Evening journal., 1906-09-28

e6e MOI 9-1ctica,. o,7s they 40 insist on
- 7aeqee.a waterway OF some route ard
az the earlieet-praotlcabie momont."
The owners OF the Sassafras route apol-
sized to Mr. Crozier. and explained that
they had no desire to be personal and had
been misnformed
Bingham and cramp.
Congressman II. IL. Bingham said he
was IN favor OF cheap transportation,
and would support any measure that
would secure it, He said he would
work for the proposed canal with all
possible energy
Edwin S. Cramp said that il would
be necessary to have a draught OF 35
feet If the canal was TO accommodate
battleships He added that Baltimore
and Philadelphia needed that waterway
to round out their business life
Frank l.. Neall spoke at great length
In advocacy of the waterway and for
tined his arguments with charts and
convincing figures.
Lewis NJ. Haup an engineer, who is
regarded as an authority on canals. ad-
dressed tho commission.
Compete With Railroads.
The commercial Importance of such
a canal Les in the inside route afforded
/ for coastwise shipping. Between this
/ city and Baltimore it viii afford an ac-
tive and independent avenue for COM
petition with the railroads in both
freight and passenger traffic, and so
exert a powerful influence in railroad
rates
Aside from the commercial aspect of
the building Of the canal the United
states is looking upon it because Of its
strategic value I'm case of war. A fleet
Of war vessels anchored inside the Del
aware river could easily beat an at
tacking squadron into the Chesapeake
Bay by means of the canal, and there
by no doubt save the city OF Baltimore
from attack
The proposed canal win shorten the
distance for warships between this port
and Baltimore from 440 miles TO 10
miles, This will mean that a ship that
could cover the route by way of the
Delaware Breakwater In thirty-seven
hours could make The trip through the
canal in less than fourteen hours.
Seven canal routes have been at var
ious times surveyed across the PENN
sula separating the Delaware river and
Chesapeake Bay These routes vary in
]
miles. while the estimated cost of con-
structon ranges from about Ss,oOO,OOO
/ to $4,000. 900 faIe sanfr 1i
! The present canal commission ac-
cording to the resolution in Congress,
under which authority it was appoint
ed. must virtually conhne its investi-
cations to two specified routes The
commission is directed to appraise an6
examine the works and franchises of
the present Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal. with reference to the desirable
ity Of purchasing and deepening it.
The Present Canal
AS It Is to-day. the Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal extends from Delaware
City west a distance Of 13 SIS miles
to Chesapeake City on Back Creek, an
arm of the Chesapeake Bay. 1t has
three locks, each 22O feet long and "a
| feet wide At it's highest point the
elevation of the water above low tide
Is % feet.
The history of this canal dates back
to the time when there were no rail-
roads Construction OF the canal was
lbegun April 10. 1924, and completed FIVE
years later. October H. 1929, the canal
was opened to navigation
-,The initial cost was s2,5Oo,OOO. To-
ward this amount the United States
subscribed S45O,O00, not only because
tho government thought 1t should en-
courage the development OF greatly
needed transportation facilities, but
also because of the strategic value In
time OF war During the Civil war
when the then existing railroads proved
inadequate TO handle the troops ana
transport the munitions Of war with
the required dispatch, the Chesapeake
land Delaware Canal stood the nation
in good stead.