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454 will reserve for the Switzerland of America. Our abundant water power, skilled labor and fine harbor give us a found- ation for both industrial and commer- cial greatness. 'There are 1,500 streams in New Hampshire with minor ponds and lakes. The largest is Lake Winne- pesaukee, 72 sq. mi. with an altitude above the sea of 472 ft. New Hamp- shire has an area of 9,305 sq. mi., in- cluding water service of 300 sq. mi. It has 18 miles of sea coast, 10 miles inland from the coast is Great bay, a tidal basin of the Piscataqua extend- ing almost across the state from northeast to southwest, and lacks only 10 miles of connecting with the Mer- rimac river. This waterway is a part of the system of the Atlantic coast canal from Maine to Florida, which needs only a ten-mile cut from Exeter to the Merrimac river to complete the canal across the state. A Canal 25 Miles Long A canal 25 miles long from Great bay, through existing waterways, part way, would extend to Manchester on the Merrimac, this would give that city, and the whole upper part of the State, cheap transportation, so. that Manchester, N. H., would get her raw material as cheaply as Manchester, England, her namesake, a condition Ptnat does' not exist today. Only (33 miles of constructed canal in New Hampshire would complete the Atlan- tic coast canal, and the Manchester canal. The Piscataqua river is formed by the Salamon Falls river and the Cho- checho river, both water power rivers; during part of the way it is the boun- dry between the state of Maine and New Hampshire. From Dover to Portsmouth it is one-half mile wide, and a mile wide from there to the sea and very deep its entire length. Six miles above Portsmouth the waters of Great. bay enter the "Piscataqua river, and discharges each tide, with such swiftness, that Portsmouth har- bor never freezes over. Only 25 miles from the Piscataqua 'river runs the mighty Merrimac, which turns more mill machinery than any tiver in the world, and on its banks has the largest cotton and woolen mill in the world. We want to make this water power and this tidewater handmaidens of each other. New Hampshire wants the Atlantic coast canal from Maine to Florida, the Manchester canal, slack water navigation for her only seaport. With her abundant water power 'and skilled labor, it will be the be- THE MARINE REVIEW ginning of making the Granite state the Belgium of America. The canal is no new question in New Hamp- shire. Our fathers at the beginning of the last century, before New York thought of the Erie canal, were alive to the possibilities of cheap transpor- tation by canals. The whole state was planning to get to the seaboard by canals. The upper part of the state accomplished it by using the Merrimac river and the Middlesex canal and reached. the sea coast at Boston from Concord. The eastern part of the state wanted to reach the sea coast, by building a canal from COL, O. L. FRISBEE fol. O, L. Frisbee is a recognized authority on the waterways of New Hampshire and is one of the officers of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Associa- tion and the National Rivers and Har- bors Congress. Col. Frisbee was chair- man of the public improvement com- mittee of the New Hampshire house in 1911 and led in the fight to get the state to buy the Crawford notch in the White mountains. He is a member of the executive committee of the pro- _ gressive party. the Connecticut river to the Piscata- qua river, a distance of 90 miles, 35 of which was through existing water- ways, Lake Squam and Lake Win- nepesaukee, and was known as the "Winnepesaukee canal." The legis- lature of New Hampshire four times granted a charter for this canal, but refused to permit towns' through which the canal passed to issue bonds to build the canal. The improve- ments in New Hampshire waterways, as we, have indicated, will make Portsmouth, what she would become, if Winnepesaukee canal had _ been pull a century ago, a port of para- mount interest. York December, 1913 Water the Public's Highway By Edward C. Plummer* One .of the facts. toe: often over- looked by people during discussion of appropriations from the national treas- -- ury for the deepening of our water- ways, is the fact that such water- ways are public ways--they can be used by any citizen who desires. When appropriations are made to aid in building a railroad, whether | state or municipality make such ap- propriations, this aid goes, necessar- ily, to build a highway which is from the very nature of the case monopo- listic. The railroad company owning the charter is the only company hav- ing full privileges there--the average citizen cannot use the rails of this road. he must pay the road to carry his freight over the roadbed which he. has helped to build. The Right to the Channel But when the government has dredged a river so that there is nav- igable. water therein, every citizen has full right to use this channel for business or for pleasure. If he has a small amount of freight to be shipped to market, he hires a small vessel, loads it, and sends it along as he sees he It che «6has.a laree amount. of freight he has a steamship come at his convenience, loads it as he chooses and sends it away. Any man or firm can send his or its vessel over these national waterways, and thus get a direct return for the money which has been invested therein. To illastrate: Some. of the . pro- prietors of lumber mills in the state of Maine own sail vessels which, as the result of improvements made by the government in the channels of the Penobscot and Kennebec rivers, can sail into the interior of the state as far as Bangor and Augusta, and take cargoes directly from these and intermediate points to Boston, New Philadelphia and Baltimore. The cost of transportation of lumber on these vessels is from one-half to one-quarter what it would be by cars; and since vessels of all sizes are available for charter at all times, the millman can select one with a ca- pacity corresponding to the size of the order he has to fill, and the con- sumer in those cities of destination reaps the benefit of this cheap trans- portation. Therefore it is money in the pockets of the citizen: of New York, Philadelphia, _ Baltimore and Boston to have the government ex- pend a part of the national funds "building" these waterways. In the *Vice president for Maine, National Rivers and Harbors Congress.