The Washington times., 1902-01-13
COMMERCE OF THE WORLDS NINE
GREAT ARTIFICIAL WATERW WAYS.

to st. Petersburg, is sixteen miles long,
including the deepening of the bay channel
20i& feet in 6enth. and the total cost esti-
mated at SO GOO 600
The Colinth Canal. which connects the
Gull OF Corimth with the Gulf of Aesina
is four c?iles ir length. 26li feet in depth.
- feet wide al the bottom. cost about
100000 600, and reduces the sailing distance
about 10 miles. The average tolls charged
are Is cents per ton and 20 cents per pas
scnger.
shows Great Growth.
The Manchester Ship Canal. which con-
meets Manchester. England. with the Mer-
sey River and Liverpool. was opened in
1891. Its length is 35Ie miles, depth e6
feet. width at bottom 40 feet and at the
surface 175 feet. and cost s15.O60,00Q The
commerce on the canal shows a growth
from $40, 20i tons in 1895 to 1492 ,320 tons
in 1900.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal which con-
meets the Baltic and North Sea through
Germany, is 81 miles in length. 29l9 feet
in depth, and - fee. wide at the bottom
19o feet wide at the surface, and cost
about s40.000,0O0. The number OF vessels
passing throuGn it has increased from
1880 in 1897 TO 29,oa5 in 1900. of which
number 1916 were sailing vessels. The
tonnage in 1897 was 1.S4S.45S, and in 1900
4,2S2, 094 tons. An additional canal con-
Meeting the same bodies of water by way
of the Elbe and Trave rivers was opened
in 1900. Its length is Al miles. depth
about 10 feet. width 70 feet. and cost
Sc. GOO. .000.
Big North Holland.
The great North Holland Canal, which
connects Amsterdam with the sea, cut in
1Si5, but deepened at later date, has
now a depth OF 20 feet. width of 125 feet
at the surface. The Caledonian Canal.
which connects the Atlantic and North
Sea through the north of Scotland, is II
feet in depth. 30 feet In width at the bot
tom. $50 miles long, cost $1,000, 600 and is
at its highest point 81 feet above sea
level.
The Canal Du Midi. cut through France
from Toulouse on the Garonne to Cette
on the Mediterranean, distance of $50
miles, is 6I9 feet deep, SO feet wide, and
600 feet above sea level at its hghes,
point and has III locks; total cost, IS, $780,
600.
In America the canals connecting the
Great Lakes are the principal ship canals
and are three in number; the Welland
Canal, originally constructed in 1888. ard
enlarged in 1871 and 1900; The Saulr Ste
Marie, or ST. Marys River Canal, opened
in 1855. and enlarged in 1897, and the Ca
madam canal at St. Mary's River, opened
in 1895.
The American and Canadian canals at
st. Mary's Falls are practically identical
in location and dimensions. and are used
interchangeably by vessels engaged in
commerce, as convenience NAV dictate.
The depth of the canals at the St Mary's
River is sufficient to accommodate vessels
drawing twenty feet of water. The Amer
lean canal was originally constructed by
the State of Michigan, but subsequently
taken charge of by the United States, and
enlarged al cost of s2.150,00
Many Millions Expended.
The cost of the Weliand Canal was
about 100000 600, largely due to the fact
that twenty locks are required in sur
mounting the rise of 327 feet in the dis
tance of twenty seven miles. The 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 Welland Canal
has materially decreaseI the number
passing through the st. Mary's Canals h.-
ing in 1873, 2,517 and in 1901 POOH. of
which 1887 passed through the American
canal and 4,20i through the Canadian.
the Welland Canal has decreased from
6.425 in 1873 10 2,202 in 1899. The marked
contrast between the business of the ST.
Mary's Falls and Welland Canals is large
ly due to the fact that the frei9hts orig
mating in the Lake Superior district are
chiefly discharged at Lake Erie ports
and those destined for the Lake Superior
region are chiefly produced in the section
to Lake Erie. the Lake Su-
perior freights being chiefly iron, copper.
and grain, and the Lake Erie freehts for
Lake Superior, coal and manufactures
The business of the st. Mary's Falls
Canals by far surpasses in volume that of
any other canal of the world, the freight
of the American and Canadian
canals combined being, in 1901. 24,e26, ,976
registered tons, while the net tonnage of
the Suez Canal in 1900 was 9,37S,l52 tons,
and that of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
4 ,2S2 ,094 tons.