Putnam patriot., 1914-01-30
BARGE CANAL
Bill Introduced By Representative Mahan
Will Effect Towns, Cities and Villages
 from New London to Worcester

dsniOEtOn, Jan. -OiH. After consultation with the officials
 of the Engineer Corps of the War De. 1 partment, Representative Bryan F.. l Manan, representing the Second Con-
 gressional District of Connecticut, has
 introduced a bill providing for a sur
 vey for barge canal which will ex- i tend from Norwich through New Lon- don and Windham counties up into
 the state of Massachusetts as far as the
 city of Worcester. The proposed route
 follows the Shetucket river from Nor
 wich up to the point where the Quine::
 baug empties into it, thence up the 1 Quinebaug to it's juncture with the l French river which is followed to the
 city of Worcester. Although not
 ready to commit themselves the gov- ernmept engineers who are acquainted | with the route regard the canal as feasible, not only from an engineering point of view but as a commercial pro. l ject.
 1 The engineers are convinced that l there is plenty of water to be had from l the lakes along the rivers and that the
 beds of the streams are of such na-
 ture that it will make the cost of up- keep comparatively small. They do
 not think the cost of construction will l be excessively high.
 The importance of such canal to |
 l the manufacturing establishments in
 the towns of Brooklyn, Killingly, Put nam and Thompson can scarcely be over estimated. It would virtually i move all the factories located in these l towns to tide water. Coal for all of | the factories located on the proposed route could be loaded in barges at the
 coal pockets at Perth Amboy, N. j..
 and shipped directly to the docks of | the different concerns. It is estimated l that at least saving of 40 cents per
 ton on the freight can be made on every ton of coal used in that region.
 As return load for the barges the out ! put of the factories can be shipped to | New London, where they can be trans | shipped to all parts of the world. The manufacturer is by no means the only | beneficiary, the farmers of northeast ern Connecticut and that portion of the sLate of Massachusetts 1Iayersed
 by the canal can ship their produce at
 a far cheaper rate, and find ready mar
 kets at Norwich and New London. While MT. Mahan took the project | up primarily with the government en- gineers, he has not neglected the
 House Committee on Rivers and Har-
 bo.s. He has already consulted the members of the subcommittee to
 has impressed them with the import | ance of the project. In view of the disposition of the committee to look
 with favor upon the construction and
 improvement of barge canals, Mr. Ma
 han is confident that his bill will be incorporated in this years River and Harbor bill.
 "I have given a great deal of time
 and consideration to this project" said
 MT. Mahan last night. "In order to
 acquaint myself with the conditions of
 the route of the proposed canal, we
 went over it recently, and 1 think we will be able to convince the Rivers and
 Harbors committee that the project is
 meritorious one. The survey, which is all that we are asking for now, will
 convince congress that the cost of can
 alizing the streams proposed will not
 be excessive when the immense amount of business that will be accom-
 modated is taken into consideration.