The age-herald., 1901-07-27
LINKING GREAT LAKES
 AND. ATLANTIC OCEAN

fg fKS ESs26 $ csgsas.L f0sisgP It is aa .saian6w slseq lsn4assse;qae ir oAtdsabag fslzf lsissesie elle volume cf commerce fof tessqaszesattss tSs fs largely SR eEsess Of that Of eSFoft, tips gSRse 25lo#ea Iby tAs fsS- fncr Preet9oal7g e6nt4ois tlse fSrAte Sf tAe fattSsS s44a; therefore, any waterway SglQftee4 tssses A5a teasR New Y6fk cSty, VIII ffkseFy Eaa tS &sg.2E Lnagsea sfsh4S ffSz2 ea- fstfKS lPYles Sf t9anspoSsaft26.
 tahefe gre two Gfsfefs1t proposed eaiaf roirtes from tAe lakes tS New F6fles en- tfreiy wttlffi ti4e Units6 ssfates, which ale strongly asevSeated-cnc following the raals 6f fSe present. Erie canal 9sofsf BrssSi0 to Afbany, ard thence by the F4rGscgf f2vet to New York eftys and the 6thcs by Slip canal from lake Erie to lake SfEtarfo, thence by lake to 6sweso5 ara AenSe By ship Canal up the 6swego fsveF aEd eowf tke h4oirawl and HffGsorf ffvess t6 New York city: Fhe distance from B6ftaIS to New York by ths Erie Safiaf TSGse would bs 2Seas 4s6 miles and by tfie f2ke 6HtaFfS rStstS &77 .4ifes. Fhe cess tS construct, aHa ESfssinsssssia end tsie time required fes type earFier to traverse tlle f9faaef VIII be mEeh gFeSseY tasR fsg tie iase SAtasas foiite; and sinee tRe ee6fl6afy iR cost ard 5f lime 6f passage afe Gle e6f7tfsfiing eies HieEss, tiss istsef falisse Be aeiasttee &6 Be the if6Fe profitable F6Ete te e6Hstyaes.
 4 waterway By the Erie ean8i route wsdid very iliSeiy Biiia iap saanutseturing industries ai6ng the iiae at Leelport, Rochester and Syracuse; and if e6nstruet- ed on the lake Ontario feute it would make manufacturing eefiters at oswege and Syracuse, and possibly st Charlotte. the lake pert of Rochester.
 Tie iaw governing the eeengTnieaf depths fss laise ehasitaeis heies tFue for G waterway ffsif tie gFest lakes to ths ssabsafd. Taking inte consideration hs fixed charges aue to eest of construction and maintenance of the respective water ways, and the cost, interest. insurance, running expenses and profits for vessels best adapted for each, the rate which it will be necessary to charge for moving e@ten of freight from. Chicago to New fafjt city wifi be approximately s1.as iYish a 21=feet waterway on the great isises, and Effect barge canal from Buff salo te New York city, via the Hudson River.
 U'tT depth of waterway greater than H feet there. will be no corresponding de- crease in the cost of transport. The aver age rate per ton from Chicago to New York for the past five years for grain has been by railroad, s4; by lake to Buffalo and railroad to New York, $2.So; and by lake to Buffalo and Erie canal to New York, s1.75.
 It is, therefore, apparent that with a properly constructed waterway freight can be transported from great lake ports to the Atlantic seaboard at much less cost than over existing lines of transpor-. taton, and that the indirect benefits which are certain to result from such construction will be of incalculable bene- fit to the manufacturing interests of the great lakes and the cities along the pro- posed route.
 The total freight tonnage on the New York State canals and railroads Is about 70, 600 tons annually, of which probably iB.o0o000 tons are through freights from the great lake region to the seaboard. From the present rates between the lake ports and New York, and the rate which it would be necessary to charge on a 21- foot waterway, 1t appears that the saving which would be made by construction of such waterway would be about $1 per ton on through traffic.
 The cost of maintenance of the canal would be about $2,000.00O per year, and, therefore, the saving in transportation rates on through freight 8,OO0,0OO tons an-a nually) if capitalized at per cent. would warrant an expenditure of $200,O00,00O for the construction of the waterway. A traffic of 100000 tons would warrant the expenditure of $3O0 coo ,OO0
 The estimated cost of a 21-foot water- way, including tho improvement of great lake chanaels. is approximately s2OO,OOo- ooo.