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456 were constructed and_ extensively used, but have been allowed to fall into comparative disuse because of the immense growth of the facilities for transportation by rail. The in- sufficiency of this service, by reason of the enormous demands made upon it, have brought us back to a new use and further development of these ca- nals. One of the greatest of these connecting waterways was the Chesa- peake and Delaware canal connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware bays by a canal approximately about 13 miles long, of which 10 miles lie in the state of Delaware and 3 miles in the state of Maryland. The distance from the port of Baltimore to the port of Philadelphia by the outside passage is 320 miles, while the distance from Baltimore to Philadelphia through the canal is only 136 miles, a saving in dis- tance of 184 miles. The saving in hours by steamer over the same route is about 16 hours; not by any means an inconsiderable saving. The canal as it now exists has a depth of only 7 ft. through the lock, and in conse- quence its usefulness is limited; but even with such restricted possibilities the present tonnage of the canal has averaged for the past five years 716,- 644 tons, upon which the average toll collected was 2234c per ton. These facts supported by a great number of additional ones, not necessary in a brief article of this kind, have pointed out the advantages that will accrue by deepening and widening this canal. The known tonnage passing north and south that could with profit make use of a deeper and wider Chesapeake and Delaware canal is estimated by the government engineers to be about 2,- 576,322 tons of an aggregate estimated value of $14,170,239. It is rather in- teresting to note that this traffic is about evenly divided between the north and south bound traffic, the north- bound traffic being estimated at 1,107,- 414 and the south-bound at. 1,430,208 tons. National Interest ° At the time of the original construc- tion of this canal, its importance was considered of national interest and value to such an extent that the gov- ernment appropriated the sum of $450,- 000 toward its construction, and be- came a stockholder to that extent. The canal was completed and put in use on the fourth day of July, 1829, and from that time until the present has been in operation, serving in a limited way a traffic that has, by rea- son of the increased size and draught of vessels engaged in transportation, wholly outgrown it. By reason of THE MARINE REVIEW this the value of a tide water canal between these bays, able to accommo- date the largest vessels carrying car- goes between the north and south, has been of constant agitation for many years. That the government should take over the Chesapeake and Dela- ware canal either by condemnation or purchase, has been just as persistent- ly urged and apparently with success, for in the report of the chief of en- gineers of the United States army, made in 1912, the acquisition of this canal by the government and an im-. mediate increase in its depth to 12 ft. was advocated. An increase in depth to 12 ft. for this canal must not, how- ever, be accepted as a measure of its prospective value to commerce, nor indeed, as accommodating the present trafic, A depth of.at least 25 ft., cor- responding in some reasonable de- gree to the depth of channel in the Chesapeake bay and the Delaware river, must be secured; this, however, will ultimately follow the acquisition by the government, and an_ initial depth of 12 ft. Deeper Waterways Association 6 The supporters of this project have been consistent in the support they have given to the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association, which association is distinct- ive in that it is advocating the "project" of an inland waterways from Boston to Florida, and of this project there is no more important link than that of the canal connecting the Chesa- peake and Delaware bays. The suc- cess that has so far been achieved in urging that this canal should become a government waterway is attributable to a large extent to the persistent at- titude of the Atlantic Deeper Water- ways Association, as well as the in- controvertible merit which is in the project itself. There is abundant rea- son to believe that the present con- gress will take the step advocated by the engineer department, and several times urged by independent commis- sions appointed under authority of congress, and authorize the taking over of the Chesapeake and Delaware canal by the national government. In the construction and maintenance of these inland waterways I see no good reason why the experience acquired in the construction of the Panama ca- nal and some of its equipment should not be turned to the material advan- tage of the government by being used in the deepening and widening of our waterways, wherever it can suitably and economically be done. The pol- icy of permanent dredging plants in harbors demanding almost continu- ous attention has been found so sat- December, 1913 isfactory to shipping, and economical to the government, that an extension of that policy under the competent di- rection of the engineers corps should bring satisfactory results. Deep Draught from Lakes to Ocean By James Bardon In response to your request of re- cent date for some expressions with respect to the work and objects of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, the annual session of which will be held in Washington in a few days, it is safe to say that the open- ing of the great lakes to ocean navi- gation, by deepening and enlarging the Welland and St. Lawrence river canals, takes the lead in this locality of all other waterway questions. The dream of years that at some period boats from every ocean and clime would dock at Superior and Du- luth, at the head of Lake Superior, more than two thousand miles from the Atlantic into the heart of the continent, seems to be within reali- 'zation in the next few years, through the energy and enterprise of our Ca- nadian cousins. The great lake cities of Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleve- land, Buffalo, and in fact all. harbor cities on the lakes, are alike interested with Superior and Duluth in the early opening of this great waterway. The - Rivers and Harbors Congress will be wise, and neighborly, if it can devise a way to speed this important work. In anticipation, plans for the wharf- age and handling of ocean business are being considered at Superior and Duluth, and doubtless at other lake cities. And the United States govern- ment engineers are understood to be giving attention to the subject. While the Duluth-Superior harbor has fared well at the hands of the government, and is now one of the best for safety, room and depth, yet to keep pace with growth and_ busi- ness, considerable further work, main- ly in extending deep water channels and enlarging basin areas, is essential. There is an active and growing sen- timent that the time is at hand when the general government should devote some of its resources to improving small harbors at towns, villages and settlements, to aid and encourage the navigation of minor craft operating for fishermen, timbermen, farmers, fruit raisers, and the like, as well as for pleasure. The wisdom of providing ample lights, buoys and other guides and safeguards, and«also telegraph, wire- less and telephone systems on all navigable waters is too apparent to invite argument.