The Portland daily press., 1896-12-24
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.J

ESPECIAL TO THE PREssJ
Washington, December 20. - The
friends of the Nicaragua Canal are
pressing for the consideration of the bill
which would. il enacted, practically
commit the United States to that enter
prise. The committee Oh Interstate and
Foreign Commerce has the consideration
of matters relating to the great canal
SCHEMES; and the Nicaragua project is
not the only one that Games before them.
How far the Nicaragua undertaking has
really gone is question difficult to deter
niue; but that the undertaking will be
very Costly is undoubted.
Colonel W.P. Hepburn, of Iowa, chair
E,an of the Interstate and Foreign
Commerce Committee, is tine confdant
OF all the men who have great Canal
schemes. Some Of these schemes are
very interesting, and Col Hepburn
talked very entertainingly of them the
ether day to the PRESS correspondent.
Very frequently there comes to the room
man who has plan whereby he thinks
q canal can be built across the isthmus
at q much less cost than the Nicaragua
plan requires. This involves the digging
of canal through a mountain for Il dig
lance of two or three miles. AS this
tunnel would have to he wide enough
and high enough to allow the passage of
full rugged ships of the largest class.
with ali their heighth of masts, 1t can be
Seen that there is nothing meagre about
the plan of the little man. Colonel i3ep
burn has an idea that it might be just AS
well to go slowly in investing down in
Nicaragua. until more promising plan
nearer home has been looked into. The
object of an Isth!nian canal is of course
to lessen the cost of carriage between
the tlautio and Pacific coasts. But
there is plan for making a waterway
about half way across the continent,
leaving the remaining distance to the
railroads. The plan is to dig q canal
from Lake Champlain to the Hudson
River, and another canal, on the Ameri-
can side, around Niagara Fslls. The
canal around Niagara is of scourse feast
bile because the EngIi b already have one
on the Canadian side. The canal FROM
the Hudson to Lake Champlain would
be about forty miles, and would en-
counter no elevation over forty feet In
height. Tue waters of Lake Champlain
are higher than the Hudson.
1t is plain that with such canals built,
providing they were built as large as the
Nicaragua canal would be, ship could
go from New York up the Hudson,
through Lake Champlain, down the
Champlain River to the st. Lawrence,
up the St. Lawrence around Niagara,
and through the Great Lakes ne far as
Duluth, which is nearly half way to the
Pacific.
Such canal, besides giving a water
way that would reduce tho coat of trans
portation westward. would serve all the
intervening country for local traffic.
With the Cape Cod ship canal completed
there would practically he an inland
waterway from Boston to Duluth.
Such canal would be open to the OBJ
lection TINT portion Of the waterway,
for short distance along the st. Law
renee, would have British territory on
one side Of it. But Colonel Hepburn
thinks that this would not be n great
objection. In the event of war;" be
says, Eve could occupy the other side
Of the St. Lawrence in fifteen days at |
most. That time would suffice to put |
100, 900 troops into that region, fully |
armed and equipped. Then the resourc- |
es of the country for supplying further |
forces are simply unexheustiblo. Why,
une arsenal alone, that at Rock Island, |
can fully arm and equip for the field, |
five hundred men every twenty-four |
hours for year at time That is |
probably the most splendid arsenal in the |
world, but we have other good ones. |
Colonel Hepburn is prominent figure |
Ia Iowa politics, and is notable politi- |
cal fighter on the floors of Republican |
National Conventions. He was at ST. |
Louis last summer and there was as.
Charles e. Littlefeld of Maine on the
committee on credentials. They are |
kindred spirits in their staying powers !
for fight, especially when the odds al |
heavy against them; and the Iowan |
went away with great respect and |
liking for Mr. Littlefeld. He says that |
Rr. Littletield did courageous and able |
SCI vice in spite of heavy odds, making a |
splendid fight
Mr.. Hepburn is great grandson of |
Matthew Lyon, who was in the early |
days of the Republic Congressman
from Vermont, again from Kentucky,
and also delegate from Arkansas. A |
few yeas ago, in Boston, at Merchants
dinner, Mr.. Hepburn said he ought to
feel at home in Boston because his great
grandfather was once sold there. He
had no SOONER said 1t than he heard some
one whisper: why, he is great grand
son Of Mother Lyon" Lyon was sold
under the apprentice law of Massachu-
sets for the amount of his passage
money from Dublin. On the floor of
the House the other day Mr.. Hepburn
mentioned in the hearing of Congress
man Griswold, of Pennsylvania. the fact
that he was the great grandson of.Lyon.
.'Wny," said Mr.. Griswold, 81 am the
great grandson of Roger Griswold. I"
Then the two men laughed and shook
hands, The secret of their nirth was the
fact that Mother Lyon and Roger Girls
void had a fight en- the floor of the
House, creating great excitement. One
took fire shovel and the other pair OF
tongs, according to tradition. and with
these few at each other.
Lieutenant Green, who succeeds Gen
eral Casey as chief of the construction
i