The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-10-29
GREAT.ENGINEERENnG FEAT.
OCEAN STEAMSHIPS BETWEEN
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO.
4 $500, 100000 Ship Canal TO Con-
meet Lake Erie With the Sea
board Difficulties Overcome.

: fered for ship canal between
Lake Erie and tie seahoard
have none Of them contem-
plated less than thirtr-fYe locks, and
one Of the most feasible would nave
required ifty-fve. To be adequate
for the traffic they would bear these
locks would 1nve to be as capac:ous as
the Gew lock at Sanlt Ste. Marie, the
largest and finest in the world. Iae
latter is SEQ feet long. 100 feet wide
and 2l9 feet deep, and Is costing
more than S5,000,000. With locks
like the Sault, the ccst for Lifts alone
for the contemplated ship canal would
he at least 5175, 900, 600 on the ST.
Lawrence route, anil upwards Of
$3.50, 900, coo on what is known rs the
Oswego route, that is to say, from Os-
wego to the Hudson. So long rs nine
!se1th century engineering vas unable
to advance beyond the lock inTcntcd
by Leonardo ia Vinci, about the time
that Columbus discovered America,
the problem could rot be solved. Tie
cost would have been toe great Cor
even Government undertaking.
It has remained for al American ell
sineer to cut the Gordian knot by the
invention Of new lock, exceedingly
simple in design, easy and cheap Of
construction, and quickly and mex
pensirley operated. In 1890 Chain
cey n Dutton, young Pittsburs en-
gineer, took out in the principal
countries in the world letters patent
for what he described as a pneumatic
balance lock. His design, revolution
ary as il was. seemed. on tic whole, so
simple that engineers stared il won
derment that no one had thought Of it
before. Colonel Haskell had already
applied the compressed air principle
to the pneumatic dry dock, now il use
il all countries. Mr.. Dutton pre-
posed simply to make the pneumatic
dry dock into a wet dock by building
up the side walls and putting IN end
gates between them. Simple as this
device appears, it puts navigation By
hydraulics upon an entirely new basis,
and, in the Judgment OF the most en-
lnent engineers. must revolutionize
canal construction all over the world.
Merely to Indicate The meaning OF
this new invention, it will nov bepos
sibie to construct huge ship-lifts Of
equal size; and at least eight times as
high as the greatest lock now in exist
ence. Two locks, each lifting l60 feet,
could replace the twenty-five locks
NOW required along the Welland Canal.
TIE cost Of these new locks, built as
large as the new lock at the Sault,
would nos be more than $1,000, 900
each. They would pass n ship from
Ontario to Erie in an hour, where 1t
now requires q day.
It is from the invention Of the pnsu-
matte balance lock that 1lr. Dutton
has developed his huge scheme for a
maritime canal. which has recently
been before Congress and the Lesisla-
ture at Albany. It viii extend from
the mouth of the We;ianl Canal On
Lake Erie, utilize a portion Of that
canal, descend, by pair Of LOCKS set
tandem, into the Niagara River at u
point about opposite Lewiston, utilize
and enlarge the present Canadian
canal system along the St. Lawrence
River as far rs Lake St. Fraucis. and
there fork il two directions, one arm
viii reach by q Lew canal to Montreal,
and thence by the St. Lawrence River
to tue sea, while another Will extend
from Lake S.. Francis to Lake Cham
plain, reverse the current Of that lake,
ana reach from the lower enc o.
Champlair TO Waterford, on the HUI
son Eiver. It will involve only about
ninety miles OF artificial canals, and
afterwards fifteen miles Of this will be
cut ont l,y the constr action OF & new
canal from Lewiston, ca the Niagara
River, to 1 point above the Falls on
the American side The project will
require the expenditure Of 4 vast sum
Of money, but Mr. DHtton has asso-
ciated with him some Of the best
known engineers III the country, to-
yether with number Of heavy capl-
a!:sts, and i; proposed to construct
this gigantic system without dol-
lsr OF subsidy from either the
Canadian o. United States Govern
inert. Tie Canadian Parliament in
chartering the North American Canal
Company two years age. gave it tho
right to use the summit levels Of the
Canadian canal system along the st.
Lawrence and across the Weliaud Pom
insu.a, to acquire aul enlarge any
present locks, aud to coastGHcJ such
new locks and canals rs will be re-
quircd to complies the enterprise.
Such National legislation rs is needed
in this country hiss been introduced
in Congress by Senator Allison, Of
Iowa.
Specifically, M. Du1ton proposes
20 build & canal equipped with locks
OF sufficient size So that az ocean
freightcr like the Ce7ic may sail at
river speed from New York to Chicago,
and that without material Interrupt
tion. He proposes Z canal system with
locks OF IS feet dranght, Is feet wide,
and $40 feet clear length, which will
lift vessels carrying l2,A0) tons OF
freight. IN place OF the thirty five to
(iity-ive locks required in any other
plan yet proposed for . similar canal,
this project i1vol7cs bat five. In a
word, irsteal Of an estimated expen-
diture OF at least $>20i,21o: 900 for
locks. the latter, under the new con-
strac;ion, will not require more than
sis, 5,0oo.0o The protector estimates
that to carry the first ocean steamship
from New York to Chicago will re-