St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-11-12
TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION.
What One Man Has Done to Prove it.

During one week last month two items
appeared in the New York papers
which we copy below and use as text
for what one might almost consider
romance.
ITEM NO. ONE.
The statement that the traffic through
the Sault Ste. Marie canal for Septem-
Der exceeded that of the Suez canal by
$4,000 tons would probably be chal-
lenged by those not familiar with the
immense development of the lake ship
ping interest, but statistics furnished
by Gen. 0. NJ. Poe prove this to be a
fact. In addition to this, the past
month records larger business through
the canal than heretofore known i'm its
history. The passages through the
canal in September were as follows :
Steamboats,, 574; sail vessels, 300; RATS
and unregistered craft, %. The aggre-
gate of registered tonnage was 53l $50
and freight tonnage 553,0l1.
ITEM NO. TWO.
About twice as many people as there
are in the whole United States travelled
up and down Manhattan Island on the
elevated railways during the year
which ended on Wednesday at mid
night. That is to say, the official re-
port of the Manhattan Consolidated
Elevated Railroad Company for the
year ending September 30 shows that
the cars of the company have trans
ported 103 ,342 ,242 persons. The gross
receipts from fares were 81 ,004 ,46I.
There was an increase in the number
of passengers over last year of $685.
hn of
over last year was S27S, I0I and the de-
crease of operating expenses Sl3O.0OO.
AS will be seen one of the above
items is to the effect that the traffic of
the renowned Suez canal which is the
gateway of three continents, without
counting Australia, was outdone last
September by that of canal in our
own Northwest to wit: The Sault Ste
Marie's ship canal at the outlet of Lake
Superior, which places the latter at the
head of the artificial water ways of the
world in commercial Importance ; q
fact which will surprise almost every
one.
The other fact is that during the
same month the returns of the elevat-
ed railway traffic of New York city
show that it stands at the head of To-
connective transit in the world having
conveyed over 100 millions of passen-
gers for the year ending September 30,
1885, or an average of over three mill
ions per mile, which leaves all other
railway company returns almost out of
sight. Now to these marvels we will
add Il third which is, that one of our
subscribers and a resident of this place
was the protector and constructing en-
gineer of both these world leading pub
lie works. We refer to our fellow
tOwnsman Mr.. Charles Il. Harvey. The
history of his labOrs as protector of the
elevated railway system of New York
city, with the fact of his having draft
ed the laws which authorized the same
was the first engineer to build an ell
evated city rapid transit railrOad-has
been mentioned in our columns hereto
fore and his claims were attested in
the statutes of this state during the
present year but his connection with
the greatest canal of the world, has
not been alluded to by us, and of
which we will at present make but
brief mention.
In 1852 Mr.. Harvey, then a young
man of twenty three, was the general
agent for Fairbanks scales and took a
trip, for his health, mainly to Lake Su
periOr, then considered as remote as
HudsOn's Bay is now. He was taken
i'll at Sault Ste Marie, and remained
there several weeks on the invalid list
at the old Baptist mission. He then
and there saw all the business of Lake
Superior, being done by couple of
horse teams drawing all the exports
and imports of that lake on strap
eli
the passage of vessels. Congress had
already made an appropriation of land
for a canal there, but no one was pay
ing much attention to it. He wrote a
letter to his principals giving his view
of the great future there was to the
commerce of that water way, and of
the Importance of its improvement and
suggested that he would like to pro-
mote the project of building the canal,
and recommended it to them as an in
vestment. The reply was received
that the firm had been favOrably i'm
pressed with his ideas, and would give
him carte blanc to do what he thought
best to promote the project, and to
draw on them for his disbursements.
With this backing he made a survey of
the canal site, and went to the state
capital to- look after the laws as con-
gress had turned over the whole sub
ject to the state of Michigan. He spent
the winter of 1923 at Lansing, the
capital, and procured proper legisla-
ton. After the passage of the state
law he rendered bid on behalf of his
principals and their associates, which
the state authorities promptly accepted.
The corporation to build the canal
under the contract was organized in
1853, were Erastus Corning as presi-
dent, and Erastus Fairbanks and others
as directors. They at once made Mr..
Harvey the general agent, and later
on the engineer in sole charge of the
construction work as such, he broke
ground on the work June 4, 1853, by
wheeling out the first barrOw-full and
on the Goth, of April, 1855, formally
himself opened the sluices which let in
the waters of Lake Superior to fill the
canal which now takes the lead of the
world.
Eleven or twelve years later, upon
the invitation of a special commission
of the state of New York, he submitted
plans for the elevated railways of New
York city, and at its request drafted
the laws to authorize the same, which
were enacted just as he proposed them,
and upon the organization of the cor
pOratiOn to build the same, he was APP
pointed the general agent and engi- |
neer, as was done before in respect to |
the canal.
The result has been stated. But
such a record may not be duplicated as
long as this globe revOlves, where one
individual lives to see his personal |
and handiwOrk lead the |
world in traffic results, both on land |