The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-09-18
CANALS IN UNITED STATES.
Four Great Artificial Waterways to
be Opened in 1914.

The year or 1918 m1Snt dppiopii
ately be termed the year of canals'
writes Holland in the Philadelphia
Ledger. Within twenty-four after
the official announcement from Mas
sachusetts reported that the canal
which will cut off the forearm OF
Massachusetts Cape Cod, atthe Shout
der will be completed early IN the
year 1914 and opened to navigation
within the year, there came also au-
thoritative information from Texas
stating that early in the year 1914
the canalizing which has been in pro-
gress at and near Houston would be
completed. When this work is done
there will be a ship channel to Hous-
ton with an average depth of 2o feet
of water. The Cape Cod canal will
have a depth sufficient for any but
the very largest steamships.
In the year 1914, in all probability,
the greater part of the work for the
Improvement of the Erie canal will
have been completed and if the
great terminal basin which is to be
established at the west end of Long
Island fronting New York harbor
we're also then finished, this stupen-
dous canal proposition, which is to
cost about two-thirds as much as the
Panama canal, will also be ready to
float barges of thousand tons ca
pacity. In the year 1914 the Panama
canal will be made ready for the COM
merce that will be offered, so that in
the early winter of 1915 this great
est public work of modern times, at
least in it's influence, will also add
it's achievments to that of the other
canal builders.
Of these canals the one now under
construction at Cape Cod to connect
Buzzards' Bay with Massachusetts
Bay is the only one which represents
the investment Of private capital.
The Cape Cod canal represents the
initial portion of the proposition laid
down nearly 100 years ago by John
c.. Calhoun, when he was secretary
of war in the administration of Pres
ident Monroe The canal, which
would shorten the distance from Bos-
ton to New York, and would also
make possible practically safe navl-
cation by avoiding Cape Cod, was
outlined by Calhoun as the begin
ming of artificial intercoastal canal
systems stretching from Massachu-
setts Bay to the Gulf Of Mexico.
A part of that system is now in opera
tion and the initial part will be COM
pleted next year.
At the remote southwest, as COM
pared with Cope Cod, Houston is to
celebrate the construction of an ar
tifcial ship channel by means of
which ocean going vessels will be
able to dock at Houston. The govern
ment of the United States is spon-
soring this canal with the abundant
assistance of Houston herself, and
the governments engineers are per-
fecting this artificial channel. There
is to be turning basin at the upper
end of this channel and the city OF
Houston will build as perfect a sys-
tenn of wharfage as is to be found in
the United States upon the front of
this basin. The government, how
ever, exacts from the city guarantee
that commerce will be free and Hous-
ton did not grudgingly accept this
provision of the contract, since the
enterprising citizens of that flourish
ing city had keen understanding of
what free wharfage and free water
front would mean in the way Of
tempting commerce to utilize the
new ocean front at Houston.
Whatever may be the commercial
influence consequent upon the open
ing of four waterways to navigation
the fact that these artificial navigable
waters will be completed in the year
1914 is of itself enough to authorize
the designation of that date as the
great American canal year.