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THE

('^

GEORGIAN BAY CANAL

)

S. J. MCLEAN

REPRINTED FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW
NOVEMBER. 1909

NEW YORK
THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW PUBLISHING CO.

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TUE GEORGIAN BAY CANAL

BV 8. J. MrLEAN.

Fkom the ljcj,'iimiug of its lanal [loluy. ('jiimila Ims bocn in-
terested not only ia obtaining a elieap water route for !(.■< own
produce, but also in attracting trallie to tlii.s route from the
United States. While tlie Canadian I'ariianiout declared, in
1875, in favor of a fourteen-foot waterway from (lie f.akcH to
the seaboard, it was not until I'JOU that tluK was obtained. Tlie
faet that the Erie Canal, owing to it-? lagging Ijchind in point
of technical improvements, hR.-i become of minor importance ;.,
the transportation of grain to the seaboard has caused New York
to fear tiie diversion of tratlic to the St. I>awrenee route. This
was used as an argument by tlie Erie Canal Commission in 1809
in favor of the improvement of the Erie Canal. The diversion
of a large part of the export grain trafTic to Montreal during the
season of lUOH has attracted further attention to the competition
of the Canadian route. Canada has expended, in round nunil)er8,
$116,000,000 on its canal system; $94,000,000 of this amount
have been 'wpended in the last forty years. Over seven-eighths
of the latur sum has been expended on the route from Lake
Superior to Montreal.

Wliile a large part of the expenditure has been concerned with
1^0 development of a waterway competitive for \merican traffic,
it is only of recent years that tlie anticipations have begun to
i)e realized. The c;mal at the Canadian " Soo " conipetes for
American trafTic. This canal was ojiencd in 1H0.~). In ISfifi tlie
tonnage passing through was 7.9 millions; by 1907 the tonnage
had doubled. Tlie Canadian canal percentage of the total traffic
passing tliroiigh the two ''Son" canals i? gradiialiv increasin*'.
In 1901 it was 8 per cent.: in 1007 it amounted to 9() pc- cent.;
this reprepent> both a relative and an absnlute increase. The

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tounagc pussiug tli rough tlic (.'aaaiJiau utuul, like lliaL ut^iiig ilic
American lanal, (.oiisisu almost whoii) of low-grmle Imlky I'lciglit,
llie giealcr part U'Uig easl-hound. In I'JUT, Iv'..') millions ul ions
of freight passed iluun ihroiigii the Canadian lanai, an in.rLa:ic
of 7<; per cent, over 11*U0. Tiie eanal id not, iiowever, suieesiful
in tarrying a large portion of this down hy tiie St. l.awrenee
route. Of the I'JOT grain si]i])uients from Port Arthur and
Fort William 24 per cent, went by water to Canadian points east
of the Welland Canal; while 43 per cent, went to (ieorgian Bay
and Lake llunm points, wlience it was hamiled by rail. It must
be remembered that, while the '' Soo " CanaJ permits the pa.^age
of the large lake-going vessels, (onditions are dilferent in the
case of the Welland and the St. Uwrence canals. In general, a
vessel 247 feet in length, 4-i feet t! inches wide, drawing 13
feet and carr"ing 2,212 tons of cargo may be regarded as typical
of tl'o ordinary verssel accoinmodation afforded by these canals.

Early in 1907 a deputation of vessel-owners and ^rain-shippers
memorialized the Dominion Government to so deepen and im-
prove the \V Hand Canal as to accommodate the largest vessels
of the Upper Lakes. T!ie GoTemment has at prcLont under
eonsidcration a project for deepening the canal to twenty-five
feet. The various commercial or^anization.s arc, however, bv no
means agreed on this question. At present it takes a vessel from
Hixteen to nineteen hours to lock through the canal, according
to the conditions of traaic. The same expenditure of tim> oula
permit the vessel to get back to the Detroit River. In the case
of the larger vessels it would !« more economical to pick up a
coal cargo on Lake Erie and go west to the river tlian to con-
tinue east, attcmi)ting to i)ick up a cargo west-bound from the
light traffic offering from Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence
River. It is true that if the canal were improved the time dis-
advantage would be lessened, but it would not be eliminated. As
regards the deepening of the St. LawTcnce canals, it may be noted
that tlie transportation of grain in barges from p'rescott to
Montreal has certain advantages. The exporter can brin-r his
barge? alongside the ocean-going vessel at ^fontreal, thus saving
elevator charges which have been complained of as exorbitant.
If the ocean vessel is not ready to load, the demurrage charges on
the barges are low.

Tt is nnder such conditions of dissatisfaction with the l.«wer

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I.:ikt' aii'l livur i.iiNils tliul tluic lin.> liti ii a ii'iuwiil iiiliiot in
the (Jriu-ian l>av .anal roiilo. 'I'lio jiinjc( i fm a luiiali/cil ,\ali'i-
\\ti\ rpiiu iIh' I'jiiKT Lal^c!^ liv wuy of tlm l-'ii-iii h liivtT. Laki'
Nilii.-siii;,' aiiil tlu' Ottawa !ir. r U> Moiitu ' attiacti'il all' iilioii
»() farly n- isir>. In is.'.i; aii<l in l>';i) siirvt-v- witc iMa>lr. Iii-
.uultodlv this loiiti' ha^ ^'nat a.lsanlagcs in iminl of di-iaiin'.
A vt'ssfl going from tin' " Soo " i.r from (lie Struits of Mai kiiiaw
lo Moiitrual would liy tlli^* roiUr iirartirally take one sicji of a
triangle, as tomiiari'd « itii two sides of the triangle hy way of (he
Lower Lakes. The follouiiig tuhle showH some of tile dlstaiue
advantages of the route:

via l.ow<»r Via flftirwitin AihuriimiB
From. To, Liikcn in Hay I'niial to in tfivur nf

luiira, nnlcfl. rttiuil.

Ciiicano NVw York l,3«l» — —

Cliicajfo Montreal — UOS 4H4

Dululh New Vork 1,500 — —

Duluth Montrcul — l«t7 5o;t

Fort William Monlrtal 1,2!>0 — —

Fort William Montreal — »34 302

The earlier surveys were concerned with ohtaiuing a depth of
from ten to twelve feet, and the cost of eonstruetion was estimated
at from $12,000,000 to $24,000,000. In more recent years the
increase in the average draught and carrying capacity of Lake-
going vessels has led to a change of opinion in regard to t .o
depth and cost of construction. While some, at an ear'ier period,
favoi' d a barge canal, the recent intert^st has been concerned with
a waterway which will permit a Lake vessel to unload at Montreal.
The Canadian Government has recently completed a compre-
hensive engineering survey of the whole route based on a mini-
mum depth of twenty-two feet. The project submitted would
permit the passage of the largest Lake vessels from Lake Huron
to .Montreal. In finding tl at the route was fea.«ible from an
engineering standpoint, the report of the survey was confirmatory
of the opinion expressed hy the " Engineering Xews " in its issue
of March Sti . 1 003 :

■■ Frnm an engineering standpoint, disregarding for the moment polit-
ical biiundurics, there can be no doubt tliat the Ottawa route is by far
(lie best for a deep waterway from the L'pper T.Hkes to the sea. So far
as cxp 'rl tralTie from the irortliwest to Kurope is concerned, it ofTers by
far the ticst possible ronte. . . ."

In comparing this route with existing or jirojocted routes the
question of the elevation to be overcome is of importance. Be-

71 ," -> , '■•'»>*!= rs .■■9k'^%UfMW'^ '-7. "•2r. ;

rut: ut:onm.\s ».n ( wal.

iweeu iloatrtttl aud Ucorgiau ba> llicix- aie -iiU imIis ol' uuvi-
guuuu. .Natural L-liaiiUkils arc avuilaidu ior SU pur cent, of Uii»
di.^lttuce. To reacli tlie buiiii/ul It-vul, (l.VJ Kt;l of loikiigf will bu
uoifBsury. li} tlie Wtllaud L'aual rui.ie onl> .jJU feul of lockage
aiu ui'ifssar). The (Jeorgiaii liay ruiii'' lias also to ii« loniiiuml
wall llie pr.'ijoscd dceiH'uiiig of tliu .\li>iji!'sii)|)i Hivcr aa well as
with the artilkial wati'iwajs projected to connect (Jeorgiau l>ay
with Lake Ontario. The proposed deep waterway from Liikc
Michigan to the Uulf of Mexico would give a route of l,ii-.'5
miles. It ia true that the estimated co^t of a deep waterway hy
this route does not call for more tlian !|ilO,UO(>.nn(). But there
must also he considered the nature of the stream, its tortuous
course, whi( h is W per cent, longer than the direct distance, and
the large amount u( silt carried ilown hy tlie river. These con-
ditions will necessitate a uontinuous e.\[>««n(lilure for (!red;,'iiig
whi. h will not he present in the case of the Ottawa River route.
Ill iiddilinii. tiie longer ocean voyage from the mouth of the
Alissis-ippi and the higher ocean freight rales prevailing hy way
of tlie Uulf of Mexico arc disndvantageous to tliis route. The
voyage from Chicago to the (iulf of Mcxiro is 'i^ I mih-s shorter
than from ''hieago to tlie Straits of lielle l.sle hy the Ottawa
Hiver. From such an rpiier-I.akc point, however, as nululli the
Ottawa Kiver route is 600 miles shorter. In hotli cases there must
he remembered the 'Msadvanta^fos of the longer ocoan voyage from
t'le mouth of the Mississippi.

Brief mention may be made of cne two competing Canadian
proj.cts. The proposed Huron Ontario Ca^al from Georgian
!?ay to T,akf Ontario has had almost as long a history as the
Georgian Bay Canal project. Tt is not clear, as was pou.tcd out
by the United ^itatcs Deep Waterways Oommii^-iion, whether there
is a sufficient supply of water at the summit level to feed the
locks both ways." The Trent Valley Canal, which is partially
construct! I. a., .j a tortuous water connection between Georgian
Bav and the eastern end of T.ake Ontario bv a route which is
six times as long as the direct land route. The canal is being
constructed as a barge route. From an engineering standpoint it
has attracted attention hy the construction of two larsre hvdraulic
locks, one of which has a lift of sixty-five feet. The lockaee hy
this route is about 500 feet jrreater than hv the Welland Canal.
While the Georgian Bay Canal is feasible from an engineering

■"-.-'t

TUK (ii:oh'<ii\s itw I .i\M. 7

Btan(liH)int, the importaut quesuou in lU inuballo irailic futuio.
Tlio Buviug in lime, cuuscqueui ou tliu sludlcr distumo, lud tlie
reductiou in ratei* tousequunt llierwu, inu)' be expected to ultrait
.illio. 'I'ukiiig liie I'uuuiiiu I'ii' d fctiiiiuli', four iiulcs [» f lioui
wouhl l)f tlic iiiaximuiii .■^pffd ou ilie fiiiml portion i.f the n»ute.
It may l.i; uc''d iii passin- tluU on tin- Wollmid r:iiial, uhidi
hurt, liovv.wi-, x-nnv sharp curvivs the rtpced falls helow tliis. lUit
ou the basirt of four mil"., pt-r hum \\v liml that t!ii'4 route would
peririit ve8!ti'ls to move from (ieorgiuu Buy to MoatrLul in seventy
hours, ang an udvuntiigc of from one and '-half to two
day- over existing routes. Tiiis eukuhition i .. 1, liowever. on
the eouditions alfeeting the e.visting fourtei. . wat-rwiiy is
way of the Wellunil Camil. If the St. I.aurenee route to Montreal
were deepened to twenly-Uvo feet, it is probable— suhjcd to the
tratlic eouditions spokeu of above— that the (leorgian Hay Canal
would have no advantage in point of tiine. The .ieepening of
t!ie Lower Lake and rivT eanal.^ and tlie inerea.se in the size
of the hnks would lessen the amount of lockage. At the same
time, the longer stretches of laki' and river navigation .vould
permit higher speeds than would be possible on the northern
route.

During IDOT the wheat rate from t'hieago to HulTalo by Lake
averaged l.r) cents per bushel, while from Duluth to ButTalo it
was L8 cents. During sr ne period the rail rate on exjiort

wheat from Buffalo to : York was f-om five to five and one-
half rents. The Lake i ... eanal rate by the St. Lawrence to
IVfontreal ha,- average.! over a period of years four and one-half
cents. Sinet it ■ "stimated that the (Jcorgian Bay Canal can
carry wheu. .o Montreal at a profit at two cents pop bushel, its
rate advantages arc apparent.

One of the ohjettions urged against this route is the short-
ncsa of the season. The I,ake season opens witli the opening of
the Straits of 'Nraekinaw about April 30th and ends about De-
cjmher I2th. During the season of \'.w\ the Canadian " Soo "
Canal was open 2.')3 days. The Georgian Bay route would b"
available for about 210 days out of the year. By the Welland
Canal twentv-two days iimre navisation would bo afforded. An-
other factor to be considered is that of wind detention in the
canalized portions of the route. Tlie high sides of steel vessels
make them dif.icnlt to handle in a hich wind. On the Welland

Tin: ilEOUiilW HAY VASAL.

and St. Lawrence canals there liave been cases where a vessel has
lost two (lays on a trip on accoiuit of wind detention. It must l)e
renieuibered, however, that such detentions have taken place wheie
vessels which, while capable of greater loaded drauglit, were un-
able to draw more than fourteen feet because of the limited depth
of the canals. With a deeper channel by the northern route, the
vessels would he stiffer and less sutiject to wind resistance.
Against the shorter season and the possible factor of wind re-
sistance must be set the fact that the shorter distance would per-
mit a larger number of trips during the season.

A significant fact in the development of Lake transportation
has been the increasing importance of the Upper Lakes. The
great increase in the traffic passing through the " Soo " Canals
is one index of this. With the development of the United States,
the westward movement of grain centres and the expansioa of
population have lessened the transportation importance possessed
by the Lower Lakes in the early days of the Canadian canal
system. The northwestward trend of the wheat centre is e^nocially
significant. The result of these changes is that the shortest lines
of communication from the northwest to the seaboard lie across
Canada. The great development which the Canadian Northwest
is undergoing furtlier accentnates the importance of this. In the
United States a fractional change in rates determines whether a
section, whose grain normally moves south, shall send it to the
Lakes. The States of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michi-
gan and Minnesota, which lie within the sphere of influence of
the Georgian Bay Canal, had, in 1900, a population of 18.8
millions. If one foot of a pair of compasses is placed at Chicago
and the other at Duluth, the circle described with this radius
will pass through Kansas City. In Canada all the provinces,
with the exception of British Columbia, would be vitally inter-
ested in the Georgian Bay route. The possibilities of traffic
from the Canadian Northwest are of great importance. In Alani-
toba the percentage of the total land area under cultivation is
only 7 per cent., while in Alberta and Saskatchewan it is only
2 per cent. Recognizing that the cultivable area will fall short
of the total land area, there is still great opportunity for develop-
ment. The minimum estimate of the ultimate wheat yield of the
northwestern provinces of Canada is 254.000,000 bushels, the
maximum 812,000,000.

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THE ULUmjliS H.ll fASAL.

Mr. G. Y. Wisner, aa Aiueiicau consulting engineer of higli
repate, estimates that tlie eanal will attract 8,000,000 tons of
trallie. In I'JO? the corn receipts at Bull'alo were 28,000,000
bushels. In competition for a large portion of this tonnage the
canal would have an advantage, and an especial advantage, over
tlie ilississippi because of the cooler route through northern wa-
ters. In 1888 Sir William Van Home stated that anything that
would tend to lessen the cost of transportation between the north-
west and the seaboard must unquestiouably have a beneficial ef-
fect. As he has elsewhere graphically stated, the diJIiculty has
been that Canada has enlarged the transportation funnel in the
northwest without enlarging the spout. In his evidence before
a committee of the Canadian Senate, he said that the canal should
lead to the utilization of various kinds of forest products which
could not, under existing conditions, stand the cost of trans-
portation. It should also have a most favorable effect on the
development of the mineral resources of the Ottawa Valley. So
far as the railways were concerned, he held that the canal would
create more traffic than it would take away. The power possi-
bilities of the route are emphasized hy the report of the Govern-
ment Survey, which states that 1,000,000 horse-power are avail-
able along the route.

In addition to traffic in grain and lumber, a considerable part
of the dairy and packing-house products of the sections of the
United States adjacent to the Lakes might be attracted by the
supplying of cooling and refrigerating facilities. At present there
is a great disparity between the east-bound and west-bound Lake
traffic. Tlie large amount of empty cargo space west-bound gives
a low rate on coal. The location of the canal would not permit
it to compete for American coal. In the movement of salt, chiefly
from New York points, the location of the canal would also rule
it out of the running. A considerable part of the west-bound
traffic might be obtained from general merchandise and package
freight, of which about 1,750,000 tons moves on the Lakes, chiefly
westward. In the transportation of cement the canal could also
develop a large traffic. Canada manufactures over 2,000,000
barrels of Portland cement annually. Seven-tenths of the cement
plants of Canada are located in Ontario; an increasing demand
for cement may be expected in the Canadian Northwest. The
traffic in Nova-Scotian coal may also be largely increased. At

THE OEUl^OlAX UA\ tASAL.

present over 1,OUU,000 tous of this coal reach Montreal annually.
It would be possible to expand the demand for this coal in the
West botli for manufacturing and for domestic purposes.

The American people have always been interested in the de-
velopment of the Canadian transportation system. In the meet-
ings of the xNational Ship Canal Convention at Chicago in June
18(J3, the advantages of tlie Canadian waterway system werJ
recognized even by those who feared the competition. The Legis-
lature of Illinois passed, in 18G3, a joint resolution appointhi-
coinmissioners to proceed to Canada to solicit the " earnest con"-
sideration and early action upon a subjecjt of great and inereasin-r
importance of enlarged and cheaper outlets to tidewater by way
of the lakes and rivers and new or enlarged canals of Canada
Tiie great avenue to the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence bein^
once opened to its largest capacity, the laws of trade, which it
has never been the policy of the Federal Govei-nment to obstruct
wdl carry tbo commerce of the Northwest through it." At the
Commercial Convention in Detroit in 18(Jo, Mr. Aspinwall of
Detroit said the navigation of the St. Lawrence Iliver and canals
could be imj.roved to give a safe and clear draught of fourteen
feet to tidewater, and that this would be important to " the future
welfare of the great and growing Northwest." The United States
Deep ^Aaterways Commission gave a qualified approval to the
Georgian Bay Canal when it said: "The function of the Ottawa
route IS a. a future loop line for through business when traffic
conditions shall have been sufficientlv developed by the Erie-
Ontario route." The importance of the direct-rail route across
Canada is manifested by the growth of the in - transit trade
\M.en partially through a belief that economic pressure would
lead to annexation, there was a proposal to rescind the bonding
pnv, eg. the outburst of protest from tl,e Xew England and the
J; orth western Mates showed how important the short lines across
Canada were to the welfare of the United States

From time to time arguments have been ^advanc'cl ac^ain^t
Canadian and m favor of American routes on the ground of the
assumed hostile intent from a military standpoint of the former.
With those who insist on looking at the matter from this stand-
point It IS useless to argue. But those interested in commercial
develoi-ment will agree that any transportation route which must
he supported by a reference to a war scare thereby condemns

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THE OEOHUIAS BAY VASAL.

itself. The low rate is the thing; and the sober sense of tlie
American people may be relied upon to see that the only war
Canada is interested in is that of commerce, not of arms.

The Georgian Bay Canal project briugs up the important ques-
tion of the increasing size and draught of Lake vessels. It must
be recognized that, notwithstanding the shorter route, there is
some question whether there will be sufficient traffic west-bound
from Montreal to attract large I^ake vessels in preference to the
run to Lake Erie ports. In favor of the canal it may, how-
ever, be urged that the development of a large bulk of east-bound
tonnage will increase the volume of ocean-going tonnage entering
Montreal and that the result of this will be a large volume of
inbound tonnage. Enthusiasts have claimed that not only will
the canal attract the Lake type of vessel, but that it will also
lead to direct voyages from the Great Lakes to European ports,
thus obviating the disadvantages of breaking bulk. Although
ocean voyages were made in earlier days by small sailing-vessels
sailing from Lake ports, for example, the " Dean Richmond " in
the fifties, this is cot conclusive. The experiences in 1901 of the
vessels built for the Counselman Syndicate by the American Ship-
building Company are more in point. Although they journeyed
under their own steam from Chicago and Detroit to European
ports, the venture was so unprofitable that it was given up after
one season. There are, it is true, vague hints that this was due
to the underhand machinations of those adverse to this route.
Without speculating in regard to motives, sufficient economic
causes exist to explain the lack of success. The fact that the
vessels could not load to their fnll depth of twenty feet imtil
Montreal was reached was peculiar to the existing canal depth.
In addition, they could not compete in cargo capacity with the
larger vessels either of the Lakes or of the ocean. Their sailors
were paid on the Lake scale of wages, which is about twice as great
as the ocean scale. In addition, the vessels were subjected to
high insurance charges.

In Canada the ship-building industry on the Lakes has not been
greatly developed. The largest vessel so far built, one 510 feet
in length, was recently launched at Fort Erie. The bonding
system used in vessel construction on the American side of the
Lakes is practically non-existent in Canada. In general. Cana-
dian firms interested in Lake traffic find they can save time bv

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THE UEORUIAS BAY VASAL.

obtaining veaaels from Great Britain. Such vessels have, of
course, to be built to withstand the stormy passage of the north
Atlantic. The American vessel engaged in tlie Lake traffic can
be more lightly constructed. Tlie stronger hulls, etc., needed for
tiie ocean voyage add about twenty per cent, to the cost. The
Lake vepsel, on account of the smaller amount of coal needed to
t-e carried, has greater cargo space in proportion to size than
the ocean-going vessel, in general, the latter costs about twice
as much per ton of cargo capacity as the former. A combined
Lake and ocean type of vessel would lack the economic advantages
attaching to the more specialized types.

Tlie Georgian Bay Canal will be a costly work. Construction
tlirough tlie Laurentian formation will be "xpensive and will
take about ten years to complete. It is estimated that the canal
will cost $105,000,000; even if money can be obtained at three
per cent., the interest charge will exceed three millions; in addi-
tion, maintenance charges must be considered. Although Canada
has greatly increased its resources of recent years, the demands
upon I'ese are also great. The Government, while favoring the
construction of the canal, has not given a definite indication of
the policy it proposes to adopt. The English Company, known
as the .Montreal, Ottawa & Georgian Bay Canal Company, which
was chartered in 1894, has done considerable survey-work. It haa
offered to construct the work if interest on s bonds is guaranteed,
the right to regulate the tolls being reserved to the Government.
Pending a definite announcement of policy, <he Government has
reserved the right to expropriate the private company. Condi-
tions favor Government construction and operation. The fact
that tie canal would be, if in private hands, a toll canal gives
point to the desire for Government ownership and management.
For since 1903 there have heen no tolls on the through traffic
of the Canadian canals. The advantage of canal development is
looked fo'- in the expansion of Canada's trade and resources, not
in direct contributions to the revenue of the country from the
tonnage utilizing the canals.

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