The Irish standard., 1905-08-05
500" Canal IS
FIFTY YEARS OLD
SAULT STE. MARIE CELEBRATES
SEMI-CENTENNIA OF
OPENING.
VISITORS INCLUDE A
NUMBER OF NOTABLES
Traffic Through Waterway Is the
Largest in the World-Three Big
Locks in Place of the Two For
merly in Use.

Largest in the World-Three Big
Locks in Place of the Two For
merly in Use.
Sault Ste. Marie. Mich, Aug. 81
With the city crowded with thousands
of visitors, and with hundreds of
yards of bunting flying in the breeze
from all the buildings on both the
American and Canadian sides of the
St. Marc's river, salute at sunrise
from the government ships in the
harbor opened the two days celebra.
tion Of the semi.centennial Of the open.
ing of the St. Mary's ship canal,
which connects Lake Superior with the
lower lakes. Fifty years ago the first
ship canal around the rapids in the
st. Mary's river was completed and
opened, with two locks $50 feet in
length, and depth of 13 feet. To-day
the American canal has two locks,
o1e SIS feet long. the other 800 feet
bong and q feet deep, while there is
also Canadian lock 1000 feet In
length. More traffic passes through
these three locks than through any
similar waterway in the world. In
1904, $4,000 passengers were trans.
ported through the canal. and a total
of 31,546,106 tons of freight with a
value Of $340OOO,O0O. The semi-cen.
tennial celebration and the erection
later of monument as permanent
memorial was made possible by the
appropriation of $4,000 by the
United States and $4,000 by the state
of Michigan, and the contribution of a
considerable amount by the vessel in.
terests of the great lakes.
City Crowded with Visitors.
Visitors have been arriving in the
city by the hundreds since Monday.
The two days of the celebration were
declared legal holidays on both the
American and Canadian sides of the
river and business has been suspend
ed wherever possible. Owners of lake
vessels arranged the trips of many Of
the largest freighters on the lakes so
that they would pass through the
canal during the celebration Vice
President c. w. Fairbanks, Gov Fred
M. Warner os Michigan and his staff.
United States Senator ]. c. Burrows,
of Michigan; Congressman 7. d. Bur.
ton, of Ohio; Hon. William Living.
stone, president of the Lake Carriers
association; Charles T. Harvey. of
Toronto, who constructed the original
locks, and Miss Betty Poe, daughter
of Gen. O. M. Poe, who constructed
the Poe lock, are among the distin.
guished visitors present at the cele
bration. Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux, so
licitor general of Canada, and a party
of Canadian officials are also par
ticipating in the celebration.
Reception to Governor.
The first day was devoted to naval
and military parades, an Indian ex
hibition and reception by Gov
Warner to the other distinguished
guests, followed by magnificent ex
hibition Of fireworks Vice President
Fairbanks and Gov Warner reviewed
the naval parade from the deck of the
naval reserve ship Yantic. The mill
tary parade was participated in by the
battalion of the First United States
infantry stationed at Fort Brady, a
number of companies of the Michigan
national guard and the battalion of
Michigan naval reserves. After the
military parade came a programme of
Indian sports, songs and dances, in.
cluding foot and canoe races and q
display of Indian handicraft by q
band of Chippewas.
History Of Canal.
The Sault Ste. Marie ship canal,
the fiftieth anniversary of the open
ing of which was celebrated Wednes-
day, was completed by the state of
Michigan in 1855. This ship chan
mel, the connecting link between Lake
Superior and the lower lakes, was
transferred to the United States gov
ernment in 1870. Since the govern
ment took charge of the waterway,
vast improvements have been under
taken, the canal having been widened
and deepened several times. 1t is now
| considered the busiest of the worlds
| artificial waterways.
In 1888 the lock, erected by the
| state, was destroyed by excavation for
the present Poe lock, which is the
largest in the world 1t is 800 feet
long and 100 feet wide with a water
depth of % feet on the stills.
The Weitzel lock, which was made
necessary by the increased traffic and
is still in operation, is SIS feet long.
The traffic by way of the 500 canals,
! American and Canadian, during 1904
was 100000 net tons, 27,OO0,OOO of
which was through the American
| canal. The traffic OF the Suez canal
in 1904 was 100000 net tons. This
represented large part of the COM
merce of Europe with Asia and some
of that between the United States and
Asia.
Noted Inventor Passes Away.
Boston, Aug. 3.-Duane Herbert
Church, whose invention of about $50
machines has revolutionized the man.
ufacture of watches in America dur
| ing the last 20 years. died Tuesday
from heart failure at his home in
West Newton. Since 1882 he has
been employed in the factory of a
i ~,