Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-19
CANALS IN MAR.

The bill introduced by Senator Davis, of
Minnesota, for the survey of canal
around Niagara Falls is an evidence OF
the prominence which the question of in
| ternal waterways is taking in the public
mind. Commercially the question be-
tween the connection of the lakes with
the ocean by this route and some of the
Others is an engineering one. But as the
purpose of this survey is professedly with
view to dig canals for defensive purposes
it is necessary to say that the proposition,
while gratifyinga as an evidence of awaken
ing public sentiment on the subject, ex-
hibits failure to perceive some of the
vital points of canals as routes in time Of
war.
A canal on the frontier like the proposed
one on our side of Niagara and the Wei
land on the other side is, in the event of
war, the property of the strongest military
power. To understand this position it is
necessary to define the strongest military
power, in the words of rough-riding Cen
eral Forrest, as tie power which ''gits thar
first with the most men," If the United
States can get an army of 10000 men
to the Niagara peninsula before Canada
it cannot only hold the proposed Niagara
canal, but it can seize and hold the We'll
land canal On the other hand if Canada
can mobolize an effective army first it
could seize this canal and either hold it as
a fortified base or destroy it.
Beyond this there is the fact that while
a short canal can be fortified or held in
force, a canal of any length within raiding
distance of the border would be subject to
incursions that might keep it constantly
useless. 1t is impossible to garrison line
one or two hundred miles long so that
flying column of one o. two thousand men
could no. strike it at one point or another
and destroy its usefulness for weeks or
months by blowing up its locks or cutting
its banks. The only way to secure reason
able assurance of the usefulness of canals
for naval routes is by locating them so far
in the interiot that nothing less than
conqucring army can reach them.
1t may be question open to discussion
whether the military force of Canada OF
that of the United States coHid get an eff
fective army to the Niagara peninsula
llIoI. Du1 IL 10 ullHoCSSodly W Stt1le tlldt
question, because the point is that if it is
safe to proceed on the assumption that the
United States force could be there first we
need not build the Niagara canal, baf can
take and hold the Wall md ca al! In other
words, so far as the strategic valEe of the
canal is concerned. the proposed route
would result in expenditure whici @suld
either be at the mercy of the enemy or un-
necessary, because we could take the en-
emy's canals.
The safe and effective canal by which
we should prepare to transfer war vessels
to the lakes should pass through the in
terror of the country, appso oaching the en-
emy's territory on the debateablo w:ters
by direct line instea! of offering an eS-
posed one by running psrell5l to the Ell.
emy's country for hundreds of sAGs5. The
and Ohio river and Lake Erie
canals fulfil this coHdi is.l of naval effect |
iveness, while off .rias a still greater COM
mercial value. A ship canGl connecti':g
the lakes with the ocean, either by the en-
largemenS of the Erie canal or by the
Niagara route, will have a great COM
mercial value, but its effectiveness in case |
Of war would be negati re quantity.