New Britain herald., 1922-08-02

igan, he said, is shrinking. Since the government began to keep records, the surface of the lake has been low cred several inches. Half a century ago the lake was said to be slightly less than 620 feet above the surface l of the Atlantic ocean and is now said | to be little more than SIS feet above the Atlantic. According to Mir. Den | ison the greater part of this shrinkage has taken place during the last fifteen years.
 Lake Superior Higher. "The water necessary for the Gulf canal could be obtained from Lake Superior" the engineer said. Lake Superior is now nearly 21 feet higher of Lake Superior goes down many hundred feet below the surface of the Atlantic. In many places in Lake Superior it is not certain that the bottom has been reached even at four or five thousand feet while Lake Michigan is comparatively shallow even in its deepest places. The many smaller lakes in territory surround ing Lake Superior are one to eight hundred feet above its surface. They receive much water but have no sur face river outlets. It is Mir. Denison's belief that these lakes have under ground outlets into Lake Superior.
 The supply of water from Lake Superior and the smaller lakes that are above and surrounding it will be practically ineXhaustible, but only as 1 long as the large tracts of forests are | allowed to stand. The future gen. erations, it was stated, will suffer in every way if this selfish generation is allowed to rob the earth of one of 1 its most valuab ble resources"
 | More Than It Needs. -.
 MT. Denison said this excessive water supply gives Lake Superior much more than it needs, and in cer- tain seasons the oversupply goes down through sault Ste Marie into Lake Huron in large quantities. All of this water should come down the 21-foot incline into Lake Michigan and would do so were it not for a solid rinrock or basin edge which holds it back" he continued. This rimrock starts on this surface at a point short distance west of Mar quette and continues east to Sault Ste. Marie. A low place in the rim rock at the Au Train makes this point the most desirable spot to begin the canal"
 Little Shallow Water.
 The engineers observations showed that there are few shallow beaches around Lake Superior except in bays, channels and small river mouths. Ninety-ive percent. of the shore is deep water l50 feet from land, and consequently does not give good foot ing for breakwaters much further on.
 At the proposed starting point the soil is light and sandy for slightly more than two miles south from Lake Superior, avera ging 1o to 50 feet above the level of the lake, the re- port shows. The next three miles are of rimrock, 50 to 75 feet above the lake level, and covered with a light, sandy soil. South of the rimrock the land slopes down for a distance of more than mile to about four miles of low, swampy land from which small river runs to headwaters of the Escanaba bay.
 Cheap at s1O.OOO,OOO.
 This Lake Superior and Michigan canal would not cost more than s10,- 000,0o0 as no expensive dam would be necessary Mir. Denison said. This Rimrock' and locks would form the dam. The extra water at the locks could be used for electric generating and this together with the tolls on boats and freight going through the locks both ways would easily pay the canal cost and oper- ating expenses in ten years
 The engineer proposed that the work be done in the summer and estimated that it would take two or three summers, as there would be great difficulty during cold weather. He pointed out that from Lake Mich igan boats could go into Lake Calu- met for an inner harbor, and if the Illinois drainage canal were changed