Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-24
A MIGHTY PROJECT
Plttsbureh's Proposed Lake Erie
Canal VIII Carry More Freight Than
the Panama Canal and All the Big
Rivers Of the Country Combined
by GEORGE NOx MCCAIN

| ny VcVnUE TSVA MctAlN
TNHE combined business and manufactur-
Il ing interests of Pittsburgh are boosting
! for the greatest enterprise on the hemis-.
phere.
Once undertaken It will be greater, esti-
mated on the basis Of traffic, than the Pana-
ma Canal.
The only difference is that the Panama
Canal benefits the commerce of the entire
world, whereas Pittsburgh's project will be
internal.
That is, It will infect largely the North
east and the Southern States tributary to
the Ohio, Mississippi Missouri and the navi-
gable rivers draining into the great Missis-
sirpi Valley.
The Lake Erie and Ohio River Canal is
the name of this mighty undertaking.
AS its name Indicates. it contemplates the
construction Of canal connecting Lake
Erie with the waters Of the Ohio River at
the mouth of the Beaver River.
A FEW weeks ago forty representative
"A men of Western Pennsylvania and East
ern Ohio, delegates from all the great
industrial, business and civic associations
generally, went to Washington. ,
They had a hearing before the United
States Board Of Engineers for Rivers and
Harbors.
They could have taken three times that
number Of delegates had It been desirable.
The project is not q new one.
1t dates back almost to Colonial times
when far seeing engineers, French and Eng
lish, saw the possibilities OF such water
way in the development of the imperial do
main west of the Alleghenies.
During the recent visit to Pittsburgh l
discovered that the intention among Its rep
resentative business and manufacturing in.
terests Is to keep driving at this project until
1t is fact accomplished.
Most interesting, however, Is one argu-
ment that its projectors advance for the
construction Of this panol
THE National Government should assume
L the great bulk Of the outlay
The canal, it is argued, will be OF such
national Importance that the Government
will be justified in footing the largest part
of the bill.
Why? is the natural query.
Because the Lake Erie and Ohio River
Canal will, when completed carry moro
traffic than the present combined tonnage
of the Panama Canal, the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi Rivers and other waterways upon
which the Government has borne the entire
cost.
Six times the cost Of the Erie and Ohio
Canal has been spent Upon the waterways
have just mentioned.
At the peak prices Of last fall the spe-
cial Board Of Engineers estimated the cost
of the proposed waterway at $12O, 900 900.
Revised estimates fix the cost now not
to exceed $10O,0OO,00o.
T1HE United States Board Of Engineers
l. has for years given the project a ques-
tioning shoulder.
1t is the engineering way to drag out all
the obstacles to project and then listen to
suggestions for overcoming them.
The principal objection at the outstart
was that the amount of traffic through the
canal would be too small to justify It's con-
struction.
a matter Of 90, 600, 900 tons annually was
necessary to justify its construction, ac-
cording to the report OF special engineering
board.
The next finding was that the bridges
connecting Pittsburgh and Allegheny across
the Allegheny River were too low.
The latter ordinarily would hare been
body blow to the scheme, for the bridges
represent q municipal outlay Of millions Of
dollars.
Every time there was moderately high
water in the Allegheny the low bridges
would be bar to the free navigation of
traffic destined for the proposed canal
The result of these decisions did not dis
courage the projectors.
Instead, II only made them work the
harder to prove their contention and justify
the digging of the great ditch.
XAT1LLIAM II. STEVENSON, Of Pitts
w burgh. s president OF the Canal Board.
take up the question of Tonnage for the
canal
Every great iron and steel manufacturing
concern IN the Pittsburgh district made
guarantee of q certain amount or traihc
should the project go through.
Jones & Laughlin pledged 5000 900 tons
Of ore, coal, limestone and finished product.
The Bertha Coal Company guaranteed
H,T5O 600 tons annually.
The Youngstown (Ohio) Sheet and Tube
gntt tbpir a =
while the Republic Iron and Steel Company
of the same place set 4,l7O,OOO opposite Its
mime.
The figures are simply staggering in their
magnitude.
Translated into railroad terms, the ton.
mage guaranteed by the Jones & Laughlin
Steel Company alone would represent about
125 900 freight car loads.
WHEN the returns were all in it was
w found that instead of the minimum re-
Qulsite of 2O,00O,0C0 tons of traffic de.
manded by the Government engineers, In the
Pittsburgh district alone over III, SUI, ,OUO had
been guaranteed
As DilIng Pellon on OssR letters were In
possession Of Mr., Stevenson showing that
1000, 600 tons more could use the canal to
advantage.
A S THOUGH this were not sufficient. let
~ tprs we're received from the industries
and communities interested guaranteeing to
provide not only necessary terminal faCii-
ties. but boats for their traffic on the canal
But there was one Strnnglc hold which
the Government engineers still maintained
on the great undertaking.
1t was the matter of the Allegheny bridges.
President Stevenson and John l.. Elch-
leay, chairman of the Rivers and larbors
Committee Of the Chamber Of Commerce Of
Pittsburgh. we're ready for the issue when it
came 10 griDS with the engineers
They showed that the City of Pittsburgh
had agreed with the War Department to
raise the bridges, and that the work would
be commenced this spring.
TNIlERE is one fly. and Il very large one.
i in the amber of Pittsburghs satisfaction
over It's fight for Lake Erie Canal
Central Ohio has routes for a canal from
Lake Erie TO the Ohio via Columbus and
Cincinnati.