The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1894-11-29


would amount to little or nothing, as the
great bulk Of Canadian business to and
from Lake Superior arises or ends at Col
Nngwood and Owen Sound, on Lake
Huron. and is carried by the Canadian
Pacific and North Shore Navigation COM
pany's ships, and the principal business
for the Welland and st. Lawrence canals
originates on Lake Erie, below st. Clair
dats, or is created by transhipment at the
foot of Lake Ontario into the smaller
boats, which 60 down the river.
$50 Canada is practically beyond our
reach, while we are practically at the
mercy of the Canadians.
United Action Necessity.
1T is the plan of our association to have
the two countries come to an amicable un
Outstanding as to the construction, main
tenance and control of a ship channel from
Duluth and Superior to the sea before any
complications in this direction shall arise
I'm fact We are practically compelled to do
80 and tho quicker we see 1t, acknowledge
# and act on it the better it will be for US.
1--WE do not apprehend that very long
time will be required to bring the two
countries to an understanding Canada is
deeply in debt for railways. canals and
population is small compared to ours and
stretched in narrow, thin ribbon from
the Gulf Of st. Lawrence to Puget Sound,
vet she must get out to the sea with her
larger craft. She is now struggling to
deepen her St. Lawrence channels to IA
feet aud she wants help-in fact is sadly
IN need of it.
d. s"The states have been completely out
generated by the Canadians 80 we have no
passage Of our own around Niagara Falls
or around tho st. Lawrence rapids;
nevertheless 81 per cent Of the enor-
nous traffic at the 500 is ours and about
05 per cent Of all tho lake traffic west of
Buffalo Is also American. Therefore we
who have no locks and canals except at the
500 are hundred fold more in need of
free neutral channels than Canada, which
has all Of them, but the LELAND, Lachine,
Soulanger and other St. Lawrence locks
are Of course too shallow to accommodate
our big upper lake shipping, and it is in
them and in canal around Niagara Falls
that we need to expend the first money
A stupendous Conception.
II may say q word as to the channels
needed. The idea Of the more able and ex-
perienced engineers is to have, ultimately,
three channels leading down to the sea.
One should consist of the main channel OF
the St. Lawrence, cleaned out and deep
ened, so that laden craft can shoot at
locking; the other should consist of locks
around the rapids for the use of vessels
going up that stream, and the other should
be down the Hudson, probably through
Lake Champlain.
'Such plan would give enormous
capacity to the canals and rivers, espe-
cially for the traffic down the St. Law.
renee, gaining rapid speed down and avoid.
ing all danger from collision both ways;
and two canals, thus arranged, would have
practically four times the capacity of one
canal. .a:s. t..-,-
"There should be two canals around
Niagara Falls-frst. one via Lockport on
the American side with eight locks Of 40
feet lift each, and then the enlargement
on the same plan of the Welland canal in
Canada.
"The cost would not be so great as has
been supposed-$s3,O 900, 900 to make the
Lockport canal and locks and 81, O0O, 900
to improve st. Lawrence, all permanent
structures to be Is feet deep.
A Half Dozen New Yorks.
ITO carry out these plans would ma. le
Chicago Milwaukee, Duluth, Superior ;ld
Detroit so The country back of t!,..m wi,.t
New Yori; ALL i;,s;ol'i.re TO tn terr.t,.:.y
in Their r,'iG.
'Butt!, !, ;;e:1 ,st;l 1l greate,: benefits
would L., 20 iD,s gre Il Pr ID iu.:.y sections
of tha ". t. L &c W .esl. fields Of Ar:.c:l.
tina, India, tg. l,j i,aG .jniGu :rn Russia
are comparatively clos. 20 ocean Trans.
portation. The what fields of America
are almost 1905 miles from the sea-and
the market of the world is OH the other
side of the sea. '.
IF that 1000 miles of costly land trans
portation transferring from cars to boats
1t Duluth, Superior, Milwaukee, Chicago
and Toledo, and from boats back tc
cars again at Buffalo aud other
Eastern points, can not be broken
by continuous channel to the ocean, the
Great West will have to cease raising
wheat except for domestic consumption,
because she can not pay rail rates to the
seaboard and compete with foreign wheat.
'.And when the West is forced to cease
exporting tho United States will receive
the most staggering blow In her history
and all Western railroads and Western
cities will be paralyzed.
''The saving In freight to the West by
having water transportation is more than
12O0, 900, 900 per season, % can be proven;
while all we ask Of both Canada and the
United States to make our ship channel
from Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth and Su-
perior to the ocean and to Liverpool is
only $50. 0OO, 600
"But no matter what II costs, We must
hays Il
Of a5Ss