The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-11
ERIE CANAL.
4 COMPANY WHICH PROPOSES
TO REVIVE TRAFFIC.
Erastus Wiman Tells of Some of the
Very Many Advantages That
Will Accrue to New Yorkers-A
Big Undertaking.

New York, Jan. 10.-In response to in
quiry regarding the Consolidated Canal
and Lake company, incorporated at the
state capital Saturday, Erastus Wiman,
one OF the directors, has sent the follow
ing to the press from St George S. l.:
The purpose of the new company is
10 revive the commerce of the Erie canal,
ana by eleVating it to the position of a
trunk line possessing the advantages of an
all-Water route, unavailable TO any rival
port, concentrate freight from the west in
New York now leaving it for Newport
News and Baltimore on the south, and
Boston and Montreal on the east. The
operations of the new company will. at
the start, be confined to the freightage
OF flour, provisions and other produce in
packages moving westbound. The disap-
pearance of the kind of commerce known
as package freight on this great water
way is best illustrated by the statement
that in 1895 while 10 900, 900 barrels of flour
reached lower lake ports the amount
reaching New York over the canal was
only 800 barrels This quantity can be
Increased in 1897 to 100000 barrels by con-
tracts already signed by the great freight
orig1nators OF the west. Among these are
included such men as the director of the
company, Charles A. Piilsbury, who. with
his associates of the Washburn- Crosby
company, and the Consolidated Milling
company, have -four output of L. 900. 900
barrels annually; with Bradford C. Church.
representing the mills at Duluth and
Superior, representing 50. 600 barrels daily
and shipments of grain. the largest of
any other single port in the world. For
weStbound freight the representative on
the board is Albert b. Young, of st. Paul,
representing the Jobbers' union, distribut-
ing nearly all the merchandise absorbed
in the six northwestern states, and We
are the largest freight originatorS of the
weStbound traffic
THE opportunities for the new COM
pany, it will be seen, are wide enough and
COlllH aV1ila
canal by the introduction of organization
where now no organization exists; by the
creation of modern equipments now or
dered to the extent of seven steamers
and 80 canal conSorts, but, more especial
ly, by the provision of terminals for
practically free transfer storage both at
absolutely necessary to the revival of
canal coTpmerce. so that not only can
the cost of transfer be made so low as 10
be improbable in through rate, the same
as by rail, but that canal boats may
obtain quick dispatch and obviate the
delay of craft in port which for seven
years has averaged no less than so days
out of navigation season of 2lO: To ex-
pect canal commerce with such delays to
compete with rail traffic run on schedule
time is to expect the impossible; and
hence, without some such provision in
this harbor for free transfer storage all
the advantages of this free waterway
are lost. In Buffalo. this free terminal is
already secured, and in New York the
question comes up tomorrow Tor ue-
termination before the dock commission
ers. If the decision is favorable, the
company can proceed, If not, its future is
uncertain.
New Orleans attracts trade by offering
to ocean tramps free wharfage and at
all rival outDorts free transfer storage
is universal. All that is asked of New
York is, without dollar sacrifice, the
permanent use of a pier and bulkhead
where a canal commerce can be dumped,
stored and sorted for export or distribu-
ton to New England or for the local
market.
Canal passage freight can thus be
placed on parity with rail freight.
which. reaching the city in small carload
lots. frequently in cars of other roads on
which the freight originates is held in
definitely for the convenience of the con-
signee so also by the rival ports, as in
Baltimore Newport News, where direct
contact is held between cars and shipslde,
impossible in New York
",rhe whole question, therefore, OF con-
centrati ton of western commerce by canal
rests upon the decision of the dock de-
pa ''''>'- i'ERASTUS WIMAN."