Evening journal., 1915-08-05
New News Of Yesterday
A Railroad Instead OF a
Canal
BY Holland.

In the early summer of 1871 was
invited TO Join a small company Gen
Henry w. Benham said he would be
glad 10 entertain at one of the islands
in Boston Harbor. Gen. Benham was
distinguished member of the Engineer
corps of the army. having been grad
mated near the head of his class at
West Point in 1897. After the war was
ended he was placed in charge OF the
construction of a sea wall IN Boston
Harbor. and while he was occupied IN
+ this important work he entertained
MANY friends. both in civil and mill
tarv life. ana made revelations TO
them of some of the defenses OF Bos-
ton Harbor.
II was to Gen. Benham that was
indebted for the narration OF an OK
tremely interesting incident associat-
ed with the attempt of Boston to Sc
T cure a GOOD commercial route between
Boston Harbor and tidewater on the
Hudson River.
Il suppose very few persons know.
said Gen. Benham, that the building
bv De Witt c. Clinton of the Eric
Canal. by means of which navigation
from the Great Lakes to tidewater on
the Hudson was secured. greatly con-
oerned the leading business men OF
Boston. The Erie Canal threatened
to take away much of the commercial
nrominence which Boston had gained.
I8ut the question was what to do, and
il was answered by one Of the abiest
men Massachusetts has ever number
ed among her citizens. He was Gen
Henry A. S. Dearborn. He had served
in Congress, had become quite an au-
thor. and he was distinguished for
mind which was both practicable
and theoretical.
"Gen Dearborn said to the mer-
chants Of Boston and to the Massa-
chusetts legislature that there was
only one way that he knew of to make
II possibie for Boston still to main
tain commercial competition at New
York That way was the construction
of a canal across Massachusetts 20
|H Underwater on the Hudson opposite the
end of the Erie Canal. He pointed
ont that the Merrimac River could be
canali7ed saying that the only dlill-
cult part of the work would be the
carrying of the canal over through
Ior under Hoosac Mountain He was
inclined to think that the best way
Ito do that was to cut a tunnel toui
& Imilos long under Hoosac Mountain
lThat. | believe. was the first sugges
s lion of the Hoosac Tunnel. Well, the
& State of Massachusetts authorized
him to make a survey for a canal o.
that kind. and he was just about tC
begin the work when suddenly some
thing happened.
<. Cant. Whistler. who was graduated
lat West Point, was summoned to Mas
sachusetts by the capitalists who ha'
s planned building a railroad from Bos
ton to Albany Whistler accepted tn
5 invitation to become chief engineer o
this road. He did build the road an'
il was one of the phenomenal sue
# |cesses Of early American railroa'
building. His success led to his Sc
x< lection by the Gar of Russia as tn
zengineer who was to have charge o
the construction of the railroad iron
Moscow to ST. Petersburg Well o
course, after Whistler built this roa
there was no need of a canal, so tn
plan was abandoned That. however
was not TO the discredit of Gen. Dear
& born, for he certainly would have Sc
e cured an admirable survey for a cana
s. across Massachusetts had not the un
expected building of this railroa
II. made canal of that kind unneces
81 sary."
.> Copyright. 1915 by z. j. Edwards
All rights reserved)
'< Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell {
Writing Novel for Recreation"