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THE MARINE RECORD. 9 N ENLARGED WATERWAY BETWEEN THE GREAT LAKES AND THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD. ~. By Wm. Prerson Jupson, M. Am Soc. C. E.; M. Inst. C. E. From adyance sheets of the journal of Association of En- gineering Societies,’ we published a lengthy discussion under the above caption in Tm MArine Recorp of the 24th. inst. A future contribution ou this important subject by an emin- ent and well known civil engineer still further elucidates the problem, which will have to be met in the near future—as follows; “The abstract of Mr. Corthell’s paper which the Directors of the Western Society of Engineers request me to discuss, pre- sents the subject of an enlarged Waterway from the Great Lakes to the Atiantic, in a manner which cannot fail to lead toward a final action, which those who have been identified with Lake commerce, have long looked and worked for. The fact that there are several lines upon which the Water- way may be made, is perhaps one reason why action has so long been deferred. ‘The local interests connected with each possible route tending to scatter effective eflort. The subject has been repeatedly brought before the public. The writer has beeu connected, officially, with three different projects and estimates, which have been made by the United States Government for this work. In 1868, in 1875, and again in 1890, each project looking toward a ship-canal connection of Lake Erie with tide-water, and each being upon a larger scale than the last. This experience has perhaps led the writer to regard aship- eanal, rather than the ship-railway so ably advocated, formerly and now, by Mr. Corthell, as being the natural and necessary method of transporting a ship and her cargo toward tidewater, and this may prevent his doing justice to the practicability of a ship-railway for this purpose Certainly the day is past for condemning a project because it is new and untried, and all civil engineers will owe Mr. Corthell a debt of gratitude for his past able presentments of the subject, when his efforts shall bear their first fruits in the hoped-for successful working of the Chignecto ship railway. When this enterprise proves commercially effective, there will thus be added another to the civil engineers’ means of overcoming pature’s obstucles, At present, however, we have definite knowledge of the capabilities and cost of canals only. The Sault Ste. Marie canal shows what can be done in im- - proved methods of operation; me.hods whose absence is so conspicuous in the operation of the new Welland Canal. With the further improvements which can now be made in methods of construction, the cost of a Ship-Canal between the Jakes will show a much better comparison with that of a ship- railway, than is indicated in Mr. Corthell’s paper. As to the ship-railway, of course the estimates and opinions of cost and efficiency must be taken unquestioned, as there are neither data nor experience on which to hase a discussion. It is difficult, however, to accept the conclusion that the cost of moving a ton of freight a mile on a ship-canal, is over three and one half times the similar cost on a ship-railway. But whether a ship-canal, or a ship-railway is finally adop- ted for the connecting link, it seems that the main question of getting freight thrcugh to tide-water will be much advanced, if the number of possible lines between the upper Lukes and Lake Ontario, which are now under discussion, can be nar- rowed down to one. To aid this, certain propositions will be stated, which can perhaps be agreed upon:— 1st. That the ship-canal, or the ship-railway, must be built and controlled by the United States Government, Because the commerce of the United States is great and growing, and is only allowed to use the Canadian canals under intolerable restrictions, and also because the money to build it can only be obtained from the United States Treasury. Becausejannexation is too far off, and too uncertain, to be considered, even if the shortest, or cheapest, or best route lay through Canadian territory; which it does not, 3rd. That the line must be accessible to the commerce of all the great cities of the lakes; Because, if located in Georgian Bay, as proposed by Mr. Corthell, the opposing interests of the side-tracked cities of Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Ashtabula and Buffalo would impede or prevent the obtaining of the necessary appropria- tions from Congress, upon whose favorable action the supply of money for the work must depend. Mr. Corthell asks whether artificial boundary lines shall be permitted longer to restrict our commerce. It is quite likely that, in the best possible world, such unnatural obstructions would not obtsruct. But as this world is now constituted, an international boundary-line is an insurmountable obstacle to such a work, and a route which must cross it, will wait for ap- propriations until the boundary line disappears. Aside from these most important financial considerations, the Huron-Oatario route, from Georgian Biy to Lake Oatario at Toronto, has natural disadvantages as compared with the _ shorter and quicker ship-canal route, from Lake Erie near Buffalo to Lake Ontario, The Huron-Outario route is 75 miles of canal longer, and has 130’ more lift, or 260’ more lockage. It hae also the dis- adyantage of the late opening and early closing of navigation in Georgian Bay by reason of ice and fogs. To offsrt this, the Huron-Ontario route requires 220 miles Jeas open navigation through the Detroit River and Lake Erie: but this last saving of the Lake Erie trip, puts the great cities before named at one side, and thus ignores the commer- cial law that great transportation routes must touch commer- cial centers. In referring to the Niagara Ship-Canal project, Mr. Corthell revises the official estimate of cost made in 189), and increases it from 23 millio 8 of dollars to 82 millions, The writer himself made this official estimite of 1890, and is nearly ready to agree with Mr. Corthell that it needs revis~ jon, But by materially reducing it, rather than by increasing When making this 1890 official estimate, it was done under ) to take the lock of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal as its sis of cost; making due allowance for the proposed smaller locks. This was done; and the estimate total of 23 was thus arrived at. ‘at once burdened the project with an excessive esti- proposed locks of the Niagara Ship Canal have nmon with the Sault Ste. Marie lock, and all points »in favor of much less cost. The location of en locks in solid rock-cut upon the Niag- outof the question all coffer-damming and va water disposi], and makes massive cut-stone lock-walls un- necessary. The situation at Niagara is unique in ship-canal constrne- tion, and gives field for entirely new departures in such work, The lock chambers can be excavated wholly inthe rock, and the walls of the rock-cut can be faced with concrete, instead of being formed of the usual massive cut-stone masonry, cost— ing vastly more. All power for operating the rock-excavating and construct- ing machinery, can be generated from water power obtained by running x preliminary earth-cut along the summit line of the proposed canal through to its junction with the upper Niagara River near Tonawanda, While all drainage water and waste water will take care of itself by natural flow through Oleott creek to Lake Ontario, Full benefit can thus be trken ofall improvements in electric mining devices. [n short, there is every reason why no former canal work can have been done as cheaply at this may be done, and there is every reason why the official estimate of 1890 shuuld be reduced to, or below, the unofficial estimate which was made and published by the writ- erin 1888, which was 18 millions. This is one half of the esti- mate now made by Mr. Corthell. As Mr, Corthell’s estimate of cost of operation includes in- terest upon the cost of construction, this correction would re duce his unaccountably large estimate of 12 1-2 mills per ton mile for the transit of this canal. This link in the chain, connecting the upper lakes with the lower lakes is the first one wh’ch must be built. From Lake Ontario to the seaboard remains to be consider- ed, and for this Mr. Corthell recognizes only the route by way of the St. Lawrence and its Canadian canals. If the enlarged waterway is to be built by United States | money, and traversed by United States vessels, then the St. Lawrence rontes either to Montreal, or Lake Champlain and thus to the Hudson, cannot be considered, for the 26 locks and the 47 miles of Canadian St. Lawrence canals must first be rebuilt and*enlarged by the United States, at an estimated cost of 70 millions of dollars. This necessity would compel the finding of another outlet by enlarging the Oneida Lake and Brie canal route to the Hudson, for which full estimates have been made, which have been so often published that they need not now be repeated. | All who have read Mr. Corthell’s paper will agree with him that an enlarged waterway to the Atlantic is needed, now, and | must be made, and tiey will join with him in urging this need upon those who form our National policy. al as 5 el A NEW ICE CRUSHER. It now seems to be determined that plans and specifications for a new transfer steamer to work as an ice crusher in the Straits of Mackinac, ani built after the style of the St. Ignace, will soon be got out by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. The pro- posed boat is to be much larger and longer than the St. Ig- nace, baying more power and greater carrying capacity—able to transfer a train of 24 cars—and having three tracks. Capt. Boynton, who has handled the St, Ignace since she first came out, has been incessant in urging the constuction of this new steamer, pointing to the increase of traffic over the Straits, and to the fact that with but practically one boat on the route the railway companies were carrying “too many eggs in one basket.’’? They could not afford to take any chances of interruption. The St. Ignace is beyond a doubta perfect boat, but that boat was nevar built that might not become disabled and need repairs. They must have another boat. And at length he has brought the railroad managers to see the situation as it is, and next fall a new boat that will be very much super- jor to the St. Ignace, is likely to be crushing ice between St. Ignace and Mackinac. ED ee a DOMINION DOCK AND HARBOR WORKS, In reply to criticisms in the United States newspapers upon the cost.of work done on yarious dry docks, constructed for the Dominion government, and a comparison of prices paid for similar work in the United States, N. K.& M. Connolly, the contractors for these works, have the following to say. “When we undertook the building of the Esquimalt graving dock, other contractors had failed after many years’ operations with higher prices for masonry, and in two years the work was performed by our firm in such a manner as to meet the approval of competent engineering experts. We built the Levis graving dock, carried on the Quebec Harbor Works, the Quebee Cross-wall, and are just finishing the Kingston graving dock. To do all this involved an ex- penditure for plant of nearly $300,000. The total profits made by all the partners, did not exceed 16 per cent. All praet- ical men know that engineers in preparing estimates usually allow a profit of 20 per cent., which is close enough, consid- ering all contingencies. We say now that the works were more cheaply and more practically done than any of the kind in the world. For eighteen years we have been employed in this country contracting, and we have yet to learn that proof can be given thut we were at any time paid excessive prices. Our plant and knowledge of work enabled us to do this, but de ducting loss on plant, the profits accruing to us, after twelve years of constant labor, will be smaller than those derived from ordinary commercial trading firms, The Kingston Dry Dock contract is one of the structures we undertook. No question arose as to corruption in carrying on this work—which was taken at low figures—but we are depriv- ed of our money, forced to make very great sacrifices, while after the work is practically completed, the Government de- tains nearly one third of the estimated contract price—antici- pating judgment against us in connection with other works, the prosecution being mainly based upon the statement of two exiles from the country, who dare not appear in Canada. On all the other works we haye done, a final settlement leaves a margin coming to us, quite sufficient to meet any claim, the Government, according to the wildest estimate, may possibly have, while the refusal to allow us to be paid legitimate esti- mates, properly passed and approved of, threatens to bring disaster to us, in consequence of not having the necessary We again say that the Government got full value for all money paid; that if we erred, it was the political system which made it a common practice to subscribe to assist in election contests. We challenge any man to question our characters in any business transuetion, and in refusing us our just due, namely, asettlement for work performed, a great injustice is being done. The meanest subject is ordinarily protected against a claimant putting in an execution before judgment, in seizing moneys and endeavoring to destroy the credit of a firm, upon some- thing that might be awarded in the future, but applying alto- gether to other matters.’’ ase cet gaeoe ee eee NOTES. Tue firm of Harland & Wolff, limited, iron and steel ship- builders, Belfast, Ireland, have this year constructed no less than 64,962 tons of steel tonnage, principally steam. This is 16,000 tons more than they put out in 1890, and the average ton- nage per hull is nearly 5,000. They are the builders of the new steamships for the New York line of the Atlantic Trans— port Co. Tux past year’s shipbuilding on the Mersey shows a total tonnage launched of 23,383 tons, as compared with 30,577 tons in 1890, 35,773 tons in 1889, 22,538 tons in 1888, 10,664 tons in 1887, and 20,966 tons in 1886, Though there are now on hand a fair number of orders, it is stated by the various Jeading firms that the prospects for the coming year do not promise any great umount of activity. Tue discouraging statement was recently mude by Capt. Ambrose Snow in the New York Chamber of Commerce, that of 71 chartered ships in the harbor of San Francisco at that time, but five carried the American flig, and that tne condition was still worseon the Atlantic. ‘At the present time’’, he said, “there is not a single ship carrying the American flag loading for Europe at any port between Galveston and Maine, and there are 485 foreign vessels loading in these ports.—Ameri- can Shiphuilder, New York. Tue Lackawanna Ruilroud Co. are likely to bring into prominence one or two lake ports which have not received a very large share of the lake commerce hitherto. The steam- er Osceola is to open up traffic at once on Lake Michigan be- tween Frankfort, Mich., and Kewaunee, Wis., making one trip a distance of about 54} miles every twenty-four hours. From Kewaunee, the Railroad Co. have built a thirty-mile line to Green Bay, and from there connections will be made to Lake Superior and the Northwest. REPRESENTATIVE CurpmMAN, of Michigan, will bring be- fore Congress a bill to provide for the construction of a ship canal around the American side of Niagara Falls, and also of a similar waterway across the State of New York from a point near Buffalo to the Hudson River, so that vessels from the lakes may have free access to tide water. The projected canal is to be 150 feet wide, with an average depth of twenty feet, and will cost from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000. Mr. Chipman thinks such a canal would soon pay for itself. Not long ago I quoted a little Admiralty incident. A naval captain wrote asking for a new topsail-yard, the old one hav- ing been carried away. ‘he authorities declined to order the supply of a new topsail-yard until they were advised who had carried the old one away. I have nowa kind of companion story- TheClive, an Indian Marine ship was recently in dock, and one of the high officials at Poonah telegraphed that she was to be ready for sea by a certain (near) date. The reply message read, ‘Clive neaped; cannot be ready till 25th.” The high official immediately wired back thus:—‘‘Clive to be un- neaped at once.’ Gvod old Admiralty clurks. What shoals of such stories can be told of them!—London Fairplay. Tue St. Joseph & Lake Michigan Transportation Co. is the name of the concern that will operate the steamers Lora and Ossifrage the coming season The incorporators are the Hon. F. W. Wheeler, of Bay City; John S. Williams, of Terre Haute, Ind.; and Capt. J. Langley, of St. Joseph. The steamers are being thoroughly overhauled and equipped with larger engines and more boiler power, while the Ossifrage is being lengthened thirty feet. They will run from St. Joseph to Chicago, and if business will warrant, a line will also be run from St, Joseph to Milwaukee. ‘The company has a con- tract to run in connection with the Vandalia railroad line and in opposition to the Graham & Morton Line of steamers. Tue life saving crew in the Ninth District, of which Capt. D. P. Dobbins is superintendent, attended during the past season 112 disasters, wherein 295 lives were imperiled and saved. Of the five lives lost one was that of Keeper Clarke, of the Erie Station, who was drowned while his crew was at— tempting to assist the stranded passenger steamer Badger State. The amount of property imperilled was $507,928, of which $491,528 was rescued, and only $16,400 lost. Twenty- two dead bodies were recovered, 17 being credited to the Cleveland crew and five to Louisville. It is to be hoped that the efforts now being made to secure adequate compensation for the keepers and men in this humane and hazardous ser—— vice will be completely successful, 2 re —™ Capt. Moody, who has been a master of one of the FP. & P. M. Transportation Company’s steamers for a long time, has — resigned his position and will go to West Superior, where he — will superintend the constraction of the four big whalebac funds wherewith to meet accruing obligations in connection with this work, Next season he will be placed in command of one of the boats. / % :