The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-06
JERSEY SHIP CANAL
Possible Routes Discussed
by the Philadelphia
Record"
EASY ENGINEERING PROBLEM
The Shippers Want It-Useful for
National Defence
Too.

nient to be urged upon the attention OF
Congress at its next session is a new
trans-Jersey Canal, to connect Philadel-
phia with New York. The Philadelphia
Record has a notable article on it this
morning. Philadelphia interested herself
in the project on July 2, 1894, by appoint
ing a Commission, under the Mayors
presidency, to report on a practical
scheme, and appropriating $1,000 for ex-
penses. A year later there were given
to the public the reports of N. H. Hutton,
the consulting engineer, and of l.. M.
Haupt, the engineer in charge. Natur-
ally, these gentleman would seek to justi-
fly their employment by showing the COM
mercial feasibility of the undertaking; and
hence their reports cover two distinct,
but closely related subjects-their pro-
| fessional consideration of the best route
and its constructive economies, and their
conjectural Judgment or theory of its
various utilities. Their work has appar-
| emily been well done, and there is no indi-
| cation of any bias upon their minds be-
yond an irridescent coloring of nope in
the success of their efforts to lure US on
to the performance of the task. The sub
| ject is one of Importance, and is sure to
be a matter of earnest discussion in leg
iSlative halls and in the newspaper press.
CALM VIEWS.
There are a few things in these reports
to which 1.-THE Record" would call the at
tention of the public, not for the purpose
of depressing enthusiasm, but in order
that a clear judgment may be reached on
the real problems involved. From a sur
| veyor's point of view these facts ARISE:
1t is ga miles from Philadelphia to navl-
| gable Atlantic waters by canal from Bor-
| dentown to the Raritan River at Sayre-
| vile. while it is 1903 miles by way OF Della
ware Bay, of which 31.4 miles would be
by canal. The Delaware approaches to
Bordentown go miles, would involve
| dredging and blasting by the United
States Government, and on the Rarltan
piling and moles. The topography OF New
| Jersey is highly conformable to canal re-
quirements across the waist of that
State, as there is a troughed pla-
teau from river to river that might
be overcome by a summit eleva-
| ton of only Sc feet. This ascent WOUND
| require only three locks at either ena'
| three to reach the level heal Borden
| town., and as many more near Sayrevlile
to tidewater. The rock cuttings are
small, and the feed waters are undan
| The cost of cutting and building would
be s457, 900 a mile for 20 feet in depth
| by $50 feet in surface width, and would
| not differ much from like work across
| the Kaiser Wilhelm canal. All the data
| and drawings indicate that one eiemenl
of the problem would eappear In every
project to furnish a canal OF greater
| listing in the old Delaware and Rarltan
Canal, now virtually owned by the Penn
sylvania iRailroad C~ompany-the Gov
- +ho TTnifnA sSfofaC W011ld nave
to be invoked to furnish access to the
not t B,- e9nstrSst t Mn W 81 T T%GY
Granted that Congress will afford all
the help required, what are the enter
prises formulated by our city Commls,
to be built by private capital for
prospective dividends, and a stragetlc
| canal for purposes of coast defense. APP
| gineers that a canal of 20 feet draught
| would answer for trade, while one OF 70
| feet draught would be necessary to en-
| tleship Indiana to pass through in safety;
| A 2O-foot canal, it is estimated, could
be, built for s14.2so,coO by private ca pnt
| there is already the Delaware and Rari-
| tan Canal, 9 feet deep, which the Penn
sylvania Railroad Company leased in
ten per cent. interest. The Clyde Line
! plies on it with steam propellers, as 1T
| does on the Delaware and Chesapeake
| Canal across the State of Delaware. It
is said that since its lease the revenue of
| the Delaware and Raritan Canal has fall
4 en- off from 81, 900, 600 to about 0,000; and
pany bought the canal on purpose to stop
/ competition in the carrying trade, and
has deliberately suppressed ITS u~sefulness
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has
been the greatest of sinners in the seques-
tration of canals all over this State and
New Jersey; but it is childish to suppose
spite to Philadelphia or to the impair
ment of its income. 1t undoubtedly has
secured control of them in order to put an
transportation; but this purpose would
have been more easily attained by an in
crease Of tolls rather than by allowing
GoBBLING THE CANALS. {
This inference is supported by the fact
that the toll between Philadelphia and
New York or sixth-class freight is Sig
per ton by water and $1.S0 by. rail-a diff
ference SO slight as to hardly pay Tor
the difference of cost of terminal hand
ling. For twenty years the PennSylyanla
Railroad. Company has discussed this
matter in its annual reports. and has
demonstrated again and again that 1T has
could nave been done on canals. We
are face to face then with the fact that
a new commercial canal across New
companies, and that the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company holds the key to the
| situation, even to the point OF rendering
a new water enterprise bankrupt.
The alternative remains of asking the
Federal Government to build a 2S-foot
canal for military defense. The reports
under review estimate that such a water.
way could be built, with three sets OF
locks at each end, for $27, 600, 900, including
approaches. This is a legitimate problem,
and is part n parcel of a system of in
terror coast defense by means of ship ca
rails virtually from Boston, through Cape
Cod, to Beaufort, N. c.. Now this is q
question of prudence rather than of prof
ii, Still, on its economic side such a sys-
\ TEN would have money value.
TO RELIEVE COMMERCE.
A interior line of ship canals would dc
much to create a new line of
and divert to it a large part of the
coastwise trade; for there would be only
66.5 miles of canals necessary to make
/ steamship inland connections all the way
from Massachusetts, Bay to Beauford,
and but little more to Cape Fear River.
The annual losses on outside traffic is
estimated at A,000,000 between these
points, and this would be a big item IN
insurance. FINALLY, the Government
would save largely in expensive FORTH.
cations. Strategic canals, by which the
! Goycrnfnent would be enabled to con
centrate Its battlesnirs and troncla5s al
any point on the Atlantic coaat would
EIsdtts $500 80 - 80 - MY ~