The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-01-02
OF VALUE TO VERMONT
Deep Waterway Canal From Quebec
to New York Projected

Among the various projects for
waterway Improvement which are
now pending or are being prosecuted
on this continent one which our Can
adian neighbors have in mind is of
state of New York which It concerns
at least as much as it does the Domin-
ion itself. Hitherto, Canadian canal
works, in which, as We have frequent
ly observed, Canada has been more
enterprising than ourselves. have
chiefly aimed at rivalry with Amari-
can transportation hnAs, sapd they
havs undoubtedly been tha mems "
divsrting much comrnarce TO the st.
Lawrence which ahnuld have come
down the Hudson. For this we can
not blame, but must rather command
and envy, our northern sneighbors.
noteworthy and welcome the plan
which is now put forward, says the
New York Tribune.
This is nothing less than the en-
largement of the Chambly canal In
Quebec TO capacity equal TO that of
the large barge canals which this state
is now constructing between the
Great Lakes and the Hudson and also
between Lake Champlain-which al
most deserves to be ranked with the
Great Lakes--and the Hudson. The
Chambly canal is a waterway abont
IL miles long at the rapids of the Rich
ellen river, affording continuous nav
igatiOn from Lake Champlain to the
st. Lawrence river and thus to the
cities of Montreal and Quebec. At
present it is only seven feet deep,
though 1t is no less than rs feet wide.
Now the proposal is to make II about
twice as deep and somewhat wider so
that II can be traversed by barges Of
~ feet draft and 1900 tons burden.
The object is not merely to increase
its capacity for local traffic between
the St Lawrence and Lake Cham
plain. but to make 1t part of great
international trunk line waterway be-
tween Montreal and New York in con-
nection with Lake Champlain and the
barge canal which this state is now
constructing from the head of that
lake to the Hudson river. Inciden-
tally the plan includes damming the
Richie ""I river at st Johns so as 10
raise level and also that Of Lake
Champlain several feet higher than
the latter now is at low water and to
make the Big Chazy river navigable
for a number of miles.
The proposition is highly attractive
and will doubtless elicit much appro-
val and encouragement from mer
chants. manufacturers and commercial
organizations along the Champlain
and Hudson valleys from Rouses
Point TO New York Bay. 1t would
make it possible for canal barges and
river and lake steamboats, of consid
cradle size to come from Montreal dir
ect to t.eJ York. Canada has fine
series OF deep canals connecting all
parts of the Great Lakes with the St
Lawrence and this enlarged Chambly
canal, in connection with correspond
ing works in New York, would con
meet them all directly with the Hud-
son so that Canadian commerce even
from Manitoba and Keewatin, put
aboard at Port Arthur, could come
straight through to New York with
out breaking bulk. Canadians Of
course. expect this scheme II fulfilled
to be profitable TO themselves and
there can be little doubt that II would
be Of much profit also to New Eng
land and New York and would greatly
promote that increase Of intercourse
between the Dominion and the United
States which would be OF immediate
and enduring advantage to both nat
ions