Evening journal., 1914-02-13

are outstanding against the property
The Agnus report TO the committed
set forth that the market value OF
these bonds was from as to 80. The
committee, taking thoao figures. esti-
mated that tho value OF the canal. ac-
cording to It's earning capacity, was
only s1.3O0,O0O and fixed that
amount IN the bin as the sum TO be
paid for the property. There Is moth
ing in the hill TO empower the army
engineers to condemn the property
for the purpose Of ascertalnlng It's
value.
C. l.. Nicholson. OF Philadelphia
president OF the canal company. in
letters TO army engineers. states.
first that the sum of S3,9S9 .365 had
been expended on the property up TO
May, 1887, and that no improvement
had been made since that date. and.
secondly. that the companys esti-
mated physical value of the canal
and its appurtenances is S5.34S,O71.
Mr. Nicholson refused 10 quote a
price at which his company would
sell TO the Government
Inland Route Advocates Delighted.
The Rivers and Harbors Commit
tees approval of the purchase of the
canal is hailed with delight by the
Atlantic inland waterway advocates
In Congress. Representative Small
said:
I'VE now see the end Of our fight
for ownership by the Government OF
the canal. For years we have been
working for this, but the Rivers and
iiarhOrs Committee has stood like a
stone wall against us. Commissions
hove been appointed, surveys have
been made, army engineers have re-
peatcdly reported upon the project
but not until this Congress have we
been able to gain substantial recogni-
ton
"The appropriation OF S1300.O00.
though much less than we hoped for,
is enough to negotiate with. The
owners of the canal have indicated
repeatedly that they will not take less
than S2,500,O00 The army engineers
however, have insisted that the wa
tcrway was not worth that much
money and the House Committee has
taken their view.
Under the provisions of this bill
the engineers are authorized TO ne
gotiate for the canal with the money
to be carried In the bill or to par
allcl the cannl with new piece of
work To parallel tho present canal
would, of course, destroy the value
OF the private property In any
event the government will be COM
mitted TO the canal by this acton
and that is a big victory for all Of
u.s."
Engineers Recommended 5000 900.
The army engineers in their final
report TO Congress. recommended
that q total of $4,000 600 be appro-
priatod TO buy the canal and improve
It for navigation. Their recommen-
dations include a l2-foot depth and
9O-foot bottom width. lt is to be a
sea-lcvel waterway. The canal now
has three locks. It rs only feet dcep
and SO feet wide at the bottom. Tho
/ first thing the government will do
after IL gets the canal will be Ia
| strip from IL its tollgatcs. making il a
/ free waterway. To make the pro-
! posed improvements the army enei.
neers estimate that IL will require
100000. Tho bill contains N oesti.
mate of the total cost of the pro.
I jcct
The opening Of the Chesapeake and
/ Delaware canal as a. free waterway will
be the second link in the Atlantic intra.
coastal canal sNstom Last vear tho
government bought the tucsapeakc and
J Alhemarlc canal connecting the lower
I lChesapcake with the North Carolna
sounds. This was opened as the first
link in the system. The sum OF S5.2lO.
600 will be spent in constructing l2
foot channel. 100 feet wide. from Nor.
folk to Beaufort N e.. OF this amount
S2,2iO.OO0 has been made available and
is now being expended ON the work
The next step will be the purchase ol
the Delaware aud Baritan canal, CON
meeting the upper Delaware river witt
New York bay ,t is expected that Con
gress will be asked 90 take initial step.
toward acquiring this waterway at il.
next session.
According o. the army engineers. the
purchase and Improvement of the Chesa
poake and Delaware canal will be a great
boon to Chesapeahe and Delaware bay
commerce. la their report they statl
that the yearly TONNAGE averages 30.
600. The tolls average - ga cents
ton. and the YEARLY tolls aggregate
Sl6a.OOo. When the canal Is freed auC
improved. the engineers assert. its com
mcrce will leap To Sli.000.0O0 annually
and that shipping interests will bi
snKnd tho sum of e5lO 900 % vcar