Morning journal and courier., 1880-03-22
THE CAPECOD DsHIP CANAL

The plan for ship canal across Cape God, connecting Cape God Bay with Buzzsrd's Bay, provides for canal seven and half miles in length. The proposed route follows a natural valley just where the cape joins the mainland, and at each end of 1t there is 8 river. The Monument river, flowing into Buzzard's Bay, has a tide which extends three miles inland. At the other side the Scusset river, emptying into Barnstable Bay, stretches up into the narrow neck of land until the di- vide between the two streams is lessened to about three quarters of miIe. MT. Cleners Herschel, 6 well known civil engineer of Ros- tor, estimates that the canai can be mads for $2, 800, GOO. The authorized capital of the canal company is S t,o00, 900. Ground has been broken, and the charter gives three years for the completion ofth2 work but the en- gineers think two years vi!i be enough. It is sstd that nearly $e. oGJ. CGJ have already been subscribed, most (: ii by New York cap itsists. It Is claimed that ths canal will be of great commercial importance, and also of great national importance in time of war i; that it will benefit Lowell alone $500, 900 a year. and will be of corresponding value to Lawrence, Manchester and other places that ths benefits to be derived from it by shorten ing tho time of transportation and in lessening freight charges will be very great ; that it will cheapen coal freight at least fifty cents per ton, which would amount to something on the two million tons of coal brought to Boston every year. And many other sanguine claims ara put forth by the promoters of the enter prise.
 But, as in the case of De Lesseps' scheme, objectors to the Cape Cod canal arise and say that it will never pay, and that consequently it is not worth while to make 1t and sink in it the $2, 500, 900 or the $3,Oo0,00O that 1t will cost. And it must be confessed that their reasoning is at least plausible. The distance to be saved by the canal is about sixty miles, and as coal (for example) can be carried around Cape Cod for ten cents 8 ton at most, it is pertinently asked where the canal revenue of ''1O to 15 cents per ton," the towage through the canal of at least cents per ton, and the promised saving to the con- sumner is to come from. Mir. Her schel bases his calculations for revenue on an estimate of 40, 900 vessels per annum. This means fraction less than no per day, or one vessel every thirteen minutes, day and night, through the year. At an average rate of speed of no miles In twenty-f four hours for sailing vessels and 220 for steamers, it means a constant stream, day and night, through the year, of sailing vessels one mile apart, or of steamers two miles apart, pass ing through this ''opsn cut" III feet wide, crossed by two ferries, railway and highway, and with three to five knot current rushing through, in one direction or the other. It means five steamers or ten sailing vessels con- stantly In the open cut, provided they may pass through in the night; otherwise double the number and half the distance apart, pro vidsd again there be no obstruction to the stream. It is asked, would there be no dan ger of collisions in the ditch? Would there be no danger in shooting" the railway bridge (supposing the draw to be opeD) with five knot current rushing through in the vessels favor? Furthermore, the proposed canal is to be only 66 feet wide at the bottom, and it is said that it will not admit of two veg sels, each of 40 feet beam, passing each other.
 Various other objections to the scheme are made, and discussion of the subject bids fair to be lively. If the enterprise is really of the importance and the commercial value ascribed to it by it's promoters it will bear much criti- cism. If it is not the less money wasted in pushing it the better.