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34 ADVERSE REPORT TO 22-FT. CHANNEL. In a report just filed by the secretary of war, Lieut. Col. Charles E. L. Davis and Col. G. J. Lydecker, reported ad- versely on the proposition to provide either a 22-ft. or 25-ft. channel through connecting waters of the great lakes be- tween Chicago, Duluth and Buffalo. The cost of the pro- posed channels will be as follows: . 22 feet. 25 feet. Be Marys fiver... se. e- ees $2,465,000 $11,606,237 Lake Huzon to Detroit river.... 1,080,720 2;334,180 Detroit river (Plan A, east route) 4,115,430 11,571,450 Grays reef passage...:.1......+. 77,220 426,500 ee a: $7,738,970 $25,938,367 The table shows that the 22-ft. channel would cost $7,- 738,000, and the 25-ft. channel $25,938,367. In addition to this there would be the cost of deepening the harbors to ac- commodate the added draught. The Lake Carriers' Asso- ciation will be invited to submit arguments in opposition to the report of the engineers, Col. Davis so communicat- ing to President Livingstone. No arguments in opposi- tion, however, will be submitted, the executive committee of the Lake Carriers'-Association being quite content with the plans of the engineers. - The report submitted to the secretary of war recommends that work now contracted for and in process of completion in the lower Detroit river be completed, and that then a new channel 22 ft. deep and 300 ft. wide out to Bar point and 800 ft. wide thence to deep water and Lake Erie be excavated at an estimated cost of $6,670,950 or $1,555,520 more than the present 20-ft. channel. This new channel would pass west of Bois Blanc island and would reach from Bar point shoal light to the main river above Stony island, a distance of about seven miles. In his letter to President Livingstone, Col. Davis quotes as follows from his report: "For the past thirty years there have been dredging oper- - ations going on at the mouth of the Detroit river, and al- though the nominal width has been ample for the purposes of navigation, one-half of this width has been taken up for a considerable distance by dredges and drilling plants, and particularly has this been the case at the Lime Kiln cross- ing, where the channel is crooked and the bottom rocky. It has therefore, seemed best to me to let the work on Plan - A be completed on the lines of the present project, and then turn it over to commerce, when for the first time since improvement started, this channel will be available for its entire width: "Tf the new channel (Plan B east route) be excavated to a depth of 22 ft. and a width of 300 ft. out to Bar point, and a width of 800 ft. thence to deep water in Lake Erie, the cost will be $6,670,950, or $1,555,520 more than deepen- ing Plan A east route to 22 ft. and it will have the very great advantage that it can be excavated as a whole and completed the full width with no interruption from passing vessels, and turned over to the use of navigation in from four to five years, and then be used for down-bound vessels only, the channel A to be used for up-bound craft, thus | lessening very materially the dangers of a blockade result- ing from a collision. In the event of a collision in either channel, the other may be used temporarily by vessels going in both directions during the removal of the obstruction in the blockaded channel. "Channel B is preferred to channel D because it has no turn at the upper end and is $2,644,620 cheaper, channel C is entirely in American waters and would no doubt be very acceptable to local interests, but as an examination of the chart will show, it has many turns and will require numer- ous range lights, and besides has the great disadvantage of being crossed by a railroad. drawbridge between Slocum's island and Grosse Ile, "After carefully considering the situation and the esti- THE Marine REVIEW mates, I have come to the conclusion not to recommend the deepening of the main channels to either 22 feet or 25 feet at present, but to leave the question of deepening this main waterway and the harbors tributary thereto for future con- sideration. In reaching this conclusion I have also been influenced by the fact that in 1895 the levels of the lower lakes reached an unprecedentedly low stage, but since then have shown .a decided tendency to resume their normal stages, and it looks as though for some years satisfactory depths will be maintained. "T do, however, strongly recommend the making of the new channel of 22 ft. plan B east route, as in my opinion a second channel is now needed at the mouth of the De- troit river and will be very much needed before it can be completed, if anything like the rate of increase of traffic of late years is maintained." ; On this report Col. Lydecker remarked as- follows: "Where navigation in both directions is confined to a single channel, a clear width of not less than 800 feet is required in order that vessels may meet and pass with a reasonable degree of safety, or without great risk of colli- sion that may cause a complete blockade of navigation. But a single channel of such width cannot be conveniently provided in certain localities, and the alternative for safety in such cases must be separate channels for up and down bound commerce. This condition exists in the lower De- troit river, and for this reason is it highly important that the work of making a second channel there, that will pass to the westward of Bois Blanc island, should be commenced without delay. It is suggésted, however, that further in- vestigation may show that it is advisable to make some slight changes in the location and limiting lines referred to. in that recommendation and shown on the map as plan B. "The foregoing considerations lead to the opinion that any modification of the existing project for the 20-foot ship channel, with a view to increasing the depth to 22 or 25 ft., should be deferred until it be plainly shown that a safe and reliable 20-ft. channel is not equal to the necessities of lake commerce; and that, in the meantime, the best inter- ests of the existing commerce require the speediest possi- ble completion of the 20-ft, channel in the manner indi- cated. It is therefore recommended that congress approve, and provide for, only such modification of the present pro- ject of improvement as will secure this result." Col. Davis in discussing the subject said in an interview: "We believe it wise to finish what we are doing in the Detroit river and then to excavate the new channel con- tained in plan B. The recommendation is that the twenty- two ft. and twenty-five ft. channel plan be deferred. Well- informed vessel owners have stated that the limit of size of vessels which can be operated to advantage has been closely approached, and our position is this: Finish the twenty foot channel now under construction, and then wait awhile until we see what the result may be. "It has also been stated that terminal facilities at lake ports are proving inadequate to care for the great cargoes © which are. now being dumped on the docks from a single vessel. This presents an economical problem which should be watched before going further with lake channels." On April 5, 6, and 7 a convention will be held in New Orleans by various commercial organizations to form plans for a systematic co-operation of the manufacturing and transportation interests of the great Mississippi valley to- wards the improvement of the gulf ports. Mr. W. H. Follette, of Tonawanda has leased the Cady dry dock and ship yard at Lockport, N. Y., and will make extensive repairs in the yard.