The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-07-01

apply to a waterway about 40D miles
shorter and having a uniform depth Of
% feet and breadth on the surface
of 203 feet and at bottom Of III feet,
II this plan is followed the engineer
states the canal can be completed in
about. six years. With a speed Of eight
knots the passage would occupy about
five days.
The original plan. which, in view of
the rapidly increasing size of vessels,
is more accommodating, was for a
| waterway 311a feet deep, 140 feet wide
at the bottom and 266 feet wide at
the surface. Included in this plan is
q broad, well-payed roadway, built at
the side Of the canal for its whole
length. AS Russia is not famed fer its
good roads, this improvement will be
of almost as much Importance as the
canal itself.
Apart from the extensive works to
be built at the cataracts and the act
ual digging OF only L miles through
a country presenting no great difficulty
to the operation, the canal building
will very largely be the simple work
Of dredging a deep channel in the
rivers and the existing canal and the
widening Of the latter.
No one familiar with Russiafs hui
initiating position on the Black sea
need be told that the subject is an old
one and a recognized necessity, for
while the ear has been permitted TO
build a powerful feet of warships on
the Black sea, treaties and conventions
extending back almost a century, or
since 1909, have closed the gates Of
the Dardanelles upon them.
The Black sea fleet which consists
Of about $50 ships, has been locked
10 the Black sea principally through
British action, although Russia is a
party to most Of the treaties, reeog-
nizing the fact that it is some eonsola-
ton to know that no other force, not
even a British fleet, may pass through
the straits. the key to the cars
home, . as Napoleon described it.
The canal from the Baltic to the
Black sea would bring st. Petersburg
5000 miles nearer the far east, and,
what is more to the point, would bring
it SO much nearer Egypt and India
1t is no secret that no matter how the
war in the far east ends, Russia will
strike for an outlet on the Indian
ocean. The British have been guard
ing the northern boundary Of India
for years in anticipation of any Rus
sian movement on the frontier. A
quarter of a century ago the Russians
were at the gate Of India within
a few miles Of Herat There thew
still are, but it is beyond belief to
think they are content to stay there,
During the long peace which fol-
lowed the congress of Vienna. many
schemes were evolved for connectine
the Black sea with the Baltic. or
most Of these the essential principle
was the deepening of the Dwfna.
which runs into the latter at Riga
and OF the DRieper, which river prac-
tiealIy may be said to enter the Eux-
inc at Kherson. The total distance ta
be covered is 1,410 miles. hut fho
actual length between the inner ends
Of these two Well-known rivers IS only
IS miles, and indeed there are alterna=
tive points-presenting, moreover less
difficult problems of marine engineer
ing-but Al miles apart It viii thus
be seen that by the former ready-made
route the linking canal would be of
about similar length to that of suez
and by the latter to more than half
that distance.
Willing Worker.