The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-12-08
RussIA's GREAT CANAL.
a Long Ditch To Connect the a.,+,.
And Black Seas,

european papers and scientific mao
azlnes are occupying Themselves 10
;.i SeneIaliy at the present moment
~ ~ cllClclsms concerning the great
onip cahal which is destined to con.
meet the Baltic with the Black Sea
molk on Which was begun last wear nv
Tue russian Government, and is no.
lns pushed forward with the greatest
zeal and at the same time with a
quiethess amounting almost to sec.
recy When finished the work on 40.
count OF its immensely and the almost
lhsuperable difficulty to be oyerra,n,
VIII be worthy of place beside s,o,
modern wonders as the 81 ...i..,r5
tunnel the Suez Canal the tspnels 80
FfeJus and the Simp!an.
The projects offered for the co,
struction of this really hercuIean Ia
Dor were many and various bat tho
cholce finally rested between two
schemes-one. a proposition 10 unitn
the river Dnieper, which flows into tho
Black Sea, with the Dwina. which
emptles its waters into the Baltic NJ
Riga the other plan to connect the
Dnlester, west of Odessa. with the
river Vistula, which has its mouth at
Danzica on the Baltic.
The first of these projects met with
the special favor of Alexander III
and is the one which has been adopted
for the carrying our of the great work
OF uniting the two seas The route
starts at Riga, following the course of
the Duna River as far as Duneberg.
where it is united to the Beresina bv
means of an immense course cut right
through the country. The Beresina
and the Dnieper are then used to com.
plete the connection. The total length
of the line is 900 kilometers, or about
1000 English miles 200 kilometers of
the entire distance being artifcially
cut through the land. The work is 10
be finished in five years if all goes
well and a sufficient number of men
are kept at work during that period
The canal is &C meters, or about 2O7
feet wide, and about so feet deep thus
allowing the largest vessels means of
passing from one sea to the other.
Seventeen large ports, or artificial
bays, are to be constructed along the
line as well, each capable of contain
ing large number OF ships, so that a
Russian vessel, however large it may
be, may make the entire transit in
six days, without hindrance of any
kind.
The cost of the work, at the lowest
estimate, and taking into considcra.
ton the means at the disposal Of the
Russian Government as to the adop-
tion of unpaid labor, will amount TO
about $120,000000.
The principal of the reasons for the
adoption of the above mentioned plan
in preference to the Dries;er Vistula
project is that the whole passa @ is
Kept within the limits of the Russian
Empire thus allOMing Russia absolute
sovereignty over the entire course.
Putting aside the great political adj
vantages given to Russia by the new
enterprise, the gain commercially and
economically will be an iucalculable
one, and beneficial in many more ways
than one. With her great power and
resources the great semi-O Oriental
kingdom is in position to carry ont
with ease works that, in their i'm
mensty, recall the wonders of ancient
history, and before the undertaking OF
which a lesser power would retire dis
couraged Rome Correspondent New
York Times.