The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-24
DEEP WATERWAY TO THE SEA.
In the Course. of Time Such a Cana
May BE. Constructed.
ClaNa nd plain Dealer


The deep waterway commission appointed
by President Cleveland reported last win
ter in favor of ship canal connecting the
lakes with the seaboard with channel of
eight feet. and that the most eligible route
is by Niagara ship canal from Tona-
wanda to Olcott and from Lake Ontario to
New York by way of the ST. Lawrence
river and Lake Champlain to the Hudson
river or by the Oswego-Oneida-M Mohawk
valley to the Hudson river. 1t was added
that the alternative routes from Lake On
tario to the Hudson river require complete
surveys and full development of eco
relative ability President Mckinley APP
pointed a commission to consider the two
routes and report on their comparative
The original deep waterway commission
reported that the making of Lake Cham
plain part of the great lake system is
reaching the seaboard on account of it's
very favorable position with respect to
and the magnitude of the movement to and
from thar section. An ex' ension of lake
commerce to Lake Champlain would add
40 to so per cent to the length of present
lake routes. and a nearly proportional
amount of territory in direct service, and
would largely increase the total water
movement. With Lake Champlain in the
lake system, engineering considerations
were held to favor the Champlain-H Hudson
route from the head of Lake Champlain
at Whitehall to tidewater at Troy. On
the other hand. economic considerations
were held to favor the Oswego- Oneida Mo-
hawk route from Lake Ontario to tide
water of the Hudson river at Troy, pro-
vided the physical conditions permit of a
radical solution. The route from Oswego
to Troy is III miles, as against about $50
miles by the st. Lawrence river and Lake
Champaign, or 203 miles less in absolute
gin condition it would be feasible to dam
it near Amsterdam to the level of Oneida
lake and make a through cut of the Rome
summit this mode of treatment making
whole equal hGttar
than the slowest or more restricted 1T
miles of channel on the st. Lawrence
Champlain route and saving in time the
equivalent of the remaining 203 miles.
This saving would be matter of great mo-
ment. To the extent that vested interests
prevent a radical solution will the advan-
tage of distance diminish by increase in
the number of locks and through a more
restricted channel. The route is capable
of development for second-class naviga-
ton without radical disturbance of vested
interests.
For obvious reasons the commission did
not touch on the political considerations
entering into choice between the alterna-
tive routes. It's instructions were to con-
slider all the deep waterway plans that
Canadian as well as United States routes.
The st. Lawrence-C hamplan route besides
being much longer lies partly in Canadian
territory, and one of the strong arguments
in favor of an exclusively United States
canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario
therefore applies against the st. Lawrence
Champlain route. This would unquestion-
ably influence Congress in considering the
advisability of making the proposed deep
waterway to the ocean.
The Mckinley commission is reported un-
officially to have reached a conclusion ia
vorable to the choice of the Oswego route
which will lie wholly within United States
territory The Niagara ship canal is to
leave the Niagara river at North Tona-
wanda, but instead of entering Lake On
tario at Olcott, as originally planned, is to
terminate near WILSON, which is about five
miles west of Olcott and nearly double that
distance from the mouth of the Niagara
river. From Oswego to Troy the route will
be practically that which was suggested
by the previous commission. taking in
Lake Oneida and going down the Mohawk
valley to the Hudson al Troy. The cost
of construction is estimated at about $82,-
900 00O The cost of the Suez canal was
over S102 900 coo and the rough estimates for
the deep waterway between the lakes and
tidewater by either of the suggested routes,
in the discussions at the waterway conven-
tions. were in the neighborhood of $780,
00), 600
The report of the commission will prob
ably be ready for Congress when it meets