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congestion, and put the gulf states, our cotton planters, wheat and grain growers, in direct and easy commu- nication through the Panama _ canal with China, Japan, and. all the com- mercial countries of Asia. In former years the freight conges- tion, which closed the markets of the northwest, was relieved by building railways from Missouri points to the guilt: coast in -Dekas, *but suen has been the agricultural and commercial development in recent years in west- ern- Kansas, Oklahoma, -and Texas, that a destructive congestion 'exists in those states which demands relief --and this relief can be afforded by improvement of such rivers in that section as can be made naviga- ble. A congestion of freight in one part of the country cannot now be met by a concentration of vessels to care for it. The railways can concentrate their rolling stock anywhere. Our waterways, as they now exist, lack a similar power. the A thorough remedy cannot quickly be applied, but a great start towards it can be made at comparatively small expense. One or more efficient waterway connections could be made between the lakes and the Missis- sippi. Chicago by way of the Illinois river. The great. railway -systems © which have their termini on the lakes could frequently find relief from freight congestion by way of and _ through the Illinois river. In addition to this a coast canal system could be extended, making an 'efficient and sheltered waterway near- ly 'all at sea level and connecting all the sounds, bays, and rivers from Boston to the Rio Grande with each other and with the Mississippi. The above, with the new Erie ca- nal, and: with the St. Lawrence river improvements, would enable a_ boat on any river on our Atlantic and gulf watersheds to get to any other river. Isolated waterways, so far as these watersheds are concerned, would then bea thing of the past. I am of opinion that this could be accomplished in from five to 10 years, at an annual expenditure within the amount appropriated and authorized by the last river and harbor act. Supplementary to this, existing waterways should 'be improved in _ depth, etc., where necessary, and nav- igation extended by locks and dams where commercial conditions warrant. Ultimately, short lines of canal should be built where commerce justified vice: The cheapest can be made at 'would. provide an water. "TAE Marine. REVIEW and where large savings in distancé would result. * An adequate connection between the lakes and salt water is much to be desired. The new Erie canal be- ing intended for barges alone, and being suitable for the local necessities of New York state, is felt by many to be a' mistake from. the national point of view. It is questionable if a ship cahal of this length could be used economically by ships as a means of transporting freight; but the spetial conditions which surround lake traffic and which cause the en- forced idleness of our lake fleet for five months every year, would seem to justify careful consideration. For not over 10 per cent increase in cost lake vessels could be made sufficient- ly seaworthy for general ocean ser- If some means existed whereby such. vessels could get to the ocean during the winter months, they could all be usefully employed to the ex- clusion of the English and German ships that crowd our Atlantic and gulf ports at the time when our great fleet of lake vessels is now lying idle. If the new Erie canal could have its. locks -and- such 'structures. suffi- ciently enlarged and its depth slightly increased to permit these vessels to pass through it when light, it is pds- sible that this work might go far towards rendering a ship subsidy un- necessary as a means of restoring the American flag to the high seas. It is possible, too, that the same _ resu!'t could be obtained by means of the lakes-to-the-gulf waterway from Chi- cago to the Mississippi, which is now under consideration. The subject merits careful study, not alone for the reasons above stat- ed, but for the further fact that our Canadian friends are earnestly con- sidering the advisability of building a ship ecarial 22 ft. in depth from 4he lakes to Montreal by way of Lake Nipissing and the Ottawa river. Such a canal is estimated to cost not over $75,000,000, which is less than the amount appropriated and 'authorized by our last river and harbor act, and all-British deep waterway from the lakes to salt Its construction would make the English tramp steamer as famil- iar a sight at Chicago and Duluth as it is now at New York, New Orleans and Galveston, and the supremacy of our lake marine might. be seriously threatened. These considerations cer- tainly justify careful study in con- nection with any plan for the future development: of our great lake water- ways. -may be that rights of 'ol The Pacific slope must be consid- ered independently of the rest of the country. Here natural conditions are less favorable. With thé excep- tion of the Columbia and its' tribu- taries, and the rivers flowing into San Francisco bay, it doés not seem that any extensive systems of internal waterways can there be developed. Where such a 'system of water- ways can be déveloped, however, 'there should be a policy of standard- ization; just as the railways have adopted a standard gage and a stand- ard clearance overhead and at the sides, so the waterway system should have standard depth, standard sizes of locks, and standard openings in bridges, etc. Such a standardization can be attained but gradually. Where -- depths are to be 'obtained by dredg- ing or similar methods, a gradual in- crease can be had _ without waste. Where permanent structures such as locks and dams are to be built, how--- ever, they should be built to stand- ard dimensions from the. start to avoid any necesity for reconstruc- tion. a ss The choice of standard dimensions for such structures is somewhat dif- ficult. Locks on the Ohio, -where large tows are used, must be wide and long. On other rivers this may be unnecessary or impracticable, but a boat of reasonable size should be able to go through any lock on the entire system, and locks of smaller size than the adopted minimum should not hereafter be built. As fot depth, 6 ft. would' seem as small as should be adopted, and there are many arguments for 9 ft. Nine ft. has been attained on the lower Mississippi--is being attained on the canalized 'Chio.. Nine ft: appears to be the least depth on which can be floated a boat seaworthy enough for occasional lake and service. Such depth would, therefore, give our internal waterways a much wider field of usefulness. While states and localities should co-operate in the development of in- ternal waterways, these waterways should be controlled, and preferably built and owned, by the United States. No other general course seems prac- ticable, if our waterways are to be ocean formed into a harmonious system. When the benefits of the improved waterways will be principally local it Wady; €ase- ments, etc., for locks and dams and for canals should be furnished to the United. States, free of charge by the states or localities particularly inter- ested, and local authorities might be