The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-07-29
CAPE COD CANAL
FORMALLY OPENED
Shortens Shipping Distance 70 Miles and
Enables Vessels to Avoid Danger
Gus Passage.

Buzzards Bay, Mass, July 29.--The
Boston, Cape Cod and New York canal,
connecting Buzzards bay with Massachu-
setts bay and enabling coastwise vessels
to avoid the dangerous passage around
wreck strewn Cape Cod. was formally
opened to-day by August Belmont Of
New York, president OF the constructing
and operating company. The canal
shortens by 20 miles the shipping dis
lance between the ports TO the north
and the south of it.
Although the canal has actually been
open from one end to the other since
early this month, no vessels other than
those belonging to the owners OF the ca
nal have been allowed to pass through
it. The canal will be open to traffic to-
morrow and will be completed in all its
details about the first of October.
The Cape Cod canal is ID miles long,
including cut through sand and boul-
ders from Buzzards Bay to Sandwich,
Mass 1t has a bottom 100 feet in width,
shelving out to 800 and 400 feet at the
passing points, and has draught OF 20
feet at low tide. Greater in its dimen-
sions than the Suez canal, as originally
constructed. it can accommodate the
largest coastwise vessels atloat, with one
or two exceptions.
AT the eastern end is a massive break
water 5000 feet long, which contains
more than $4,000 tons of granite. This
is designed to protect vessels using the
canal from the storms that sweep across
Cape Cod bay.
The SI2.a00,000 which has been ex-
pended in the constructing of the canal
has been spent largely in excavating
some 100000 cubic feet of sand and
boulders. In order to keep the wash
from passing vessels from wearing away
the banks they have been rip-rapped, or
paved with granite blocks and small
boulders. This rip-rappng, large por-
ton of which was done by hand, runs
from six feet below to four feet above
the high water mark. At the eastern
end much money has been spent in the
building of ''sand-catcher,' device
calculated to keep moving sand from
choking up the mouth.
The canal is in reality river, making
all of Cape Cod an island, for there is
considerab difference between the tides
III MASSACHUSETTS, anu buhAhlAo buf
causing a sluggish current.
The canal is destined to play an inn
portant part in the future commerce
along the Atlantic coast OF North Amer
lea. At the present time more than %
900 tons of freight are transported
over the Cape Cod route annually, in
GLIDING coal. l2,000000 tons; stone, 300
600 tons: Nova Scotia plaster, 350'OO0
tons; Rockland- Rockport lime, 10000 !
tons; cement, $4,000 tons; oil, 30 tons;
ice 100000 tons; lumber. 100000 TONS
and sand. 10000 tons. Other commodi-
ties carried in barges and freighters
amount to 100000 tons, while regular
steamship lines of the higher class carry
as cargo 100000 tons of freight around
the cape every year. "A
An absence of fog along the course OF
the canal will make it particularly de-
sirable to both freight and passenger
carving vessels. Because of the heavy
fogs that prevail off the cape at all times
OF the year many freighters and barges
are forced to lay TO until the weather 10
more favorable for a passage.
Ii is estimated that 100000 persons a s
wear are carried around Cape Cod. In
the past 60 years. it is said, 1000 vessels
of various kinds have been wrecked while
attempting the passage and between 7OoH
and 500 lives have been lost.
Tolls for vessels passing through the
canal win average in the neighborhoodz
OF seven cents per cargo ton per passags&
and for vessels without cargo. over 50'
tons gross register, the rate will ba
about five cents per ton. Motorboats
yachts and other vessels not engaged u
commercial trade may pass through tho
canal for as small a toll as 50. The
tolls depend upon gross tonnage and
length over all.