The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-01-20

Report of the Commission is Sent to Com
gress by the President, Together with =
Message IndOrsing the Plans.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19.-The report of
the deep waterway commission was laid
before the senate and house of repre-
,entatives yesterday with the follow
ng letter from the president:
TO the Senate and House of Representatives:
1 transmit herewith the report OF Messrs,
James B. Angel, of Michigan; John e. Russell,
Of Massachusetts, and Lyman L. Cooley, OF
Illinois, who were appointed commissioners
under authority Of law passed March 2, 1895,
10 make inquiry and report, after conference
with such similar commissioners as might be
appointed on behalf OF Great Britain or the Do
minion OF Canada, concerning the feasibility Of
the construction OF such canals as will enable
vessels enga led In ocean commerce to pass be-
tween the great lakes and the Atlantic Ocean,
and the most convenient location and probable
cost Of such canals together with other facts
and information in said act specified relating
70 their construction and use.
The commissioners have prosecuted tho work
assigned them with great zeal and intelligence,
resulting In the collection of . mass Of infor-
nation embodied in their report and its accom-
panying exhibits, which is Of great Importance
and interest rs related TO the project subjected
TO their examination.
l suggest to congress the propriety Of maxi
ing economical provision for such further
prosecution of their work as will fully de-
velop the information necessary to an exact
and complete understanding Of this interesting
and important subject.
The report Of the waterways commits
sion gives detailed account of the
work Of the commission and, after con-
sidering the question in its various as
poets, presented these conclusions:
First-That 1t Is entirely feasible to construct
such canals and channels as win be adequate
to any scale Of navigation that may be desired
between the several great lakes and to the sea-
board, and to conduct through the same do
nestle and foreign commerce, and that In our
opinion 1t will be wise to provide such chan
mel of q depth of not less than ~ feet
Second-That starting from the heads OF
Lakes Michigan and Superior, the most eligi-
BILE route is through the several great lakes
and their intermediate channels and the pro-
posed Niagara ship canal (Tonawanda to
| Olcott) to Lake Ontario; and that the Cana
dian seaboard may be reached from Lake On
tario By way of the ST. Lawrence river; and
:he American seaboard may be reached from
Lake Ontario by way Of the st. Lawrence,
Lake Champlain and the Hudson river; or by
way Of the Oswogo, Oneida Mohawk valley and
the Hudson river
Third-That the alternative routes from
Lake Ontario to the Hudson river require
complete surveys and full development OF
economic considerations to determine their
relative availability
Fourth-That moderate control Of the level
Of Lake Erie and of the Niagara river at Tona-
wanda may be justified IL connection with the
Niagara ship canal, the determination in this
matter to rest on q full examination OF the
physical conditions.
Fifth-That the policy should contemplate
the ultimate development Of the largest useful
capacity and that all works should be planned
on this basis and that the actual execution
should conform thereto except in so far as the
works may without prejudice, be progressive
| ly developed with the actual demands of com
merce.
Sixth-That it is practical to develop the
work in separate sections and the several sec
tions in part by degrees, each stop having It's
economic justification, so that benefits shall
follow closely on expenditure, without awaiting
the completion Of the system as whole.
Seventh,-That the Niagara ship canal should
first be undertaken and incidentally the broad
ening and further deepening of the ntermedi
ate channels Of the lakes, the same being in thu
local order Of development and also requiring
the least time for consideration.