The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-31
29 Article to Advertise

!, group of men have been advocating
 the construction of canal whose
 southern terminal would be at Lake
 Erie d few miles south of Buffalo, and
 whose northern terminal would be at
 Ia point upon Lake Ontario nearly due
 north of the city of Lockport and
 some ciles east of the point upon Lake
 IOntario where the Niagara river
 empties. Many are the reasons which
 are advocated for canal of this kind
 First, of all the claim is made for a
 true ship canal connecting Lake Erie
 with Lake Ontario, running some miles
 least of Buffalo, that with the improve
 ment of the Oswego canal and the new 1 barge canal so that they would be
 made navigable for large vessels this contemplated canal would furnish the
 needed artificial water way large
 enough and deep enough to be navi- lgated by oceans going steamers. Fur lthermore those who have been advo-
 eating this plan assert that a canal | of this kind can be so built as to have la depth of 30 feet and a width of 300
 feet. Only two locks will be needed.
 In the second place the proposition, if its acceptable to the government and l the state, or both, is to be financed by
 men who possess large capital and whose ability is recognized. The canal l will furnish free sanitation for local
 communities. It will make possible the
 construction upon lake harbors of 1 terminals similar to those in South l Brooklyn identified by the name of tBush, which have commanded the ad-
 nration of the government In the
 next place by the utilization of natural resources which are also inexhausti- jble the equivalent of 900 000-horse power can be generated. canal Of this kind eauld put an end to the ap- Iprehension that the increased develop ment of electric energy at Niagara Falls will impair the natural beauty lof the falls. The control of the gov iernment over the canal is promised to | be absolute. And all the advantages !, of public ownership without any of the disadvantages will be secured If built and navigated no tolls will be charged, | the corporation which will undertake the work being persuaded that it will receive compensation and fair profit ! for the investment through the sale Of the increased electric power that will
 be the equivalent of 30-horse power per cubic foot.
 ] It may be that as .pne = the results following the taking over by the gov iornment under the authority of Drec- tor General McAdoo of the new barge canal there will begin the construc- i tion of true ship canal from Oswego- ] to the Hudson river utilizing a part ] of the present true barge canal And I if it is to be done it seems inevita- ble that a. true ship canal will be con structed whereby Lake Erie and Lake Ontario will be connected The new canal will compare, so far as length l is concerned, favorably with the Cape Cod canal, the protected New Orleans canal the Minneapolis canal and the new one in the for northwest It is possible that as a result of this pro- posed ship canal construction there will be revived agitation of the plan so earnestly advocated by the late Frank H. Bond, who was prominently identified with the St. Paul railroad system for years. Major Bond believed that before the middle of the present century it would be found expedient, even necessary. to bisect the lower peninsula of Michigan by true ship canal with it's western terminal on Lake Michigan and it's eastern termi- nal upon the Detroit river or the west ern end of Lake Erie. Major Bond in- sisted that canal of that kind would, Tiff constructed, favorably affect rail- roads while at the same time it would tend to prevent monopolistic control of freight which originated in the far west and whose eastern termi- nal destination was to be at Boston or New York.