Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-05-04
NEWEST SHIP CANALS.
4 GREAT WATERWAY BEING BUILT
ACROSS RUSSIA.


Across Fiorida-Suez Still Stands Alone
Among the Paying Ship Canals.
Among the canal projects that are
making most rapid progress is the
Russian canal across western Russia,
from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
Work on the canal began last spring,
and four years will be required to
complete it. 1t is to be 1850 miles
long, and will extend from the port of
Riga, on the Baltic, to the mouth of
the Dnieper River, on the Black Sea.
The new waterway will be largs enough
to permit the largest warships to pass
through. 1t will have q width at the
top of 217 feet and lit feet at the
bottom, with a depth of 2S3 feet.
Starting from Riga the route follows
the Dwina River to Dunaberg. From
this point the canal will be dug to
Lepel upon the Beresina River. 1t
will then follow this stream to the
Dnieper, which it will descend to the
sea. The route thus utilizes the
river courses which are to be canal
lied, and of the total length Of the
canal only 125 miles will be dug. The
canal is being SO strongly built that
vessels may steam through it at rate
of six knots an hour. 1t will take six
days for large vessels to pass through
it, travelling night and day. The canal
is to be lighted throughout by cleo
tricity, and the total cost is estimated
ct about $100, 100000. To enlarge the
commercial area to be served it is pro-
posed to utilize numerous secondary
rivers and thus connect the canal with
the important towns of Mozyr, Cher
nigov, Jitomir, Poltava and others.
The success Of the Manchester ship
canal has led Belgium to think of a
similar undertaking for the benefit of
Brussels. The project is to make
Brussels a maritime port, with large
dock accommodations and q basin for
shipping comprising about $4,000
acres. The work has not yet begun,
but there is 10 doubtit will be carried
out. The canal will be about seventy
five miles long. The Belgians are
among the best canal builders OF the
world, and q great deal Of their in
ternal commerce is carried on the
twenty-nine canals now in operation.
There is no telling when the pro-
posed Florida ship canal, designed to
save some hundreds of miles of travel
around the end of the peninsula, will
be carried out. The projectors of this
enterprise, however, have made prog
ress in the study of available routes
for the canal. The route selected by
the late General Stone has been pro-
nounced impracticable by Engineer
Catfall, who reports that tidewater
canal is out of the question, and that
the only practicable route for a ship
canal is on lock system, beginning
at the harbor of st. Augustine, going
straightto st. Johns River, 15l miles,
up that river ten miles, thence to
Orange Lake, 49, miles, through that
lnke nine miles, thence to the Gulf,
south of Wacassassee Bay, the near
est deep water, 45f miles. The total
length of the canal is to be 103 miles.
The Panama Canal Company has
completed the Boca dock, the Pacific
terminus Of the canal. 1t remains to
be seen whether vessels will use this
dock. The tide fuctuation at Panama
amounts to over twenty-five feet, and
at the lowest ebb the bottom of the
sea is exposed for mile or more from
the shore. Some persons express the
opinion that the dock will be a great
success, while others think it will be
a complete failure, as, in their opinion,
vessels will not venture to tie up there
The French Chamber has had be-
fore it for some time plan to connect
the Bay Of Biscay with the Mediter-
ranean by ship canal. The plan is
to start from Bordeaux, follow the left
bank Of the Garonne fora considerable
distance, then cross the river and re-
main on the right bank rs far as Tou-
louise, where it will again pass to the
other side. The canal will finally
cross the river third time and ter
inmate in the Gulf of Lyons near Mar
bonne. Its length will be 1927 nautical
cal miles. One great advantage that
is urged in favor of the canal is that il
will give northern France seq COM
munication with its southern ports
without passing through the Strait OF
Gibraltar.
The Suez Canal is as yet the only
great financial success among the shir
canals now in operation. It's tota
traffic receipts for the half year end
ing June 80 last were SS, 636, 920. The
charges imposed by the canal company
are $1.54 per registered tonnage, and
ten of the German mail steamers alone
contribute annually about $500, 900 to
the canal company for passage or 6
sum equal to nearly half the mail sub.
sides received from the imperial Gov
ernment.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, between
the mouth of the Elbe on the Nortf
Sea and Kiel on the Baltic Sea, is
more than paying its expenses, and the
net income of the Manchester is SLOWLY
increasing. The Isthmus of Corintl
Canal is only little over three miles
long, but it saves from 100 to 2O(
miles in the journey to Constantinoplt
and obviates the necessity of making
the dangerous passage around Cape