Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-02-07
Should be Selected For
the Ship Canal.
Plenty Of Business For More
Boats.
Believes the Coming Season Will be
Record Breaker.

The report OF Chief Engineer Chas.
Perkins recommending the construc-
ton of n ship canal between Lake
Erie and the Ohio river has attract
ed considerable attention In Akron.
Col. Jas. Ii. Morrison, collector at
the Akron port, believes that the only
available route for the canal is via
the Cuyahoga and Muskingum river
valleys.
'In his report Engineer Perkins es-
Inmates that the cost Of the canal will
be only $4,000 by the Cleveland and
Akron route" says Col. Morrison,
while by the Toledo and Pittsburg
routes the cost will be from $4,000
to $4,000. While we of my generation
may not see these great waterways
constructed, yet | want to predict that
you young men will live to see the
day when ships will ply directly be-
tween the. Ohio river and the great
lakes. 1t took a great many years
of agitation before sufficient national
and state courage was mustered up
to undertake the construction of the
Chicago drainage canal, an undertake
ing whose magnitude none can appre-
ciatc without seeing it, but finally the
canal has been completed, greatly to
the benefit of the whole nation. 1t is
the same with canal that will unite
Lake Erie and the Ohio, furnishing u
better outlet for the commerce of n
vast productive region now dependent
entirely upon rail to reach the mar
kets of the world. The increasing
favor in which of late years canals
have come to be regarded In many
of the countries of Europe is an ar
gument in favor Of Americas looking
well to the interests of the canals.
No action inimical to the interests of
the canals of Ohio will be taken by
the Legislature now in session at
Columbus. The vote upon the Merton
resolution, purporting to define the
policy of the Legislature to be i'll ia
vor of the abandonment of the State
canal system, showed this very plain
ly. The vote was overwhelmingly In
favor of the continuance of the canal
: system.
you would be surprised to note the
sentiment of the people generally in
favor of maintaining the canal sys-
TEN. Two years ago l had occasion
to circulate petition among the bust
ness men of Akron relative TO the ca
nails and found out that more than
nine out of ten of our people were in
favor Of maintaining them. A few
/, business men, who had retired from
active business pursuits, and who had
no interest in the canals other than
the remote question of taxation, were
+ in favor of doing away with the ca
nails, believing that 1T would lesser
their taxes. These same men hat
, never shipped a dollars worth OF
goods over the canal.
/ II was much interested in the re
] cent report of Gov. Roosevelt to the
=, General Assembly of New York upoI
, the matter of canals. Gov. Roosevelt
shows very clearly that to abandon
a the canals would result in an increase
! of freight rates to the business mel
J.. who now ship goods to the eastern
sea coast.
e "Those who favor doing away will
y the canals sneer at this argument con
:, cerning the canals as being competi
tors with the railways, but ! can Civ
: YOU local instance of the differenc
o in rates. Last fall, at the close o
. navigation, one of our boatmen so
:. AN order from customer for boat
load of wood. He was prevente
from delivering it by boat, and no
wishing to disappoint his cnstome
= made arrangements to have 1t dc
llvered by rail. The railroad compan
charged him 81 cord for the deliN
cry, the same which the boatmal
f could have delivered for S1.25 by boa
y Ii cannot be denied that waterway
Il make cheap transportation, having
- much greater effect upon rates tina
X the people generally believe. Raj
IS road rates would be at least a hal
IL more than they are at present but TO
! the competition Of the canals"
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