The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-26
KEY OF THE STATE.
The Commercial Advantages Of
Lake Washington.
CONSTRUCTION or SHIP CANAL.


The specia1 committee Of the Chamber Of Com
merce, appointed to furnish data concerning the
Lake Warrington ship canal to the board Of
army engineers. has submitted the following
report signed BY Mr. Jacob Furth, Judge Thomas
Burke and Colonel C. n. eheafe:
1.-THE advantages Of fresh water harbor are
90 we'll known, and have been 20 yolumiuously
eet forth BY engineer officers Of the government
ct various times heretofore, that Il Il hardly nee
essary to give any further reasons why fresh
water harbor should be preferred TO salt wateT.
If. therefore, IL can be shown that the commerce
Of the state of Washington 10 20 extensive that
the saving In wear and tear Of wharyes, in dete-
roration Of ships and vessels Of al kinds, can
be in q material measure reduced or reduced TO
such an extent that the saving will Be great
benefit not only 70 ship owners, but In lessen
ing the cost Of transportation and terminal
charges upon the handling Of the grain and
other products Of the country, II q hardly nee
essary to say that congress will be justified in
making . sufficient appropriation to build .
canal into these waterA This would certainly
be 10 II such saving would be sufficient to pay .
large interest upon the cost Of building such 3
canal. 1t II well-known fact that the rayages
Of the teFedo In the waters Of Puget sound, and
in fact In all the waters Of the Pacific ocean, are
% great - to be tremendous tax upon COM
merce. All the wharves in these waters require
renewal on an average of less than two years. II
is safe to saysthat all necessary wharves could
be constructed in Lake Washington for the &C
commodation of all the heavy commerce of the
state at 0ne-fourth the first cost that would be
required to construct such wharves in the
waters Of Puget sound or the Pacific ocean: that
such wharves and warehouses would last at
least ten times a. long, and that their mainte-
nance In the fresh waters of the lake would be
an in6nitesimal sum- small fraction of Whist
they are in the salt water.
again, the cost Of handling ships at the
wharves and the transfer Of freight from rail to
ship would be but small fraction of what 1t is
upon the Sound. This would be 30 because OF
the level in the lakes being the same at all
times. After the ships were once In the lake
they would be absolutely safe from winds and
storms.
''If canal were constructed In Lake Washing
ton. 1t is pretty safe to ray that nearly all of the
wheat and coal shipments of the state would be
from the lake. This would he 90 from the very
small cost Of handling such products for the
reasons above stated and because it is easier for
all OF the railroads to reach the waters Of the
lake than IL is to reach the waters of the Sound.
As matter OF fact, all the existing rail-
roads In the state have either by themselves
or by rail connections direct contact with
the shores of the lake. The amount OF coal
shipped now from the Sound, mainly from King
and Pierce counties, 10 in the neighborhood of
100000 tons PER annum. These shipments in
Tic ucdI lutuIe dIe uOS uulikely 10 % mOFe I0o0
doubled The wheat product of the state for
the year 1880 was nearly 100000 bushels, and
1t is safe to say that within ten years the wheat
product will be nearly l00,000Oo0 bushels. The
eastern portion Of the state, when all the wheat
lands are cultivated, 10 capable Of producing
about l20O00,O00 bushels per annum, or say one
fourth of the present entire wheat product of
the United States. The saving In cost to the
farmer and the merchant in the shipment Of this
product by the lake instead Of by saltwater
would amount to an enormous sum.
'.ln addition to the coal and wheat prdducts,
the amount OF lumber to be shipped from the
lake would be very large.
There are also within fifty miles Of the lake
some of the best Bessemer iron deposits In the
world. Already transportation has been nearly
provided between the lakes and these deposits,
and extensive works for the reduction Of these
ores are now being built upon the shores OF the
lake, and 1t Is expected that these works and the
mines win be in operation within one year from
this time. rs
Summing up, It may be said that there II not
coal mine Of any consequence in the state Of
Warrington that cannot more readily ship its
product 70 Lake Washington than to the Sound.
Neither 10 there an iron ore deposit whose pro-