The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-09-03
PLAN TO SHORTEN LAKE. ROUTE.
st. Clair Canal Would Cut on 20 Miles
-Tranlc II Would Serve.


BUFFALO. Sept. 2.-The prospects for the
construction Of the st. Clair and Erie ship
canal in the near future have recently at
traoted considerable attention among bust
ness and shipping men here, and It has been
declared. upon what is considered good
authority, that within a year operations
will be begun. Two years work will be
required in any case before the canal can
be completed and opened for traffic.
The purpose Of this canal Is to shorten
materially the sailing distance between
Lake st. Clair and Lake Erie and to afford
a deep, safe and direct channel In place Of
the present one through the Detroit River.
Leaving the old course In Lake st. Clair
about five miles from the foot Of the st.
Mary's River, the proposed course Of the
canal strikes southeast through Lake St.
Clair in a straight line for Cleveland. It
cuts through the low lying neck Of land
which separates Lake St. Clair from Lake
Erie and enters the latter about sixty miles
east Of the usual route through The Detroit
River. This low lying land forms tho
southwestern extremity OF Ontario. x
The saving in distance II the canal h
constructed will be seventy-nine miles,
The actual cutting necessary is about four
teen miles and the expense Of construction
Is estimated at about 100000.
Those interested In the scheme say that
a toll Of two and half or three cents ton
on the freight which may reasonably be ex-
pected to pass throu gh the new channel
would cover the outlay for the construction
and repay all expenses Of interest and
mana cement. II only one-third OF the
tonnage now passing Detroit-e5, ooo, 900
tons-should avail itself Of the canal. the
tolls would meet these expectations.
The proposed construction OF this new
link In the chain of waterways which con-
meets Duluth, Chicago and Western lake
ports with tidewater again calls attention
to the enormous growth Of the lake marine
In recent years and the improvements that
have been made In the vessels themselves
and In the facilities for docking, loading
and unloading.
To take the figures Of the commerce
for the last eighteen years and omit amounts
smaller than 1000 900 tons, We find that
In 1897 the registered tonnage passing
through the Detroit River amounted to
100000 tons. Advancing steadily each
year, this tonnage amounted In 1892 to
q, 600, 900 TONS and 6vo years later to g. ooo,-
900 tons. Harvey d. Gould or Of Cleveland,
an expert statistician in regard to Lake
traffic, estimates that this year it will reach
q total OF e5 900 900 tons.
The character Of the tonnage has also
undergone within twenty years . wonder
full change for the better. Steel ships are
taking the place Of wooden ones, and it Is
believed that nowhere in the world can
steel ships be built cheaper than in the
lakeside shipyards. Only crooked channels
limit the length Of the Lake GRAFT, and It
IL believed that II all obstacles to naviga-
ton were removed the Lake ships would soon
adopt the dimensions of ocean vessels.
The value Of the freight transported on
the Great Lakes in 1909. the last year in
which estimates were collected was nearly
$500, 900, 900, and the cost Of carrying the
freight per ton mile was eight tenths Of q
cent. Canadian vessels carried only per
cent. Of these cargoes.
The difference In freight cost Of even a
fraction of cent may mean the upbuildinR
OF a gigantic industry on the Great Lakes
II the ship canal can reduce appreciably
the cost Of carrying ton Of ore or bushel
Of grain from the Superior region to Buffalo
It will be worth many times the cost Of It's