Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-25

trouble in this country is that too much
money is wasted on useless Improvements.
But one thing Is evident, the railroads can't
handle the business, and navigation cheap
ems freight rates. For these reasons l am in
favor of any feasible waterway that will
beEeht the cities of the interior"
Time for the North to Come In.
Mr.. Stone, q prominent broker, as he
studied intently map of the Erie canal,
said: II am tired of seeing the South get
all the money from the Government for
waterway Improvements while the North is
practically cut off with nothing. Our peo-
pie miss it by not uniting and pulling to-
gether. 1t is not jealousy but apathy that
is responsible. I have heard in a general
way of the Erie canal project and that is all
know about it, but if it is worthy enter
prise the people should band together and
insist tn at Uncle Sam build it. Weare en-
tlrely to 0 modest. We need canals or some
thing else to keep the railroads in line.
They are too arrogant and independent"
Captain Holloway, Commodore David
Gibson, Captain Johnston and other Gin
cinnati people spoke favorably of the
project. Captain Holloway wanted to
know whether Lake Erie is higher than
the Ohio river. He seemed to think if the
lake was lower that the canal could not be
constru cted. A number of people have the
same idea, and it is q mistake Well, the
lake at Conneaut Harbor is lower than the
river at PittSburg, but the difference can
easily be overcome by locks. The water
supply on the summit was guaranteed by
such engineers as the late Mr. Goodwin and
is by Col. I. P. Roberts. The pool height at
Pittsburg is 699.3 feet, and the eleva-
tion of the summit level 1016
feet The difference or 3167 feet,
is the distance to the summit on the river
side. The elevation of Lake Erie at Con-
neaut harbor is 5729 feet above the ocean,
or the lake is 443. 1 feet below the summit
That is, the lake is about 127 feet lower
than the river at the points named The
total lockage to overcome is 759 feet, and
Colonel Roberts is authority for the state
ment that no other canal scheme projected
between the Ohio and the lakes can mako
such showing. In all of them the lockage
Is more and the distance to the lakes
longer. In addition the water supply on
the summit is not as extensive as along the
route mapped out through Western Penn
sylvania
The Water Supply insufficient
Marietta is the only point along the Ohio
where the river ard the lake are on the
same level, but the summit to overcome is
higher than in the Pittsburg project. and
the water supply is not sufficient Accord
ing to the Government reports on proposed
canals across the State of Ohio, the Pitts
burg route is the shortest, being 103 miles
long, and almost a straight line from the
mouth of the Beaver rivers, and is by
far the most feasible and cheapest to build
Furthermore, such a canal would have the
benefit of the great lake traffic that origi-
Mates daily in the metropolis of Western
Pennsylvania at the head of the Ohio.
1t is strange how, if you want to hear the
news about yoHr own locality, you can get it
away from home. heard in Cincinnati of
a serious division that occurred at one stage
in the Pennsylvania Commission about the
lake terminus of the canal Secretary
Eben Brewer, being an Erie man, naturally
wanted the canal to run to his town, and
the people in the city were anxious that
Erie should not be ignored. But
Colonel Roberts and Mr.. Goodwin
found it was easier to steer straight for
Conneaut across the Western Reserve. The
subject was hotly discussed on both sides,
and finally the Erie people were convinced
that owing to the formation of the ground
Conneaut was the most acceptable harbor
Colonel Roberts argued that the canal
would be accessible to Erie anyhow, as the
distance by lake from the city to Conneaut
is % miles. The truth is that the route to
Erie by way of Conneaut is not much, if
any, longer than if the canal were built
direct to the city from Pittsburg
JAMES ISRAEL.