New-York tribune., 1909-05-23

+orog4 How tho frrr industry which opened the
countrv has given way 70 the trade IN humber
and metal ore IS story In itself And the
transportation. the Indian trails and the IdF's-
pixies the great canals and the greater raiiroaa5
and the countless ships which bring the prod
,cta Of the Great Lakes country to the sea
what a tale Of energy and progress and uzlsterT
of the forces Of nature IS enfolded IN the mere
mention Of these things: Incidentally one must
absorb considerable statistical Information. but
that is part Of the story. The 500 Canal -
open to navigation seven months OF the year
and in that period handles nine-tenths OF the y
nuaI tonnage of the Suez Canal Yet in lS--'
Henry Clay. speaking on the bill to grant lands
for the building Of the 500 Canal. described
these great waterways as beyond the furthest
bounds of civilization. if not in the moon
Among the interesting anecdotes OF pioneer dar5
is a description Of the difficulty OF getting
through the town OF Erie At first the railways
coming from east and west were OF dIf-
ferent gauges, SO that passengers were COM
PEELED to ride across the town in Ou1niouseS-
This was called crossing the isthmus. and for q
long time local opinion. backed by mob rule. for
bade any other arrangement Speaking OF the
early sos the authors say:
| Horace Greeley going West az this time. had -
ride the seven miles across the IsthmuS IN an open
sleigh through a severe storm o5 "n1; - s. d a.
/ the tOWnSpeOpe were continually denounced IN
/
/ grass grows in her streets and Till her plerneu III
| despair shall move away To some other CITY
| It is a great feat to cover 50 much ground n
so little space and to combine in a single vol
urne so many of the permanent and sturdier
qualities OF serious history with the light AMI
! graceful characteristics of fiction The value Z
a brief photography is enhanced by concise AMI
/ pithy comment. and a dozen illustrations and 4
| few little maps are help 70 the reader II
fact the whole volume is decidedly helpful. AM.
/ being composed in modest and healthy spirit
| has a charm and character OF its own
| Why are the most beautiful fresh water seas
| in the whole world neglected BY their Own DeJ-
pie? Why is it that from the single city OF B0s-
| ton there travel by water two million more p-ep-
pie than on all OF the lakes combined, which
number on their shores the second largest city
on the continent and four others Wen up in the
| front rank? Such are the questions that NJ
| Curwood puts. and the answer may BE- given
/ in the famous reply OF Dr. Johnson to a lady
/ who criticised his dictionary "Isnorance.
. madam, sheer ignorance To remedy this al
but universal American defect is Dir. CIrWOOd'5
object. and he has produced q volume bulging
with information. reeking with facts and figures
and loaded to the gunwaIe with all manner Of
convincing statistics. No excuse now f1-
ignorance. for with all the conviction OF ex-
clamaton points and the grandeur OF superLa-
tives the staggering growth. the appalling
wealth and the Ieviathan activities Of the Great
Lakes are hurled at heads Who would
have supposed that Michigan forests have pro
duced enough lumber to build a board walk
five feet wide two inches thick and three million
miles long. laid in another fashion. If you
please, a pIankway mile wide from New
York to San Francisco? Then we come to the
breadstuf hundred million bushels Of grain
and eleven million barrels OF -four shipped FROM
lake ports in one year Now says author.
/ eve come right down t. dinner table facts ara
he pro ceedS TO give five Ioaves to every man.
woman and child of the two and a half billion,
people who inhabit this globe, As for the ship
ping (and the best part of this book has u ,i'
with the building loading and navigation OF -
[ shps) we have ten thOuSand-tOn monsters bIf't
almost as quickly aS an eight room h0use-0ne
such was launched in fifty-three days after hrr
keel was laid-and the giant OF the lakes Is Io
less than six hundred and five feet five inches
long and can carry the load Of three Euui--I
pounds of iron and steel. that If every man,
woman and child in Indiana Michigan. Wiscor-
sin and Minnesota were determined to carry
this material to certain place each person
would have to carry one pound
AS FOR the iron ore. three little patches If thc
lake country produce nearly half the worlds
| Tva rv-