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84 some years. The proposed rail-water rates by way of the river to Louisville, thence via the Louisville & Nashivlle railroad to Memphis, are offering cheaper freight movement for transpor- tation of iron and steel and other goods from Pittsburgh in trips of about 12 days. The Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. was a pioneer among private shipping interests in making use of the Ohio river channel, The Carnegie Steel Co., at Pittsburgh, also has been operating a fleet of barges and tows for some time, and the Pittsburgh Steel Co. and the Wheeling Steel Corp., at Wheeling, have been making such use of river trans- portation as is available in certain months. The effect of the dams already com- pleted on the upper rvier is being re- flected in tbe marked increase in gen- eral traffic and in the amount of coal shipped from the mines along the Mo- nongahela river to industrial plants and shipping points along the lower Ohio. Coke in considerable quantities also is being shipped from Monongahela river points to New Cumberland, W. Va., for steel operations. The West Virginia coal mines send coal up river to indus- trial plants near the head of the channel. In the low season of 1917-1923 about 1,640,000 tons of coal were shipped from the Kanawha river coal fields to Cin- cinnati and other points along the Ohio river by releasing water impounded in the pools formed by the dams on the upper Ohio and its tributaries, creating artificial rises and assisting coal fleets with partially loaded barges over the shoals in the unimporved section of the river. Low water stage on the Ohio pre- vails generally for about five months in the year, usually between July and No- vember, inclusive. The high water stage occurs usually during the spring floods, but moderate freshets may take place at any season; they are of infrequent oc- currence, however, during the summer and autumn months. In its original condition the Ohio river was much ob- structed throughout its entire length by snags, rocks and gravel and sand bars, rendering navigation difficult and haz- ardous. The width of the channel varied to great extent. At extreme low water, the depth for navigation over the worst shoals ranged from one foot at Pitts- burgh and Cincinnati to two feet be- tween Cincinnati and the mouth of the river. Between shoals are pools running to depths of 30 feet even in extreme low water. With the depth on _ the worst shoals at three feet or more the river was navigable for steamboats and other craft. Artificial waves were used last year during low-water periods to facilitate MARINE REVIEW large shipments of coal and metal prod- ucts. Government figures show that commerce has increased only slightly on the Ohio river in the last fiscal year, the main items showing heavier ship- ments having been coal and steel. No material changes in the transportation lines were made. In the calendar year 1923, about 73 Big Sums Spent TOTAL of $40,000,000 is made available in a lump sum for rivers and harbors in the war department supply bill for the fiscal year, which has passed both houses of congress. It is not known just how much will be apportioned from this for Ohio river development, as the al- lotments are to be made under di- rection of the secretary of war and under the superivision of the chief of engineers of the army. The chief of the army engineers will is- sue a statement soon showing how the lump sum has been apportioned. Upon the war department there- fore, rests the responsibility of par- celing out funds for Ohio river de- velopment under this bill. In ad- dition a $39,000,000 rivers and har- bors bill for development of water- ways has been reported out of the house rivers and harbors committee and has passed the house intact. Changes involving additions to - some of the items in the house bill were made in the senate commerce committee, and some deductions also have been demanded. As the bill finally goes onto the _ senate floor, it is considerably changed from its original form. The sum of $53,000,000 had been sought in the war department bill, but this amount was cut down to $40,000,- 000. This sum is to be expended only upon the projects already au- thorized and includes a large num- ber of improvements and _ several surveys, out of which the Ohio river project may get only a compara- tively small share. per cent of the Ohio river tonnage was coal, 15 per cent was sand and gravel, 5 per cent was metal products, 2 per cent stone, 1 per cent was oil, and the re- mainder miscellaneous freight. General cargo does not count seriously. Many Locks and Dams Originally, 54 locks and dams were contemplated, and 37 now are in oper- ation. Fifteen are incomplete, eight of which are under construction and four of which have not been started at all. The March, 1925 first lock and dam for Ohio river im- provement was provided by the rivers and harbors act of nearly 50 years ago, which made appropriation for a lock and movable dam at Davis Island, at West Bellevue, Pa., nearly five miles below the head of the river. Building of ad- ditional dams was provided for periodi- cally in the next 28 years. River and harbor acts authorized dam No. 6 in 1890; dams Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 in June, 1896; Nos. 13 and 18 in March, 1899; Nos. 8, 11, 19 and 37 in June, 1902; and No. 26 in March, 1907. Thus the amount expended on orig- inal and subsequent projects, up to the time present plan of operations was started under the rivers and harbors act of 1910, was $17,657,273.78 this total in- cluding the amount spent in the pur- chase of the Louisville and Portland canal but not including about $250,000 received as dividends on stock of the Louisville & Portland Canal Co., held by the government. The total number of dams included in the present undertaking, since the aban- donment of dams 1 and 2 upon comple- tion of the dam at Emsworth, Pa., is 52. The project provides for one lock with usuable dimensions of 110 x 600 feet at each dam and in addition a sec- ond lock at the Emsworth dam with di- mensions of 56 x 360 feet and a flight of two locks at No. 41, at Louisville, with dimensions of 80 x 310 feet. Except at Emsworth, all of the dams are of the movable type with navigable passes varying in length from 600 to 900 feet, closed by wickets of the Chanoine type. The dams also are fitted with one or more regulating weirs. The dam at Louisville is at the upper end of the Louisville and Portland canal, the lat- ter being two miles long and 200 feet wide at the narrowest section. The locks are at the lower end of this canal. At present the river project is com- pleted to dam 31, three miles below Portsmouth, O., and 358.4 miles below Pittsburgh. In the last fiscal year prac- tically all of the heavy stone and con- crete removed at the abandoned dams Nos. 1 and 2 were deposited at the downstream side of the Emsworth main channel dam at a cost of $51,000. The dam at Emsworth was fixed to replace the old dams abandoned, and a large quantity of hot furnace slag was de- posited below the abutment of the main channel dam for protection of the struc- ture. In this same bill it was provided for completion of a 6-foot channel in the up- per Mississippi from St. Louis to Min- neapolis and St. Paul at an estimated cost of $27,000,000, the work also to have been done in 12 years. That time likewise expired two years ago with the work less than one-half completed.