Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-09-09
ST. CLAIR SHIP CANAL
IMPORTANT INFLUENCE 1T WOULD
HAVE ON LAKE TRAFFIC,


niue NIiies-Recent development of Com
merce Throughout Lake System.
The prospects fer the construction
of the st. Clair and Erie ship canal in
the near future have recently attracted
a good deal of attention among bust
ness and shipping men. 1t is stated
upon what is believed to be good au-
thority, that within a year operations
will be begun. Two years work
would be required in any case before
the canal could be completed and open
ed for traffic The purpose of this
canal Is to shorten materially the sail
ing distance between Lake st. Clair
and Lake Erie and to afford a deep,
safe and direct channel in place of the
present unsatisfactory, tortuous and
dangerous one th rough the Detroit
River.
Leaving the old course in Lake st.
Clair at a point about five miles from
the foot of the St Mary's River the
proposed course strikes southeast di-
rectly across Lake St Clair in bee
line for Cleveland. 1t cuts through
the low-lying neck of land which sep
arates Lake St ClEir from Lake Erie
and debouches into the latter at point
about sixty miles easterly of the usual
route through the Detroit River. This
low-lying land forms the southwestern
extremity of Ontario In general con-
formation it resembles somewhat the
Iberian peninsula, Lake St. Clair TAX
ing the place of the Bay of Biscay and
Lake Erie of the Mediterranean. IN
this view the St Clair Canal would be
a counterpart of the long-prOjected
Bordeaux Mediterranean Canal
The direct saving in distance would
be seventy-nine miles. The actual
cutting necessary is about fourteen
miles. and the expense of constructing
the canal is estimated by the engineers
at about s5,5OO,O0O The management
believes that a toll of three cents a ton
on the freight. which may reasonably
be expected to pass through this chan
mel upon its completion, would justify
! the outlay for construction and repay
all expenses of interest and manage
meut. If two-thirds of the tonnage
now passing Detroit should avail itself
of the advantages Of the canal the tolls
would meet these anticipations. At
the rate mentioned it is not apparent
why all the through traffic now pass
| ing Detroit would not take the new
route That portion of the thousand
mile journey to the seaboard to be
| rendered more safe by the proposed
canal is passed over by all through or
| long distance traffic, for the tonnage
passing through the Detroit River has
always served with approximate ac-
curacy to gauge the development of
commerce throughout the whole sys-
tenn Thus, for example, in 1889 the
cargo tonnage carried through the De-
troit River in American vessels land
exclusive of that carried in Canadian
vessels) was 1917 800 tons, while the
shipments from all American lake
ports aggregated but 25,O27 ,30S tons.
The proposed construction in this
new link in the chain of magnificent
waterways which connect Duluth, Chi
cago. and other western lake ports
with the tide water again calls atten-
ton to the enormous growth of the
lake marine in recent years, its steady
and continuous advance, and the re-
cent improvements both in the vessels
themselves and in the facilities Of dock
ing, loading and unloading. The mag
nitude of this commerce, as demon
strated by the accurate official reports
now kept for considerable series OF
years, while we'll known to shipping
men and to most residents of the lake
side cities, is a we'll recognized cause
of surprise and aatonishment to the
great bulk of otherwise we'll informed
Americans, to say nothing of foreign
; ers whose ignorance of the trade de-
mands of our country might more
readily admit of excuse. To take the
fgurss q tbs co2t,Gssreee for The las
ten Years only, IND omit amounts
smaller thap one million tons, we FIND
, that in 1881 the registered tonnag,
passing through rhe Detroit Rive
amounted TO about $4,000, OO
tons. AdyArt~g each year il
a steady eroTth by one or tw
t million tons, lis tonnage amount
l ed in the year see TO 26,OOO,OOC
!. at which i now lands The enor
I, NOUS extent OF tn hus ness IS NOR
t readily appreciate. rcen one is re
; minded that these narres indicate
y tonnage four timel as great as tina
which passes through the suez Cana
?. twice as great as tbs combined tonnag
!, of the ports Of Lo-don ana Liverpoo
e and double the entrances and clear
e ances at the port OF New York Thi
too, is for the ANIMAL shipping seaso
re of eight or nine mcnths at most, viii
ID the Suez Canal and the English por
n, n, are open all the yeGr around.
id Not alone in regard to the amount
a. tonnage now employed is the record
e. marvellous one. The character of Il
q. o. tonnage has undergone within a d