Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-21
General Agnus Talks About the
Shipway Across Delaware.
MARYLAND MONEY TO DIG IT
A Short Cut to the Atlantic for
Westinghouse.
PROMISED ADVANTAGES
BALTIMORE, Md, July 20. 1891.


In spite of the warm weather and the gen.
eral dullness of the summer season. this CITY
is taking very active interest in the project
to cut a ship canal across the Maryland
and Delaware peninsula, and there is gem
eral qualification that the amendment to
the river and harbor bill, providing for the
appointment of a commission, has been
agreed to without objection. That Balti-
more is counting on Washington's favor
in the enterprise is very evident from the
remarks Of Gen. Felix Agnus whose adj
dress before the Merchants and Manu-
facturers' Association three months ago
was the beginning of the movement which
developed into a public mass meeting under
the auspices Of the city council.
"Of course we expect Washington to
help u.s. said Gen. Agnus to a representa-
tive of The star, land We think that there
will be no question about your assistance
as soon your people fully realize the
possibilities of the work and the benefit to
your own city. We in Maryland have an
idea that Washington is a part of our
selves, not only because Maryland gave
the ground which became the District of
Columbia, but especially because of the in
Vulnerable local ties and circumstances
which give your populatio and our popu-
lation q community of interest. Your laws
are Maryland'S Rvs, and President Cleve-
land robbed our state of one of the ablest
judges it has ever known to head your
Court of Appeals. Another thing is the
nearness of the two cities. Before we got
our splendid system of rapid transit it was
fact that one could jump On train and
reach Washington sooner than he could
go to some sections of Baltimore by street
car. The time is rapidly coming when
Washington and Baltimore will be con-
nected by towns and villages that will be
practically continuous settlement all along
the less than forty miles that divide us
The boulevard scheme now in allowance will
be carried cut, and the electric road will
Undoubtedly be built
Then you think that city DEVELOPMENT
in this region is just beginnng?''
Il remember when Mr.. Shepherd returned
from New Mexico that The Star more than
all othe: forces, was responsible for the
great ovation which was rendered to him
The event was instructive to all your pao
pie, because 1t showed the tremendous i'm
ptrtance of man who could look far into
me future and carry out great ideas in
spite OF the chickering's and snarls Of the lit
tie directors who were barking a his heels
W nat he did for Washington is az your ma
per said. of inestimabie value which win
increase with every generation Washing
ton was fortunate beyond xny other Arneri
can city in having had this experience for
1t Is not until now that other cities are he
ginning to appreciate the Necessity of doing
big things and looking far into the nexf
century. ~
The Star. in common with othe. news
papers, has commented very freely upon
.ne census hgures showing the general
tendency toward urban development in this
country. 1t is true Chat our cities have
grown at wonderful rate in the mast
twenty years, but you will be surprised TO
know that between 1850 and 1890 the Euro
pean cities far exceeded us. We in Balti-
more thought we had done very well when
we added hundred thousand to our popu-
aton IN ten years. but We We're not quite
VI hnn
which was Baltmore's size, added about
two hundred thousand in the same period"
How was il done?"
simply by organizing itself for growth.
Instead of waiting for prosperity to come
sitting with folded hands for q shower of
gold, 1t used its surplus capital In providing
the finest facilities for commerce that skill
and money could furnish. Read DR. AL
bert Shaw'S recent article in the Century
and you will find how wonderfully the Ger
man cities have increased their prosperity
by organization and enterprise Cities are
FOR the most palS business corpora tions
and like ill business bodies they have got
to be moving If they expect to prosper In
this country, l am glad to say, our cities
are beginning to appreciate their response
bilities and their opportunities, and there
Is not one of them which is not now dis
cCfsins some great business project in
volving millions of dollars. Boston wants
to improve her harbor along the line fol-
lowed by Hamburg; New York, which on
ly a few years ago spent fifteen millions for
bridge to connect New York and Brook
lyn. simply to accommodate local traffic. is
today about to spend forty-five millions to
unite New Jersey and New York, and is
contemplating the erection of two other
bridges at an expense of twenty-five mil
lions, all for the simple benefit of local bus
mess. Chicago is birding n canal at the
cost of millions as n SC luton of the sewage
question, with the probability that it will
be Widened TO unite Lake Michigan and the
Mississippi river by ship navigation. In
- Snpniing six nj
local improvements. and we are going to
build this ship canal"
Suppose. general, you give The Star,
briefly, an outline of the project"
what the Plans Look Like.
with pleasure Let us take map and
we may see the whole situation at glance.
Baltimore is at the upper end of the Chesa-
peake bay. 1t is nearer to the west and
southwest, and even to the northwest. by
more than one hundred miles, than either
Philadelphia, New York or Boston. The
trade of twenty states uses it as their sea-
port. Its harbor is never closed 1t has
plenty of water and the best elevator and
immigration facilities in the United States
1t ranks next to- New York as a port of ex-
port. 1t is closer to the coal fields than any
other coast city, ard all the advantages Of
materials, labor and situation are in its
favor, but there is one obstacle which grows
more serious every year. 1t is the long de-
tour down the Chesapeake bay around
Cape Charles, which means the loss of a
day to the ships. We can obviate that only
by cutting canal across the peninsula
Under the very able supervision of Col
William p. Craighill the peninsula has been
thoroughly surveyed, and six routes re-
ported upon. BY the best of these routes
two hundred and eighteen miles could be
saved to commerce, and the work could be
done for twenty millions of dollars for, you
must remember that canal construction
has advanced with the rest of the world.
and there are machines that can each do
daily the work OF two thousand men. In
this enterprise there Would be no difficulty,
and only plain digging through friendly
soil.'
How about the military Importance"
Il was coming to that. Col. Craighil,
you perhaps know, is the president of the
American Society OF Civil Engineers-a
very high honor, which wins first conferred
upon a member of the United States corps
of engineers when he was unanimously
elected. In his address at Buffalo q few
days ago Col. Craishh dwelt upon the SUBJ
5ect as of absolute Importance in connec-
ton with the nations defenses. There is,
said he, another most important element
IN our defensive system which deserves ex-
tensive development, and fortunately public
attention seems to be turning very much in
that direction. l refer to the ship canal.
Our Atlantic and Gulf coast is SO very long
that the Interior line of the waterway
roll s.I-z