Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

164 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. dustrial and commercial rivals—England, Ger- many, and France—shows that the United States is lagging behind. But the nation as a whole is beginning to recognize the fact that well-developed inland waterways are necessary to ensure the economic future of the country, and to demand that canal possibilities be ex- amined in the light of modern improvements, engineering and physical. Hence the re- newed interest in what was not long since dubbed “ a dead issue.” Of course the railroads are acknowledged to be the arch-rivals of the canals as a mode of transportation, though the two should work together, one supplementing Railroads v. a day of reckoning came, however, when the rail- roads flatly refused any further freight reduc- tions or larger rebates, and continued their pernicious practice of underbidding the water- ways and afterwards raising prices, thereby smothering canal prosperity, but giving rise to the present and prospective drastic reforms in canal development. “ Why not go back to our faithful canals for the transportation and distribution of articles of bulk—such as coal, iron, lumber, etc.—leaving to the rail- roads the handling of the perishable and ‘rush’ items—such as foodstuffs, etc. ? ” sud- denly became the general question. George Washington, in his well-known capacity of organizer, investigated, surveyed, and backed the first canal propositions. The affairs of the first canal company, the Potomac, flourished under the master hand of its organizer, only to languish and die as soon as that hand was removed when Washington was made President of the United States in May 1787. Time was when canals “ just grew ” in a haphazard sort of way as neces- sen t A sary adjuncts to exploiting the Developments. . & natural resources of a section of the country. But now the most famous engineers of England, America, France, and Italy are being called upon to devise and make possible a connected route of inland waterways, regardless of the natural and physical aspect of the sections of the United States to be traversed. The realization of this great dream presup- poses complete reconciliation between railroad and canal interests, and an extension of both to meet the insistent demand of the times, so that the known quantities of natural resources may be distributed to trade centres. Internal trade and transportation in the United States greatly exceeds its foreign commerce. The majority of American commodities are articles of bulk, which, to be handled successfully, demand cheap transportation—canals—with facilities for shipping from producer to con- sumer, obviating the middleman’s share in the profit. For instance, from the vicinity about Lake Superior comes three-fourths of the iron ore mined in the United States, and the largest part of this ore is carried hundreds of miles to be smelted in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. In the south, cotton, lumber, and fruit await the means of widespread and thorough distribution. On the Pacific coast, grain, flour, minerals, fruit, etc., demand facilities for exchange and barter. The pos- sibilities for complete exchange and then ex- porting of surplus are too great to be ignored. Perfect commerce, foreign and domestic, would result. Versatility of climate, local conditions, and population demand extensive and con- tinuous inland traffic by railroad and canal. Transportation canals generally are divided into two classes—canals built to improve river or land navigation, and canals built to con- nect separated waterways. • A Circuit The canalization of rivers in . Project. the United States is taking a prominent place in bringing about the above schemes. The pet project of the present cen- tury, however, is to connect great natural waterways by canals, thus forming an endless