These tables demonstrate that for hity three year,
pror to 1867 the average time Of actual navigation
| down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean was
~ days On the Erie Canal for forty years prior tc
1864 the average time 232 days. or 10 days less
r than down the st. Lawrence. On the Hudson River
the average time of navigation was go days, or
days less, and the lakes go days, or days more
/. | than down the ST. Lawrence.
: ACTUAL TINE OF SUSPENSION OF NAVIGATION.
The average time OF actual suspension of naviga-
ton for fty-three years prior to ls61 on the OF:
: Lawrence only % days; on the Hudson, %
days: on the Erie Canal, l days, and on the lakes
s5days in each year. Actual suspension OF navisa
ton for about the same period from ST; Paul COR
Fort Smelling, few miles above) to 81. Louis on
the Mississippi. 100 days.
, From 1913 to 1865 the Welland Canal
was open to navigation an average of
twenty-one days each longer than the Erie
|, Canal.
| have already shown that the transpor-
tation Of wheat and corn in 1873 from
Chicago east by water was about five
bushels to one shipped by rail, and that the
| l,os i.la bp n -p- W
in the months of April to November inclu-
sive period when this northern line will
always be open for navigation.
Mr.. Speaker, there is nothing in Tact in
this objection.
1t is said also that this is longer than
either of the other routes. In distance it
is, but in time it is not and in cost of main
tanning and operating it, it has the adyan-
tage of either the Erie or Oswego routes.
In 1888 Mr. McAlpine said to the Mon
treal harbOr commissioners that
By way Of 0swego transhipment must be made
from the lake vessels to canal boats and the extra
cost Of canal transport and tolls must he added 10
New York no transhipment is required. And again,
| the Champlain route thus improved viii have the
further advantage Of the more economic use fves
sells OF the largest class preceding from any port on
| the lakes directly TO New York without breaking
bulk, and also the diminished length ofcanal navi
| CATION by that route. On the whole, the economy
Of time and transport by the Lake Champlain route
could not fail to attract to il very large share OF
| the trade between the Western States, New Eng
/ land and New York.
In This statement he was fully sustained
| by both Kirkwood and Child.
| | wish now to quote from the able speech
of Hon. Smith NJ. Weed, delivered in the
New York Assembly, April Is. 1873 In
speaking Of the relative merits OF these
| routes, he said:
Distinguished engineers have demonstrated that
with the Champlan Canal enlarged to capacity
Tor boats ola little over 800 tons, and the Caughna-
waSa Canal constructed proposed ton ofireght
could he transported by the Champlan route at
from 30 10 10 per cent. less than by the Erie
Oswego route. This, it will be remembered, is with
a canal capable Of passing boats OF lOO tons
On the question of time, Mr.. Window
says in his report this:
Assuming the speed OF boats on canals % the |
dimensions proposed 10 be four miles per hour |
when propelled by steam, and the speed Of prupel-
lers on the lakes and rivers TO be ght miles per
hour. and adding ten hours TO the time by the /
Osweeo and Buffalo route for the transhipmen from
lake vessels to canal boats. find the time re-
quired 10 move grain from Chicago &c New York by /
the three routes 10 he a. follows
BY Caughnawaga route, 23i hours. or O. days
By OswegO route, % hours, or @. days.
BY Buffalo route. 81 hours. or q days,
In practical business operations the time by each
route may be considered to be ten days
The committee do not, Of course, present this a
precise statement Of the actual comparative merits
OF the three routes but simply an estimate based
upon data which appear TO be approximately cor
rect.
1t is stated by Hon. John Young. of Montreal.
that on the eastward trip by the Caughnawaga
route vessels can avoid twenty locks OF 62 ieet
lockage. by passing down the rapids. In that case
the time OF the eastward voyage by the Caughna-
wasa route Will re reduced to about q days This
would not, however. affect the general statement
Just made Vessels, in making the westward pas
SAGE on the Caughnawa "a route would Of course be
obliged To pass through all the ST. Lawrence canals
and the tiIue, as before stated would be - days
Now. sir, the main reason why il is as
: n nd ba Loo /
operate. is because it has more open free
lake and river navigation and much less
canal, fewer locks and less lOckage By ;
this route there Is no transhipment, while ,
there must be on both the other routes: on
one at Buffalo, and on the other at !
Oswego.
will 90 no further on this point, as it Is {
my purpose at another time to discuss more Z.
fully the relative merits of these different n
routes. a
come now to the consideration of the q
route; what IS being done and what Is con- \
templated, and the cost. +
The route has two branches from the a
Mississippi River to Lake Michigan. One {
rom point on the Mississippi River. near a
The mouth of the Missouri River, and thence +.
" the Illinois and Michigan Canal. now
constructed, or by the uennepin Canal.
proposed to be constructed. and the Illinois n
tiyer. The other by the Wisconsin and m
COX Rivers, connecting the Mississippi ri
dyer with Green Bay, an arm of Lake 9,
michigan. distance of 27S miles From fr
heSe points the route is through Lakes n
hchlgan, Huron and Erie. to the Welland h,
anal by that canal into Lake Ontario. n,
nj through that lake into and down the is
t. Lawrence River to the village of Caurh- "a
awaga,. few miles above Montreal M
hence by the proposed Caughnawaga bf
anal, % miles. to the Richelieu River at M
|. John :; thence into Lake Champlain. III
nd through the same to Whitehall and i
hence by the Champlain Canal and Hudson m
liver to New York city. nv
Now what Is being done. The State of il
LIMOS Is improving the first-named branch or
ON the Mississippi river to Lake Michi-
m, and has recently appropriated $780, or
W toward that work The other branch. 81,
Isconsln and Fox rivers, is being improy No
ana Its commercial facilities enlarged by IL
&c general government This house has m,
ready passed the river and harbor bill. Nj
men approprlates a large sum for that 90,
lrpose, think $500, 900. he,
Inc Canadian government is now enlarr- ro,
z the Welland Canal. so that vessels of w, o
re thousand tons burden can pa between RI.
likes Erie and Ontario. This work will ca,
on DC completed, and will obviate for many sec
ars, II not for all time, all necessity for
e construction of the Niagara Ship Canal. on
Ihe rapids on the Saint Lawrence are Ga,
"a ;IT 80 lhat vessels on the down Hu
ira Trip VIII avoid the use Of the canals. I
charter, liberal in its terms for the Cd,
ughnawaga Canal has been granted by ner
Dominion Parliament. and portion Of H.
stock already subscribed. 4
The New York Legislature. which has re- TT
ltly adjourned appropriated $500 200 for the
improvement OF the Uhamplain Canal. eede
Will be seen from this short statement n I,.-
It large sums of money are being expend- Lax
on the entire line. 1t is really being con- an 4
ncted, and many of these improvements aadi
II DC completed within comparatively a are
months priv
It's not expected that the United States the
Iernment will expend money in the con- op ti
1ction OF the Caughnawaga Canal hnt more
his government will continue its exncn- on Il
1res upon the Wisconsin and Fox rivers eons
do what New York shall fail To do in ~, ~ a !.
enlargement OF the Champlain Canal and
improvement of the Hudson river above b
y, the Caughnawaga Canal will be built eyer
'hee. Ihis Is work ofvital Importance |
he through line, and of comparatively the
I'll cost. This letter which read is the of Il
mate OF an engineer who has given this sir.
ter ms study and time. Ii is addressed whit
ION Lew Underwood, of burlington stat,
mont: Kan
, van. PEEksSILL, May Il. Is7o Micf
est that the estimate ~ ,ha s al hand You on Il
lga Canal he modified as 10 contemnls,s IN expe
10 he one hundred and fifty feet wide which TINA
snni ham ,o MINI q me surface of the water New
tional width at bottom asn ~ thirty ieet Twel
tn OF the locks one hundred feet, maxim the that
J , xn 91 ndndred ieet IN length. total
leations and 1917, , estimate of said is est
ny details. My estimate Of the en-, o, a1. en Tn
. made twenty-five years ago. was SSH los at s.
70 hc two Ins., es. wiue AZ bottom, and the route
9 enlargement Of the PRISM ar ~ ;hs emma, - No
ested, will cost s2i.2,I and the Iengthenns to tn
locks will cost sla1 mn 7"@ H..