New-York tribune., 1898-12-25
CANADIAN CANAL LESSONS.

The account Of the improvements or the Ca
madam canal system now nearing completion.
which we print on another page Of this morning $
Tribune, is Instructive in general sense and
particularly suggestive In special sense 10 all
10 whom the commercial prosperity Of this port
Is q matter OF concern II will he seen that the
Dominion has expended in ali upon her canal
which are used almost exclusively for the trans
portaton Of inland produce from the shores Of
the Great Lakes 10 tidewaer some 100000 O00
Much of that was spent long ago. il is true. vet
since the Introduction OF railroads. for tho open
ing Of the st Lawrence Canal dates back only
TO 1871 But within the last half-dozcn years
she has spent about SlG0oOOoO in enlargins old
canals and bringing them into thoroughly up
to-datc effectiveness. BY the time navigation
opens next summer she will have fine broad
fourteen-fpot waterway straight from Thunder
Bay 10 the Atlantic Ocean
If this country and this State and this city
have no such channel Of trade. is it not reason
able TO suppose that the Dominion will outstrp
them in the keen competition for outgoing com
merce: AS matter of fact. she is today do
Ing that very thing We have hitherto shown
that the export trade Of this city Is seriously de-
clininC. What becomes of The produce that
comes down The lakes as far as Buffalo and
then fails 10 get through To- New-York: 1he
answer is 10 he read in Canadas rapidly in
creasing export trade and in the new steamship
lines That are being established between Cana
dian ports. especially ST. Lawrence ports and
Great Britain. When like barces and whale
back steamers and other craft drawing fourteen
feet OF water can come down from Port Arthur
or she Snult Ste. Marie without tolls to Quebec
or Fraserve or around 20 Chnleur Bay. and
there tle up alongside nm ocean steamer ard
transfer cargo directly without llghteraGe or
cartnge. that route must have vast advantages
over one on which all large lake craft must
breal; cargo midway at great cost. transfer 10
small boats of seven feet draught. and the In
ter be towed through 70 point remote from the
steamship dock and transfer their cargocs again
by means of cody lighteragc. elevatlng and
what no.. In those conditions Is the explana.
uon Of the falling off In New-Yorh's commerce
and the Increase in CanadaS
There Is given, TOO. in this action Of Can
ada a vigorous answer TO the notion that ca
rails are obsolete and should be abandoned in
fnyor of railroads. AS we have said The Cana
dian canals have been constructed since rail
roads were built. And they are now being
enormously improved ly Il Government thnt IS
p1rtlcuIariv lUtcr"Steu i'll rallrOduS. Let that be
borne in mind. The Canadian Government is
the proprietor of al extensive railroad system
with which these canals come into immediate
competition. The Canadian Pacific Railroad
touches Port Arthur and skirts Lake Superior
and has 4 branch 10 Saut Ste. Marie. and other
Canadian rOads touch ell the ports on the east
side Of Lake Huron and the north side OF Lake
Erie. run along the shore Of Lake Ontario and
down the ST. Lawrence 10 Quebec and Fraser
vile. and thence across 10 Chaleur Bay and
the Nova Scotia and Cape Breton coasts II
cannls are to be superseded by railroads. why
does the Dominion Government not let these
roads. some OF them its own roads. do the car
rying trade? Why does II spend s1sOO0.OO0 IN
constructing and cnlarsing canals which paral
lei them ard compete with them,
The answer is perfectly simple. That great
Dominion. part Of tho gren.est commercial
empire IN the world Is convinced thar canals
are still OF value and that there Is room and
kpatronage enough for both canals and railroads