The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1921-06-10

there is nothing in the plan or scope of the en-
terprise which goes beyond well established en-
cheering precedent calls for constructions
that are experimental, and regarding whose ul-
innate cost there is any serious doubt; that the
opening of this great waterway by canal, canal
lied river, and deepened channel thereby In
abling deep-sea ship to load at Duluth and rot
break open her matches until she reached Ham
burg, London Marsees is as certain of being
taken IN hand 1t is that the will rise daily
So it asks; why not today?"
The project Is an international one Canada,
at its own expense (about $50,000O00) is recon-
structing the Welland canal between Lakes Erie
and Ontario in order to give oceangoing ships
access to Lake Erie. Thanks TO the enterprise OF
Canada, the problem broadly reduces itself to
submerging certain rapids lying in the interna-
tlonal waters of the st. Lawrence river between
Lake Ontario and st. Regis, and then dealing in
a similar way with that stretch of the river ex-
tending from st. Regis to Montreal. The esti-
mated cost of the international river Improvement
is $60.000,000 and of the Canadian river, S5OOOO.-
600 The establishment of power plant sites
would entail additional expense.
An argument brought forward for the project
is that it saves distance From Duluth through
the Detroit river by deep-draft vessel the distance
is 693 miles.
Following is an extract from official state
mcnt read into the Congressional Record by Rep
resentative John NJ. Nelson of Wisconsin:
"With only two barriers removed, even the
present depth of channels and harbors of p feet
VIII enable large numbers of vessels TO
steam directly to the ports of the Great Lakes.
The two barriers the st. Lawrence river rapids
and the Niagara Falls The barrier of the Niagara
Falls is already being overcome by the Canadians
in the reconstructed Welland canal. The differ
ence of lake level will be overcome by seven locks
in tile Welland canal in distance of %
miles. These lock chambers will be 1000 feet
long, so feet wide, and will have lock stills sunk
to depth of 80 feet, that will permit the passage
of vessels of 2S feet draft when the channels are
dredged TO 30 feet From the Welland canal to
the foot of Lake Ontario there are 100 miles Of
straight sailing and then open navigation in the
wide st. Lawrence river Out of the total of lS2
miles TO Montreal there are 10 miles of improved
channels. with at present 40 miles of canal With
this project, with dams and six locks of 500 feet
in length. so feet in breadth, and possible depth
of 30 feet with slack water mdstream navigation
would reduce the total canal and lock navigation
to 20 miles less.
''The proposal is to build dams across the river
with locks in the dams. Vessels navigating the
river will not pass through narrow canals around
the rapids as they do in the present 14-foOt
Canadian canals but will sail majesticaly Gown
the center of the stream in slack water produced
by the dams and pass from level to level through
the locks.
Assuming that an ocean vessel has PASSED
through the Lakes to Superior Duluth and has
loaded cargo of western grain and is sailing
for Liverpool, the first leg of the journey, the
length of Lake Superior will be 1888 miles of open
navigation. Then comes the st. Mary river 81
miles long. This is all open navigation. except 80
miles, which is improved river channel and
canal 16 miles with lockage. Past this
stricted channel the vessel will have 300 miles Of
free sailing through the deep water of Lake
Huron 1t will then pass % miles of open naviga
ton and IS miles OF restricted channel In the ST.
Clair river. 1874 miles of open and 35 miles OF
restricted navigation in Lake 81. Clair and %
miles OF oper and 9 miles Of improved navigation
In the Detrcf river Again II viii have free