St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-09-30
THE OUTCOME is PLEASING
BUT WOULD HAVE LIKED 1T HAD
THE RESOLUTIONS BEEN
MORE DEFINITE.
OPPOSITION To THE PRoJEcH
Attitude of Eastern Delegates chi
Some Figure on the Re-
suit.


has been attending the meeting of
the international deep waterways
convention. While gratif1ed over the
additional impetus given by the con-
Vention to one of his favorite prof.
ects,- Mr.. Smalley would have pre-
ferred that the Cleveland resolutions
should have been more definite:
Il have no doubt that more spe-
cial recommendations would have
been made in the resolutions if it
hadn't been for the attitude of the
Eastern delegates. There is a good
deal of opposition to the deep water
way scheme. This opposition is per-
fectly natural, for it comes from peo-
pie that are deriving a big profit
from the present condition of af-
fairs. If the st. Lawrence, for in
stance, is deepened this side of Nom
treal, it's possible that business that
now stops at Montreal will go past
that city and benefit Toronto or
other localities farther West. Buff
falo doesn't take kindly to the pro-
ting rich from her immense transfer:
business of cargoes unloaded from
lake vessels and shipped East via
the Erie canal. AS a matter OF
course what would aid a separate
deep water route would hurt the
Erie canal interests. This Eastern
opposition no doubt prevented the
mendation from the convention in
favor Of concentrating all imme.
diate effort on the building of a
deep canal around Niagara falls.
The Western states have been
working for years to deepen an out
let to the ocean. They have worked
constantly from the West eastward.
By great effort they have at last Sc
cured twenty-foot channel clear
through from Duluth to Buffalo.
From that point the present channel
is much shallower In the ReIland
canal there is only fourteen feet.of
water, which means only twelve feet
of channel actually navigable, and a,
similar condition appears in other can
ais along the st. Lawrence Yet the
Canadian government has spent an
immense amount Of money in i'm
proving its canal system and intends
to spend more. With twenty feet as
far as Buffalo, the next thing for US
to do is to get past Buffalo. This
means, as I said, deep canal around
the Falls. 1t might be twenty miles
long and would
COST SEVERAL DOLLARS, II
but it would be a good thing. But in
spite Of the efforts of the Western
delegates to concentrate the conven-
tion's influence upon definite plan
for deeper channel between Lake
Erie and Lake Ontario, the opposition
from the East defeated our object,
and we were asked to remain satisfied
with resolutions in favor of glitter
ing generalities. Nevertheless, the DEL
egateS from Minnesota, Manitoba,
Michigan and Chicago, who have done
most to further the movement here
tofore, were much pleased to find
themselves supported, at Cleveland,
by representatives from Wisconsin,
Ohio and New York. These three
states have never before aided our
plans. Why, there were even some of
the Erie canal people at the conven-
ton. Without any doubt both nations
are learning to see the advantages Of
channel that would permit large
ocean-going freight steamers to enter
the North American continent as far
as the head of Lake Superior.
$50 far, there are three routes pro-
posed for the new water way. All
three of them require a canal around
Niagara Falls. But the first clings,
49,
to the ocean via the st. Lawrence.
To perfect this route, the Welland
canal and all the canals along the ST.
Lawrence would have to be cut down
to a depth of from q to 26 feet. The
seccGd route utilizes the same river
as far as Lake st. Francs, which is
merely a widening of the St. Law
renee just north of the boundary of
New York state. From Lake ST. Fran
els canal would be constructed
across a level stretch of country to
the head of Lake Champlain There
is already an old-fashioned, small can
al from Lake Champlain to the Hud-
part of the Hudson itself would have
to be improved, and the second route
would then be complete
tario, at Oswego. canal from Os-
wego would connect with Lake Oneida
in central New York. From this lake
the Mohawk river leading to the Hud-
son, would have to be dsepened or
canalized. Of the three routes, the
second, via Lake Champlain, is prob
ably the cheapest, but the third, via
the Mohawk, has the great advantage
of bsing entirely in American territory,
the passage around the Nj
a agara Falls is made on the American
side For minitary and other reasons,
an outlet strictly American would be
preferable.
1.-THE government of both this count
try and Canada have already author
lied the appointment of international
deep water ways commission. Presi-
dent Cleveland has not yet appointed
the American members, nor have the
Canadians been named. 1 think, how
ever, that the commission will be
formed very soon, and then something
definite can be looked for. With
sufficient appropriation,
SURVEYS CAN BE MADE
Of the different proposed routes, and
more than guess work
will be afforded as bisis
for estimating the relative cost and adj
of each route"
Personally, 1 enjoyed the three days
session at Cleveland very much. Re-
cause I have written few magazine
articles in favor of the deepwaterway
project, was received most kindly by