Evening journal., 1894-06-27
WANT PHILADELPHIA AID
More Facts About the Pro-
posed Great Waterway.
A FERTILE PENINSULA NEEDS IT.

a Steamship Canal Across This State
and the Enlargement of the Raritan
Canal.
Apropos Of the enthusiastic movement |
inaugurated by Baltimores wealthy and |
successful business men to build big |
ship canal seross this state and PENN
sula, several interesting letters have been |
published in the Baltimore Sun. To day |
there are especially interesting communi- |
cations from DR., S. Millington Miller and |
others.
Il seems that as a result Of various |
meetings Of her prominent citizens and |
Of memorials to her city fathers the bill |
appropriating $4,000 for preliminary
surveys, maps, etc, of the proposed new
Delaware and Riritan canal has just been
passed by the City Councils Of Philadel
phia.
The present Delaware and Raritan
canal has been In operation for many
years, and is owned by the Pennsylvanis
Railroad Company. The new aud en-
larged canal will start from the Raritan
bay at its head, cross the Rsrltan river
about eight miles below New Brunswick
and enter the Delaware at Bordentown
Eleven miles Of its length will be an en-
largement of the present canal. The
other thirty four miles will be an entirely
original excavation. There will be a
depth of twenty feet, bottom width Of
80 feet and a surface width of 100 feet
There will be two opening locks 500 by 60
feet and four 'lift" locks with
totel Gift" Of fifty feet. The total cost
has been put at $12. 500, 600 by an expert
Fifty thousand dollars or more will be
required TO deepen the channel Of the
Delaware river between Philadelphia and
Bordentown II It is determined TO
afford passage for the wsrships of our
navy, the depth OF the canal will have
to be increased to twenty five feet or
more. which will increase the cost TO
$l7, 500, ,000 The highest elevation to
be encountered is seventy-sx feet At
Monmouth Junction. There are no en-
gineering difficulties whatever In the
way Of the successful completion Of the
enterprise.
The Present Delaware Canal.
The present Delaware and Chesapeake
canal was built ia 1929 aud enlarged in
1864 It's bonded indebtedness amounts
10 81 600, 000O and there is So
O00. 600 of stock outstanding The
bonds are mainly held by the States of
Pennsylvania. Delaware and Maryland
The national government owns 81 600
600 worth Of the stock The canal proper
is thirteen and a quarter miles long and
ruus from Delaware City, on the Dsla-
ware river, to Chesapeake City. which is
situated on an estuary Of Chesapeake
bay. The depth Of the canal is nine
feet aud its width City feet It is pro
posed to increase the depth to twenty
seven feet and the surface width to
100 feet Professor HRupt, of the
University Of Pennsylvania Thomas
Martindale, Of the Trades League Of
Philadelphia, and J. T. Price, the
superintendent of the canal, traversed
its length recently on a tour OF inspec
tion aud report no engineering obstacles
and greatest elevation Of seventy six
feet in the long three mile cut. The
cost of deepening and widening is placed
at 81 500 0OO
The Improvement Of the Delaware and
| Chesapeake and Delaware and Rsrtan
canals alone would, II is calculated, save
New York 90 cents ton in freight
charges on the 5000 600 tons of coal
used there and in Brooklyn annually
This $4,000, 600 per year would .be 90
per cent. on the capital employed in
canal improvement, or would IN .fvo
years pay back the entire capital so
required
One tenth Of the entire population Of
the United States Is situated in the
territory contiguous to the course Of this
Baltimore and New York waterway.
With the completion OF the Cape Cod
canal Boston would also be connected
with New York by an inside route On q
correspondent says.
Il desire to call your attention to the
feet that the meeting held on Monday
night, in my opinion at least, was guilty
Of a serious omission IN not appointing a
committee to 60 to Philadelphia TO urge
that city to CO operate with as ia getting
the United States Government to make .
large appropriation for our canal Surely
II the facts were properly explained tc
the business men Of that city they would
not only unite with us in urging upor
Congress the Importance of this work,
but would themselves subscribe largely
to 1t.
Some Facts Explained.
1T should be explained to the mer-
chants Of that city that the Chesapeake
bay and its numerous grand tributary
rivers-the PatuXent Potomac. Kappa
hammock, York aud James on the West
ern shore, the Choptauk, PocomOke and
} Nsnticoke on the Eastern shore-hav'
been great feeders to the trade and com
. merce Of this city. That from them the
millions Of bushels of oysters. peaches
and fruits of all kinds which have
, supported our packing houses have beer
obtained; that thousands OF our citizens
have been supported; that this mighty
business, which for years past has beer
almost a monopoly TO Baltimore, will
when the canal is opened, be as m tel
opened to Philadelphia as to Baltimore
and that she can get her full share Of it
Philadelphia Steamboats, TO These Rivers
I'VE have now canal and two rail
roads connecting Baltimore and Phils
delphia, the result being that the compe
, tition has reduced the rate Of freight 81
| much that we find it chesper to buy ou
sugar in Philadelphia than to refine
here, and our people are saved the trou
BILE and expense of refining 1t here. l
costs so little now to carry coal TO Phil
. adelphia that IL is carried through Baltl