St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-16
POE WILL ASSIST.
The Noted Engineer Enthusias-
ticlaIy in Favor Of the RecI-
procity Convention.
OF Vast Importance to the North
west Is the Work He Has
in Charge.

Gen. o. NJ. Poe, who has charge Of
the government works far the improve
menu of the great lakes from Duluth to
Buffalo and is at present experimenting
the improvements at the Sault Ste.
Marie and in the Detroit river, in reply
to the invitation of the JOINT committee
of the st. Paul commercial bodies to at
tend the international reciprocity con-
yention, writes from Detroit as follows
Il am, surely. much gratitied by re
ceipt of the invitation to be present at
and to lend my aid in forwarding the
purposes of the convention called to
meet in st. Paul June and 6.
1.-The improvements in the st. MarY's
river. and in connection with the So
called twenty or twenty-one-foot chan
mel elsewhere, are being prosecuted
with all the energy possible. | cannot
serve the objects of the convention
better than by standing right by the
works which must form all essential
part of any deep waterway from the
upper lakes to the sea-"
The United States has now in prog
ress the enlargement and deepening OF
| the locks and canal at the 500 and I'M
provements in the st. Mary's and in the
| Detroit rivers which will, when finished,
assure what Gen. Poe states as twenty
one-foot channel from the head OF Lake
Superior to Buffalo, and this great
work when finished will permit vessels
| comparable III size with the larger class
of ocean shipping to navigate the en-
| tire length of our great lakes with &
| tonnage capacity more than doubled,
and at a material reduction OF rates
| over the low figures now in force.
With this great improvement made
the next step will be to continue this
| depth of water from the east end OF
| Lake Erie to the ocean, stupendous
undertaking, but still entirely feasible
| both from an engineering and CONNER
| cial standpoint, though it is probable
that the route must be by way OF the st
Lawrence, the natural outlet of the
basin of the great lakes. This will in
volve some JOINT action and friendly
understanding between the United
States and Canada, before so desirable
| and necessary an Improvement can be &C
compliShed. When vessels of 5000 tons
and over can sail direct from the docks
of Liverpool and London to the ports
on our lakes the development of the
| commerce of the Northwest, large as i
has been in the past decade, will sinh
into insignifcance. compared with the
volume of trade which will be engen-
dered when our lake ports are made tt
ali intents and purposes seaports.
Gen. Poe has now under active con
struction the first section of the work
The gigantic and actively increasing
tonnage and commerce of the reglol
tributary to our inland seas Will demand
that the tWenty-one-foot channel shall
not cease at Buffalo, but it be continued
by the most feasible route to tidewater
The Improvement of our great inlant
waterway is an issue in which Canada
and the United States can join, for thei
interests in this respect are Identical
and its discussion and appropriate &C
ton arising therefrom will be one of tn
principal issues for the coming inter
national reciprocity convention to con
slider.