New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-07
NINE MILLIONS TOO LITTLE.
ALDRIDGE WANTS s5,OOO,OOo MORE FOR
CANAL IMPROVEMENT.
THE WORK ONLY HALF DONE IN MANY PLACES.
he SAYS. AND UNLESS MORE is SPENT.
MUCH WILL BE wAsTED-Ex-
PLANTATIONS COMING.
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRrBuNE.l

NOS.it'p'
rBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNE1
Albany. Dec. Estate Engineer Adams ana
George w Aldrdge. Superintendent OF Pupho
Works. held consultation early this evening
over the terms OF a document which they will
soon make public. and in which they VIII s'a''
that the work Of improving the Erie. Oswego
and Champan canals cannot be completed loi
the S9OOOOOO already appropriated. but tha'
several millions more will he required
Il deeply regret to say said Mr.. Aldridge
later in the evening. that the State Engineer
Informed me tonight 1t will require $5oOOooo
to complete the work OF canal Improvement U"
its present lines. Mr.. Adams and myself are
preparing a detailed statement Of what has been
done with the $4,000 OOO and how the SoOOOo~
more necessary will be expended. This state
ment will be forwarded for publication In DAY
or so to Robert r. Hafford. Of Buffalo, the
chairman Of what Is known as the Executive
Canal Committee body representing the
Chamber OF Commerce Of New-York and similar
commercial bodies interested In the work OF
Improving the canals. 1t was these CONNER
cal bodies which induced the Constitutional
Convention Of 1894 to amend the Constitution
so ms to permit the people TO vote on the ques-
tion of appropriating money for canal Improve
ments. AT that time 1t was estimated that the
work OF improving the canals would cost
Sl2.IO.OW or S13,OOO.OOO. but the commercial
bodies proposed an appropriation or only
S9OOOO0O believing that the people would give
their consent to such an expenditure rather
than to a larger one"
Has the work been Unexpectedly expensive
at certain points on the Erie Canal?"
1T has been.' replied Mr.. Aldridge. "and the
total amount In this way Of Unforeseen expenses
may be roughly estimated at 81 100000 To
give one example. between Buffalo and Tona-
wanda the Erie Canal runs alongside the Mag
ara River. We thought 1T first We would nave
to build a solid stone wall all along this part OK
the canal but then attempted to deepen the
canal without building any such wall. The re-
suit was that we encountered clay banks. ana
these slid into the river and into the canal, er-
fectually lnterruptng its navigation. Flnally
We drove thousands OF big logs into the side OF
the canal and thus held up the banks. l pre-
sumo this additional work has cost the state
fully S2oOOO0 In Buffalo Itself and on the Jor-
dan level We had similar experience. where
had to spend $1,000 additional"
How many miles Of canal work have yet to
be completed7"
About one hundred and hfty-three" answered
Mr. Aldridge. although | should state that a
large part Of this work will he done on the
Csw ego and the Champlain canals. We had con-
tracts to the amount OF S5OO,UOO or SooooVC 10
give out on the Erie Canal last summer, wnen
the canal men suddenly came here. headed Dy
George r. Sloan. Of OswegO. and Frank ). With
erbee OF Port Henry. and complained that we
were not carrying out the intention OF the Legis-
lature To bring forward the work OF improve
rnent evenly on all the canals. and that the
Oswogo and Champlain canals were being neg
lected We therefore withheld the contracts
FOR the Erie Canal, and transferred this money
TO the account Of the Oswego and Champlain
canals. 49,
"Thc LEGISLATURE on meeting, will have to
consider the policy Of submitting to the people
at tho fan election of 1895 the question whether
s. OOO OOD additional shall be spent on canal Inn
rrovement work The work is only half done
in many places II II is abandoned now
great damage will he done and hundreds OF
Thousands OF dollars will be wasted which have
been spent. But 1t is for the people TO decide
,yhether they wish the canal-improvement work
70 be continued"