Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1907-05-04

Canal Locks at Manayunk in 1928.
an echo of the early years of the
last century when Pennsylvanians
were almost delirious with numerous
projects for internal improvements.
The commission, according to John
Birkinbine, the engineer member of
that body, does not advocate the es-
tablishment Of new canals, but sug-
gests very plainly that the cheap sys-
tenn of transportation offered by in
land water routes might be revived
were the legislature to enact laws
which would cover the general subject
and prevent these avenues of con
merce from falling into "unfriendly
hands"
By "unfriendly hands" is meant, Of
course, the railroads, which practically
have rendered the artificial waterways
of the state nearly obsolete, either by
buying competing canals and allowing
them to go to waste or by forcing
them into docile acquiescence.
1t is interesting to recall that Penn
sylvania was the pioneer among
states which a century or more ago
began to turn their attention toward
canal building. At that time the To-
conotive had not been invented, at
last no practicable machine had been
, ought forward. The only means of
a,and transportation for either pas
sengers or freight was by means of
Gagons
So early as 1852 it was proposed to
connect Lake Erie and the Ohio river
with the Delaware by means of
canal. David Rittenhouse and Rev.
William Smith surveyed a route be-
tween the Susquehanna and Schuyl-
kill by way of the Swatara and Tul-
pehocken. In 1891 a company was
formed to construct the canal, and
the following year another company
was incorporated to build a canal from
Norristown to the Delaware at Phil
adelphia and to improve the naviga-
ton of the Schuylkill. These COM
panies actually began work, and after
they had spent 100000, an enormous
sum for those times, the construction
was suspended for a time The two
companies were united in 1911 as the
Union Canal company, and after many
embarrassments finally completed the
work in 1927.
Within a few years after the open
ing Of the nineteenth century the state
was engrossed in canal projects. Canal
routes were surveyed in almost every
Following this impulse TO the inter-
nal improvement there was general
quickening of public interest in the
resources of the state Because of
new facility in transportation anthra-
cite began to be used where wood
had formerly been the only fuel. Iron
mines and salt wells were opened,
by the tariff of 1928, and
he great bituminous coal fields in
he western part of the state became
IN additional field for enterprise. The
great internal improvements success
'ully executed in the decade between
1926 and 1885 were among the most
ambitious undertakings ever accom-
)lished by any commonwealth in the
lew world. BY October, 1884, the
& Columbia railroad was
opened for travel, the main line Of
anal had been finished, and the com
'letion of the Allegheny Portage
abroad made 1t possible for an emf
rant boat from the north branch of
he Susquehanna to pass over the
and proceed by way of
he canal at Johnstown, on its route
o St. Louis.
In 1886 the canals and railroads I'M
ertaken at the expense of the state
nd controlled by the Legislature as
ublic property had a mileage of
261a miles, and 134A miles of state
anals were in course of construction.
t the same time there were in OPP
ration 1854 miles of canals owned
nd operated by private corporations.
ut the area OF railroad building was
awning. and almost before the canal
ystem had matpred 1t was render.
obsolete by the speedler methods
transportation.