Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-14
WATERWAY WANTED.
Colonel Roberts Declares the Ship
Canal to be as Feasible as
THE WELLAND CANAL In CANADA
Members of the Commission Visit the Lat
ter, Obtaining Some
TELLING FIGURES OF COMPARISON

Every stage which the proceedings of the
commission appointed by the State to in
quire into the feasibility OF ship canal to
connect the Ohio river with Lake Erie, is
advanced, demonstrates more clearly the
entire practicability of the proposition. The
field work is now finished and sufic lent data
are at hand for the purpose Of forming some
opinion as to the physical difficulties OF the
proposed routes.
Captain John A. Wood, Colonel John M.
Goodwin and Colonel T. P. Roberts returned
Yesterday from week spent in Canada in
investigating the conditions under which
the Welland Canal was built and is oper
ated. Colonel Roberts, in speaking of the
project yesterday. compares the difficulties
met with in constructing and operating this
canal, with the conditions which attach to
the planning of the proposed ship canal;
and very much in favor OF the latter.
Colonel Roberts expressed his views as
| follows:
VALUABLE INFORMATION.
"In the course of a weeks inspection of
the Welland canal we had ample oppor-
tunities Of inqulring into the mode of opera
tion. observing the features of the country
through which it passed, and noting the
manner in which it was constructed. In
addition we obtained details of the dimen-
sions, and information regarding the con-
struction of the canal, which are valuable,
If only for the purposes of comparison with
what difficulties may be required to be sur
mountad in nIonninp tine shin canal
1--WE found that the Welland Canal was
about 26 miles long-I am speaking from
memory and without accurate figures at
hand-was $50 feet wide and had % locks.
This canal, as you know, connects Lake
Erie and Ontario. Lake Erie is about 326
feet higher than Ontario, and for the first
16 miles of its course from this end the canal
is level. The last 10 miles have the locks I
mentioned, each with a lift ranging from
see the fall from the summit,
326 above Lake Ontaria, is accom-
plished by means of 25 locks equally divided
along the ten miles The canal is about IA
feet deep, $50 feet wide and capable of ac-
commodating vessels 255 feet long, 10 feet
wide and drawing IA feet, being the size of
craft for which the locks were built. The
actual capacity of these vessels would be
about ], 600 tons. ascertained that for two
miles of the length of this canal cutting 60
feet deep had to be made before the level OF
the canal banks were reached"
A STRIKING COINCIDENCE.
'These particulars" continued Colonel
Roberts, "are not alone interesting in them
selves. but more particularly so when taken
in connection with the proposed ship canal
By a coincidence the summit of the new
canal, according to the data obtained, would
be about as high above tidewater as that OF
the other, or about 320 feet. The length of
the canal along the Beaver Valley route
would be about 100 miles. The summit is
reached at point 20 miles from the Ohio
river; then comes a level stretch of about 15
miles, and then the drop of 800 feet into
Lake Erie in the remaining 15 miles. You
will observe that in the proposed canal the
most rapid fall is extended over 15 miles,
whereas the same fall had to be arranged for
on the Welland in ten miles. Ergo, what
is practicable in one instance is more than
capable of accomplishment in the other.
"a very important feature in connection
with the ship canal is that there will be no
such heavy cutting as on the Canadian
canal along any port of the route. And
this is important when the cost comes to be
reckoned up. Another advantage which
the ship canal would have over the other is
in its supply. The Welland Canal is sup
piled solely from Lake Erie, whereas the
ship canal would be charged from the
Beaver river and the watershed draining
into it, as we'll as from the lake. I am GER
tain as to the practicabilitv of building such
9 canal, and have an opinion, too, as to its
commercial value.
CANAL vs. RAILROAD.
'I boarded Ship" the Colonel con-
tinued, ''on the Canadian canal, which piled
between Cleveland and Hamilton, Ontario.
1t was loaded with Pittsburg coal and
bound for Hamilton. The captain told me
he was regularly engaged in the trade, and
frequently returned from Hamilton un-
laden. He was being hauled by tug. Now
here is an instance of a canal competing sue
cessfully with railroads. This particular ship |
could afford to run from Cleveland |
to Hamilton, and spend so hours in the |
canal and still deliver its freight and live |
in competition with railroads. I think this |
shows that the days of canals are not passed, |
and that they can still rival steam power. |
1 go further and hold, continued the |
Colonel" that it would pay the people OF a |
State to pay for canal il only by its COM
petition it succeeded in reducing the rail- |
road rates by one-third or one-fourth, as the |
proper development of a canal should.
The opening of a ship canal will be of the |
greatest advantage to Pittsburg. Ifit will |
enable ore to be brought direct from the |
mines at a reduced cost of even 30 cents per |
ton it will just bring local manufacturers of |
steel rails, for example, so much nearer to
their Chicago rivals. 1t used to be held that |
the cost of ore to Pittsburg manufacturers |
about equalled the cost of coke and coal to
the Chicago men, but it has been found /
that the difference is much in favor of the
latter. A ship canal will enable an
enormous proportion of the tonnage
that now unloads at lake ports to find its
way directly into the Pittsburg harbor, to
the profit of the district in cheaper freight
age and more local activity in commerce.
That anyone can doubt for one moment the
advantages to be derived from direct COM
munication with the lakes is to me incom-
prehensible."
Colonel Roberts said that the details Of the
proposed canal would be proceeded with at
once. The usual monthly meeting of the
commission was held at the Office yesterday.
Six railroads cross the Welland canal,
and one branch of the Grand Trunk system
runs under it. 1t is also spanned by %
road bridges. All of these are operated
without any disturbance Of tariff either on