Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-22
THE INTERESTS INVOLVED.

There are numerous projects in which the
money or credit of the United States could
be used to advantage in aiding the construc
tion of ship canals and water communica'
ton generally throughout the interior
But it happens that most, if not all, of them
would create competition with certain pow.
erful corporations or otherwise interfere with
plans of the monetary powers of the coun.
try.
There is that Harlem River Ship Canal,
for instance, which would shorten the dis
tance and still more decrease the difficulty
of passing from Long Island Sound into the
Hudson river. But the Harlem Ship Canal
will interfere with the bridges OF the New
York Central Railroad, and is consequently
looked upon with little favor.
There is the project of deepening the
Hudson river and Erie Canal so that trans
portation from the lakes to the Atlantic
would be vastly facilitated and gun
boats could in case of war be sent from New
York to the lakes. But this will increase
the effectiveness of the water competition
with the trunk line roads, which in some
quarters is a vital objection.
There is the project of connecting the
Ohio with the lakes by the Lake Erie ship
canal, which would reduce the cost OF ship
ore and coal by fifty cents ton and connect
the Mississippi valley with the lower lakes
in case of war. But this also would make
an inroad upon the coal, ore and iron traffic
which the railways have marked as their
own at high freight charges. They do not
care to look TO benefits beyond that.
There is the project of canal from Chi
cago to the Mississippi, which would per-
form the same function for the upper Mis-
sissippi and the upper lakes that the Lake
Erie canal would for the Ohio and the lower
lakes. But this would also set up cheap
water competition for the grain traffic of the
northwestern roads.
There is also the project of trans-Alle-
gheny canal from the head waters of the
Ohio to Chesapeake Bay, which with I'M
lrovement of the rivers on the scale de-
veioped in the series of articles now being
published in The DISPATCH, would give a
continuous water route from all the localities
reached bv the tributaries of the Mississippi
TO the lakes and the seaboard. But this
would set up water competition with nearly
all of the through lines of railroad, and re-
duce the latter corporations from their pres
ent proud position as rulers of commerce to
that OF its servants.
A hundred million dollars of Govern
ment appropriations, or the same loan OF
Government credit, would go far toward
realizing the leading features of these mag
mifcent and comprehensive projects of
water communication, connecting all parts
of the country, and reaching the ocean by
three different channels. But when we re-
member the universal interest of the corpor-
ations in choking off such projects of cheap
water transportation, it may be regarded as
a natural sequence OF this conflict of inter-
ests, that it should be proposed to sink $780,
600 600 of Governmen Mt credit in the swamps OF
Nicaragua, for the benefit of promoters, and
that the organs of corporate interests every
where should agree that this is exactly what
the Government ought to do.
That seems to be the verdict of the present
ruling classes; but it is likely to become a
live question for the people to consider
whether it is better to spend 500, 900, 900 in
this country for the benefit of this nation, or
to spend S1OO,OOO,OOO in Nicaragua In the
interest of speculative promoters and for the
protection of our own corporations.