The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-02-20

The most important ship canal IN
the world 10 that at the sault ste.
Marie, at the outlet OF Lake Super
Tor. The tonnage which 1t carries per
annum is about three times that car.
ried by the }Suez canal, and ID greater.
titan the aggregate tonnage of tie
Suez, Manchester, Kiel and Amster-.
dam canals combined, although navi-
cation is suspended several months
( each year by ice. One OF It's locks IL
the largest in existence. and during
the season Of navigation this lock
alone carries three times the tonnage
per month that the Suez canal car
ries. It has been in successful oper-
alton since 1896, and has carried with
ease and safety the largest vessels on
the Great Lakes, some Of them meas
uring 500 feet In length with. Sc feet
/ beam. The navigation interest has no
fear of this lock. That interest is.
growing with marvellous rapidity, and,
Is clamoring for deeper channels be-,
tween the lakes, $50 that larger YES
sells may be used and larger locks
built. No engineer who Is familiar
with this lock has any misgiYing about
its safety, or about the entire FEAST
bility of building larger locks which,
shall be equally safe.
The majority of the board have at
tempted to belittle this experience.
They say 1t is not maritime canal"
They explain that masters of vessels
passing to and fro every few weeks,
acquire familiarity with the canal and
locks, which leads to degree Of skill
and safety which could never be at
tanned in the Panama canal, which
would be visited only at rare inter-
walls. forgetting that this acquired skill
simply makes unnecessary the services,
of pilot, and can never be equal to
the skill Of the special pilots who
would be employed at Panama. They
attach importance to the fact that
navigation at the Sault Is closed by
ice for several months each year, at
which time the locks can be pumped
out and repaired, not stopping to con-
slider that at Panama there are two,
sets of locks, one of which, can be
pumped out and repaired at any part
Of the year. They point to. the three
accidents which have occurred to the
locks within the last nine years, and
make certain speculations, as to how
near these were to being serious and
what would have happened IL the lift
had been as great as that proposed
for Panama, emitting to note that dur
ing the same period the open channels
below are completely blocked three
times, besides being partially blocked
at other times, by the sinkings of ves-
sells. During each of the complete
blockades in the open channel naviga-
ton was entirely suspended from two
and half to five, days, and during
the partial blockades all vessels were
delayed from five to twenty-four hours,
this state of affairs lasting in one case
ten days. It is true that locks are
subject to accident, but so are narrow
channels without locks. In addition
to the evidence just given, mention
may be made of the steamer Chatham,
by which the Suez canal was wholly
blockaded for nine days, and partially
blockaded for a month in September
and October, 1905. We can not con-
cur in the opinion that canal at sea
level $50 feet wide gives safe and
uninterrupted navigation" least of all
If, as in this case. that canal is liable
to currents of 2.6 miles per hour. Nov
ing in the same direction with such
a current, it is doubtful whether one
Of the largest vessels now in use could
navigate the canal at all with her own
power. Nor can we concur in the
opinion that lock properly construct
ed and managed is in any sense a
menace to the safety of vessels. Prac-
teal experience has demonstrated the
contrary beyond dispute.
The volume of water contained in
the proposed sea-level canal is about
100,664,O0O cubic yards; that con-
tanned In the proposed canal with
locks, emitting all below IS feet depth
and all beyond 1000 feet width, is
about S03,614,OO0 cubic yards. It is
a fair statement that one waterway is
three times the size of the other, and
that but for the locks it affords three
times the facilities for navigation.
In the canal at sea level there are
many curves; in that with locks all
courses are straight, changes of direc-
ton being made at the intersection
of tangents, where additional width is
given. These straight courses can be
marked with ranges, which greatly
facilitate navigation, particularly at
night.