Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-05
GERMANY'S BIG CANAL.
A Mighty Waterway That Will Be
Completed in Four Years.
WILL MAKE WILHELM A MASTER.
Although q War Measure 1t Is Of Great
Benefit to Commerce.
A WORK OF ENORMOUS MAGNITUDE

Panama Canal which, they say, is to be re.
suscitated some time or other, and about the
Niagara Canal, which is progressing fairly.
Like the Suez Canal, which, so to speak,
showed a whole continent aside and short
ened the waterway to East Africa and Asia
by thousands of miles, these gigantic enter.
prises, when completed will be Of incalcu.
liable commercial value to the world. Their
importance is even greater than that of the
Suez Canal. While the latter is used almost
exclusively by Europeans, the former will
serve America and Europe alike. The
South American continent will be showed
aside and the ships of all nations, doing
business with Australia, Japan, China and
India, will avail themselves of this short
ened route. A new condition of the carry
ing trade of the world will take place and
the consequences commercial, political and
social, can hardly be anticipated.
But the digging of canals is not confined
to the isthmus of Central America. Leav-
ing out the Manchester Canal, which enter
prise, great as it is, serves only q local in
terest, and various smaller bitches in the
course of construction in different countries,
there still remain to be mentioned two ship
canals of international Importance. They
are the canal through the isthmus of Corinth
and the great ship canal across the ''Cim-
brian peninsula"
In the Land or the Classics.
r :. C.-.L
An. ne Tana, Saa .h ~ iias tS v. conHecs G ehe
waiting the rounding of Morea and thereby
shortening the sea route from the Mediter-
rannean and Adr;at;c Seas to tbe T.evonto
and return by several hundred miles, has
not long ago been fully described in THE
DISPATCH The other ditch is to connect
the Baltic Sea with the German Ocean. The
construction of such a canal (the existing
Elder Canal being inadequate) was contem-
plated time and again. But the project
could never gain shape as long as Germany
was merely geographical conception
and the German Dutchies of SchIoswig and
Holstein were ruled by the King of Den
mark las Duke of Schleswig- -Holstein and
as such member of the German Diet)
After the Franco-German war of 1901
the project was taken into serious consider.
alton, but failed through the "verdict" of
Count Won Moltke, who recommended the
creation, first of German navy (for which
the Prussian fleet formed the nucleus) in
preference to the canal, both enterprises at
one and the same time being considered as
too big q task for the ne wly-created Empire.
But the more the plan for the construction
Of navy matured, the more the absolute
necessity for large ship canal manifested
itself, and in 1887 the old Emperor William
I. laid tho corner stone of the great Casin
ut Holtenau, near Kiel, with imposing
just 100 years after the estab.
Iishment of the Elder Canal.
=,
Inc canai, !ouo~lng IA tne mann tne old
3ne Just iueu.ioneu, WIZ peUt miles long, anu
ieep anu NiIe enough ior lne Passage ol tne
aleest 1iohsia9S i.s EiI sellnini are lne mar
~. - y. - -: ohH io"et Si1e az haS peSn
uinseu 'irs H snip canai is pe.hg DuI! py tne
: !; ;Sarat;ons IT, onna,nana;oI U u i,a uaa oIn-
i-,a ;nc;dan+aI Ri - Iii aartI, v ~
serve the ocean commerce of the world as
we'll as if it was carried out for this sole
purpose. The water route between the Bal
tic and the North seas will be shortened bv
several hundred miles, and the dangerous
and circuitous Danish waters eliminated.
The work on the canal is being pushed in
most energetic manner, and the canal will
be finished before the time set for its COM
pletion, if not DELAYED by unforeseen cir
such as war and the interfer-
ence of the elements.
Ten years had been allotted to this great
enterprise, but there is eyery reason to SUD-
pose that the wear 1895 will see the opepinr
Of two more great highways of commerce
the Corinthian and the North Baltic Sea
ship canals.
The mouths of the North Raltic canal
will be protected by immense locks or oates
against the storm. waves and high tides.
Behind these gates basins of LARGE d;men-
sions (24O by 164 wards each9 are in the
course of construction capable of holding
several ironclads or a small Aeet of mercbont
The basin of the eastern terminus
at Holtenau ON the bav of KieI is in the
most advanced stage of Construction. Tn
It's neiphborhood the erection of a sstornedo
narborn is also progressing ranidiv
D...u.s IL;
q, 40 ~ =,
Iredpes. some of which wit6 a canec;tv IF
!. 600 cnbic wards of earth a dav are am
slowed to "dic'' the canal or tn deenen the
small lakes IernanseS of tbe
River Eider). and to widen and deenen the
lid bed where it comedies with the new
ship canal. Long CONSTRUCTION trains move
IN different directions to carry away the
earth and stones. or tn banI bui1ding ma
,erial. Large pumping engines are sta
,ioned at different points to do away with
he accumulating rain and ground water.
Dill and tar eyaporating machines furnish
he gas for LIGHTING.
A night scene i'm the preat Holtenau basin
where hundreds of Iaborers are at worl, bv
he torch-like. smoking flames of these
arge gas lets is a SIGHT indeed and were If
lot for the realistic dredpes locomobiIes
rains and pumping engines and their noise
hese men. hoyering about like shadows in
his extensive pit. might. with a little i'm
lgination. be taken for gnomes lust emerged