Middletown transcript., 1875-01-16
For Tie Midalaown Tyanseript.
feryla1d fDe1sk ksfs Shlh Canal


I see 10 last week's paper eonmpnl
E,iatioo, from Dosef, oeethe raging ship
canal The writer says some persons are
disposed to pour cold water ON every
great enterprise in its conception.
There may Be great difference Of opin-
ion in regard to what some persops
consider great enterprises. These cold
water psrsons are the salt. Of the earth
the cool common sense thinkers that
Keep visionary men from running the
country in visionary schemes.
loa Now, il We never had had canal
across this peninsula visionary 1engi-
neers might croak. and talk Of the ig-
norance Oftthe people. but We happen
to have a precedent in Delaware, to
base our assertions on. John Randall
came to Delaware fresh from the Erie
canal il about 1922 or 8. and it is pre-
suiDsd that John Randall, as an engi-
neer experienced in canal building,
stood as high as any engineer ever
stood in this country. He brought his
corps Of assistants with him, and laid
out the Chesapeake and Delaware canal
for, through cut tide water canal. and.
to show, how little he knew Of the soil
on this peninsula, in obtaining the
right Of way. ! vas told by Anthony
NJ. Higgins. Esq. near St. Georges
that those epgineers assured his father
that they would make: corn land of all
his marsh and low ground. and said
Mr.. Higgins to me last September 4
year ago as the hack was on the cross
way between Ais house aud Delaware
City, Just look at that quagmire. they
have made instead Of the promised corn
ground" Therefore look out, you
landholders where this new enterprise
Is proposed, get vslne for your land.
|eif Nov, as stated, John Randall
stood ahead of. or as high as any engi-
neer; and did be make stide-water
canal? No! Did his calculation : for
n feeder turn out as be stated I No!
Wss be not turned Of BY the company
for being too visionary /? AndIEhadi it
not been for that 1000 year old Egyp-
tiap Invented bailing, wheel. invented
BY some common sense Egyptian to
"pour cold water" over the land Of
Egypt. the raging Chesapeake and
Delaware 6anal would be good for
nothing to-day. Therefore the writer,
Of the letter signed Dover must nm
der.tand that We are not going i blind
against this new proposed raging ship,
canal project We measure bis eagi-
neers with such men - Jehn Randall. ).
and, further, taking 81 common sense
view Of the way it was 6rst inaugural
ed. It was not calculated to give IT,
much character, for if | mistake not. .
charter was obtained 1t Auuapolis to,
cut . canal lfrsm the waters of the
Chesapeske to the. Delaware line for q
ship tide-water canal. with. Is feet
water, and that when 100000 were
subscribed. and Eve per cent. Of thst
sum paid in, the company could organ
ize and have the right to issue. bonds
for four millions Of dollars. Ii..
Nov common sense will suppose 3
case: Five men pay in one thousand
dollars each. which would have been
the $4,000. They could then have or,
ganised and. issued the four million,
dollars, or probably forty millions in
bonds, and put al the Credit MobiliersI
aud Northern Paci6csl IN the shade !
The DslsSAre Legislature. however,
,remodelsd the charter and then killed
the project BY adding ten feet Of water
to the depth, making it Is feet Of depth
of tide water at all times of tideLI
suppose; for those Baltimore steamships
that u to be, cannot wait for the tides.
I have seen the Chesapeake and Del
aware canal from its infancy the Del
awars and Raritan Csnsl; the Erie
Canal; the Ohio and Cleveland Canal;
the layton Canal ), the Wabash and
Erie Canal !, the Illinois Canal, termiu-
ating At Chicago the Potomac Canil;
The Schuylkill, Union and Pebnsylva-
nis Canals. having navigsted these three
last named raging canais TITO years Of
my lifetime 1 therefore, have seen a
|, good many canals and the workings Of
them, and this raging canal that was to
be . tide water throughout ship canal
tie Chssapsske and Delsware-is in
my nsighborhood. and / am therefore
wslllacquainted with that humbug that
takes . hundred negroes. am told.
eternally At work to keep the, sand out
Of the deep cut 1t the Summit. 80 as to
allow 8 or 81 feet ofswster in that ca
nal, md now suppose the tide could
make one rush through it, or, the locks
at Back Greek or at St. Georges should
blow out and draw the water out Of the
Summit Level, in would 60 the sand
and mud
As to the Sues Canal, it is no cri-
tsrion: forihistory states that thousands
Of years ago there was water route
through 1t. and Il has. | presume, been
mersly drsdged ont, and didanotlltake
one tenth the money to make it that it
would take to make . canal across this
peninsula, with ! depth Of Is feet Of
water It i'll times Of tide, and if we are
to bslieve the published reports Of the
Suex Cinal. although it il on the route
between all the great seaports Of Eu-
rope, Asia. Africa. and. | might say,
America, il does not pay. Then # 1t
does not pay. how is this proposed ship
canal with little more than the
foreign sommsrce Of Baltimore to pay :?
Any captain and owner Of large ves-
sci with common sense would consider
it to be to his interest to 60 down and
out Of the chesapeake bay, 10 prefer
enes to going through canal. even
without pay, much less to pay heavily
for it; and as to this humbug stuff. tell
ing people along the line of this pro-
posed canal it would benefit them, It is
all stuff. even If il was ever made. The
people now have Blackbird creek and
Sassafras rivers, which common sense
ought to dictate would not float as large
vessels as farmers wanted to load: for
foreign steamships would load cord
wood. Your Co0pty roada and Hun-