Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-03-21
COMMERCE AND THE CANAL.

Few people in New Jersey today
have any idea what the opening of the
Delaware and Raritan canal to traaia
would mean to them. At the dry docks
in this city there are now, q have
been on and off all winter, a large num-
Der Of canal boats undergoing repairs.
Most Of these boats come all the way
from the Erie canal in New York
state, This waterway, as IS well
known, is now free to all commerce.
Owners Of these Erie canal boats tell
of the large number Of such vessels
that are now operating on the Erie ca
nal, greatly to the benefit of the towns
that can be reached by water. An own
er of one of these boats said that he
would be only too glad to operate on
the Delaware and Raritan canal if the
tolls were reasonable. The fact that
this canal has been practically closed
$50 long has driven most of these boats
away from these waters and, therefore,
the people are under the impression
that the canal boat has passed into
history.
-
Far from it.. A large number of
them are now propelled by steam. They
not only furnish their W power but
they draw and push along other boats
with them so that they are able to
carry a vast cargo at a reasonable
rate of speed and at a moderate cost.
A person who overheard the statement
made by the canal boat owner remark
ed that he had been talking to a grain
dealer IN Trenton q few days ago who
stated that he had to pay ten cents a
Ibnshel transportation Oh q 5affoati of
grain from Buffalo. The canal boat
Iowner smiled as he heard IL. He said
that IL 1t were not for the excessive toll
ON the Delaware and Rarftan canal he
would be glad to carry all the grain
he could get from Buffalo to Trenton At
hive cents a busheI. Tie stated that his
canal boats besides carrying q cargo
of Its W of 5000 bushels of wheat.
could push one boat before il and haul
four behind, each of these five boats
containing 5000 bushnls. Thus a car
go of d $1,000 bushels of wheat could
be brought from Buffalo to Trenton af
five cents a bushel against the ten
cents which the grain dealer in Trenton
says he is paying for grain transpor,
~tation.
1t is a fact, too, that these steam
canal boats can maxe better time on a
long run, as from Buffalo to Trenton.
s sssn s ssp BE- made , rail- This has
Another owner of a steam canal
boat, which runs down Long Island
sound, and who also has had a number
OF boats in this port undergoing re-
pairs within the past few months, sta
ted that with the Delaware and. Rari-
tan canal opened he could carry iron
ore from Lake Champlain to Trenton,
Philadelphia or Wilmington and other
ports sonth, direct without r~eshippinv,
at half what it costs now. To-day
much Of this material is brought by
canal boats to Jersey City where it is
transferred to railroads and continues
its journey south on land.
Thus it is seon that the excessive Toll
placed on the Delaware and Raritan
canal today acts as a barrier to all
commerce south, forcing boats to dis
charge their cargo and turn 1t over to
the railroads. Should eths canal be
opened, hundreds of these boats would
be plying back and fourth from Buff
falo and points south daily. Not only
would they benefit all the towns touch
ing the canal, but they would reduce
the cost of all materials throughout
this entire section.
Tt is high time this matter of trans
portation was taken up and given the
serious consideration that Is due 1t. The
railroads have throttled the waterway
across New Jersey so as to force the
carrying Of goods by rail. Throw open
the canal and the boats win continue
their journey to their destination. This
is a matter for the legislature to take
up and act upon at the earliest posi-.
bic moment. The people are becoming
aware of what these inland waterways