New-York tribune., 1895-08-08
THE HARLEM SHIP CANAL.

Expecting all things in an hour Is generally
n mistake Certainly it was and is in the case
of the so-cacd Harlem River Ship Canal. Those
who thought that Immediately upon the recent
formal opening of it that highway would be
thronged with the commercial navies Of the
world are sorely disappointed Weeks have
passed, and there Is little perceptible change In
the navigation of the Harlem. A few more YES
sels come through from the Hudson than former
". but not enough to be especially noticed; and
they are small ones, such as canal boats, sloops
and schOOners. There has been slight increase
I'm volume but the character Of the traffic has
not been changed.
That, however, is exactly what might have
been expected. and doubtless was expected by
those most familiar with the subject For, in
the first place the canal Is by no means COM
peted. 1t is us yet only 10 feet deep, and at
some points is uncomfortably narrow. Not until
it is broad enough and deep enough to accommo-
date larger traffic safely will larger traffic seek
its course. Moreover, some changes in the bridges
that span it are required, and must be made
before its full measure Of usefulness can be at
tanned There is bridge at Fourth-ave. so low
that its draw must be opened for every vessel
that wants to pass. But il is a temporary affair,
and very soon will give way to a new one, so
high that opening will not often be necessary.
At the junction with the Hudson there is another
low bridge, with draw only Al feet wide Not
only must it be opened for every vessel, but the
narrowncss Of the passage makes ingrcss from
the Hudson into the canal delicate and perilous
matter highlevel bridge, with an opening at
least twice as great at present is needed at
that point.
Even when all these improvements are COM
pleted the waterway will be 'shp canal only
in name The fact is, 1t never was intended to
be ship canal. 1t would be folly to make 1t
such. No one wants to send Atlantic liners up
the Hudson, and all this canal ever was intended
to do was to afford an outlet for Hudson River
commerce to deep water at Port Morris, instead
OF in Ncw-York Bay. Twenty years ago, when
Mr.. Charles Stoughton, the most persistent and
devoted Of all the promoters Of the scheme, be-
gan his long campaign for the construction OF
the canal II was with the explicitly expressed
aim Of making Port Morris the commercial
centre Of New York instead of the lower part Of
Manhattan Island, Jersey City or Brooklyn. His
idea was that ocean steamers could get to Port
Morris by way Of the Sound far more quickly
and more safely than they could get TO the Bat
terry by way of Sandy Hook; that they would
there find the best waterfront and the best deep
water harbor in the whole metropolitan district,
and that the vast fleets from the Erie Canal and
the Hudson could meet them there far better by
way Of the Harlem than by making the long
voyage around the Battery.
That was the plan at that time, and that we
take 1t, Is the plan on which the work has thus
far been carried toward completion. The vast
cargoes that now come down the Hudson, of
grain and hay and building material and what
not instead Of going miles down the North River
and around into the East River through waters
already sorcly overcrowded, are to be sent
through the canal to Port Morris. The latter
will thus become the general distributing point
for such Of the freight as is intended for local
consumption. for which the place Is admirably
designed. There is no reason why 1t should not
also become the point at which foreign-bound
freights will be transferred from the canal boat
or the schooner to the Atlantic liner, and thus
Shift the commercial centre Of the city to what
is now nearly its geographical centre, and will
one day be also its centre Of population. That
is the mission Of the Harlem Ship Canal