Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-28
CANALS Of THE WORLD
Great Artificial Waterways
Which Are Paying Properties.
GREATEST rs THE $500"
EVERYONE SHOWS BENEFIT OF
SHORTENING WAYS OF TRAVEL.
Only Nine Exist, Yet None Has Ever
Been Abandoned and All
Have Been Improved.
GREATEST rs THE $500"

The renewed attention being given to the
proposed tsthmian canal at this time lends
especial interest to a 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 world, it says, are nine in
number, as follows: The SueZ canal. begun
in 1859 and completed in 1869; the Cron-
stadt and ST. Petersburg canal, begun In
1877 and completed in 1890; the Corinth ca
nal, begun in 1884 and completed in 1888;
the Manchester ship canal completed IN
1894: the Kaiser Wilhelm canal. connecting
the Baltic and North seas, completed in
1895: the Elbe and Trave canal, connecting
the North sea and Baltic, opened in 1900;
the Welland canal, connecting Lake Erie
with Lake Ontario; the two canals. United
States and Canadian, respectively. connect
ing 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 passing
through 1t annually does not equal that
passing through the canals connecting
Lake Superior with the = chain Of great
lakes at the south In length, however. 1t
exceeds any of the other great ship canals.
which about two-thirds Is through shallow
lakes. The original cost was $9o,000eo0
The number of vessels passing through in
1870 was 1856, with a gross tonnage of 654.-
915 tons: In 1880. 2026 vessels. gross ton
mage. 4.344,519 tons: in 1890, $3.50 vessels.
gross tonnage, 9,749,129 tons, and in 1900
g. AL vessels, with gross tonnage of 49,
GOO. 237 tons. The revenue Of the canal for
1899 showed net profit of "a 1os. $50 francs.
and the total amount distributed among
the shareholders 81 ,53S OBS francs, or about
10 per cent of the estimated cost Of $780,
600 900.
The canal is without locks, being at the
sea level the entire distance.
Cronstadt and st. Petersburg Canal.
The canal connecting the Bay Of Cron-
stadt with st. Petersburg is a work of
great strategic and commercial importance
to Russia. The canal and sailing course in
the Bay Of Cronstadt are about 16 miles
long, the canal proper being about miles
and the bay channel about 10 miles, and
the Gulf of Finland, to St. Petersburg.
The canal was opened in 1890 with a navi-
gable depth of 2O1s feet, the original depth
having been about feet; the width ranges
from 30 to $50 feet. The total cost is esti-
mated at about 10,000,00O
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 reduces the
distance from Adriatic ports about It's
miles and from Mediterranean ports about
100 miles. Its length is about miles, and
there are no locks. The width is 70 feet at
bottom and the depth 26A feet. The work
was begun in 1884 and completed in 1893 at
cost Of about s5O0o.O00. The average
tolls are Is cents per ton and 20 cents per
passenger.
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 January 1. 1894 The
length of the canal is 35la miles, the total
rise from the water level to Manchester be-
ing 90 feet, which Is divided between four
sets of locks. The minimum width is 40
feet at the bottom and averages IT'S feet at
the water level, though In places the width
is extended to 23O feet. The minimum
depth is IS feet, and the time required for
navigating the canal from five to eight
hours The total cost OF the canal Is given
at $4,000, 600. Tho revenue In 1901 was
EdN, 12S. and the working expenses E483, 267.
Kaiser Wilhelm Canal.
Two canals connect the Baltic and North
seas through Germany. the nrst, known AZ
the Kaiser Wilhelm canal. having been