Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-09
NO MORE MULE POWER,
Steam Will Be the Feature of the
Canal of the Future.
LAND CARRIAGE Is NOT BETTER
When the Other Method Is Placed Upon
O Godern Basis.
INTERESTING IDEAS OF col. ROBERTS

Among the valuable papers read at the
fifth International Congress on Inland Nav
igation recently held at Paris was one from
Colonel 7 P. Roberts, of this city. 1t was
devoted to discussion of the respective
positions occupied by the waterways and
the railways in general transportation in
the United States. Among the ideas de-
veioped were the following:
Canals were introduced into this country
on the English models, and several thou
sands of miles of them were built cotempo'
raneously with their development abroad,
chiefly in the period between 1925 and 1870.
Some were constructed with capacity or
about 20 TONS although the majority of them
were intended for 65-ton boats, and they
were often carried through hillv regions
with frequent locks of very small lift four
to six feet) and generally lily supplied with
water. In the case of many Of these canals
it would have been impossible ever to have
enlarged them to the capacity now required
to enable them to compete with the modern
railway, and excess of lockage or diffculty
in obtaining a sufficient supply OF water
must forever preclude the hope that many
canals will be built il this country.
In addition to the natural obstacles al
Iuded to, the great first cost of canals such
as would serve this purpose restricts them
to routes where a heavy business Is certain
V to be relied upon. Canal boats cannot
like railway cars be taken into the ware
houses, etc, and being many cases not so
convenient, their use for short carria2e pre-
sents no ADVANTAGES. hence they will seldom
under any circumstances he built separate
from main lines Connecting important
trade centers or lines connecting aggregated
systems of navigation, such as our interior
lakes and the Mississippi river system
No Victory for L md Carriage.
1t is to be acknowledged, however, that
many of the canals sold by the States or
corporations which constructed them could
have been made valua BILE in the future as
branches OF the main lines now >contem-
plated. The competition between canals
and railways in this country, never, in any
fair sense, resulted in a victory of land car
riage over water carriage-the victory was
that OF the steam engine over horse flesh
and very poor horse flesh at that.s
When the properly constructed steam en-
gine is mounted upon the properly con-
structed vesssl-and not until then-will we
see the conflict deciued upon its real merits,
and we need have no Tears that anything
but good big engines will ever be mounted
upon our future canal boats; and that means
deep water and a carrying capacity greater
by far than is possible to put in single
trains OF cars.
Up to the present time the Government
has held itself aloof from undertaking any
important canal work, if we except the st.
Mary's canal, connecting Lakes Superior
and Huron, so that even with many years
continuance of the present policy of ex-
penditures in the desultory manner which
has heretofore been pursued, no marked ad-
vantage If indeed, any ut all - to the
Through freight" business OF the country
will be observable. The most that can be
hoped for is that the large annual appropri-
ations will bring about a more intelligent
consideration OF the whole subject, and
lead eventually to the construction of deep
waterways, where actually needed.
In the Way of Go d Work.
In some respects the General Government
really stands in the way of good WORK which
might be done by private enterprise, 1or, in
effect, it has given notice that it claims juris-
diction over the waterways of the country, !
and as it has reached this attitude by COM
mon consent private capital is not encour-
a ed to invest in river works, though the
right of States to charter private companies
for such purposes is well settled. The gov
eTnment's Jurisdiction, referred to, Is di-
rected to the rights of navir q tors, protec-
tion OF channels, ETC., it being held, also,
that all rivers should be free, and the Gen.
eral Government has obtained by gift, or
purchase, the freedom OF several magnifl
cent river improv ements, and is moving IN
the matter OF the purchase OF the more i'm
Dortant ones.
II is manifest however that either the
Government should construct some Of the
great improvements demanded by the
times, OF encourage prlVate Capital TO invest
in them.
As has been already stated, the region Of
the country where commerce is most active
is embraced in the area lying between the
lakes and the OHIO river, east OF the Missis-
sipni to the seaboard. In this district are
located the chief commercial and manu-
featuring cities: it includes all of the devel-
oped coal and iron ore fields, excepting that
of the recently developed districts in Tenn
essee and Alabama, before spoken of; 1t is
also the region of the greatest production
OF the leading agricultural staples, such as
wheat and corn, as well as the seat of the
numbering interests.
An Empire Within Itself
1t would burden this paper unnecessarily
TO enter into the statistics of the internal
commerce of this large, fertile, highly de-
veloped wealthy and populous region. 1t is
an empire within ITSELF nowhere else on
the globe equaled in respect to the magni-
tude and value of its productions and in the
extent of its internal commerce.
Of the total IS, l,6T tons of freight ear
ried bv rail for tie fiscal year ending June
So 1890, it is impossible co state how much is
TO be credited to each group. These figures
can, however, be approximately given from
other sources. In addition to the 636 600 900
tons of railway traffic, the census report
bulletin No 179 April, 1892 reports that
during, 1889, 172, ITO 423 tons of merchandise
we're transported by water, exclusive OF
canals for which the census report gives no
statistics). The marine business is dis
tributed as follows:
Tons.
Atlantic Coast. 1881. GIG