The evening times., 1898-12-07
POSSIBILITIES OF
A GREAT WATERWAY
FUTURE OF TIE c. & o. CANAL
Could He Made to Generate SufH-
cfent Electricity to supply
WASHINGTON.

Poolesville. Md, Dec 7-Speaking of the
future of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal,
Dr. Edward WOotton. resident of this
place and an honored citizen of Mont
gomery County. said: Mr. F. II. Darby,
OF Washington County has raised an i'm
portant matter in referring to the valua-
BILE water power of the canal which has
been going to waste for so many years.
The dam at Seneca has not cost a hun
dred dollars year on the average TO
keep it in repair. From this dam to
Washington, a distance of twenty miles,
there are twenty-five locks on the canal,
each with fall of eight feet. The water
from one lock flows down to the next,
and its power could be used twenty-five
times. None is wasted. Within twelve
miles of Washington there are thirteen
locks having an aggregate fall of over a
hundred feet. All this splendid power is
most valuable feature of the canal and
should be utilized. 1t could readily be
converted into electricity and conveyed to
Washington or other towns for light,
heat or manufacturing power. 1t could
also. of course. be used for propelling
electric cars"
DR.. WoOtten said also that the portion
OF Maryland where he lives in fact all
that fertile part of Montgomery County
lying on the Potomac River is dependent
upon the canal for transportation facih-
ties. If the canal should be abandoned
and no railroad take its place there would
be no adequate means of Transporting
crops to market or of getting supplies
There Is no railroad within reasonable
distance. Deprived of transportation ia
ciities, the public interests would suffer
and property would greatly depreciate in
value and the revenues of the State and
county would be affected.
What the people OF montgomery, and,
in fact. of all the canal counties want, is
road to market and not the trifIing sum
which might come into the State treasu-
ry by the sale of the canal stock. For the
transportation of crops to market. DR..
Wootton considers canal to be prefer
red to a railroad. for canal boat will
stop to load and unload wherever it is
wanted. But for the development of the
country a railroad is to be. preferred
Washington is now overfiowing into
Montgomery County, and with a railroad
up the canal tUwpath, through the pic
turesque scenery of the Potomac. this
part of the county would be speedily oc-
lagos would spring up rapidly increasing
the value of property and the assessable
basis for taxation. This. of course, would
be more profitable to the State than
sum of money paid to abandon the canal.
In my judgment" said DIR. Wootton,
the States interest should not be sold
at this time There Is a decree for the
sale of the canal itself and that decree
will become operative May l. 1901. The
State should wait until then and then
the canal itself. ditch. banks and fran
chises should be offered at public auction
and not by sealed bids. That would give
all the railroad companies an equal
chance to bid and would probably pro-
duce more for the State. 1t might also
be we'll for the legislature at the next
session to charter some company IN ad-
vance. as the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road reorganization company was char
tered at the last Session"