Smyrna times., 1918-12-11
MUCH LOCAL INTEREST IN
PURCHASE OF D. & c, CANAL
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGREES
TO BUY WATER ROUTE.
Means Much to Delaware City and
chesapeake City When Canal is
Made LOnger-Big Project

Residents between Smyrna and Del
aware City and especially business
men, OF Wilmington, Philadelphia and
Baltimore are interested in the do
clsion of the government to take over
and develop the Chesapeake g. Della
ware Canal. 1t will develop the trade
OF all three cities. At present. al
though the canal is only 10 feet deem
ana therefore of no use save to small
oarges and steamers of extremely
nght draft, it is used for the trans
portation Of millions of tons of
Irelght. According to George F
Sproule, secretary of the board of
commissioners of navigation. who has
made a close study of all the canals
touching the Delaware river. fully 30
per cent Of the lumber taken to pbila-
delphla goes by barges on the Choea-
peake and Delaware route. The
amount Of lumber alone coming in bv
water ranges from 225,OOO,O0 to 275-
OOO,O00 feet annually. The Cbesanoalo
ana Delaware Canal is one of the old
est Waterways III America and has
Oeen IN continuous use. 1t was open-
ed to traffic on July 4, 1929. The
canal IS little more than thirteen
miles long and has three locks. one at
Delaware City, one at st. Georges and
one at Chesapeake City. The locks
originally 100 feet long and 22 feot
wide, are now 20 feet long and d
feet wide.
immense Benefit to LOcal Commerce
The widening and deepening of
this canal will undoubtedly be of i'm
menSe benefit to Philadelphia said
Sprohe last week. 'Palticularlv in
the lumber trade it will be of great
dement,. The present. fleet of sailing
craft engaged in tn outside lumber
trade from southern ports is not being
replaced, for the reason ttat. under
normal conditions, such as prevailed
before the European war and will re-
cur afte1 the cessation of hostilities
vessels OF this type can no longer be
operated by profit by their owners.
ana Is consequently being depleted bv
every storm. 'Fom years ago last
winter 1t was estimated that the life
'f the present fleet of outside lumber
raiders was about fve years after
Which time it will be impossible to get
umber otherwise than by the ex-
'enSlvely manned and operated steam
hlps. Experience has demonstrated
he carrying Of lumber by steamships I
o be almost prOhibftive, and if is I
hefefore felt by those engaged il the
hlpping trade that, should the pow I
rnment improve the old canal to an c
Xtent that would warrant the oon- a
truction of barges of a draft suffi- n
ient to permit of a carrying capacJtv S
I 100000 feet or more f reiobt $
ates and the cost of materials wou1a II
e greatly reduced I
eeds a Depth of Mere Than - Feet - -
An impression having gotten out =,
LAT the government contepplates ~
My depth of II feet, in its present =,
AN tOf Improvement, business men
tereSted in the traffic feel that it
lould be deeper. ''The advantage of
lch an inland waterway is plain" +
ia Frank A. Furst, a leading busi-
'ss man in Baltimore, in a statement
rongly supports the deep canal idea. p,
view OF the recent attacks bv sub in
annes and other enemy ships unon IL,
ssels going to sea from these waters b,,
nile such precaution might not r
EN- necessary now, it might prove to,
ry valuable at some future dav. "A 10,
elve-foot canal between the Della bo
ire and Chesapeake bays would. of Mo
Irse, be a valuable and important Ho
'ery OF trade, particularly when the on
and waterways to the south arc of
npleted and become available for loi
fflc and shipment of lumber and on,
neral merchandise facilitated Tbera nil
however, another distinct phase. the
lch is that of the North Atlantic ;nc
filc, either coastwise or from 60
elgn ports. The distance saved bv tho
canal to the point outside the Del Rot
are Capes where northbound YES mn,
must pass is about 1873 miles. as Rec
inst the route down the Cbesa- fo,,
Ike Bay and up the coast. This Ma,
axis for itself in the matter of Cor
nomy of time and fuel, not to men Dov
| safety" c co'
mas Window Displays in Smvrno S