The Washington herald., 1908-08-30

TO guide them. they adopted his sugges-
ton and authorized him 70 act IN their
name
Harvey at once sought the late James
F. Joy and other prominent and progres-
sive men in Detroit. secured their CO.
operation, sent East for engineers, OBJ
tanned options upon stone quarries. and
when the legislature OF Michigan had au-
thorized action was prepared TO submit
bid for the construction Of the canal.
which was accepted April =. 1888. The
Fairbanks brothers were she principals
and associated with them were. J. "
Brooks. Erastus Corning. August Bel
mont. H Dwight. jr. and Thomas Dvvy-
ct. and their sgreties were Franklin
Moore. George F Potter. John Owen.
James F. JOY. and Henry p. Baldwin. OF
Detroit
As soon as The contract vas signed Har-
vey secured authority 20 select the lands
10 be donated in aid OF the canal and.
acting upon knowledEed gained by his ex-
plor8Jiou % the previous summer. ne
located them upon the northern perin-
sula, including the copper belt north Of
HoIgEt1n, from which not less than S5l0.-
uo.O-2 worth Of copper has since been
taken.
The canal was finished April T. ls55.
twenty-five and half months from the
day that Harvey broke ground Il was
500 feet long. 81 feet wide at the bottom.
and 100 feet wide ar the surface OF the
water. and . feet deep There were Two
locks. each 20 feet wide and HI feet deep
with a life of 2 feet each The actual cost
was 500 Sc = The first vessel 10 pass Up
into Lake Superior was the steamer Iilt-
u0is, and the steamer Baltimore was the
first 20 pass down
Canal Is Made Free
From 1S55 20 1851 the canal was con
troIled by the state Of Michigan. and q
toll Of 81 cents q ton was charged 20 COW
er operating expenses This was after
ward reduced % ~ cents. with z mini
mum Of 8 per vessel The canal was
transferred 10 the Federal government in
1881 and has since seen free
What Is now called the WeitzeI lock. in
honor Of Gen Godfrey WeitzeI. Of the
[ United States army. was designed by Gen.
/ Orlando NJ Poe. % the United States
army. and built BY Alfred Noble between
I 1870 and lS7I- Il is 5l5 feet long. 81 feet
wide, and l. feet deep. The Canadian
! canal was built in isSS-IsS5 by W 6 Nc
I Nell Thompson. It IS 800 feet lo1g. 81
I feet wide. and . feet deep The Poe
I lock. built by Gen Orlando u. Poe. from
lSS7 20 IS'S. IS SO feet long loo feet wide.
f and - feet deep
Since ISs2 the American canal has been
deepened and Islgtheued- so that Il IS
/ now one and three-fiftls miles long. 81
I feet wide at the upper entrance. 100 feet
at tie lower entrance los feet Ct the
/ canal gate. and 80 feet wide above the
I locks Hydraulic power IS used for oper-
4 atiuE the American locks. electricity gen
Z Grated by the rapids IS us-d for operating
+ the Canadian locks A vessel can be put
/ through either Of the American locks IN
/ about seven minutes and through the
I Canadian locks IN eight minutes. but the
( actual time averages tweuty-nine min
I utes. because OF the slow movement Of
. the boats IN entering and leaving
( The commerce or the lakes Is so grea'
I that lOng line Of boats laden with coal
/ ore. wheat. and merchandise IS always
waiting at both entrances. and this delay
IS very costly II a short season Of navi-
I cation The sEipowners have adopted
many devices for saving time Sailing
/ up the lakes you can see coal docks amid
: stream. where vessels going Up and down
/ can stop en- route 20 I'll their bunkers. Il
/ Is only necessary for them 20 slow down
. their speed and run alongside. when ths
I patent leading apparatus viii in a few
I minutes transfer from the coal bins or
4 the docks 10 the bunkers OF the vessels
enough fuel 10 carry them 10 the end OF
: their voyages