The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-25
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It is ninety years since John G. Cal
houn, when secretary of war in the
cabinet of President James Monroe,
earnestly advocated the construction
by the federal government OF snip
canal across the neck of Cape COD:
Calhoun was confident that a canal of
that kind would, If constructed, make
Inevitable internal water navigation
stretching along the whole interior AT
1antic coast, providing a means TOT
national defense in case of war and for
the swift and safe carrying of COM
merce between the parts OF the Union
which border the Atlantic coast. Cal,
houn's idea was to utilize natural
waterways like Long Island sound, the
Delaware river and the SOUNDS OF
North Carolina. connecting these
waters by artificial waterways But
nearly a hundred years have passed
since Calhoun advocated as a national
public work what has been undertaken
by private capital under the leader
complished within the next three
years.
A Great Terminal
It has already been of1cialiy an
nounced that the deep waterway con-
Meeting Lake Champlain with the up
per Hudson will be in operation with
in the next three years This canal
O. draft of twelve feet, or fully as
much as is practicable for vessels
navigating the upper HUDSON, To pass
from the deep water oe Lake Cham
plain to the Hudson. These vessels
will be almost exclusively bearers of
iron ore. They will bring the ore
from the mines of the Adirondack re-
gion to the lower harbor of New York,
where it will be distributed to the
furnaces. BY reason of the great size
Of these barges it is presumed that the
saving in the cost of the ore delivered
at the furnaces will be considerable
This stretch of sixty-eight miles
from Lake Champlain to the upper
navigable waters of the Hudson is a
part of tbs general improved canal
system of New York state. The true
barge canal from Lake Erie to the |
Hudson should be completed so that |
boats of thousand tons capacity may |
be operated in it at about the time |
the Panama canal is open to naviga- |
ton.
1t was perceived two years ago that |
1t was useless, almost, to spend a. hum |
bred and one million dollars. as New |
York state is doing. in the construc- [
ton of great barge canal three hun
dred miles in length unless adequate |
terminal facilities were provided. AT /
a recent election the people approved |
the appropriation of about twenty mill
lion dollars for the construction of the |
needed terminal. On the day after /
Mr.. Belmont announced the speedy |
completion of the Cape Cod ship canal |
the state canal board of New York
received plans from the state en-
gineer, Mr. Bensel, for the construction
of the final terminal of the barge
canal The engineer has selected the |
great inlet which begins just at the
point where the East river unites with
the Hudson and a littl~ south of east
of Gowanus oay, and has been utilized
for all sorts of commercial and indus
trial undertakings sponsored by citi-
zens of Brooklyn. 1t is, in fact, a true,
although not large, roadstead. 1t,
however, is large enough and has
danfh onnrIOh n ffg = ma nnaIS IN rArraif
ocean steamships drawing as much as
thirty-five feet of water to be accom-
there. If these terminal plans
are approved by the state canal board,
as presumably they will be- then ocean
steamships will deliver or receive
freight to or from the canal barges.
The plans call for the most modern
equipment In the way of swift and
economic handling and transferring of
freight and, in addition to other facili-
ties. the terminal will be supplied with
very large warehouses. At one time it
was thought that If the Erie canal
were enlarged so that it would become
a true ship canal or a great barge
canal, the final terminal in New York
harbor would be constructed some
where on the shores of Staten island.
Governors Island in the Future.
Recently there has been consider
a BILE agitation in favor of the aban-
donment by the federal government of
Governors Island as a military sta
ton. When the proposition was first
made it was presumed that the fed
eral government had absolute title to
the property, so 1T was said that there
was absurdfty in the federal govern
ment locking up perhaps as much as
five hundred millions, certainly more
than a hundred millions in land used
exclusively for a military station. 1t
seemed the wiser part for the govern
ment to sell the land, and 1t was said
by one member of congress that Gov