The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-07-19
The Florida ship Canal.

flOIlua has oeen PIoJecttu loI uumoeA
OF years. In 1873 the project came very near
becoming political issue in FLORIDA, and we
believe charter Tor a canal company has
been several times asked of Congress, and
refused because, after the manner OF such
enterprises, it demanded also an appropri-
alton.
About the importance and advantage OF
such ship canal there is, of course, no
doubt. II would cut off almost one-half,
and that the most dangerous half, OF the
voyage between New York and New Or
leans; would place these two ports within
three and half or, at most. four
days Of each other by sea. and
would greatly facilitate the commerce
of all the Gulf ports with the North
ern States and with Europe. The report
sent us by the HERALD correspondent Mt st.
Louis concerning the canal project is,
therefore, OF great interest. 1t is to the
effect that letters just received by
st. Louis merchants largely engaged
in the transportation of grain and
other products down the Mississippi,
from one OF the chief engineers OF Nj. de
Lesseps, assert the readiness OF his principal
to undertake the construction Of ship canal
across Florida, as an enterprise sure to be
profitable, and for which he asks no sub
sidy or government aid of any kind, but
only charter from the federal government.
Ii this information is correct, and we
have no reason to doubt it, all that European
capitalists who are ready to undertake this
canal ask is such charter as would give
them the certainty OF protection; and it
seems that they do not think the charter OF
the State of Florida sufficient. They want
the recognition of the federal government
and in this they are undoubtedly right. A
ship canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean
with the Gulf of Mexico would be so impor-
tant an avenue Of accommodation that in case
of war it would be exposed to immediate
and determined blockade and attack by
foreign governments. 1t would require
to be defended by ships and by
land works, which can only be
furnished and constructed by the
federal government, and the company
building it would rightly ask fer guaran-
tees OF its safety and protection, and per-
HI ps for q limited neutrality, which the State
government would be poweress to grant.
Our correspondent is assured that engineers
Will be sent to Florida in the early iall to
make definite survey, and when Congress
meets an application will be made tor
charter. The line of the canal is to run,
he reports, from point on the ST. Johns
River on the Atlantic side to point
on the Suwanee on the Gulf, and
the intervening space to be dug out is said
to be only sixty miles long Considering
that the whole State Of Florida does not
contain a stone harder than decaying coral
the cost of digging such q canal ought to be
very low and there are no climatic difficult
| ties in the way.
About the commercial success of such an
| enterprise there can be no doubt The
whole commerce of the Gulf with Europe
and the Northern States would pass through
the canal. All the water-borne exports
and imports Of the Mississippi River would
pass through II. 1t would become the high
way through which the cotton, sugar and
grain which leave Galveston, New Orleans,
Mobile, Pensacola and Apalachicola in
ships would find their way to market, and
it would shorten the distance between these
ports and Europe or the Northern States
by several days, and lessen the risks
of the voyage very greatly. The
enterprise has, therefore, many features to
invite capitalists, and, so tar as we can see
not one to repel them or induce them to
hesitate. We see some signs in several
party organs of an attempt to make it ride
ulous by giving it a political aspect, and
it would not surprise US if it should
meet with covert or open opposition from
some railroad companies, which may take
alarm at project which would un-
doubtedly operate as rival to their
lines. But such opposition would be
quickly swept aside, for the people
OF the Mississippi Valley would see at
once that, now that Captain Eads has
demonstrated that the Mississippi can be
kept open for ships of the first class by his
jetties, such canal across Florida would
be in effect mere continuation of the great
river to the Atlantic coast of Florida.
Compared with the Suez Canal the pro-
posed Florida Canal would present very
few difficulties. The length OF actual ex-
cavaton on the Suez Canal is about eighty
miles but the difficulties of the country
were much greater. The Suez Canal was
ten years in building; the Florida Canal
could be completed, we have been told,
with all necessary harbor accommodations
at the termini in three or four years. The
able enterprise from the beginning would
stimulate capitalists who undertook it to
complete it in the shortest possible time.
| We regret to notice that poor Mr.. Tilden
and his friend Mr.. Montgomery Blair are
reported to be iurthering the canal scheme
with some deep, dark and dangerous DO