The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-07
The Water Routes Commission.

The president yesterday appointed
two experts to represent the United
States on the International commits
sion, of which Great Britain is the
other member, provided for in the
river and harbor act of last year to
investigate the subject Of water
routes from the lakes to the Atlantic
and to inquire into the practicability
OF the proposed dam at the outlet Of
Lake Erie and consider generally the
interests Of navigation, the effect
upon the lake levels Of structures on
the littoral and divisions of the lake
waters, as in the case of the Chicago
drainage canal. -.-
Th1s waterway commission on
which Great Britain will have repre-
sentation in behalf of the Dominion
or Canada, will have within it's prov
ince the consideration Of the water
way to the sea from the lakes, the
natural outlet being the st. Lawrence
river, which needs yet the expendi-
ture of a. considerable amount Of
money to make it fully adequate to
the needs of commerce. There is
water enough available to make of
the st. Lawrence river a ship canal,
which would become the outlet for
the maritime traffic of Canada, and
the northwest United States.
There has been a, deal of talk on
our side of the line about a ship
canal from Lake Erie to the Hud-
son, either by way of Lake Ontario,
and the Oswego northumberland
route, or via the old Erie canal ade-
quately enlarged. -
New York city SHES at a ship
canal, fearing loss of interior traffic
handling. The people of New York
state will vote at the state election
this fall on the question of a, legis-
lative appropriation of s101,O00,O00
for the purpose of enlarging the old
Erie canal to 1,000-ton barge capac-
1ty This plan for the restoration of
New FORKS failing supremacy in
commerce, If carried out, will not ac-
complish all that is desired.
1t is true that at one time New
orks commerce was Is per cent of
that of the whole nation, while now.
according to the statement of the
canal improvement committee of the
state 1t has fallen to $se,OO,o0O less
than one-half of the nations com
merce. New York has not Alternately
shared in the enormous growth of the
traffic which comes over the great
lakes, because Canada captures an in
creaslngly large percentage of it and
mas spent more money than we have,
relatively to her population and re-
sources, to improve the eastward wa
terWays, the Canadian 500 canal and
the Welland canal and st. Lawrence
improvements witnessing to her zeal
and appreciation of the Importance of
continuous amplification Of her traffic
Facilities of which American shippers
largely avail themselves The sturdy
growth of our Atlantic seaboard cities
other than New York is the natural
and inevitable result of our national
development. New York must take
her chances and work out her own SAL
walton, but the 1,000-ton barge canal
and the expenditure of $1O1,OOO,O0O
will not afford the tremendous traffic
utilizing the great lakes the facil-
ties it demands 80. ~. ~7 80
Man1festly the most rational and
practicable plan for traffic accommo-
dation is international improvement of
the natural waterway from the lakes
to the sea, or, at least, where the
boundary line is coterminal, and that
would involve adequate canalization
at Niagara and humiliation of RAPIDS
distractions on the ST. Lawrence
from Lake Ontario to Ste. Agnes.
The projectors Of the 1,OOO-ton
barge canal in New York calculate
upon reducing the cost of transporta-
ton to so of a mill per ton mile and
forcing the railroads to meet the rate.
This is certainly most alluring bid
for the popular Endorsement Of the
expenditure of SOL, 100000 at the No
vember election.