Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1892-01-27
A HUGE PROJECT.
The Proposed Ship Canal Across
New York State.
An Undertaking That Would Cost Many
Millions of Dollars, But Would
Greatly Benefit the
Country.

country
The much-talked-of project for reach
ing the ocean from the great lakes in
wolves the construction of canal
around Niagara falls on the American
side and the building of a ship canal
across the state of New York from that
point to the Hudson river, so that YES
sells from the lakes can pass through
to the ocean. The canal, says Detroit
paper, would be about one hundred and
fifty feet wide ard would have to be
twenty feet deep in order to accommo-
date the large vessels of the lakes. The
cost of such q canal would be any
where from thirty million to fifty
million dollars, but when the immense
amount of money paid out annually
for transferring cargoes from ship to
rail and from rail back to ship again is
taken into consideration, Representa-
tive Chapman says that the canal would
soon pay for itself.
''The securing of access to the sea-
board for the lake marine" said Repre-
sentative Chapman, sis still in the stage
of inquiry, though certain to be con-
summated by another if not by this gen.
Grafton. The marine tonnage Of the
great lakes constitutes the chief part Of
American shipping. 1t transports to-
ward the seaboard the production Of
the great west, and carries back the
productions of the eastern and north
ern states, as we'll as articles imported
from foreign countries. The great
ships which do this work are met at
Niagara Falls by a barrier which stops
them at Buffalo, where bulk has to be
broken and cargoes transferred to rail
or the Erie canal. The expense of this
constitutes a burden on all the states
tributary to the lakes as far west as
the Rocky mountains and as far east as
Buffalo.
at is enormous and oppressive, and
tends to keep down the prices of lum-
Der, iron, all the cereals, sheep, cattle,
and, in fact, everything the farmers
have to sell. 1t is also a great detri-
ment to western manufacturers, both
in the foreign and domestic markets.
Already during the life of navigation in
the northern waters the competition be-
tween marine and rail shipments has
had happy effect in reducing freight
tariffs, SO far as that competition eX-
tends. What is now demanded is that
it shall be extended to every inch of the
carriage, to the ultimate IN arl1et at
home and abroad. That this will bene-
fit the entire country is beyond cavil."
"By allowing the products of the
west and northwest to be landed at
Atlantic ports?''
Certainly. just think of thirty
five hundred or four thousand-ton lake
vessel at the Washington docks, laden
with flour from Minnesota or lumber
from Michigan. If the canals were SO
constructed, this would be common
sight here. 1t would also be common
in all the Atlantic ports and those of
the gulf, and would open cheap and re-
liable avenues of exchange for the
products of the continent. These
canals, with the proper improvement of
the Mississippi, and deep water on the
Texas coast, would supply the demands
for cheap transportation of the entire
region between the Alleghenies and the
Rockies. Beyond this, the canals would
restore the American flag to the ocean
much more effectively than could any
system of bounties. Thousands of
American ships would supplement the
thousands already on the lakes, and
would make voyages to every part of
the world. The great ship-building in
dustries of the lakes would increase
enormously, and other Clydes would
grow up on the waters of Erie, Huron,
Michigan and Superior"
Would not these inland canals on
American soil have a strategic value in
case of WARP"
Most assuredly. In case of war
with England, the most probable of all
wars with us if we are ever in earnest
in pressing for commercial advantages
in the trade of the world, we
would have Canada at an meal
culable disadvantages; and certainly
with such a system of canals entirely
on our own soil we would create an
| object lesson which would cause the
Canadians to take broader views of
commercial intercourse, if not Of an
nexation. The project is one of the
grandest of all time. 1t is worthy of
the greatest people who have ever ex-
listed. We are perfectly capable of ex-
ecuting it, and sometime it will be
done"
what steps will be taken in this
congress toward beginning the project?"
II shall at the very first oppor-
tunity after the reassembling of con-
gress introduce bill for the appoint
ment of a commission to make surveys
and estimate the cost. suppose some
people will oppose even this on the
ground that future expenses will be in
Cured. Indeed, hear that there will
be opposition to a liberal river aud har-
Dor bill in the present congress. If
there is, it will be mistake. The i'm
provement of water transportation is
only within the power of the general
government. States or individuals,
ever if they have the money, cannot
touch it without the authorization of
J congress, and every such improvement
should belong to the people, free from
tolls and unfettered by local regula-
tions. If there is to be economy, it