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1904] ENGINEER BOND ON ERIE CANAL ENLARGEMENT. In discussing the enlargement of the Erie canal to accommo- date*barges of 1,000 tons capacity, State Engineer Bond of New York says that it will unquestionably be the greatest project any single state has undertaken. The work will contribute greatly to the welfare of the laboring classes of New York state for the next seven years. Mr. Bond says: "The construction of the canal will give employment to ail classes of citizens, from 'skilled engineers and designers in struc- tural iron, architects and electrical engineers through the several branches of skilled mechanics to the so-called laborer, all of whom will receive good pay throughout its construction. In 1904 and 1905 the expenditure is limited to $10,000,000. Shotld the work be so progressed as to complete it in seven working years .it would call for the expenditure of $15,000,000 for the remaining five years from 1906 to 1910, inclusive, which, together with the almost positive increase of appropriations for good. roads, say a total of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 a year, would give a total ex- penditure of 'from $18,000,000 to $20,000,cco a year for the tive years and would bring undoubted prosperity to all classes of citizens that depend upon their labor, whether skilled or otherwise for their support. The problem to be undertaken involves the building of 445 miles of canal, of which substantially 290 miles are entirely new construction and 155 miles will be the recon- struction of the present existing canals. "The law under which this construction will be conducted and which authorizes this vast expenditure directs the superin- tendent of public works and the state' engineer, within three months after the comptroller has issued the bonds, from the pro- ceeds of which the expense of the work will be met, to proceed to improve the Erie, Oswego and Champlain canals so that the canal prism shall in regular canal sections have a minimum bot- tom width of 75 ft., minimum depth of 12 ft. and minimum water cross-section of 1,120 ft., except at aqueducts and in cities and villages where it may be deemed necessary to modify these di- mensions. In rivers and lakes the minimum dimensions shall be 200 ft. bottom width, 12 ft. depth and a cross-section of 2,400 ft. The locks shall be 328 ft. long and 28 ft. wide. "In considering the best method of conducting this great en- terprise, it is thought wise to proceed as though the state were a private corporation undertaking a work of equal magnitude and to lay out the work and make final cross-sections at such points along the canal as can most accurately be determined at this sea- son of the year and also of such pieces as by reason of their extent or difficult nature would require the longest period of time for their completion. will be on leaving the Hudson river at Waterford and extending 134 miles westerly into the upper Mohawk river above Cohoes. This will necessitate the construction of two single locks and three double locks at this point and also a dam across the Mohawk river 2,400 ft. in length (of which 1.200 ft. will be snillway) and 58 ft. extreme height. The dam will raise the water level in the openly river as far west as Vischer's Ferry, a distance of 1033 miles. "At and near Little Falls there will be a very heavy con- struction through a hard, tenacious rock formation, but by reason of the interruption to canal navigation, which will be caused when the work is begun, and from the necessity of particular study in order to obtain the most economical construction, it has been thought wise to leave the details of the location at that point until'spring. The point selected for the immediate operation will begin at what is known as Fort Bull, on the summit level of the Erie canal, about 4 miles west of Rome, and continuing westerly a distance of 10% miles to and including the harbor at the head of Oneida Lake. This stretch of canal includes two locks, with a-total drop from the summit level to Oneida Lake of substantially 47 'ft. Going westward, the next section begins in the Seneca river at a point north of Port Byron and westerly 7 miles to a point near Savannah. It is expected that this section will give a typical test of the contractors' views of unit prices for material to be removed by dredging in its va- rious. forms. "It is then proposed to take a section beginning at the wester- ly limits of the city of Rochester and working west to the junction with the present Erie canal near South Greece, where there wiil be an unusually heavy earth excavation, with a possibility of en- countering rock near the bottom of -the prism, and this section will, therefore, be one of the first to receive attention. Al] the work above described will be new construction in new location and will not include the prism of the present canal for any of its structures. "Proposals will be called for upon the sections - heretofore described as soon as the plans can be prepared with a view to hav- ing contracts awarded and actual construction commenced some time near May 1, 1904. That portion of the work herein out- lined is but the beginning of the total construction, which will be carried on from year to year through the several sections of the state so as to preclude the possibility of some large piece of work delaying the final completion of the entire work. In the early spring work will be begun and progressed along the Champlain and Oswego canals. The work of final location of locks and dams, with the necessary soundings and boring through earth and rock to determine the character of the soil and rock, and what is necessary for a proper foundation for the several structures, will proceed as rapidly as circumstances will warrant. In the construction of the Erie canal provision will be made for a supply of water sufficient to handle 10,000,000 tons of freight per canal season. The most formidable construction. The canalization' of the Tonawanda' MARINE REVIEW 27 creek, between the Sulphur Spring guard lock and the entrance to the Niagara river at Tonawanda, will also be among the frst to receive attention." SHIP SUBSIDIES ARE DESIRABLE, From the Denver Kepublican. From one hundred and fifty to two hundred million dollars are paid annually in freight on our foreign commerce, a con- tribution made by the American people to the shipping of Great Britain and other foreign countries. This vast expenditure might be turned into the hands of American ship owners and sailors if our shipping engaged in foreign trade were built up to what it should be. In the days of wooden ships our merchant marine was, if not the largest in the world, at least a rival of that of Great Britain. But with the introduction of iron and steel ships Ameri- can shipping declined, and Great Britain, being farther advanced in its iron and steel industries, constructed iron and steel ships. Our shipping was driven from the high seas, and since then we have been making an enormous: annual contribution to maintain © the shipping of Great Britain, France and Germany. : Fortunately, our coastwise trade was reserved for American ships, and from it foreign shipping is excluded. But this exclu- sion is the direct result of legislation; and what legislation has done directly for our coast shipping it might well do indirectly oe which would sai] the high seas and engage in foreign trade: : By a policy of enlightened selfishness we have built up great iron, steel and other industries, which in the aggregate give em- ployment to hundreds of thousands of men and contributes in an enormous degree to the prosperity of the country. The time has come to take a notable step forward along the same line of enlightened selfishness in behalf of the American people. The time has come to restore American shipping and send the Ameri- can flag flying at the mast of hundreds of ships over all the seas of the world. Trade follows the flag. Established lines of communication develop commerce. What we need is a large American ship- ping both for the revenues that would be obtained from the car- rying trade and because of the stimulus that established lines of communication between American and foreign ports would give to our commerce with other countries. aa This calls for subsidies framed along lines that would not work injustice, but would tend to develop all kinds of American - foreign shipping. It would be an amplitication ot the protective tariff policy. It would be an application of 'that policy to the shipping industry. Our iron and steel industry is sufficiently developed to enable it to supply the material for American ships, all that is needed being an assurance to ship builders and owners of a fair profit on their investments. A WELL-DESERVED PROMOTION. The nomination of Col. Alexander McKenzie to be chief of engineers of the army is a well-deserved promotion. * It is an ap- pointment which will give genuine pleasure to everyone who knows Col. McKenzie. All know that Col. McKenzie would never have sought the office; it is a case, rare indeed, of the office seek- ing him. He is a man who must be personally known to be appre- ciated, for Col. McKenzie would never blow his own trumpet. He entered West Point during the civil war and graduated as a first-lieutenant in 1864. He has been connected with the engineer- ing corps since his graduation and has patiently plodded in the ranks. Two years ago he had advanced no further than a lieuten- ant-colonelcy. It took him thirty-five years to reach the rank of colonel. During the past ten years he has been associated with river and harbor work and naturally had much to do with Mr. Burton, chairman of the house committee on rivers and harbors. It was Mr. Burton who urged the advancement of Col. McKenzie, and as both Secretary Root and President Roosevelt were favora- bly disposed td it the nomination was made. At the works of the Detroit Ship Building Co. on Saturday last the hull of the large side-wheel steamer City of Buffalo was cut in half, in order that a new section 42 ft. long might be in- serted amidships. After the hull had been severed tHe forward section was by means of the shear legs engine and two pow- erful capstans moved 42 ft. distant from the after section, which remained stationary. It took forty minutes to traverse the 42 ft. The new section, which will now be built between the two parts of the divided boat, wiil cost about $170,000. The alterations will increase the Buffalo's carrying capacity about 60 per cent. with- out diminishing her speed or materially increasing her cost of operation. The work is being done under the guidance of Mr. Frank E. Kirby, who designed the steamer. A fine chart of the St. Clair river, with the canal at the lower end and the stretch of river near Port Huron at the upper end on large scales, has just been issued by the United States lake sur- vey, and may be had with edges taped at the Marine Review office for 50 cents or by express to any address for 75 cents. -- Business men of Duluth-Superior have pledged about $82.- ooo for the construction of a big steamer in order that the yard at West Superior may be busy during the winter. The commit- tee in charge believes that the project will now be an assured | success.