Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-10-30
SHIP CANALS.
They Are of Recent Date-Some
Projected Ship Canals.

O>S>-0--'
The early part of this century was the
era of boat for ordinary internal
communication. They were usually from
three to six or seven feet deep, they
climbed considerable ranges OF hills by
long flights of locks, they were some
times three or four hundred miles long,
and they were navigated by small barges
drawn by horses or mules Canals
of this kind were not much if any more
expensive to build than railroads, and
they served useful purpose. But the
development OF rail communication soon
left the boat canal in the shade, and
while the Erie and others of the early
water ways are still doing good work,
many formerly important canals have
been abandoned. The ship canal is even
more recent than the railroad, and in its
way quite as important. Its object is to
correct the mistakes of nature in the
matter of navigation. Wherever a
tongue Of land has been allowed to in
trude itself in the path of great ocean
commerce, the ship canal digger is chat
ing to cut through it, The Lcsseps, the
Mcnocals, and we may say the Millers,
will never be satisfied until vessels can
sail from every port IN the world to every
other BY the shortest possible route.
Every isthmus is a temptation to them.
Take . map Of the world and see what
opportunities nature has afforded for this
sort of work. For thousands of years the
saud-spit Of Sucz cut OF the direa trade
between Europe and the East, and for
centuries commerce cvadcd this barrier
by making the entire circuit of Africa.
At last De Lcsscps cut the Sucz dam aud
let the flood OF commerce through. The
only work comparable in Importance
to this is that of cutting a pas
sage between North and South America
There are no other peninsulas equal to
Africa or South America, but there are
plenty of smaller ones, and wherever
there is one we may be pretty sure that
q ship canal has been either dug or pro-
,ectcd. Greece is piercing the Isthmus
of Corinth. Germany has connected
the North Sea aud the Baltic. We have
joined Delaware and Chesapeake bays.
We are talking Of making an island of
Florida. \ projected canal to cut off
the peninsula of Malacca will save four
or five days and much danger on the
voyage from India to China. One of the
most important ship canal systems in
the world is that which is steadily turn
ing the great American lakes into an
arm Of the sea. The canal constructed
by our Government around the rapids of
tee Sault Ste. Marie already accommo-
dates a greater tonnage than that of
Suez. 1t makes the four upper lakes
practically one, bat the Canadians have
not yet done their part by giving free
ship communication from Lake Erie to
tide water. They have done enough,
however, to make it possible for special
ly constructed steamers of $500 tons to
go from Chicago to Liverpool, and even
tually Lake Michigan will be as easily
accessible from the sea as the bay Of New
York. There will be sad days for the
ambitious protector when every isthmus
is pierced and every rapid thanked. AS
he looks upon world which, from his
point OF view, is completed, he will pine
for something more to do. But mean
while he is accomplishing work that
deserves the encouragement of the whole
world, for it is one from which the
whole world will profit San Francisco
Examiner.