New-York tribune., 1908-03-02
ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE
Great improvement by Dredging
Ship Channel for Se0enty Miles.

Ottawa Na-ca tspecian.-with the reopening
C nsuizzT.ou the St Lawrence River this spring
re traffic Of ocean steamships ii important trans
ssis1ssc and coastv-ise services making Montreal
aaa Quebec their Canadian ternini viii receive a
oeclsca impetus by the virtual completion of the
st Lawrence River ship channel. Of which there
row remains only eleven miles 70 he dredged before
clear depth OF thirty feet al the lowest stages
r the rivers level Hil BE- available. The accom-
slishraent CT the great 600 project. il IS con-
7dently hoped IN Canadian maritime circles viii
combine with tie regular operations OF poVerfui
and well equipped ice breaking. surveying and
sseeqing tug. the Laev Grey which was acquired
recently England By the Dominion Ministry OF
Marine ana Fisheries. II effecting eariy reduc-
Tfon q the excessive insurance rates which nave
proved detrimental 10 the 81 Lawrence route
Impressed with the se1Jered conditions Of navlEa-
tio1 ou the St Lawrence River and by the INDUS
trial and commercial progress OF Canada in late
years and encouraged by tle recent modification N
The tar1r regulations between France and CANADA.
The CoInpaCnie t5enerRle TransauaDuque VIII ee-
.ah!ish with the steamships La BTetaSne and La
Gascorne. which formerly ran between Havre and
New York. a regular mail. passenger and freight
service between Havre and Montreal The Aliah
Line which for some time has maintained calling
service WITH Esvre lis transatlantic voyages
between Montreal and English ports. announces
Increases II the number Of vessels heretofore en-
plo-ed on The Montreal route and II the ire
cuencv OF sailings.
Tha- the French aaC Is not alone 10 be favored n
SO
River Is apparent from The fact that the most
favored nation clauses incorporated in the British
treaties extend the tariff reductions PROVIDED oS
the Franco-Canadian protocol 20 several lInpor
MARITIME powers. such as AUstria-F5unsary. the
ArEeut5ae Republic, Denmark. Russia SPAN, SNe-
deu NORWAY and japan. To obtain the dement's
O. the new schedule merchandise must enter 1aL'-
sda directly from each Of Ih7 countries naIieI
without rra1sshiprent- Therefore Il ls co1slo7I 60
--otsl,le that the nations deriving advantage from
--rrr- NEff 4FF :
effort 10 maintain direct steamship coHlnunlca1 1oli
with the ports 0f Canada under I2elr reslso''Ns
Haev and q course. the usual subsidies
The task Of dredging the St Lawrence t1Ner " mas
,ss- -a-eo--es in the face Of grave danger 10 Jhe
lives Of The engineers and laborins force ana 10
the valua Die equipment Ihe Work mas iaG -
Cs--ied on IN tbs midst Of an tncessaTJ uallic "a
craft Of al sizes and descriptions Inc ole1s7S
e,sz-s r-e-a-e5 81 hours a week. steadily from
midnight or Sunday until noon on saIuToaS' S10t's
fenr made only for repairs. Tor Sfllltl-s rum oi
rIace 70 another. because o. severe "e3l--e- - ~
allow room for passing vessels Coal has been sup
- -, -a-- s-ra-sf-1e II ba-ges without the cessa-
-5or Of work The constant STEADY "cTh II eAoE'-
5rgiv ha-d material IL depth ot rom LII ~ -"
IN for-v-rvvo feet has proved eNacJins lor l1 ---
crfre-- Throughout the operations trat11c h-s ",-
= ~, 5--er-Y7red while The dredging has al
ways been accomplished IN q more q ~
curreI- - -,,.1
w. --r5e-- <7- The cutting q q 50-toot cAa-lle-
,.zz+nE been undertaken by the 1aIao-aA Dst- 20,
n
St Lawrence River snip channel 1OSsl-sl On,
- 80 -r,e So-el shi-7zard. was transferred II -
n -s3e Ministry Of Marie and Flsher1es' -
n hiring the undertaking 10 a succeSslu- oo--1l
IN the immediate future. =, 49,
The distance between Montreal a-ll f----e y
* s4o-- three hundred and forty miles Inc o---
r-srted part Of The river. which may properly y
called the ship channel. begins al lhe 60
4-o-a which point To Montreal The distance :
hundred and twenty miles The length o .e
,..7-e1 actually recurring Improvement y o-eGs-
sz from Montreal the Traverse Is ABOUT Sc 60
mics The length Of The 3e-foot clar1el col1fle
= -,-ase-- IS about rfty-Tne niles NE
cz,srrel has q minimum width in he stralgLt POI %
- - 40 feet and Oh The curves from 800 10 $40
..-z.-r n Lieutenant Colonel 7. Gourdeau'
T,e77,-v Minister Of Marine and tisher-es' '-iS
,.,s--as does rct afford the usual dlfncuIlles OF
- -,sv7e-4fo, There IS sufficient water on the
hanks 70 minimize irduced currents "nlch W.
-te cross se-rIon Of the ship IS large II pIOp01
n rre cross section II the channel llaAes e@-S
srae-4ra Al Ordinary speed difficult The 81 Law
-z-~- Ezt,e- snip channel therefore many ad-
s-1ages oxe- most other artificial water -o->e7'
nj only as 10 tonnage capacity huI d 'ale s.s7'
srr Al reasonable speed The largest sfIs rea01-7
z7o--~a1s have frequently made rne voyage ~
~,-,s4.~ N less -fgzn nine hours without trouble
The cross section OF the eiEht--nile Culeora cut
Of rfe rev Panama Canal V-ll- be- making tie MOST
liberal allowances only eight thousand square -~eI
.-5 = fs considered probable that the canal VII
be opened for traffic with The channel having 4
cross zec-tor much than that and INTENDED 10y
The largest ships afcat- The s Lawrence ElFtI
- Cane a Roche. the narrowest point. Wiz
have minimum cross section when the thirty
<aor channel is completed OF about eighty thousand
su1a-e feet II Lhe length Of three miles OF Toch
cutting
The dredging operations DO not either theorei-
5-suv OF practically lower The level Of The water
or the river No material Is removed i Is
merely taken from one place and deposited else
where As long as ,he water supply remains The
sane The same level q the river may be depenaeo
upon
The s. Lawrence River enjoys the reputation OF
having tte best lighted channel q any waterway
II rte word and 1he Improvements 10 the snip
charnel as fast IS completed ere followed 9y alds
% navigation q a high standard Permanent
rzrra lights viii soon marx The channel from one
enc 70 the ether. Where ten years ago there were
orlr 11o OF three gas buoys between Montreal
and Quebec there are now about sixty
Tire beginning Of night navigation, The increase
in size and importance OF ships and the general
s7r-overne-rs or SIDES. especially for the p-ever-
tasa of accidents. called for system Of signal
service
~ Marine and FISHERIES. has established ia con-
rec-Sor wiz III -. LaVrelce River snip chalne-
q ..seuhore service extending between Montreal
ard Quebec and since exIeraed 10 Crane Island
There are twelve stations. all connected directly
Hi-h the central station IL Montreal