Evening star., 1932-08-07
CANADIANS OPEN
BIG SHIP CANAL
$4,000, 900 Project Pro-
Vides Vital Link for Lakes
Waterway.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
THoRoLD, ontario, August g.
Canada's Welland ship canal, an in
ternal link in the st. Lawrence water
way, was officially opened to world
commerce here today.
The Earl of Bessborough, Governor
General, pulled a control lever while a
handful of British Empire statesmen
from the Imperial Economic Conference
at Ottawa and thousands of spectators
looked on.
His act followed upon speeches by
r. j. Manion, Canadian minister of
railways and canals; Prime Minister
Richard B. Bennett, Stanley Baldwin,
former prime minister OF England, and
other empire representatives.
Lord Bessborough and Prime Minis
ter Bennett described the Importance of
this purely Canadian contribution to
the St. Lawrence seaway as a pro-
gressive step in facilitating interna-
tional exchange of produce.
Big Freighter Moves.
After the Governor General pulled
the control lever and declared the
$130,0OO, 900 canal open the freighter
Lemoyne, one Of the largest fresh water
ships in the world, with a cargo of
$4,000 bushels of wheat, moved down
from lock seven to six.
The canal, connecting Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario, Is the first major and
permanent branch in the great ST. Law
renee waterways project destined to
make ocean ports of all the lake cities
in the heart of the American continent.
Its significance now is that it per-
mitS lake shipping formerly bottled
I'D west of Niagara Falls to gain ac-
cess to a great distributing area on the
shores of Lake Ontario without break
ing up the shipments bulk.
The fourth development in the Wei
land Canal in more than 100 years, it
parallels the huge Niagara Falls, 10
miles away, which during the centuries
has stood against Great Lakes ship
ping east of Buffalo. 1t Is regarded
by engineers as the most difficult
achievement builders of the st. Law
renee waterway will be called on to
accomplish.
Is Miles in Length.
Connecting Port Colborne on Lake
Erie with Port Weller on Lake Ontario,
the canal is 25 miles long and has
eight locks, with minimum depth Of
25 feet.
Sp6dk6IS az VONdJ
paid tribute to Canada to the engineers
who planned the work and to the 1000
men who built the canal. DR.. Manton
pointed out that lis men, whom he
described as heroes Of peace, lost their
lives at the task.
A ship more than 900 feet In length
with a 20foot draft and tonnage
greater than most ocean ships now,
could pass through the new canal, the
minister said.
J. HI. Thomas Guarded.
]. H. Thomas, British secretary for
Don1inions, shared in the proceedings
while more than 100 police officers
maintained guard around the arena
after reports Of a plan to assaSslnate
him. A man described as a S1nn-
Feinner was arrested at Toronto.
The band of the Royal Canadian
regiment played, thousands of persons
lined the banks of the canal and a
guard stood smartly at attention as
the Lemoyne broke the symbolical rib
bon and formally opened the canal,
which had been in use for many
months.
The formal speech dedicating the
engineering feat which has taken nearly
20 years, was that made by DR.. Man
ion.
"To demonstrate the importance OF
Canada's inland water communications,
1t may be pointed out that during the
navigation season, 1929 the total traf-
flc through the Canadian and Ameri-
can locks at Sault Ste. Marie amounted
to 90 600, 900 tons-about three times
as great tonnage as passed through
either the Suez or Panama Canal in
the same year." he said.