Evening star., 1902-01-13
THEWoRLD'S GREAT CANALS
AND COST OF ARTIFICIAL
WATERWAYS.
Figures Gathered by the Treasury
bureau Of statistic. OF Timely
Interest Now.

6reai canals OF the world Is the title
OF a study prepared by the treasury bu-
reau OF statistics for publication in the
forthcoming volume of the monthly sum-
mary of commerce and finance. Il shows
the commerce. cost and dimensions OF the
great canals OF the world. especially those
connecting great bodies OF water and which
may be properly termed ship canals.
Ship canals connecting great bodies Of
water and of sufficient dimensions to ac-
commodate the great modern vessels ply
ing upon such waters are of comparatively
recent production and few In number. The
one great example OF works OF this char
acter which has been a sufficient length
of time in existence and operation to sup
ply satisfactory data as to cost OF main
tepance and operation and practical value
to the commerce of the world is the Suez
canal. and for this the available statistics
begin with the year $50, while fits new
and enlarged dimensions only date from
the year 1896. For the SauR Ste. Marie
canal. connecting Lake Superior with Lake
Huron. statistics date from 1855. though
for the canal in its present form they
cover but about four years. Statistics OF
the Welland canal date from 1861, but for
the canal in its present enlarged form
cover only two years OF operation. The
other great ship canals OF the world are
or much more recent construction and data
regarding their operation, therefore. cover
a comparatively brief term, and In some
cases are scarcely at present available in
detail.
Nine Great Shtp Canals.
The artificial waterways which may prop
eriy be termed ship canals are nine in
number viz:
/. The Suez canal. begun In 1859 and
completed in 1869.
2. The Cronstadt and ST. Petersburg
canal begun in 1877 and completed in
3. The Corinth canal. begun in 1884 and
completed in 1893.
4. The Manchester ship canal completed
in 1894.
;. The Kaiser wilhelm canal. connecting
the Baltic and North Seas, completed in
9. The Elbe and Trave canal. connecting
the North Sea and Baltic. opened in 1900.
Z. The Welland canal connecting Lake
Erie with Lake Ontario.
and 8. The two canals. United States
and Canadian, respectively, connecting
Lake Superior with Lake Huron.
The description which is given Of each
of these great waterways shows that the
length of the Suez canal is about ninety
miles, the cost, S10O.Oo0Oo0; the present
| depth thirty-one feet, width at bottom,
19S feet, and at the surface 40 feet, and
that the number Of vessels passing through
Ii has grown from 4S6 I'm 1870 to 1.494 in
| in 1900. The tolls charged are about 81
per net registered ton.
The Cronstadt and St Petersburg canal.
which gives passage way for great Nes-
sells to st. Petersburg, is sixteen miles
long, including the deepening Of the bay
channel, twenty and one-half feet in
| depth, and the total cost estimated at slo,-
100000.
The Corinth canal which connects the
Gulf of Corinth with the Gulf of Aegina,
is four miles in length. twenty-six and one
fourth feet in depth, seventy-two feet vide
at the bottom, cost about s5.oo0.oo0. and
reduces the sailing distance about l15 miles.
The. average tolls charged are is cents per
ton and 20 cents per passenger.
The Manchester ship canal, which con-
| meets Manchester. England, with the MIR
sey river and Liverpool, was opened in
1894. Its length is thirty five and one-half
miles; depth, twenty-six feet; width at bot
tom. 40 feet, and at the surface. lis feet,
| and cost S15.000.000. The commerce on the
canal shows growth from s19,2o4 tons in
1895 to 1,492, $40 tons in 1900.
Kaiser wilhelm Canal.
The Kaiser Wilhelm canal. which con-
meets the Baltic and North seas through
Germany, is sixty-one miles in length.
| twenty-nine and one-half feet in depth,
seventy-two feet wide at the bottom, 100
feet wide at the surface and cost about
$40. 200 600. The number Of vessels pass
ing through it has increased from 1880 In
1897 to 29,O95 in 1900 of which number
16 176 were sailing vessels. The tonnage in
| 1897 was 1,S4s,4 and in 1900 4,2oz U94 tons.
An additional canal connecting the same
bodies of water by way of the Eibe and
Trave rivers was opened In 1900 Its length
is forty-one miles; depth, about ten feet:
width seventy-two feet. and cost, S8,VUO.oUO.
The great North Holland canal, which
conects Amsterdam with the sea, cut In
1916, but deepened at later date, has now
a depth of twenty feet. a width of Is feet
at the surface. The Californian canal.
which connects the Atlantic and North sea
through the north of Scotland, is seven
teen feet in depth, fifty feet In width at
the bottom, $50 miles long. cost 81 100000
and is at its highest point ninety-four feet
above sea level The Canal du Midi, cut
through France from Toulouse, on the Ga
rome, to Cette, on the Mediterranean, a
distance of $50 miles. is six and one-haf
feet deep. sixty feet wide and 600 feet
above sea level at its highest point and
has ia locks: total cost, SS,5000o0
The American Canals.
In America the canals connecting the
great lakes are the principal ship canals
and are three in number-the Welland ca
nal, originally constructed in 1888 and en-
larged In 1871 and 1900; the Sault Ste.
Marie, or st. Mary's River canal, opened in
1855 and enlarged In 1897, and the Cana
dian canal at st. Marys river, opened in
1885. The American and Canadian canals
at st. Mary's Falls are practically Identical
in loca ton and dimensions and are used in
terchangeably by vessels engaged in COM
merce as convenience may dictate. The
depth of the canals at the St Marys river
is sufficient to accommodate vessels draw
ing twenty feet OF water.
The American canal was originally con-
structed by the state OF Michigan, but
subsequently taken charge Of by the United
States and enlarged at a cost of 81, 10000.
The cost of the Welland canal was about
$50, 600 600, largely due to the fact that
twenty-five locks are required In sur
mounting the rise of 327 feet In the dis
tance of twenty-seven miles 1ne number
Of vessels passing through the canals at
ST. Mary's river has greatly increased
during the past few years, while the num-
ber passing through the Wellano canal has
materially decreased. the number passing
through the St. Mary's canals being In
1873 2,517 and in 1901 20.041, Of which
15,S ,S37 passed through the United States
canal and 214 through the Canadian. The
number of vessels passing through the
wefland canal has decreased from 6.42s in
1873 to 2,202 in 1899 The marked contrast
between the business of the st. Marys
Falls and welland canals is largely due to
the fact that the freights originating IN
the Lake Superior district are chiefly dis
charged at Lake Erie ports and those des.
tined for the Lake Superior region are
chiefly produced In the section contigu.
GUS to Lake Erie, the Lake Superior
freights being chiefly iron, copper and