The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-04

tives in including in the general bill an amendment which authorized the inves-
 tigation by the international joint com
 rnittee of the United States and Canada
 Of a plan for an ocean shipway connect
 ing the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Is
 almost the first evidence that the seed
 which was sown by Major Bond 30 years
 ago has now been stimulated to what
 may be perfect growth, so that in the
 course of a few years there may have
 been established an ocean shipway which
 will make the Great Lakes and the At
 lantic ports of one great deep water sys
 tenn connected by artificial straits, which
 ship canals would in fact be.
 Should this plan be adopted, even
 though the Welland canal be used for
 this purpose, it may prove to be but the
 preliminary step for the construction of
 the ship canal across lowed Michigan
 which Major Bond so earnestly recom- mended.
 Furthermore, discussion may lead to drawing public attention to the project which has been earnestly advocated In western New York of building a true ship canal around the city of Buffalo on the
 south. connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario at q point little east of the
 place where the Niagara river empties Into Lako Ontario.
 Congress. or at least the river and har- bor committee. appears to realize how
 strongly public sentiment is setting to-
 wards tho commercial utilization of our great river natural highways, and also towards the construction of canals where by considerable bodies of water can be
 connected to commercial advantage. The war department at Washington is
 now seeking authority, accompanied by I rt.kl kl>,. f&.
 pose of 50 perfeoting the Mississippi river that floods may mo under control. St. Louis had been furnished an excel- lent example to tho country of tho ma rlner in which the natural waterways, such as the Mississippi, can be utilized
 as great commerce bearers This la done not in real competition with the railroads
 but in cooperation with them. slnco the
 railroads bring commodities that are placed upon the barges at St. Louis for the purpose of carrying these conmodi- ties to New Orleans. The concrete people have already begun to establish an cx- tensve system of barge communication upon the Mississippi and along the whole length of it, even for the total distance
 from Minneapolis to Now Orleans. In addition to these contemplated i:r- provements Congress Is now making 1t evident that the country has been awak- ened of late, chiefly perhaps on account of the exigencies of tho war and the con- seauent congestion which embarraanod so many railroads. to the value of con- structing interior canais as for instance there Is te be new survey of the so- called Miami and Erie canal In Ohio md also surveys Tor possible canals which will connect Lake Eric and tho Ohio river. Canals of this kind. to be of con,- rero,n, value. must have nt least Q la-foot chanel. Years ago before rail- ! read building was carried on nt fever | heat Ohio did construct a system of ca
 nais which wore of almost unrecognixed | importance In developing tho prosperity | of tho canals fsii into disuso. In two | bianheted the canals for a time and sosno of tho eanais fel Into disuse In two cases In the east railroad companies converted tho muio paths on tho banln | of canals into Foadbeds for tho rail- roads and tha canals were abandoned. One of these was in Connecticut and I another in New York,
 | Within Q few years 1t haa been dis covered that transportation of commodi- | ties by canal and by railroad need not Involve harmful competition, but Instead lii properly managed. will bring about co operation which will be of value to
 the manufacturers and to the farmers of the United States