The National tribune., 1903-12-03
GREAT SHIP CANALS.
There Are Nige-Statistics as to
Their Commercial Benefits to
the Nations in Trade.

The renewed attention being given to
the proposed Isthmian canal at this time
lends especial interest to discussion OF
the great canals of the world, presented
by the Department of Commerce and
Labor through its Bureau of Statistics
The ship canals of the worlG, it says, are
nine in number, as follows:
a. The Suez Canal, begun in 1859 and
completed in 1869.
2) The Cronstadt and ST. Petersburg
Canal, begun in 1877 and completed in
1890
| 3) The Corinth Canal, begun in 1884
and completed in 1893.
~ The Manchester Ship Canal, com.
pleted in 1894.
(5) The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, connect.
ing the Baltic and North seas, completed
IN 1885.
(6) The Elbe and Trave Canal, connect.
ing the North Sea and Baltic, opened i'll
1900.
O. The Welland Canal, connecting Lake
Erie with Lake Ontario.
Is and D. The two canals, United States
and Canadian, respectively, connecting
Lake Superior with Lake Huron.
THE sUEz CANAL.
The Suez Canal is usually considered
| the most important example of ship
canals, though the number of vessels pass
ing through it annually does not equal thut
passing through the canals connecting
| Lake Superior with the chain of Great
Lakes al the south. In length, however
it exceeds any of the other great ship
canals, its total length being 80 miles, of
which about two-thirds is through shallow
| lakes. The material eXcavated was usual
| ly sand, though in some cases strata of
solid rock from two to three feet in thick
| ness were encountered. The total excava-
ton was about S0,OO0,O0O cubic yards un-
der the original plan, which gave depth
| of % feet. In 1895 the canal was So en-
larged as to give depth of 81 feet a
width at the bottom of 10S feet and at
the surface of 42O feet The original cost
was 500 100000, and for the canal i'll its
present form slightly in excess of $780,
| 100000. The number Of vessels passing
through the canal in 1870 was 4S6, with Il
gross tonnage of 654.915 tons; in 1873,
1,494 vessels, gross tonnage, 2,94O. .70S
tOns in 1880, 2,026 vessels, gross tonnage.
4,3l4, ,J19 tons; in 1890, 1889 vessels.
gross tonnage, 9.749,129 tons; in 1895,
3,434 vessels, gross tonnage, II ,S33;. 6:377
tons; and in 1900, 3,441 vessels, with Il
gross tonnage of 13.6g9,237 tons. The
revenue of the canal is apparently large
in proportion to its cost. the Statesman's
Yearbook for 1901 giving the net profits
of 1899 at 81, lo3.660 francs, and the total
amount distributed among the sharehold-
| ers 81 ,j3S .02S francs, or about 10 per cent.
| of the estimated cost of $100,O0O,O00.
| The canal is without locks, being at the
| sea-level the entire distance. The length
of time occupied in passing through the
canal averages about 1S hours. By the
use of electric lights throughout the entire
| length of the canal passages are made at
night with nearly equal facility of that
of the day. The tolls charged are nine
francs per ton net register. Danube meas
| urement," which amounts to slightly more
than 81 per ton United States net meas
urement. Steam vessels passing through
the canal are propelled by their own
power.
THE cRoNsTADT AND ST. PETERSBURG
CANAL.
The canal connecting the Bay of C.on-
stadt with st. Petersburg is described as
work of great strategic and commercial
ing course in the Bay Of Cronstadt are
about 16 miles long, the canal proper be-
ing about six miles and the bay channel
about 10 miles, and they together extend
from Cronstadt, on the Gulf of Finland.
to st. Petersburg. The canal was opened
in 1890 with n navigable depth Of 201a
feet, the original depth having been about
nine feet; the width ranges from 220 to
$50 feet. The total cost is estimated at
about $10,OOO,0OO.
THE CORINTH CANAL.
The next of the great ship canals con-
meeting bodies of salt water in the order
of date of construction is the COrinth
Canal, which connects the Gulf of Corinth
with the Gulf of Aegina. The canal re-
duces the distance from Adriatic ports
about 175 miles and from Mediterranean
ports about 100 miles. Its length is about
four miles, part of which was cut
through granitic soft rock and the remain
der through soil. There are no locks, as
is also the case in both the Suez and Cron-
stadt canals, already described. The
width of the canal is 72 feet at bottom and
the depth 26H feet. The work was be-
gun in 1SS4~and completed in 1893 at Il
cost of about $5,0O0.000. The average
tolls are IS cents per ton and 20 cents per
passenger.
THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL.
The Manchester Ship Canal, which con-
meets Manchester, England, with the Mer-
sey River, Liverpool, and the Atlantic
Ocean, was opened for traffic Jan. /,
1894. The length of the canal is 35la
miles, the total rise from the water level
to Manchester being 60 feet, which is d.
vided between four sets OF locks, giving
an average to each of 10 feet. The mini
mum width is 120 feet at the bottom and
averages 175 feet at the water level.
though in places the width is extended to
23O feet The minimum depth is 26 feet,
and the time required for navigating the
canal from five to eight hours. The total
amount of excavation in the canal and
docks was about 45,O00,0O0 cubic yards
of which about one-fourth was sandstone
rock. The lock gates are operated by hy
draulic power; railways and bridges cross
ing the route of the canal have been raised
to give hight of IS feet to vessels trav
ersing the canal, and an ordinary canal
whose route it crosses is carried across
by springing aqueduct composed of an
iron caisson resting upon pivot pier.
The total cost of the canal is given at
$75, 600, 600 The revenue in 1901, accord
ing to the Statesman's Yearbook, was
Yfs@ ~ =