Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-01-23
GREAT CANALS THE WORLD

| and Finance.
1t 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
The artificial waterways which may
( properly be termed ship canals are nine
IN number, viz.
The Suez canal, begun in 1859 and
completed in 1869.
| Tie Ctonstadt and st. Petersburg
| canal, begun in 1877 and completed In
| 1890.
The Corinth canal, begun in 1884 and
completed in 1853,
The Manchester ship canal, com
| pleted in 1894
The Kaiser Wilhelm canal, connect
ing the Baltic and North seas, com
| pleted in 1895.
The Elhe and rrave canal. connect
1 ing the North eea and Baltic, oIened
! in 1900
Tho Welland canal, connecting Lake
Eric with Lake Ontario.
The two canals United States and
| Canadian respectively, connecting
Lake Superior with Lake Huron
The description shows that the ength
Of the Sue canal is about 30 niles, th !,
cost Slt0 COG, 600, the present depth 81
feet, width at bottom lUS feet and at
the surface l20 feet, and that the
number OF vessels passing through it
has grown from ass, in 1870, to /, 494 10
1879, 2,02G in 1880, 1889 in 1890 and
3,44l in 1900. The tolls charged are
about 50 per net registered ton.
| The Cronathdt and st. Petersburg
canal, which gives passage way for
great vessels TO St. Petersburg, is l6
miles long, including the deepening of
tho hay channel, 20la Get in depth, and
the total cost estimated at 3lO,0)o,000.
The Curinth canal, which connects
the Gulf of Corinth with the Gulf Of
Egina, is four miles 10 length, 26li
eet in depth, " feet wide at the bottom,
cost about S5,0l0,0G0 and reduces the
sailing distance about 1T5 miles The
average tolls charged are Is cents per
ton and 20 cents per Passenger.
Tho Manchester ship canal, which
connects Manchester, Eng, with the
Merssy river and Liverpool, was opened
q 1894. Its length ia 35lh miles,
depth % feet, width at bottom 40
feet and at the surface l75 feet, and
cost Si5. 00O.GO0. The commerce on the
canal shows growth from $40, ?0i tnns
in 1893 to |, 492, 800 tons in 1900.
The Kaiser Wilhelm canal, which
connects the Baltic and North seas
through Germany, IS 81 miles in length.
29la feet in depth, ~ feet wide at the
bottom, 1870 iest wide at the surface,
and cost about $40, 600, 600. The number
of vessels passing through it has in.
creased from 10, $50 in 1897 to g, 095 in
1900, OF which number l6, 776 were sail
Ing vessels. The tonnage in 1897 was
| |, S4S, 4jS and in 1860. 4, 49,, 09i tons. An
additional canal connecting the same
bodies of water by way of the Elbe and
Erave rivers was opened in 1900 Its
length ia Al miles, depth about 10 feet,
width " feet, and cost s6,0o0.0O0.
The great North Holland canal, which
connects Amsterdam with the sea, cut
in 1915, but deepened at later date,
has now depth of 20 feet, width of
l25 feet al the surface.
The CALIFORNIAN canal, which con-
meets the Atlantic ocean and North sea
through the north of Scotland, is II
feet in depth, 50 feet in width at the
bottom, $50 miles long, cost 81, 600, 900,
and is at its highest point "a feet above
sea level.
The canal du Midi, cut through
France from Toulouse on the Garonne
to Cette on the Mediterranean, o dis
tanoe of 100 miles, is 612 feet deep, 60
feet wide and COO feet above sea level
at its highest point, and has la locks ;
total COST S3,5l0,0 900.
In America the canals connecting the
Great Lakes are the principal ship
canals and are three liz number: The
Welland canal, originally constructed
in 1888 and enlarged in 1871 and 1900 q;
| the SAUL Ste. Marie, or st. Mary's
river canal. OF ened in 1868 and enlarged
in 1897, and the Canadian canal at st.
Mary'a river, opened 10 1895. The
American and Canadian canals at st.
Mary's Fails are practically identical
in location and dimensions and are
used INTERCHANGEABLE by vessels engaged
in commerce, as convenience may
dictate. The depth of the canals at
the st. Mary's river is sufficient to
accommodate vessels drawing 20 feet Of
water.
The American canal was originally
constructed by the State of Michigan,
but subsequently, taken charge of by
the United States aud enlarged at a
cost of -, 100000. The cost of the
WelIand Ganal was about $50, 600, 600,
largely due to the fact that % locks are
required in surmounting tho rise OF 327
1
number Of vessels Passing through the
canals at St Mary's river has greatly
increased during this last few years, VIII lie
the numner passing through the Vel
land cana has materially decreased the
numben passing the st. Mary canals
being 10 ISIS, 2,5lI, aud in 1901. 20,04l,
Of which 11,3fI passed through the
| United Statea canal and 4, 2O4 through
the Canadian.
The number OF vessels passing through
the Wellard canal haa decreased from
| q, 425 in 1875 to 2,202 in 1893. Tho
Darked contrast between the business
Of the ST. MHry's Falls and Wslland
canals ID largely due to the fact that
treights originating in the Lake Su.
rerior district are chiefly discharged at
Lake Erie ports, and those destined for
the Lave Superior region are chiefly
produced in the section contiguous to
Lake Erie, the Lake Superior freights
being chiefly iron, copper and grain,
and tile Lake Erie freights for Lake
Superior, coal and manufactures
he business OF tho St. Mary 8 Falls
canals by far surpasses in volume that
of any other canal If the world, the
freight tonnage OF the American and
Canadian canals combined being in
| 1901, j,626,376 reg istered tons, while
the net tonnage of the SueZ canal in
1907 was Y,3iS, l52 tons, and that of the
Kaiser Wilhelm canal A, 2S2, 00l ions.
The Correction.
"Wheu you say that Mr.. Brooks
dined and wiped his VISITORS re-
marked tho editor to his Iol orter, II
suppose you use the term metaphor