New-York tribune., 1900-01-26

the Mississippi to the Atlantic. The Dominion
of Canada, the north, has similar advan
tages. and how well the Canadians have availed
themselves of them the final opening of their
great canal system last fall conclusively proves.
If do not improve own canals we shall
have nothing wherewith to meet the advantages
conferred upon Canadian commerce by her
canals on the north, while we deprive ourselves
OF q great aid in the struggle with business
rivals in our own country. leaving ourselves at
the mercy of the combinations by railroads for
the benefit Of other localities.
The considerations affecting commercial
welfare too vital for us to neglect them. 1t
may, l think. therefore be assumed that we
cannot abandon the canals II remains to con-
slider in what form can make use of them.
Obviously there is sufficient object to be
gained by keeping them as they are. They do
not do enough at present to warrant our con-
tinuing them in their present shape. If we are
not TO abandon them they must be so improved
to make them real benefit. Three plans are
proposed:
THREE PLANS PROPOSED.
First-To complete the canals much on the line
of what was intended in 1895.
Second-To make them snip canals.
Third-To adopt an intermediate course.
As regards the ship canal. It suffices to say
that at present the subject is not practicable
as State undertaking The expense would be
enormous, and ii is by means certain that
II would be economical in the end to try to
substitute for the three present types of cargo
craft-that is the lake steamship the canal boat
and the ocean steaTnship-one ship which should
go from an interior port across the ocean with
unbrClen cargo. Under any conceivable change
the types of vessels best fitted for navigation
respectively upon the lakes the canal and the
ocean would be so great that it is doubtful
whether il would be possible to make type
that would Go for replacing all three.
There is a large and influential body of public
opinion which favors completing the work begun
in 1885 making what are practically not very
essential changes in it. The Commission, how
ever, gives excellent reasons why this should
not be done. The work would be far more eX-
pensive than it was originally supposed would
ent canal Improvement Is that 1t was under
taken without thorough estimate of the total
cost of completing ii. No further enlargement
should be undertaken without such an estimate,
and this has been made by the committee
with the utmost care. After careful investiga-
ton the committee estimates that the nearest
modification of the 1895 plan which would be in
any way satisfactory would cost about S2l,OOO,-
600. The State of New-York is rich and can
afford to pay heavily for great and real i'm
provement in its transportation facilities. But
it cannot afford Inadequate Improvement.
that adequate purposes would be served by
changing the canals as they would he changed
through the appropriation of $21000,O00 or less.
THE BARGE CANAL PLAN.
There remains the committees plan for
barge canal capable of carrying boats of a
thousand tons capacity, to build which would
involve an expenditure Of S60,O00,0O0. At the
outset this seems very large expenditure of
money. but the more / have looked into this
question the I believe that, considering
the interests of the State If they were those
will seem right and proper. With an eXpendl-
ture of S21 100000 the increase in the freight
capacity of the canals and the dimnution in
the rate on freight might not be sufficient TO en-
able the canals to compete with the railroads
as important factor in our transportation
system, and there would be then no adequate
return for the money.
But S62 100000 is not too large sum for the
great State Of New-York to expend, If II will
secure for at least a generation the same canal
advantages which secured to this State
~, the early decades of the century by the orig
o1 5iF71ir1I i've
after the most patient investigation to believe
that the large canals will result in trans
portation cost across the State of New-York as
low as that on the st. Lawrence canals. and
far less than any rate that is possible by rah-
roads at any time within the immediate future,
If ever-the difference in favor of canals over
the railroads being than threefold; that is,
the freight rate on the canals being less than
third that by the railroads. The State
of New-York would thus receive the full ad
vantages which its topography oders it in low
rates of Observation-Disclosures possessed
by no other State the Atlantic coast. 1t
must be remembered that the Erie Canal has
far more than paid its expenses. and over and
above this was the incalculable advantage to
the States commerce
PROPOSED METHOD OF PAYMENT.
If the proposed barge canal is paid for as the
+ committee purposes-that is, by taxing the peo-
pie of the canal counties. which would be al
: most Immediately interested and which pos
= sessed 50 per cent of the population and 90 per
Of the assessed valuation Of property of
the Stately issuing bonds on this basis the
would represent less than one-half of l
per cent of the assessed valuation Of the canal
counties; whereas the original Erie Canal rep
resented more than 3 per cent of the yalua-
tion Of the State shall assume a burden
less than one-half great relatively to our
Z resources as was assumed by New-York when
she was a comparatively poor and weak COM
nunity We would assume burden only
about great the burden OF the Brooklyn
Bridge when it was assumed by New-YOrk and
Brooklyn.
If three-quarters of a century ago New-York
Z State could build the original Erie Canal if a
4 quarter of a century ago the present city Of
E Greater NeW-York could start to build the
Brooklyn Bridge in each case to enormous ad-
! vantage of the community which incurred the
b burden OF the expenditure there Is no reason
why the Empire State should now shrink from
such undertaking. when 1t promises similar
results. The eighteen year bonds which would
be negotiated would result in increase of
about 10 cents every hundred dollars of the
present assessed valuation. and this would de-
crease year by year the valuation increases.
The aggregate of the canal counties is now
about two dollars per hundred Of valuation, and
this would be an increase of but 10 cents on each
hundred dollars. AS a matter OF fact, this 10
cents increase is much less than the fluctuations
from year TO year in taxation.
II is the city of New-York which will pay over
two-thirds of the cost, or, in other words over
S40,O00,000 of the amount. She is consider
ing the propriety of spending nearly double that
amount for railroads. bridges and tunnels to ia
ciiitate the movement of her citizens within her
own limits. II is surely worth while when this
is the case, TO consider the propriety of & much
smaller expenditure upon the success OF which
may depend the fact whether there will be
enough passengers to make these enterprises
successful
IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED
] call your attention especially to that portion
Of the committees report in which they set
forth that the efficiency of the canals depends
upon their management quite much upon
their physical size, and that there should be no
further money spent upon them unless accom-
panied by measures which Will secure their man
ageHent upon an absolutely business basis. The
z