Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-06-28
THE HARLEM SHIP CANAL.

to connect the Hudson or North river with
the East river and Long Island sound, al
though it is New York and Brooklyn that
are to be the chief bencficiaries of the work.
The formal opening of the Harlem ship
canal will occur on June II. 1t is under
stood that President Cleveland will be
present, and that the chief address will be
made by cx- Mayor Abram : Hewitt.
1t is 20 years now since General John
Newton made his report as to the best
method of connecting the Hudson and the
East rivers, but the scheme was first
preached as long ago as 1913. From that
time to Nov. 10, 1884, two years after Gen
eral Newton report, the project was most
ly in IA state of quicscence. Occasionally
it would show some faint signs of life, but
these would soon disappear and although
it was generally conceded that the scheme
was n good one there were many who be-
licved it had died the death and could new
cr be resurrcctcd. On the November day
mentioned, however, bids were opened for
the removal of the first 80, 600 cubic yards
Of earth necessary to the digging of the ca
nal, and since that time operations have
continued with more or less steadiness.
The total length of this ship canal is but
81 miles Its width varies from $50 to
low water and 81 or the:eabout at high
water Though vessels of only moderate
size can pass through its channel at low
water the majority of the boats that will
naturally seek passage are not of greater
than ~ or II feet draft and all but the
largest ships can safely pass through at
high water. The total cost is estimated at
50, 700 600, though that does not cover the
expenses of condemning the land used nor
of building the docks and bridges that the
new work will render necessary. Perhaps
the grand total of money expended by the
time the work and all its accessories are
finished will not be far from SO, 500, 600
Although the Harlem canal is insignfi-
cant as to length, it will not be insignificant
rs to amount of tonnage carried nor as to
money saved by reason of more economical
transportation. A considerable region to
the north and east, on the mainland, and
another to the south, on Manhattan Island,
have lain practically undeveloped for years
because of the great expense of getting
building materials, such as stone brick
and timber, to them. From the point
where the canal now enters the Hudson
river to the point where it joins the East
river the present water route down the
Hudson and up the East river is about 81
illlltS. Inc Swing Vi UlSldntt Ill IfdnS-
porting building materials from up the
Hudson to the region opened by the new
canal WILL therefore, amount to about Is
miles, or enough to make such difference
in prices as would prohibit or permit profit
able building operations 1t is believed by
many that this being the case, the open
ing Of the new canal to commerce will
work most important change, in that it
will divert the tide of overflow growth
about New York, which for years has set
toward New Jersey, toward Westchester
county, in the state of New York. The
relative importance of such diversion is
likely to be underestimate by those not
familiar with present conditions in the
suburbs of New York. They will be par
italy understood from the statement that
the daily travel of business men and per
sons regularly employed in New York to
and from their New Jersey homes is at
least $50, 600, both ways, or 75 900 indi-
viduals. This means a population in New
| Jersey directly dependent upon New York
of at least 300, 600, or about the same as
that of san Francisco. Those who believe
most in the canal say that if it had been
! dug 20 years ago upper New York would
have developed much more rapidly, and so
much of the great population now in sub
urban New Jersey would have remained
on the Now York side Of the North river,
and that thus 1t is that the canal win have
great influence upon the future population
of two states.
The probable yearly commerce of the
canal has been estimated at about 23, 000,
900 tons year The total value will run
away up into the millions. The first YES
sci to pass through the canal was little
tug-the William NJ. Harby-which stole
Oy everybody one day in February, thereby
greatly disgusting John Jacob Aston, who
had made his boasts that he would be the
first to go through with his yacht.