Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1911-02-20
VALLEY
ABANDONS THE
MORRIS CANAL
Memorial by the Railroad
Company Is Sent to the
State Legislature.
GIVES REASONS FOR
ITS ACTION
speota, 10 cha EYENINa NEWA.

Special TO the EVENING NEWB-
Philadelphia, Feb. 20:-The Le-
high Valley railroad, lessee of the
Morris Canal, yesterday issued me-
mortal to the New Jersey Legisla-
ture proposing to convey to the state
of New Jersey, free of cost, all its
water rights In connection with the
canal, and to abandon the use Of the
canal for navigation.
Under the plan the state receives
the dams and all the lands owned BY
the canal company at Lake Hopat-
cong and Greenwood Lake, az we'll as
the f1owage rights and diversion
rights granted by charter. The wa
terway has been practically useless
for transportation purposes for sew
eral years.
The company'a proposal will lake
the form of bill In the New Jersey
Legislature, as the Legislatures ap-
proval is necessary to the carrying
out Of the plan.
With the pamphlet issued yester-
day the company made the follow
ing more condensed statement COW
ering the principal facts:
"Since the introduction of steel
rails and the completion Of railroads
across the state of New Jersey the
Morris canal has been a useless ex-
pense. 1t has become an economic
| waste which ought not to be allowed
to continue.
"The canal company was char
tered before railroads existed. 1t
failed In 1S41 and was reorganized
in 1914. In the sixties, owing to
nI f1o
service of railroads, its condition be-
came hopeless. The Lehigh Valley,
not having line in New Jersey at
that time, leased the canal In 1871.
| its object being to provide competi-
ton with--aDd thereby enforce
equitable treatment from--the Cen
trail Railroad OF New Jersey, which
was its only eastern connection.
But it soon became evident that
the canal was inadequate, either for
the volume of business or for the
purpose OF controlling competition,
and the Lehigh Valley was forced to
construct its own road across the
state, from Phillipsburg to Perth
Amhoy; later the line was extend
City. i9As4s3siz
| l
operated on the canal holds seventy
/ tons of coal and takes five days X
make the trip across New Jersey. A
steam locomotive hauls 2,000 tons
of coal over the same distance In five
hours. The boat is In two sections
which must be separated at twenty
two inclined planes and pass through
more than thirty locks to get over
~ ,f14 M,
river and the Hudson river. All the
coal passing over this route has to
be trans-shipped from cars at the
Delaware river end, and must again
be lifted out of boats and put into
cars and wagons at tidewater.
"The tolls scarcely pay the wages
of boatmen. In the forty years
since 1871 the railroad company, in
operating the property, and assum-
ing the canal company's obliga-
tions, has paid out s10.578,670 more
than it has taken in from the earn
ings of the canal. Originally intend
ed as public highway, for the use
of whoever might care to operate
vessels thereon, the waterway has
not be used for 16 years by any
person or corporation other than the
lessee.
"Six years ago the New Jersey
Legislature created a commission
composed of ex-Governors Werts,
Griggs and Voorhees,, to examine in
to all qeustions relating to the ca
nal and to recommend what action,
! if any, should be taken by the state
In regard thereto. After long in
vestigation the commission suggest
ed legislation authorizing abandon
ment on navigation. In its report
the commissions stated that the ca
nal was ct present obsolete and un-
profitable and added: Apparently
the canal cannot be operated either
by the company itself or by the state
without large annual loss.