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MARINE REVINW. 9 Niagara River Dam and Drainage Canal. Opponents of the Chicago drainage canal have evidently enlisted the support of Major E. H. Ruffner, United States engineer at Buffalo, as that officer has had published a letter, in which he presents arguments against the plan of damming Niagara river. Major Ruffner bases his argu- ments on the recent action of the navigation committee of the Cleveland chamber of commerce in urging a consideration of the Niagara dam project, which the committee says "would give increased depth to our harbors and rivers, and as the attempt would be simply to maintain high water level, it is not evident what damage would ensue." "If the action of this committee be followed up by the support of the Cleveland chamber of commerce," says Major Ruffner, "and the idea be seriously considered, then the matter becomes one of much more than local importance to that city. It becomes one of general interest to navigation, and of very great importance to Buffalo, in particular. Some time ago when the question was in some degree discussed, Gen. Poe wrote a long letter to one of the Cleveland marine papers (the MARINE REVIEW, issue of Sept, 7, 1893), calling attention to many points that had not been fully discussed by the advocates of damming the head of the Niagara. He showed quite clearly that the true expenses of the scheme had not been considered by those who limited themselves to thinking only of the actual cost of the dam itself. In point of fact, that would be the smallest item in the account. To those who now navigate the head of the river, and pass down by the inlet pier of the waterworks, and bring their empty tows up the rapids, the additional current to be caused by damming up the head of the passage so as to increase the head by one foot at mean lake level would be a matter of importance. It would be probably destructive of profitable commerce down the river. I have not calculated the exact increase of the current, but the practical experience gained while dredging on the Horse Shoe reef above the rapids shows how great an increase of current comes with high winds down the lake, and it does not take much calculation to convince one that when the proposed dam increases the head one foot, and the wind and other conditions are the same, there must be much more current on the rapids than now experienced at any time. It is true that this difflculty can be overcome by making a ship-canal from the lake to Black Rock; and it is also true that for many reasons such a canal would bea great improve- ment, and may be a possibility in the dim future, but there would be a large cost, and the construction would be a matter of some time. In point of fact, the time and money would be much more than the sanie items for the dam; the secondary becomes the primary, in respect to these features. "The advocates of the plan of damming the river say that the dam need not cost more than $600,000. Granted; what would the ship-canal cost? Or would the Tonawanda and Niagara Falls people (who are just beginning to hope that their port is to enjoy lake commerce to some extent) be will- ing to give up their shipping that Buffalo creek may have one foot more of water without dredging? "But there is another consideration that concerns Buffalo itself, more directly than the preceding. We are now passing through the low water period of the cycle of precipitation. During aterm of years the amount of rainfall, and the consequent stage of water in the lakes, passes from a minimum to a maximum and back again. For some years we have good water, then it becomes high water, and finally drops to low water, and then goes through the circle again. For the past three years we are at the bot- tom of the ladder; a heavy snow fall, more spring rains, and the scale may turn. Then if we have made arrangements for raising our level on this lake we may have occasion to regret it. Our storms raise the level here as much as five feet, andif at that particular time the outflow down the Niagara river is to be throttled, who is to say that the material damage to Buffalo, and its shipping, docks, and interests, will not be as much or more than the gain from the dam? All of our docks, warehouses, and the break- water itself are built to accommodate existing conditions. None of these are fit for an increase in the mean lake levelof one foot. Changes must be made in all, at more or leas expense, and as experience may show to be required. All of your low lands, your Buffalo creek overflows, your south- ern regions, are directly interested in an increase in the lake level. Do you expect the United States to make this damage good, or do you pay for it yourselves? In eithar case the cost is to be added to that of the dam. The extra foot you may wish in your harbor can be dredged at a cost that is easily calculated, and easily provided for; all of the consequences of the proposed dam are more or less problematical, and you must wait till the occasion comes before you can foot the bill. Which is the simpler and least expensive? With these considerations to be decided, it certainly would not do to let the proposition now before the Cleveland chamber of commerce go unchallenged. "There is a question nearer our doors, however, than this one. The Chicago drainage canal has been planned by its promoters without any consultation or any consideration of the interest of other communities, It does not*fall to our lot, then, to askif what they propose to do could not be done cheaper and better in some other way. We might ask why the plan adopted in Berlin was not followed out in Chicago. We mi ght ask why the modern idea of separating sewage water from storm waters is not followed out, and the sewage rendered innocuous, or even profitable, as has been done and could be done. We might ask what course would have been thought of, had Chicago's size been placed on Cleveland's site--as all inland cities must consider. In point of fact, the whole system of the dis- posal of sewage is to be studied and re-applied in all of our great cities before many years. But however that may be, we can postpone these ques- tions in favor of one that does concern Buffalo, and all navigational in- terests. We can let Peoria discuss how she may avoid the sewage when it reaches her, and we may let St. Louis think herself safe at her dis- tance but we must consider our own share of the burden. "The advocates of the canal propose to draw from the lakes about 10,000 cubic feet of water per second. It is true no one but their engineers know how this has been calculated; nor how wide and how deep the canal will be when opened--in fact, not on paper; but we can take the figures given us and see what bearing they have on this lake. Some have stated that the level of Lake Michigan is higher than that of Lake Huron; some putting that difference as high as 5% feet; some content themselves with only 19% inches. The lake survey carefully examined this question and pronounce that there is no permanent difference in level between these lakes, or at most not over one-tenth of a foot. So when the canal is opened the water shall be drawn directly from the lake level, and consequently from the only exit it now has, the chain of lakes and rivers. How much is 10,000 cubic feet per second? The low water flow of the upper Ohio is only 1,600 cubic feet per second; of the Seine only 1,700; of the Great Kan- awha I,100; of the Wisconsin some 3,000. Of the larger ontflows, that of the Mississippi at St. Paul is 5,800 f. s.; of the Connecticut at Hartford 10,000; of the Willamette at Portland, Ore., 13,200 f. s.; and of the Mississ- ippi at Hannibal about 20,000 f.s. These may illustrate what a drain is proposed, a river in fact--a navigable river of ample dimensions. "Now discharge measurements made here in December, 1891, and in May of the next year, show that the discharge of the Niagara river at what we call mean lake level is about 230,000 cubic feet per second. If the drainage canal drew its 10,000 f. s. at this stage, the proportion would be one twenty-third part, or 4% percent. It is not known to me exactly at what stage of the lakes the standard drainage flow was calculated for. Our precise figures for the discharges and gauges are: Gauge + .2, discharge 233,500 f. s. Gauge -- .5, discharge 223,800 f. s. "That is to say, for a loss of 10,000 cubic feet per second there was a fall of seven-tenths on the gauge. This, of course, means that at this stage (and this year the stage has rarely been exceeded, and has been from 6 inches to a foot lower), vessels can carry that much less cargo after the drainage canal is opened than they did before, the weather conditions be- ing the same. It shall be a comfort, of course, to think that the navigation on the Mississippi may be benefited, and that the loss of the lakes shall be the gain of the river. When the gauge read--t1.2 the discharge was 211,000 f. s.; that is to say that there was a further drop of seven-tenths more for a loss of 12,800 f. s. It so happens that for a change of one-third of a foot on the gauge for the lower readings the discharges vary by about 9,000 f. s. Possibly the natural dam of the Niagara causes the eccentricities noted in the observations; at any rate there is a gradual change in rate of discharge as the water rises from the lowest stages to that known as mean lake level from 9,000 f. s. per one-third of a foot to 4,700. This holds good only over the narrow limits through which we took our measurements. If one wished to determine the law for higher gaugings, more measurements would be needed. But it is important to know that for low water on the lakes the effect of the drainage canal at this point is going to be about seven-tenths of a foot in depth of channels. That is to say, vessels must carry that much less cargo after the canal is opened, than they could were it not in existence. What are you going to do about it?" About Nov. 20, the third-order light at Twin River point, Lake Michigan, will be established, without change of characteristic, at a height of 111 feet above the mean level of the lake, in the tower recently erected immediately in the rear of and to the westward of the keepers' dwelling. During the three or four nights preceding the exhibition of the light from the new structure the light will be extinguished and there will be exhibited, as a substitute, from the watchroom gallery of the old tower, a fixed white lens-lantern light, forced to its greatest briliancy. In the second of the Northern Steamship Company's passenger steam- ers the number of large and elegant staterooms with bath and other special features of convenience will be increased. On the North West these rooms were the first to be engaged every trip, showing that most patrons of the line want the very best accomodations. In a mock torpedo attack recently on the cruisers Cincinnati and Detroit lying at anchor in the harbor of Newport, the torpedo boats Cushing and Stiletto were both discovered several times by the search lights on the cruisers while well without the 700 yard zone of attack, and the result of the night's work was in favor of the cruisers.