The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-20
RFtS0NS ron THE ST. CLtIR AND
ERIE SHIP CtNAL.
latest Demand for q Comes From Hun aio
Its Value To shipping on the Great
Lakes Plans for Its Houtc Esti-
mated Cost Money saved by u.

From Buffalo comes the latest demand
for the building Of the ~ Clair and Erie
Ship Canal The project has been under
consideration for several years The plan
calls TO- n canal only i3h. miles long
which would saw In the through navi-
CATION Of the Great Lakes a distanc" Of
seventy-nine miles
Just what this saving would mean may
be- Understood fully hy n glance ~ the
enormous freight trafHc Of these waters.
the increase In hat trafic In resent years,
and the tolls and profits incident 10 II
The typographical features Of the territory
through which the canal would pass would
make IL easy Of construction and the cost
OF the entire work would be comparatively
small These are briefly the reasons Of
those Interested most directly IN the build
ing 81 the canal for their confidence that
IL must shortly bc built Indirectly in
taroetsd IN the project ~ the general pop
ulAtiou of the United States and Canada,
since the people commonly arr benefited
by any cheapenlng Of the cost 81 trans
p~ortation Of food products. coal. ~ n
such a ~cheapening, It II declared must follow
the shortening and strengthening of the
route. particularly when IN the process
there Is secured also an Increase OF safety
In navigation
The q Clair and Eric Canal - to cross
the small Canadian PENINSULA between
Lakes 81 Clair and Ere Because u Is
to 10 wholly IN Canadian territory and
Will benefit directly American iranspor-
tatiou traffc almost wholly, This protest
l. considered 20 bc out ~ the range Of pos
~ H. Government work on either side.
and l. conceded TO lA legitimately a field
for private enterprise A charter has
lecn secured from the Canadian Coy
crnm"nt To- enable the building ~ the
canal. While Americans will probably he
the per-ons who will In due time under
take the work The United States Deep
Waterways Commission has approved the
cana a. the shortest and safest route be-
tween the two lakes
The dredgs and the steam shovel would
do the work ~ making the waterway
Boring- have shown that the underlying
rock h too deep down tu require any attcn-
ton from the canal builder- The diner
ence In level 81 the two lakes IL only thrs"
feet - there need b" no locks II II pro
posed that the cana shall 10 twsut y-one
feet deep and so 10 In conformity with
the general plan for the improN emeni Of
Great lake. navigation paths. which con.
templates a twenty o foot channel
throughout the course.
The Fro Cana connected the Lakes
with New York In 1880 Ten years later
the railroads entered the field Of com
petition for the transportation trsffc from
ia. West 20 the East nv the middle Of
ihR century "A Uff' hl fNl-tbil lEFlKfNff@
had been const ruct.d TO ply regularly bc-
tween Buffalo and IN. Western ports They
were limited 10y the shoal water uf
the connecting river a. a drausht ~
eishi feet but the pressure 81
soon forced the Canadian Government
10 build locks al the ~ Mary's River Falls
and ~ dee pen the channel to ten feet at
the ~ clair flnts. Next SUPERIOR m,po
pIuduCts iprC,.i the CONSTRUCTION Of now
lock, AZ the 500 with a io-toot waterway
and IN" deepening Of IN" 81 clair Flats
chAnu'i 20 n similar "a A. well A. the
blasting away Of III" rDcky obs; ruCtions
Of the Detroit River The century clu-eSl
with the beginning OF work looking 10 tho
construction Of a ?l-foot channel all IN"
WAY through the cuur-" ~ Great Lakes nav
igation. with the ultimate ain a.! the chan.
nsl's extension Ia the sea
In nfty wears the 3OD-ton freighteT has
becom" the 5bO-foot teamer with lO,UD
tons carrying capacity, aud the cost ~
transporting a bu-hel Of wheat from
Chicago to Buffalo has come down to one
tenth Of the charge Of fifty year, ago
Through the 81 Mary River there D.,
now carried annually ad.oIS, u5l tom OF
freight and through the Drtroit River
more than 4n,oJc.OD tons. III" tO.OOO.GO
tons ~ carried M seven months and
exceeds the annual bulk Of suez Canal
tonnage fourfold II eSceeis 10y nearly
1900, 90 tons the total Of clearance. for
eisn and domestic. Of the port ~ New
FORK Tor The last year
The HAY Lake channel in the ~ Mary's
River which strengthens out spne bends
ami shortens the channel 10y eleven miles,
was completed by the Government ~ a
cost of about s2.Sp!oD tn" estimated
cost Of the ~ clair and Erie Canal II from
-. JE.OD 10 1900 ,Dp. according 20 whether
bridges OF tunncls are built !or The four
railroads which cnos- III. canal. The
company's charter permits IL 10 -ll bonds
to the amount 81 $1,000 iooO Tor the con-
~ nIctiou work
.mong the plan. incidental 10 the canal
FRO ect u the construction OF a harbor
al the Lake Lri, end Of the canal. IL II
said that there IL no safe hstbOr in the
western end % Lake Ere Ter many miles
around ia" n~-ighlorhood % the ~ opo~ad
would therefore be regarded a. desirable
by the lake ~nsNigators \ shipyard ard
coal-siorsgo yards are also planned aong
or contiguous To the canal, aud owing
TO REGULAR conditions which keep a
channc. open ~ the western end of Lake
may ho operated from Cleveland TO he
canal mouth through ~" closed season
81 through lake navigation
In .an yeas rom 1871 TO 1900 the freight
passing Detroit Increased from ~ 60 ,ooo
more than ,oOpo.oS tons More than
~ J~' ecu, Of this vas through traffc
A boat v'h "a twelVc-nile sJssd would
save Nv the 81. Clair and Ere Canal
AK hours each way or haf n day on a
round tup These freight boats nov
maxi twenty ON round trips m n s~sson
aud ~ his saving would l~ enabled 20
uskc an extra trip every year
This. the projectors % he cansl hglire
out. will rake thu gross rr<~ip's OF tbs.
re. prof' 90 ". shirow bet. For n
frrtshtet 81 y tous registry this suiu
Nuuld - TOW aDou, StsD For tho
tNrhtN-'No round trp- the canal tolls
would L. e. ~ - that the building Of
cara! would. by enabling tho extra
'np. give such a vsssrl oNu"r a pro.t %
O. 10 IN 'is-lf
The A,erag. fr-.gh' rate on the Iak~s
!. n'us-'ruths - q mill = iou-iutle S-ventv.
uing milr- sats-i on NclOs CN tone not.ld
amount e. sy.iN 0N Tho oAhAl toll
would - - cents y registered ton. uf
80 ~ go go 'oas ssylss. lrAvihg Co.
o.. ,-Ssels ~i-tN~rn tlfs 81 .n~e ~ no
canal snd - saving sNsa.s0 IT, L.
y 'hou' regard - the "Nfra tuI@
Tie fug- - tho Issfua' NNsf ~. slal
u the fsn - iNs tie ryoi "a. usr
'trailv ~ln--d fof fNo dSvs a. 49, unf - I
'Is thiak ssafhef To anal vuuld ~. I
b. u9g~d sfth ~l~~TD hrtts ~ vy /
.f ffs. ~fpf hvsI $50 "ptI-e = ne s'Ip /
fnlsf - olang~f fifuN $40 um.- r fi-
~ ulss Vuvsgs =sms 10 fHD -. t~iug
nuis . ulaff- ~ = uals sus ~. oausl
. NteAt g. 20 49, = - sIafN@ ~ frftrs - IilttVu 4