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The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, I893
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
INCEPTION AND ORGANIZATION
MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS
LIST OF MEMBERS f
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B O S T ON .
D A M R E L L & U P HAM
@Ibe 49(b Čorner ºf Gołłątore
283 Washington Street

LIST OF PAPERS.
I. The methods and cost of transportation on rivers
and canals.
(a) Cable haulage on canals and rivers (Lévy's system), by Pro-
fessor William Watson, Ph.D., Mem. Amer. Soc. C. E., Fellow Am.
Acad. Arts and Sci., Secretary of the Congress.-Difficulties in cable
haulage—system adopted—tension of the cable—the supporting and
guiding pulleys—the rotation of the cable—the tow rope joint and its
details—hooking on and management of the boat—automatic start-
ing—method of circuits. Illustrated with figures showing the cable
and stop—the details of the saddle, the tow rope joint, and the guid-
ing pulleys—with a photographic view showing the system in opera-
tion.
(b) Chain towage with magnetic adherence by L. Molinos, Presi-
dent, and A. de Bovet, Director of the Lower Seine and Oise Towage
Co., Paris, France. Historical sketch—defects of the system hither-
to in use—requisites for a proper system—M. de Bovet's experiments
on magnetic adherence—description of the new chain tow boat Am-
père—practical results obtained—various applications of the magnetic
pulley. Illustrated (1) by a folding plate (Figs. I-17) containing the
plan, sections, and details of the Ampère and those of the magnetic
pulley, (2) by a photographic view of the Ampère (demi-tone
plate).
(c) Electric propulsion on canals, by O. Büsser, Oderberg-in-the-
Mark, Prussia. Use of a portable motor—Büsser's system of electric
chain towage—the motors—the chain—the power-house—descrip-
tion of Büsser's electric motor steering boat—estimates—cost of the
plant—the annual expense of maintenance—conclusions. Illustra-
tions—Plate I. represents the system of electric towage with details.
Plate II. the electro motor steering boat applied to barges and rafts.
(d) NOTE.-The electric towage in use on the Burgundy Canal,
France, by M. Galliot, Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées.
4.
II. The importance of protecting canal banks in view
of navigation at high speed.
NOTE.-by Professor J. Schlichting, President of the Central
Union of Navigation, Berlin, Germany.
III. The advantages resulting from replacing chains
of canal locks by hydraulic lifts.
Description of the hydraulic lift at Les Fontinettes, France, by
Prof. William Watson.
Situation—principle of the lift—description of the works—method
of working—time required for an up and down motion—summary.
Illustrated by three plates, viz., the plan, the longitudinal and the
transverse sections—and three photographs showing the lift in oper-
ation—the plunger, the trough and the basin—and the machinery
(demitone plates). •
IV. The best form of canal and river barges in respect
to capacity and cost of traction.
Experimental researches on the forms of canal and river boats,
by F. B. de Mas, Ingénieur en Chef des Ponts et Chaussées—object
of the researches—method employed—influence of the surface—
influence of the form—conclusions—Illustrated by four plates show-
ing the plans, elevations, sections, and waterlines of the various boats
used in the experimental researches.
V. The new and the enlarged waterways required to
meet the demands of commerce.
(a). The proposed enlargement of the waterway from Lake
Michigan to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River, by L. E.
Cooley, C.E.-Importance of this waterway—history of the scheme
—physical features—its magnitude—detailed description.—Appen-
dix. Excursion of the Congress to the Work, by Mr. E. P. North,
C. E. Method of excavation, and handling of the materials—the
benefits expected from this waterway. Illustrations. Plan and pro-
file of the canal and the river diversion. Longitudinal section through
the Illinois River basin from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. The
Brown balanced cantilever derrick for hoisting and conveying the
broken material. Photographic view of the method used by the
Western Dredging and Improvement Company for the same purpose.
(b.) Canadian waterways from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic,
by Thomas C. Keefer, C.E., Ottawa, Canada. The second enlarges
ment of the Welland Canal—the St. Lawrence route—the Charº.
5
plain and St. Lawrence canal—the Ottawa Valley canal—the
Grangers Canal. Illustrated by a profile of the Lake Erie navigation
between Lake Erie and tide water at Albany, and the St. Lawrence
navigation between Lake Erie and tide water at Montreal. Diagram
showing the canals on the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and
Prescott.
(c) The proposed waterway from Lake Michigan to the Missis-
sippi via the Illinois and Mississippi Canal. (Two papers.)—
(1) Historical sketch, by Thomas J. Henderson, M. C. (2) The
influence of the canal in reducing the cost of transportation, by Mr.
Alonzo Bryson, Davenport, Iowa.
(d) The new and the enlarged waterways required to meet the
demands of commerce in Russia, by E. F. de Hoerschelmann,
Engineer of Lines of Communication, Kief, Russia. General survey
of the waterways—detailed description of the Marie system—project
of the Don and Volga canal—improvement of the Dnieper. Illus-
trated by a map especially prepared.
(e) The projected Lake Erie and Ohio River ship canal, by
Thomas P. Roberts, C.E. General description of the route—water
supply—comparison with other proposed routes—estimate of cost—
prospective business of the proposed canal—the Pittsburgh terminus.
Accompanied by a map showing the general route of the projected
ship canal, and the profile from Surveys made by the Pennsylvania
Ship Canal Commission in 1890.
VI. The respective use of waterways and railways,
and their competitive influence in reducing the cost of
transportation.
(a) On the utilization of water and rail routes in Hungary and
their competitive influence in reducing freight charges, by Dr.
Alexander Halász, Professor in the Polytechnic School at Buda-
Pest. General remarks—passenger traffic—consequences of the
zone rates—conclusions as to passenger traffic—freight transportation
—nature of the traffic—table of comparison of the traffic on railroads
and rivers—influence of rates on the traffic by either route—water
routes—competition of the State roads—conclusions.
(b) NOTE. On the comparative cost of transportation by rail and
by water in Austria, by A. Schromm, Navigation Inspector, Counsel-
lor of the Government at Vienna, Austria.
VII. Benefits resulting from improvements in water-
ways.
6
By Professor Leveson Francis Vernon-Harcourt, M.A., Mem-
Inst. C. E.-The greatest opportunities for inland navigation and the
conditions favorable to its development—ship canals for ports—The
Amsterdam ship canal—The Baltic canal—ship canals across necks
of peninsulas—the Corinth canal—the proposed Florida canal—the
Chignecto ship railway—inter-oceanic ship canals—the Suez canal—
the piercing of the Isthmus of Panama—the Tehuantepec scheme
—conclusions.
VIII. Inter-oceanic canal projects. Ship canals.
(a) The Nicaragua canal, by A. G. Menocal, Mem. Amer. Soc.,
C. E., Eng. U. S. N. The surveys—Nicarauga lake and river—the
canal route—Brito—the river San Juan—the San Carlos—the San
Francisco—the eastern divide cut—the Deseado—the port of Grey-
town—rainfall—drainage—other Canals—the excavations—embank-
ments and dams—deepening the river bed—lake dredging and piers.
—the western divide—La Flor dam—the locks—time of lockage—
time of transit—transportation facilities—period for construction—
estimates.
Appendix. “Nicarauga, the Gateway to the Pacific,” by the Nica-
ragua Canal Company, containing the geographical and physical
features, illustrated by three large, colored or shaded, folding maps.
(1) The general plan and profile of the Nicaragua canal on a large
scale, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. (2) Panoramic.
view of the canal. (3) Chart of the world showing the distances
saved by the canal.
(b) The Manchester ship canal, by Elijah Helm, Secretary of the
Manchester Chamber of Commerce, with an introduction by Mar-
shall Stevens, General Manager of the canal.—Nearest steamer port.
providing for a population of 8,000,ooo, 2,500,000 being within cart-
ing distance of the Manchester dock—dimensions and summary
description of the canal—effect of the canal on the growth of Man-
chester—prospects—attitude of the ship owners—the cotton trade—
reduction in the cost of transportation of staple commodities—esti-
mates of the prospective traffic and revenue.
Ship Railways.
(a) The working of the first ship railway, by William Smith,
Mem. Inst. C. E., Harbor Engineer, Aberdeen, Scotland. Leading
principles on which ship railway cars must be built—description of
the Edinburgh ship railway—hydraulic cushions—report of the special
jury—mechanical and hydraulic principles—Mr. Kinipple's report on
7
the advantages of this system of transportation. Illustrated by fig-
ures representing the plan of the grounds—embarkations—midship
section of a laden boat and an end of a pair of compound bogies—
plan of the bogie and of the hydraulic cushions—view of the boat on
the rails—diagram of docks and warehouses.
(b) The Chignecto ship railway, by H. G. C. Ketchum, Chief En-
gineer of the Chignecto Ship Railway, Amherst, Nova Scotia. Object
—saving in distance, insurance, etc.—reasons for the adoption of the
ship railway in place of a canal—description of the proposed railway
with its appliances. Illustrated by plates: plan and longitudinal
section of the Chignecto ship railway. Map of the country.
IX. River Improvement.
(a) Improvement of the navigation of the Seine, by Professor
William Watson, illustrated by a map of the tidal Seine. Recent
improvements in the river from Paris to Rouen—embankment works
for the improvement of the tidal Seine—land reclaimed—results—an
account of Prof. Vernon-Harcourt's experimental researches with a
model of the Seine estuary—description of the model and the
arrangements for imitating the tidal and fresh water flow—results of
working with Bagshot sand—introduction of the training walls—results
obtained from five experiments each corresponding to a different
scheme for introducing training walls into the estuary. . Each
experiment is illustrated by a separate drawing. •
(b) The Mississippi River improvement below Cairo by C. B.
Comstock, Colonel of Engineers, Chairman of the Mississippi River
Commission. The maximum discharge at various points on the
river—the Mississippi Commission—the closing of secondary branches
—mattresses employed for protecting the banks—contraction of the
river bed by the use of rows of piles—works at Plum Point Reach—
the levee system. Accompanied by a map of Plum Point Reach
with the works of improvement. (Two photographic views.) Plate
I., Fascine mat under construction in Ashport Bend, Sept. 8, 1893.
Plate II., Mat at Greenville, Mississippi (two demi-tone plates).
(c) NOTE-Results of the improvement of the lower and outer
Weser, by Ludwig Franzius, Director of Public Works, Bremen,
Germany.
X. Harbor Equipment.
The port of Havre, by Baron Quinette de Rochemont, Inspecteur
Général des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France. Geographical and
hydrographical information — currents and tides — description of
8
the port—graving docks—floating docks—removal of the silt from
the port—works in progress or projected—commercial and statistical
information. Illustrated by a map.
XI. Transportation statistics.
(a) The commerce of the Mississippi River, by George H. Mor-
gan, Secretary of Merchant's Exchange, St. Louis. Historical sketch
—traffic on the Mississippi and its tributaries.
(b) The commerce of the United States as related to that of
other countries, by William W. Bates, Ex U. S. Commissioner of
Navigation—The contrast between the present and the former position
of the United States in respect to the foreign carrying trade—impor-
tance of a commercial marine—history and causes of its decline—
$200,ooo,ooo annually earned by foreign ships for carrying 92 per
cent of value of our own ocean commerce. -
(c) NoTE.—On the same subject by Ambrose Snow, President of
the American Shipping League.
(d) The status and interests of water transportation, by Thomas
J. Vivian, in charge of transportation statistics, United States Cen-
sus. Statistics of the United States foreign trade—unrigged craft
considered as a legitimate portion of our fleet—diminution in our for-
eign, and increase in our domestic carrying trade largely compensatory
—extraordinary development of this domestic commerce—our entire
fleet larger than that of Great Britain—the distances made in aver-
age trips cover many of those made by English vessels on foreign
voyages.
XII. Harbor Improvement.
(a) NOTE.-On the subaqueous framework constructions in the
Baltic Sea, by Th. Shmeleff, Chief Inspector, Réval, Russia.
(b) Pneumatic foundations at Genoa and Rochelle, (Description
of Zschokke and Terrier's system) by Professor William Watson.
Character of the foundation—caisson for blasting out the rocks—
boring apparatus—great floating caisson for laying the flooring—pro-
cesses adopted for the construction of the blocks—method of work-
ing in the great caisson—displacement of the caisson—junction of
the blocks. Illustrated by sections of the caissons and a photographic
view of them in operation with the method of joining the blocks
(demi tone plate).
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE SECRETARY'S
º REPORT. "
2
The organization of the Chicago Internaţional Congresses.—Officers.
The inception and organization of the Water Commerce Congress.-The
preliminary address of the Local Committee. The relation of the
Water Commerce Congress to the Fifth International Inland Naviga-
tion Congress at Paris, with extracts from the minutes of the Paris
Congress, containing the sketch of a programme proposed for the
Chicago Congress.
The Water Commerce Congress.—Its definite programme. Membership.
Papers. The opening. The President’s address.
Minutes.—Including the titles of the papers. The discussions, with brief
notes on the following subjects, printed in full : Electric towage on
the Burgundy canal, by Galliot. The importance of protecting
canal banks in view of navigation at high speed, by Prof. J.
Schlichting. The economic value of a ship canal from the great
lakes to the sea, by S. A. Thompson. The comparative cost of
transporation by rail and by water in Austria, by A. Schromm.
The improvement of the Lower and Outer Weser, by L. Franzius.
The present condition of the foreign commerce of the United States,
by A. Snow. The subaqueous framework constructions in the Baltic
Sea, by T. Shmeleff. The list of books and photographs presented
to the Congress. Closing resolutions.
ZŽe list of members.
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHICAGO INTER–
NATIONAL CONGRESSES.
In 1890, the directors of the World's Columbian Expo-
sition decided to hold a series of International Congresses
in connection with the Exposition, and for this purpose
established a separate organization, viz.: “The Auxiliary
of the World's Columbian Exposition to conduct these
congresses.” The organization was constituted as follows:
(1) A Central Administrative Bureau.
(2) A Local Committee of Arrangements for each con-
gress, consisting of a comparatively small number of per-
sons, with few exceptions, residing in or near Chicago.
(3) An Advisory Council, adjoined to each committee,
constituting its non-resident but active branch, composed
of persons eminent in the work involved, and selected
from many parts of the world, co-operating with the Local
Committee by individual correspondence.
(4) Honorary and corresponding members invited to
ive their advice and co-operation.
g p
(5) Committees of Co-operation appointed by particular
organizations, and invited to an active participation in the
work of the Congress.
The appointment of all the Committees was vested in
the President of the Auxiliary, and the executive adminis-
tration of each congress was in charge of the Local Com-
mittee and the officers of the Auxiliary. The names of
these officers were as follows: President, Charles C. Bon-
ney ; Vice President, Thomas B. Bryan; Treasurer,
Lyman J. Gage; Secretaries, Benj. Butterworth, Clarence
E. Young. -
II
ORGANIZATION OF THE WATER COMMERCE CONGRESS.
The Committee of the Water Commerce Congress was
appointed in the early part of 1892, and its first act was to
issue the following address:—
To the Friends of Water Commerce, in A// Countries:—
In connection with the Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1893,
and auxiliary thereto, will be held a Water Commerce Congress, to
which delegates from all civilized nations are cordially invited.
For many centuries interstate commerce and commerce between
nations have chiefly been dependent on water transportation.
As the population of the world increases, and the enlightened
policy of reciprocity becomes more prevalent, the interchange of
commodities between nations and states will continue to increase.
That facilities for cheapest conveyance should be adequate to all
requirements is self-evident.
The nations being at peace, it is believed that the most important
economic question before the civilized world is the cost of transport.
Many steps in the modes of conveyance, on water as well as on land,
Have been taken, and every step has been followed by a reduction in
transport charges.
Canals have been built, rivers straightened and deepened, harbors
excavated and made larger, and docks built; barges have given
place to boats, boats to sailing vessels, sailing vessels to steamships,
and small steam vessels to larger ones; and many improvements
have been made in marine steam engines.
The expense incurred in making these improvements, considered
in the abstract, is immense ; but considered in comparison with the
aggregate saving in the cost of transport it is surprisingly small.
In view of what has been accomplished in this and other countries
in increasing the facilities for internal commerce by water, and the
commerce between nations by the construction of interoceanic
canals, together with those in process of construction and in contem-
plation during the last half century, it is proposed to hold at Chicago,
during the Columbian Exposition of 1893, an International Congress
on Water Commerce, in which may be discussed such general ques-
tions as interest all nations, as well as such as apply more particularly
to the United States. As an illustration of the scope of this Congress,
rather than as an attempt to lay out a program at this time, may be
mentioned the following questions : —
I2
1. The economy of recent improvements in sea-going steamers.
2. The improvements and changes required in ocean harbors to accom-
modate the increase in size of vessels. -
3. The best methods of improving tidal harbors. f
4. The most efficient and economical plant and equipment for harbors,
tugs, barges, elevators, cranes, docks, piers, etc., etc.
5. The best method of interchanging traffic between water and rail
transportation. -
6. Interoceanic canal projects; their present status, the necessity for
such, and the results to be expected.
7. The most economical methods of navigating great inland bodies
of water. -
8. The economical effects of changes recently made, or proposed, in
the construction and operation of lake vessels. -
9. Systems of slack-water navigation; their construction and opera-
tion. -
Io. The best methods of improving navigable rivers; their results in
cheapening transportation.
II. The respective effects of waterways and railways upon each other,
and the results to the public.
12. Inland canals; their present position, usefulness, and economy.
13. Methods of cheapening transportation on canals. Self-moving
vessels, various methods of towing, etc., etc.
14. Additional facilities in water transportation required in Europe,
South America, or other parts of the world.
15. The projected enlargement of the Welland Canal and improve-
ment of the River St. Lawrence. -
16. What is the most economical size of vessels in the several systems
of navigation ?
17. What new motive power, if any, is likely to supersede steam in
navigation ?
Proposed ship canals in the United States:—
Between Lakes Huron and Ontario.
Between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi.
Between the Lakes and the Hudson River.
Across the Peninsula of Florida.
In other parts of the country.
What river or harbor improvements, and what canals are
required in the Southern States, or on the Pacific Coast?
:
These, and kindred subjects which may be suggested, may be
brought before the Congress, by the preparation of papers to be read
and discussed at its meetings, and such further action be taken as
may be deemed most expedient.
Within the memory of many there was a time when it was believed
that inland transportation by rail would generally supersede transport
by canals and canalized rivers, if not by lakes.
I3
It is true that the time has passed for the construction of small
canals for local purposes, but we believe that the time will never
come when it will not be deemed expedient to construct artificial
channels to connect large bodies of water naturally navigable, so that
navigation may be continuous. The St. Mary's Falls Canal, connect-
ing Lakes Superior and Huron, whose borders to-day are for the
most part a wilderness, gives passage to a tonnage so marvelous that
it seems to border upon the fabulous.
In 1870 the amount of registered freight which passed through the
St. Mary's Falls Canal was 690,826 tons; in 1890 it was 8,454,435
tonS.
The Suez Canal revolutionized the ocean commerce of Asia and
the East India Islands with Europe and America. And when the
Nicaragua Canal shall have been completed, it will become the com-
mercial highway between the eastern coast of Asia, the East India
Islands, the western coast of North and South America, and the
western coast of Europe and the eastern coast of North and South
America. Who can approximately estimate the probable CO m InerCe
that will pass from the great oceans through this artificial channel,
this great connecting water highway?
This is not the place to multiply examples. It is enough to
indicate the results of great enterprises in making available important
material advantages by artificial means.
Bradstreet's Report for 1889 says that during 234 days of that
year ten (IO) millions more tonnage passed through the Detroit
River than the aggregate of the entrances and clearances of all the
seaports of the United States; and three millions more than the
combined foreign and coastwise shipping of Liverpool and London.
The saving in cost of transport by water is no less remarkable than
the increase of water commerce. The statistician of the Interstate
Commerce Commission says the entire cost of lake transportation in
1890 was $23,177,540.70, and that if the same freight had been
carried at railroad rates the cost would have been $143,079,283.51.
This shows a saving of nearly $120,000,000 in transport charges
during the year 1890. -
. It is the object of this address to elicit from persons interested, in
all parts of the world, such suggestions as will promote the highest
utility and success of the proposed Water Commerce Congress. All
those to whom this address is sent, and others interested, who hear
of it, are therefore cordially invited, at their earliest convenience, to
I4.
favor the undersigned committee with suggestions of subjects to be
considered in the proposed Congress, also with the names of persons
especially qualified to present such subjects, and any other recom-
mendations which they deem conducive to the end in view.
While the local arrangements of the proposed Congress are neces-
sarily in charge of the Local Committee, which is composed of
persons residing in or near the place where the Congress is to be
held, the plans of the World's Congress Auxiliary provide that every
such committee shall have the benefit of the advice and co-operation
of an Advisory Council, composed of persons eminent in the depart-
ment, and selected from all parts of the world. Proposals of names.
suitable for the Advisory Council of the proposed Water Commerce
Congress are, therefore, also respectfully solicited. In addition to
this Advisory Council a Committee of Co-operation may be appointed
by any existing organization which may desire to promote the success.
of the proposed Congress. Such a Committee of Co-operation will
constitute the means of communication between the organization and
the World's Congress Auxiliary.
The Committee earnestly desire the benefit of such suggestions.
before proceeding to arrange a programme for the proposed Con-
gress. Communications in relation to the subject may be addressed.
to the Chairman of the Committee. -
John C. DoRE, Chairman, E. L. CoRTHELL, Vice Chairman,
GEORGE F. STONE, O. CHANUTE,
MURRAY NELSON, D. E. RICHARDson,
BENZETTE WILLIAMS, THOMAS G. CRosBY,
Committee of the World's Congress Auxiliary
on a Water Commerce Congress.
WoRLD’s Congress HEADQUARTERs,
CHICAGO, April, 1892.
Later, the President added the name of William Watson
to act as Secretary of this Committee.
In July, the President of the Auxiliary, at the urgent
request of two members of the Local Committee, commis-
sioned its Chairman, the Hon. John C. Dore, to proceed
to Paris, to solicit the co-operation of the Fifth Inter-
national Inland Navigation Congress, which was about to
I5
convene.” Mr. Dore accepted this commission, and the
manner in which he fulfilled his task is shown by the fol-
lowing extract from the minutes of the Paris Congress : —
Axtracts from the minutes of the proceedings of the Fifth Zºzzerma-
tional Congress on Zn/and AWavigation, Paris, /u/y 29, 1892.
THE CHAIRMAN : Gentlemen, you are aware that next year there
will be an International Exhibition at Chicago. The Hon. John C.
Dore, Delegate from Chicago to the Paris Congress, wishes to invite
us to be present on that occasion. He will now address the meeting.
* These members were Mr. Elmer L. Corthell and Mr. Octave Chanute,
who sent to Mr. Dore, on July 1, 1892, written memoranda as suggestions.
concerning the proposed Congress. Mr. Corthell wrote as follows:
‘‘I find that this European Congress has held its sessions, at one time,
in two consecutive years, and they may be induced to become a part of our
Congress next year. If they are willing to do so, an organizing Commit-
tee should be selected largely from the United States.”
Then follows a list of names suggested for such a Committee. “If the
Congress, as such, cannot accept an invitation to hold its Congress as a
part of ours, then to fully inform it of the scope of our Congress, and
invite its individual members to attend and to contribute papers.”
Mr. Chanute wrote as follows:
“The principal objects of International conferences upon a commercial
matter, such as the subject of Navigation, are to compare views, ascertain
what problems are now engaging the thoughts of experts, and to exchange
information. There are a number of things in which the Europeans are
in advance of us, and on which we should desire the benefit of their recent
experience, such for instance as:
• 10 Economy in operating ocean steamers of recent construction.
“2% The best plant and appliances for economical harbor work.
“30 The most economical methods of warehousing and distributing
goods.
“In these the English are in advance of the Americans.
“49 The best methods of improving navigable, flowing rivers.
“5” Methods of cheapening transportation on canals.
“60 Substitution of hydraulic lifts for canal locks.
“In these, the French and Belgians are in the lead.
“We can, in exchange, give them valuable information as to the results
attained in the United States, in cheapening water transportation, chiefly
on the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways. A bare statement
of those results will lead to the desire of knowing how it was done. To
exhibit this, papers should be soon arranged for, on, say:—
“ I” The improvements in navigating the Great Lakes.
“20 The new forms and sizes of lake vessels (whalebacks, etc.).
“39The enlargement of Sault Ste. Marie Canal.”
e
I6
MR. JoHN C. DoRE: Mr. President and gentlemen, I have the
honor to represent the annexed Congresses of the Universal Colum-
bian Exhibition of the United States, which is to be held at Chicago
in 1893, at the Fifth International Congress of Inland Navigation.
While the Universal Exhibition will be a display of products, the
annexed Congresses have for their objects to show the advances made
in all the branches of civilization : agriculture, arts, commerce and
finance, education, civil engineering, government, literature, religion
and philosophy, labor, medicine, social reform, temperance, and the
press. .
I am requested to inform you that the co-operation of your distin-
guished members in the Congress of the Commerce of navigable ways,
which will be held on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of
1893, is earnestly desired.
To the desire of securing your collaboration must be attributed the
fact of my being commissioned to be present at your sittings and to
invite you all, personally and collectively, in the most cordial and
pressing manner, to come over and take part in the deliberations of
our Congress.
I trust that you will be willing to accept this invitation, either per-
sonally, or in the name of the body which you represent.
THE CHAIRMAN: On behalf of the Congress, I beg to tender my
thanks to Mr. Dore for his gracious invitation and pray that he will
tender in return our thanks to the companies he represents. All
those among us whom circumstances will allow will not fail to respond
to an invitation for which all here are grateful. (Cheers.)
Appendix. Sketch of a programme proposed for the Water Com-
merce Congress.
In addition to the subjects mentioned in the address, viz. I-17,
page 12, the following additional ones were inserted in a printed list
distributed to each member of the Congress.
18. The influence of water commerce on exploration and discovery.
19. The great waterways of antiquity and their influence on national
development. .
20. Modern waterways at the date of the advent of railway transpor-
tation. -
21. The reciprocal influence of water and railway transportation, with
special reference to safety, speed, economy, and convenience.
22. The relations of the waterways of to-day to the interests of pro-
ducers and consumers.
23. The relation of the waterways of to-day to national defenses.
17
24. The new waterways demanded by the needs of modern civilization.
25. The laws of nature by which water commerce is affected or con-
trolled.
26. The laws of nations by which water commerce is governed.
27. Municipal regulations of water commerce.
28. Harbors and harbor entrances.
29. Ship Railways.
This list terminated with the following request: The delegates are
requested to contribute communications on any of these subjects or
on any others relating to water commerce.
On the I2th of October, the Committee on the Water
Commerce Congress, in response to a notice, met at the
office of the President of the Auxiliary, and unanimously
adopted the programme, which included the reading and
discussion of papers relating to :
I. The methods and cost of transporation on rivers, canals, lakes, and
the ocean.
II. The importance of protecting canal banks in view of navigation
at high speed.
III. The advantages resulting from replacing chains of canal locks by
hydraulic lifts.
IV. The best form of canal and river barges in respect to capacity and
cost of traction. i -
V. The new and the enlarged waterways required to meet the demands
of commerce.
VI. The respective use of waterways and railways, and their competi-
tive influence in reducing the cost of transportation.
VII. The benefits resulting from improvements in waterways.
VIII. Inter-oceanic canal projects. Ships canals. Ship railways.
The subjects of river and harbor improvements, tech-
nically treated, were not included in the programme, but
the President of the Auxiliary and the Chairman of the
Local Committee were both desirous that the most approved
methods for attaining and preserving the proper depth of
channel should be illustrated by practical examples.”
This programme was widely distributed, invitations to
attend the Congress were sent throughout Europe and the
*In conformity with this urgent request, papers on the Improvements
of the Seine, the Mississippi, the Harbors of Genoa, and La Palice, with
notes on the Lower Weser, and the subaqueous foundations at Réval,
were presented and briefly explained.
I8
United States, and eminent specialists were asked to pre-
pare papers for presentation at the Congress. This invita-
tion was cordially accepted, and twenty-four papers were
received besides five notes or short commuications on im-
portant topics. Distinguished gentlemen accepted posi-
tions as members of the Advisory Council and as Honorary
Members.
The members of the Congress consisted :
1st. Of delegates from the various governments, and those holding
official positions in the public service. -
2d. Of delegates from the various boards of trade, from navigation
and water transportation companies, from engineering and maritime so-
cieties, etc.
3d. Of those members of the Fifth International Congress on Inland
Navigation, held at Paris in 1892, and others who accepted the invitation
and were present at the Congress.
OPENING OF THE CONGREss.
The Congress was opened on Tuesday, August 1st, in
the Memorial Art Palace at Chicago, by Charles C.
Bonney, President of the Auxiliary, who welcomed the
delegates, and organized the Congress by appointing the
Hon. John C. Dore, President, and Prof. William Watson,
Secretary. The President then read the following address:
GENTLEMEN :—
All civilized nations have deemed it appropriate to celebrate the
four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of this continent by
Columbus; and happily, nearly all have joined in the celebration of
that event by an exhibition of material things, peculiar to each, in
every department of industry, thus showing the progress achieved.
It is encouraging to see that every step in advance has been for the
general welfare, and especially that, through the agency of natural
forces, great burdens have been lifted from the people ; that the
necessity for arduous manual labor has been greatly diminished,
production immensely increased, the cost of distributing products of
every description on both land and water throughout the world has
been reduced many fold, and that this distribution is now accom-
plished with remarkable rapidity. -
I9
The Auxiliary to the World's Columbian Exposition has been
deemed no less appropriate than the Exposition itself: the former is
intended to show the great civilizing agencies by which remarkable
achievements have been made possible, as they appear in Agriculture,
Art, Education, Literature, Science and Philosophy, Engineering,
Government, Religion, Moral and Social Reform, etc., as incentives
to continued efforts in the same direction.
Undoubtedly, great rewards await genius in discovery and inven-
tion in the future, as they have in the past, to which the public is the
prospective heir. The Auxiliary has many departments, and these
again are subdivided. One of these, is designated Commerce and
Finance, and one of its divisions, the Water Commerce, is assigned
to the Congress here assembled. It is a very comprehensive subject,
older than civilization, and co-extensive with navigable water. It has
been the incentive to navigation, ship building, improvements in
waterways, engineering and discovery.
It is reasonable to suppose that the scale of improvement of
waterways in all ages has been commensurate with the requirements
of trade. Under the old conditions progress was slow ; the oceans
were unexplored, the form of the earth unknown, production repre-
sented the labor of human hands, unaided by machinery driven by
natural forces, and Commerce was limited then, as it now, is, by
Production, which in every age has augmented with the development
of natural resources.
The discoveries of Columbus were a revelation. The form of the
earth became generally known, and the maritime nations of Europe
became rivals in discovery, conquest, and colonization. Neverthe-
less, none of them made rapid progress in production or means of
distribution on land or water. The rapid progress in material pros-
perity, reserved for the 19th century, is indicated by inventions and
improvements in every department of industry, namely, by more
powerful steam engines and electric appliances, increased construc-
tion of railroads, larger vessels, deeper and broader harbors, river
channels, and canals, and as the most economical size of vessels has
not yet been determined, continued demands for still larger water-
ways may reasonably be expected.
The United States being a new country, developing in every
direction, it is evident that they have greater need of artificial, and
improved natural facilities for navigation than the old countries of
Burope. Fortunately, the lower tides on the coasts of the United
2O
States preclude the necessity of great expenditures in the construction
of such docks and basins as have been found indispensable in the ports
of the higher latitudes of Europe.
Some of the progressive steps taken in transportation on both land
and water in the United States are as follows: In 1807, Fulton's
steamboat carried one hundred and sixty tons on the Hudson, from
New York to Albany at a speed of five miles an hour; a little later
Stevens sent a steamboat from New York to Delaware. This was the
beginning of ocean steam navigation. In 1831, cars were drawn by
steam power from Albany to Schenectady. Fifty years ago there
were less than 3,000 miles of railroad in the United States, and less
than 5,000 miles in the world. There are now 175,000 miles in the
|United States alone. As all commerce is dependent upon production,
and water commerce is mainly dependent upon commerce on land, it
is not strange that commerce by rail should have developed more
rapidly than commerce by water.
Twenty-five years ago Ocean and lake freights were carried mainly .
on sailing vessels. The schooner Illinois, Ioo tons burden, was the
first vessel to arrive in Chicago. This was in 1834, and it is said that
on that occasion all the male inhabitants of the village, amounting to
nearly one hundred, assisted in dragging the craft across the bar.
The first American sailing vessel, launched on Lake Superior in 1835
—the John Jacob Astor—belonged to the American Fur Co.; the
first lake propeller, said to be the first screw steamer ever built for
business purposes, was launched at Oswego on Lake Ontario in 1841 ;
the propeller Independence, of 260 tons, was the first steamer launched
on Lake Superior ; this was in 1845; and her captain, A. J. Averill,
is now a resident of this city. All vessels on the lakes above Ontario,
prior to 1871, were of comparatively light draft on account of the
Lime Kiln Crossing in Detroit River, and the shallow water on the
St. Clair Flats. The improvements now in progress west of Buffalo,
will provide a depth of water sufficient for vessels drawing twenty
feet. -
The total appropriations by Government for improvements on the
Great Lakes up to 1892, were $37,247,993 ; the saving in the cost
of transport on the Great Lakes during the year 1890, over the cost of
the same freight by rail, at average rates, was estimated by the Inter-
State Commerce Commission to be $135,000,ooo; hence it appears
that $98,000,ooo were thus saved in the year 1890, in excess of the
entire expenditure of the Government for improvements on all the
lakes and connecting rivers from the beginning, to 1892.
2I
The registered tonnage of the United States vessels on the Great
Lakes in 1849 was 161,832 ; in 1891 it was 1,154,870. That of the
Canadian vessels was 138,914. The tonnage, domestic and foreign,
owned by Americans in 1892, was 4,678,397. The tonnage of vessels
entered at American seaports from foreign countries was 18,180,480,
of which only 20.61 per cent was American. The total vessel ton-
nage, entrances and clearances, at all ports of the Atlantic, Pacific,
and Gulf Coasts, in foreign trade, in 1890, was 30,794,653. The
United States traffic, foreign and coastwise, on the Great Lakes, in
1892, was 33,000,ooo tons. The traffic on the Mississippi and its
tributaries in 1890, was 29,505,046 tons.
The water surface of the Great Lakes is 95,275 square miles, which
added to that of their water shed make a basin area of 270,075
square miles. The Mississippi and its tributaries furnish facilities for
transport for twenty-four states and territories, drain an area of
I,240,000 square miles, and are navigable to an extent of 15,000
miles. -
In 1887, the cost of freight per ton per mile through St. Mary's
Falls Canal was two and three-tenths mills; in 1890, the cost for the
same service was one and three-tenths mills, or less than one seventh
of the average cost by rail, as shown by the report of the Inter-State
Commerce Commission for that year. One and three-tenths mills
per ton per mile was a fair average for freight on all the lakes during
that year. The report of the Inter-State Commerce Commission
states that the railroads of the country carried during the year ending
June 30, 1890, 76,207,047,298 mile tons of freight. If to this
amount be added that carried on the Great Lakes, the Mississippi
and its tributaries, the sum total will exceed IIo,ooo,000,ooo. Vast
as is this internal commerce, it is estimated that, at the present rate
of increase, it will double in sixteen and one-half years. If this
estimate of increase be even approximately correct, there must be a
stupendous increase in railroads, waterways, harbors and terminal
facilities, to meet coming requirements of transportation. The
public benefits received directly from cheap transport by water, great
as they are, are made much greater by the controlling influence which
water carriage exerts upon freight charges by rail ; and in view of the
coming requirements for greatly increased facilities of transport,
numerous schemes for ship canals and ship railways have been pro-
jected to connect the Great Lakes with tide water. The trend of
commerce is west, northwest and southwest, and vice versa. That
22
water carriage may continue to exert a controlling influence on rail-
road charges for freight, it is evident that the future great waterway
must not be far from the most direct lines of the general movement
of commerce.
Public attention has been called to the real or imaginary necessity
for a ship canal connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic via the
St. Lawrence River, or via Lake Champlain and the Hudson River,
of a capacity sufficient for the passage of vessels carrying 5,000 tons.
It is admitted that the construction of such a canal would be a
stupendous undertaking, and its chief advantage would be the saving
of time and expense in the transfer of cargoes from ships to boats at
lake ports, and from boats to ships at New York or Montreal, and the
converse. These re-shipments would be required only for exports
and imports, and as less than four per cent of the commerce of the
United States is foreign, the expediency of constructing such a canal
so far north for the special convenience of so small a part of the
commerce of the United States may well be questioned.
The subjects of this Congress consist mainly of inter-oceanic canals,
ship railways, improved coast and inland harbors, enlarged routes of
interior navigation, better facilities for handling freight at terminals,
etc., which have been assigned to distinguished gentlemen for their
special consideration, and their reports will be the subjects of discus-
sion by the members.
After the address, the President called for the reading of
the first paper, viz.: “The Nicaragua Ship Canal,” by A.
G. Menocal, Chief Engineer.
DISCUSSION,
THE SECRETARY :
You will recollect, that at a session of the Fourth International
Congress, it was stated by Col. Van Zuylen, that among other things.
it was especially the danger from volcanic eruptions, more frequently
at Nicaragua than at Panama, which led to the selection of the
Panama route. And again, by Mr. J. F. W. Conrad, that he preferred.
the route from Colon to Panama rather than the Nicaragua route, by
reason of the fear for the stability of the artifical works, especially the
locks, in a region of earthquakes such as the latter traverses.
23
MR. MENOCAL : In reply to the question of the Secre-
tary, I would say that the subject has been recently
investigated by Major C. E. Dutton of the U. S. A. With
regard to the active volcanoes he states:
That of those in Costa Rica, the nearest, Irazu and Turalla, are
about 58 miles from the junction of the St. Carlos, and 62 from the
eastern locks. Of those in Nicaragua, the nearest is Ometepe in the
Lake, 22 miles distant from the locks.
In respect to earthquakes :
While they are frequent in the vicinity of San José, the capital of
Costa Rica, yet the portion of the Canal between Ochoa and the
Caribbean is, in my opinion, too remote from the localities in which
the Costa Rican earthquakes originate to be liable to any serious injury
from them.
The volcano of Mombacho in Nicaragua, 35 miles north of the
Canal line, is a center of decided earthquake activity. A very few
years ago the city of Granada at its base was severely shaken, many
houses being damaged and a number of them wrecked. A large
church nearly ready for the roof was badly shattered. A few lives
were also lost. This shock was felt forcibly at Managua, about thirty
miles distant, and, though it caused much alarm and even panic
there, it does not seem to have produced any serious damages.
Briefly, then, my opinion is that the risk of serious injury by
earthquakes to the constructions proposed for the Canal is so small
that it can be neglected. -
This was followed by a short note written by S. C. Cobb,
of Florida, on the relation of the State of Florida and the
Gulf Ports to the Nicaragua Canal, expressing an interest
in the canal and a desire for its achievement, in view of the
benefits which would accrue to the commerce of those
ports.
The next paper was on the new and the enlarged
waterways required to meet the demands of commerce in
Canada, by Thomas C. Keefer, C. E., Ottawa, Can.
Aug. 2. The first paper was on the project for a canal
between the Upper Ohio and Lake Erie, by T. P. Roberts,
C. E., of Pittsburgh, Pa.
24
DISCUSSION,
Mr. John F. Dravo of Pittsburgh, Pa., alluded to the difficulties in
the construction of the locks and dams on the Ohio. These can be
overcome, as they have been in the case of the Davis Island Dam,
which only waits to be connected with similar dams to secure con-
tinuous navigation for the entire year with the exception of ice
obstruction during the winter months. -
Considering the canal and its connections with the Lakes and the
Gulf of Mexico, the difficulties become unimportant when we take
into account the objects to be accomplished.
The Ohio River waterway connections represent some twenty
thousand miles of possible inland navigation.
The Secretary remarked with regard to the question of Lifts: That
the actual time of lift was from three to five minutes. That the total
time, including the entrance and departure of a barge in each direc-
tion, was fifteen minutes (La Louvière lift).
The next paper was on the commerce of the Mississippi
River by George H. Morgan of St. Louis, which was
followed by a paper on the benefits to be derived from the
improvement of waterways:—Inter-oceanic canal projects
ship canals and ship railways by Prof. Leveson Francis
Vernon-Harcourt of London, England.
Aug. 3. The first subject of discussion was, “The Best
Commercial Route from the Great Lakes to Tide Water.”
And the principal address was given by Samuel A.
Thompson, Secretary of the Duluth Board of Trade, on
“The Economic Value of a Ship Canal from the Great
Lakes to the Sea.” He said:
The influence which resulted in the destruction of the old canal
system will in the end lead to the building up of a great system of
canals in this country. Experience abundantly proves the economy
of water routes as a means of the transportation of freight. Statis-
tics show that from 1882 to 1890 the charges for freight carriage on
railways have been decreased exactly 25 per cent. There has been
a slight change in the other direction since 1890, for in 1891 the
charge per ton per mile was 9.29 mills, against 9.27 mills in 1890,
while in 1892 it was 9.67 mills. These figures standing alone might
not indicate the ultimate triumph of the water carrier, but I believe
25
that the increase in the efficiency of steamships and waterways leads
to like results in water traffic. The cost to the railroads of carrying
freights, according to the Inter-state Commerce Commission's report
was 6.3 mills in 1888, 6.04 mills in 1890 and 5.83 in 1891. The re-
port of George H. Ely on the navigation of the great lakes shows
that the cost of water transportation of freight on the lakes in these
years was exactly one tenth of the cost of transportation by rail, or
o.46 of a mill. We do not know in this country what canals can
actually do, but the cost of transportation on the Erie canal is about
2 mills per ton per mile. The brains of this century have been
largely devoted to railway planning and management, and we do not
know what the Erie canal could do if the same amount of intellect,
energy and capital had been put into its management as are put into
the management of our great trunk railroads.
The cost of transportation on the greaf lakes or deep water any-
where, however, is much lower than on existing canals. And I am
pleading for a deep-water canal. I have financial reports from dif-
ferent steamers on the lakes, and they show the cost of transportation
on some of them to have been for an entire year at the rate of only
three fourths of a mill per ton per mile. The average cost of carry-
ing from Buffalo to Duluth is 30 cents per ton. And we are yet go-
ing to do much in the great lakes to cheapen the cost of transporta-
tion. A
Captain McDougal, the inventor of the whaleback steamer, has
given me a few figures, by which I find that taking the average of the
best model steamer the fuel consumed is almost exactly one ounce
per ton per mile, while on the steamer A. D. Thompson and its con-
sort the consumption in 1891 was less than one third of an ounce per
ton per mile. Captain McDougal says we are to make on the great
lakes a system of towing that will be analogous to the handling of a
train of freight cars by a locomotive, and within five years we may
expect to see tows coming down the lake which will handle 25,ooo
tons of freight in a single tow. Steam barges will be notified by wire
that a loaded barge is waiting at one port and an empty one is wanted
at another. Then we shall have to make such a revision of the actual
net cost per ton per mile as will even astonish some of us who are
accustomed to deal with the microscopical figures of to-day. And
when we get 20 feet of water everywhere from lake to lake, through
which boats may pass, carrying 5,000 or 6,OOO tons of freight, this
cost will have to be cut in half.
26
And so I say to the railroad man of to-day who argues that water
ways cannot successfully compete with railroads that he is utterly mis-
taken. There is an idea in many quarters that water traffic is all right
when you are not in a hurry, but that it does not do if fast traffic is
expected. Whatever may be the case on the canal it is a fact that
our fast steamers maintain a far greater average speed per hour than
the fastest freight trains. Boats in the ocean make 16.44 miles an
hour. With the freight train while it is supposed to make sixteen
miles an hour, it, as a matter of fact, makes only eight miles an hour
on account of stops and delays. Last year more than I I,OOO,OOO
tons of freight passed through the Sault Ste. Marie canal. If that
same freight had been hauled an equal distance by rail the hauling
would have cost over $77,ooo, ooo more than was actually paid for its
transportation by water.
The entire tonnage on the lakes, as near as we can get at it, is
30,000,ooo, and because the great lakes are where they are, supple-
mented by the fact that the Erie canal is where it is, the saving to
this country in transportation charges, assuming all this freight to
be carried by rail, is simply enormous. And I do not believe the de-
velopment of the water ways would have anything but the very best
effect on the railways. You cannot show a single instance where a
railway has been injured by a parallel water way or where it has not
been really benefited. When the river Main was canalized from
Frankfort to Metz it was supposed by the railroads that their business
was going to be very seriously injured. What, in fact, took place?
The business of the river increased 64 per cent the first year, and the
next year 36 per cent additional. Meantime the business of the rail-
roads showed an increase of 42 per cent the first year and 58 per
cent the next year. Where do you find railroads in this country that
are more prosperous than the roads that make their way eastward from
Chicago to the Atlantic? It is my honest conviction that absolutely
the best thing that could be done for the railroad interests of this
country would be the opening of a canal twenty-one feet deep right
alongside of every railway, and I think there would be no better way
to punish some of our railroad managers than to show to them in
letters of fire, after we have built such canals, how much bigger divi-
dends the railroads would have paid in the past if they had cultivated
water ways instead of trying to drive them out of existence.
I believe there is a conspiracy to-day to drive the Erie canal out of
existence. I cannot interpret in any other way the fact that a man
27
both governor of New York and a railway president vetoes a very
moderate measure for the improvement of that canal, nor can I in
any other way interpret the statement made in this building recently
by a prominent railroad man that this year the trunk lines running
east of Buffalo have entered into an iron-clad agreement that they
will not make any through rates on freight with any lines of steamers
and other vessels except the lines controlled by themselves. An in-
dependent line cannot go down to Buffalo and get any rates that
will allow it to do business unless it is done through the Erie canal,
which the railroads are putting to their own use.
The best commercia/ route for a shift cana/ is, in my opinion, first
around Niagara Falls to connect Lakes Erie and Ontario. Then
cross Lake Ontario to Oswego, and pass down Oswego river and
across Oneida lake and the valley of the Mohawk to the Hudson
river; thence down the Hudson to the sea. Going in this way we
should make use of IIo miles of deep-water navigation, Crossing from
the outlet of the canal across Lake Ontario to Oswego, and in Lake
Oneida we should get some twenty-three or twenty-four miles of deep-
water navigation additional, where full speed can be made. We have
in this route, with possibly one exception, the fewest miles of canal
navigation, and hence the greatest amount of speed and economy.
I favor that route also because it brings Lake Ontario into direct con-
nection with the other lakes, and I favor it because I am an American
citizen and this route lies entirely within the limits of the United
States. And it seems to me that the cost of the canal will be so
great that it must be constructed by the national government as a
national work.
What is known as the Montreal or St. Lawrence route I consider
not to be practicable. Of the total tonnage from the west to the sea-
board less than 25 per cent is for export, and for our own seaboard
states the St. Lawrence route is too far around. I cannot give the
cost of the route I have described because no estimates have ever
been made, but I have the opinion of an engineer that perhaps $150-
ooo,ooo would be a fair rough estimate of the cost. A tax of one
tenth of a mill on the property in the commercial territory directly
tributary to the great lakes would pay for the canal in ten years.
DISCUSSION.
MR. E. P. NoFTH objected to the Montreal route on account of
the fact that the St. Lawrence is closed with ice five months in the
year.
28
In making a comparison of proposed routes, the question is, not
whether one route would cost a million or two more than another,
but of practicability and commercial advantages.
MR. CHAUNCEY N. DUTTON :
About 50 years ago, Mr. Jarvis, a leading engineer of that time,
estimated the cost of freight transportation by water to be about one
ninth of that by rail. This ratio still exists and will probably con-
tinue, for the same causes which effect railway rates apply equally to
rates by water.
The proof of this is furnished by the published account of the
transportation of the steamship Manola, and that of the principal
trunk lines, as given by the Inter-state Commerce Commission.
The cost to the Manola, taking the average of all the freights
handled for the season, was #5 mill per ton mile. The cost per
ton mile on eleven of the principal railroads in New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, averaged 47% mills; more than
ten times as much as by the Manola. The cost per ton mile on
thirteen of the principal roads in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
and Wisconsin averaged 3 ºr mills, i. e., nearly nine times the freight
cost by the Manola. These figures show that could a deep-water
route be opened parallel to the New York Central road, the freight
cost on the products between the lakes and the seaboard would be
diminished #. t
Again they show that the relative cost of moving freight by a deep.
waterway 720 miles long from Lake Erie to New York via Lake
Ontario, the St. Lawrence and the Hudson as compared to the New
York Central, would be 72 to 440, or as one to six.
It is impossible that more than one route can be opened, and that
should be the one which will furnish an avenue for the exchange of
the products of all parts of the continent. Many routes have been
proposed and advocated, but the St. Lawrence-Champlain route is the
only satisfactory one.
Canada has five millions of people and the reciprocal advantages
must be considered. If the commerce of the United States will
warrant the expenditure for the navigation, that of Canada will pay
the dividends.
The commerce from the great lakes is domestic and foreign.
For the former, the St. Lawrence route is an adequate avenue ; for
the latter, the estuary of the St. Lawrence is the shortest and cheapest.
rOute. -
29
To impose upon the people the use of the longer route is to tax
them unnecessarily.
Briefly, if North America were under one government, only one
route could be considered, and the reason that others receive atten-
tion is due to political difficulties in the way of opening the St. Law-
rence-Champlain route. But these difficulties have been removed ;
for, on April first of this year, the Canadian Government, appreciating
the importance of this project, chartered the North American Canal
Company with ample power, giving them the free use of such por-
tions of its navigation system as could be utilized in making a deep
waterway, imposing only such restrictions as were necessary to guard
the interests of the Canadian people and government. Further,
giving them the right to draw water from the St. Lawrence River to:
feed the canal to Lake Champlain. *
Under the charter given, it is proposed : To widen and deepen the
Summit level of the Welland Canal from Port Colborne, about 18.
miles, to near Thorold ; and there diverge with a new canal running
eastward 8 miles to the bluff above Queenston. From this point it
descends to the lower Niagara River. From Queenston zia the
Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence, there will be
280 miles of practically unobstructed navigation to Cornwall.
From the eastern end of Lake St. Francis a descent of 50 feet is
made, and a canal 40 miles long will connect the St. Lawrence River
with Lake Champlain. [From this canal an arm will extend the
navigation to Montreal harbor.] And the final descent to the tide
level will be made a short distance from Waterford.
To recapitulate: the length of the navigation from Lake Erie to
New York City will be 720 miles; 630 miles of free navigation in
lakes, rivers, and basins, and only 90 miles of restricted navigation in
artificial channels. It is proposed to make these channels Io,000
square feet prism. There will be only five or six locks. These will
be established having in view ultimate developments, on lines of 60.
feet width, 5oo feet length, and 22 feet draft.
The trip of a first-class steamer will occupy :
From Port Coll)orne to New York . tº e sº 6o hours
From Port Colborne to Montreal & § g & 32 hours
From Montreal to New York ë * e ſº tº 32 hours
In reply to the question, Would not the St. Lawrence outlet to the
sea be sufficient for the needs of commerce :- Most certainly not ;
the West has two terminals—Chicago and Duluth; the East two—
3O
TNew York and Montreal. The route must reach from producers to
consumers. New York is, and must always be, the terminal. A
route eastward reaching only Montreal would be as partial as one
westward reaching-only Duluth.
In conclusion I would say that the seasons of navigation on the
St. Lawrence River and on the Erie Canal are practically the same.
The next paper was read by Professor Vosnessensky, a
delegate of the Russian Government to the Congress, on
the new and the enlarged waterways required to meet the
demands of commerce in Russia, by Emile Teodorovitch
de Hoerschelmann, Chief Engineer, Adjunct Director of
Land and Water Ways at Kief, Russia.
August 4th, The first paper was on the advantages re-
sulting from replacing flights of canal locks by hydraulic
lifts, as illustrated by the Fontinettes canal lift, by the Sec-
retary, accompanied by photographs of the lifts as seen in
operation. This was followed by a note on the importance
of protecting canal banks in view of navigation at high
speed, by Professor J. Schlichting, President of the Cen-
tral Union of Navigation, Berlin, Germany, read by the
Secretary as follows:—
INTRODUCTION.
At the request of the Organizing Committee of the V*
International Congress held at Paris in 1892, the author
made a report on “The Protection of Canal Banks,” which
was the subject of detailed and repeated discussions during
the sessions of the Congress. -
On experimental, as well as on theoretical and practical
grounds, the author, in his report, has arrived at this con-
clusion, for those canals in which the traffic is carried on
by steamboats :—viz. that the banks should be nearly ver-
tical for such heights, both above and below the water
level, as are affected by the impact of the waves.
The author, having been requested to prepare a paper
on “The importance of protecting canal banks in view of
navigation at high speed,” places at the disposal of the
Congress for their discussion, the foregoing report, believ-
ing that in this way he can best comply with the request.
3I
The Secretary read at some length extracts from Prof.
Schlichting's report relating to the currents and shocks
caused by the movements of boats traveling at great speed.
These movements, the author states, are considerably increased by
those of the paddle or screw, which producing fresh waves strike the
banks with full force, or ascending the slopes and returning, come .
into collision with the rising waves. From which it is evident that
Only well-consolidated banks can resist attacks produced by such
irregular motions of the water, and he concludes by recommending
the following means of consolidating the canal banks :-
(1) Make the ratio of the immersed cross section of the boat to
the cross section of the waterway I : 4 for inland canals of about
2.5 metres deep, and I : 6 for ship canals.
(2) Construct solid vertical, or nearly vertical banks, extending
above and below the water line, beyond the influence of the waves.
The second part of the report treats of the various con-
structions adopted for the consolidation of canal banks,
illustrated by numerous examples taken from French, Ger-
man, and Dutch practice.
The next two papers were read and explained by Mr.
Telford Burnham. They were as follows: Ist, “The
Chignecto Ship Railway,” by H. G. C. Ketchum, Civil
Engineer, Amherst, Nova Scotia. 2d, “The Working of
the First Ship Railway,” by William Smith, Harbor
Engineer, Aberdeen, Scotland.
The next paper, read by Edward P. North, C. E., was
on The Manchester Ship Canal, by Elijah Helm, Secretary
of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, with an intro-
duction by Marshall Stevens, General Manager of the
Manchester Ship Canal Company, Manchester, England.
This was followed by a paper on the best form of canal
and river barges in respect to capacity and cost of traction,
by De Mas, Chief Engineer of Roads and Bridges, Paris,
France, read by the Secretary.
The next paper was on the proposed waterway from
Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois
and Mississippi Canal, by Alonzo Bryson, of Davenport,
Iowa.
32
The next paper was on the proposed enlargement of the
waterway from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River,
via the Illinois River, by L. E. Cooley, Civil Engineer,
Chicago, Ill., who also presented and explained the paper
following, on the improvement of the Mississippi River, by
Gen. C. B. Comstock, U. S. A., President of the Missis-
sippi River Commission, New York. -
August 5th, The two following papers read by Mr.
Greer, of Chicago, were on the relations of the U. S.
commerce to that of other countries, by William W. Bates,
Chicago, Ill. ; and on the status and interests of water
transportation, by Thomas J. Vivian, in charge of Trans-
portation Statistics, United States Census.
He also read a note on the present condition of the foreign
commerce of the United States, by Ambrose Snow, Pres-
ident of the American Shipping League, New York city.
In reply to a communication from the Secretary relating
to the subject of Water Commerce, he says:
“My interest in shipping has been almost wholly in the foreign
over-sea trade. My efforts to arrest the decay of that interest have
been confined to the question of some legislation changing the pres-
ent laws now governing our merchant marine. The European nations.
have fostered their shipping interest with much care, while we have
been content to wait for natural changes which would again bring us.
to the front. The only change thus far has been that we have been
almost utterly driven from the over-sea trade. The seaports along
the whole length of our coast are filled with foreign ships. The
control of public opinion is in the hands of the foreigners. Our
Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce etc., are filled with agents.
of foreign Lines, whose influence is exerted in favor of their foreign
owners. Few or no American ship owners are found in them ; indeed
the few ship owners and people interested in American ships, are in
eastern towns and exert no influence in the large cities. The above.
appears to be the situation of the American merchant marine in
foreign trade. On the subject of improvement in the construction
of ocean steamships, referred to in Article I, I can only say that the
part we play in the foreign freight-carrying business is so small that
we now hardly count as a competitor on the ocean. All the trade
33
from our ports may be said to be in the hands of foreign steam and
sailing vessels. The construction of freight carriers has changed
very little on the seaboard. The lake commerce has grown into a
large volume and we hear of the steamer called the whaleback; but
that kind of ship has not been tried on the great ocean, and in the
present condition of freighting will find no employment. The English
subsidized ships have carried grain from here to Europe for one
penny a bushel, and cotton for sixty cents a bale. There is no
possible form of construction which can compete with the subsidized
tonnage of Europe in foreign trade. Our coast and lake trade is
protected from foreign competition. The length of time that that
will continue depends upon future legislation.
A bill has been introduced into Congress having for its aim the open-
ing of all our ports, rivers, and lakes, as well as the whole coast, to the
free competition of the world. When that comes to pass, the foreign-
ers will decide the rate of cost of the handling of our exports and im-
ports. When once the foreigner has the monopoly of our carrying
trade the length and breadth of the land, his generosity will be the
main dependence of those who require his services. The following
statement illustrates the situation, in the struggle for life, of our
people who are competing with the foreigners: there is a line of Ameri-
can Steamers in front of our office, running to the West Indies, that,
we are told, has not made a dividend in five years. A few blocks
below, there is a Spanish Line, which, we are told, receive $4000, for
each round voyage which they make running to the same port.
Construction, let it be what it may, cannot remedy an advantage
enjoyed by the Spanish Line over the American. The foregoing is
one example only of the condition which American shipping is fac-
ing. A favorite theory with some is that we shipping people ought
to be permitted to purchase our ships in the cheapest market.
There has been no cheaper market in the world in which to buy
ships than New York. If the building business is to be transferred
elsewhere, that would finish the ship-owning business of our country.
The young and old of the present generation would turn from it in
disgust. -
The history of our merchant marine may be described as follows;
that is to say, its creation in a seaport town –The young men
seek to embark in some enterprise by which they can make a
profit. They finally decide to build a vessel as large as means will
permit. They cast about for a captain who can take a small part.
34
That captain looks around among his friends and finds some who
will be induced to venture to take a part of the vessel to help his
friend. The captain's relatives will also strain a nerve for the sake
of furnishing employment for him. The man who furnishes the sails.
and rigging, the blacksmith, the joiner, and all the different parties
who are employed by this line of enterprise, are appealed to ; the
ship carpenter keeps as much as he can afford and the vessel is finally
completed, owned by a small community who look for returns which
will enable them to build another and another. If the industry grows,
the town grows, and from these small beginnings the American mer-
chant marine comes into existence; if transferred to another country,
the town would decay; the young men would abandon all thought
of the ocean trade, and whatever other country built the ships that.
country would monopolize the industry. Companies from the ship-
building country would locate in our large seaports and probably
be successful, but the iudustry would be a foreign one.
The remainder of the papers were presented and read.
by the Secretary, viz.:-
“Chain Towage with Magnetic Adherence,” by L.
Molinos, President, and A. de Bovet Director of the
Lower Seine and Oise Towage Company.
“Electric Propulsion on Canals,” by O. Büsser of Oder-
berg-in-the-Mark, Prussia.
A note on “Electric Towage” by M. Galliot Ingénieur
des Ponts et Chaussées as follows:
DIJON, February the 20th, 1893.
WILLIAM WATSON, Ph.D.
DEAR SIR,--I beg to send you a short paper relating to the electric
towage I am now constructing on the upper level of the “Canal de
Bourgogne, France.”
I hope it will be at work before the opening of your Congress, and
that I shall be able to forward you another note explaining the results.
arrived at.
Your most devoted,
GALLIOT,
Angénieur des Ponts ef Chaussées,
Dijon, Zºrance.
35
ELECTRIC TOWAGE ON THE ** CANAL DE BOURGOGNE,
FRANCE.”
The upper pool of the “Canal de Bourgogne, France,” 6 kilo-
meters long, is single gauged and does not allow boats to pass each
other, and, moreover, it goes through a tunnel 3,330 meters long.
From 1867 until now, the boats have been towed in this section of
the canal by two steam tugs, manned by a crew superintended by
engineers “des Ponts et Chaussées.”
These engineers have been examining, during the past three years,
a scheme for replacing these steam tugs by electric ones. In August,
1892, the Board of Public Works approved the proposed scheme,
and, in January, 1893, ordered the work to be immediately carried
Out.
The new system is expected to be in operation in June or July,
I893.
The necessary power will be supplied by the fall of water through
the locks at the end of the level.
At Pouilly, the Seine-end of the level, the fall is 7 meters, and at
Escommes, the Sãone end, it is 8 meters.
The quantities of water supplied per day at each lock for the
feeding of the canal not being equal, they will take 230 litres per
second at Pouilly, and 150 litres at Escommes; these proportions
being calculated so as to afford the least inconvenience to the water
supply.
Thus, the power of the falls will be 21.5 horse power at Pouilly,
and 16 at Escommes. The power is obtained by turbines, with partial
distribution. -
The contractors guarantee an efficiency of 70 per cent for the
turbines, hence their net powers will be 15 and II horse powers
respectively.
These turbines will work continuous current Gramme dynamos at a
velocity of I, Ioo and 1,200 revolutions per minute. These dynamos
will be connected in series.
They are to give a tension of 370 volts at Pouilly, and 280 volts à.
Escommes, and 25 Ampères, say 650 volts 25 Ampères together; so
that their united power will be 16,000 volts, or, approximately 85
per cent of the power of the turbines.
The motor, a Gramme dynamo, will be placed on board the tug, and
connected with the generators through a brass wire, 8 millimeters in
36
diameter. The contractor for this wire guarantees an electric con-
ductibility equal to 98 per cent of that of an equal copper wire.
The wire is to be supported by insulators built in the arch of the
tunnel, or hung from posts, fixed in the slopes of the cuttings.
The electric line consists of three wires, one from a pole of one of
the dynamos to the opposite pole of the other dynamo, and two
others from each other pole run alongside the first. These latter,
ending on insulators, are to feed the motor by overhead rolling
contact. They are expected to supply the motor with a current of
25 Ampères and 550 volts.
Straps and gears will connect the motor to the pulley working
the chain immersed in the canal.
This chain is the same as that used for towage from 1867 up to the
present. -
A tension of 1,200 kilogrammes is to be secured, when the velocity
is o.75 metre per second. A special arrangement of gears allows
this speed to be doubled.
The scheme is completed by a set of 25o accumulators, in order
to give light, and to regulate the speed. On the other hand, they are
to work the tug a short time when the dynamos are at rest.
The expense will amount to II 5,000 francs.
The engineers think that these contrivances will lessen the annual
expenses from 20,000 to 15,000 francs, and yet they intend to dismiss
no man of the crew, though it will be too numerous.
GALLIOT.
DIJON, February 20th, 1893.
DIJON, le 22 Juillet, 1893.
DEAR SIR,--I have the pleasure of informing you that the maiden
trip of my electric tug was made on the 18th inst. The works were
completed only on the previous day, and the trial immediately made.
It was not all right. We broke some trolley poles, and sometimes
reversed the dynamos. But the poles being replaced by longer ones,
and attention paid to the starting of the machines, we got a success.
You can inform the Congress that there is now, or will be before
the first of August, a towage operated by electricity.
I intend to put it at work on Tuesday of next week, and continue
from that day to work it without interruption.
Your most devoted
GALLIOT.
37
The next paper was a description of Lévy's system of
cable towage between Paris and Joinville, as seen in
operation by the Secretary. It was illustrated by a large
collection of photographs, showing the system in operation
in all its details. -
The next paper was on the respective use of waterways
and railways, and their competitive influence in reducing
the cost of transportation, by Alexandre Halász, Professor at
the Polytechnic School, Budapest, Hungary. It was fol-
lowed by a note on the comparative cost of transportation
by rail and by water in Austria, by A. Schromm, Naviga-
tion Inspector, Counsellor of the Government at Vienna,
Austria.
The results reached in this last paper are as follows:
On all Austrian railways having a total length of 15,307 kilometres
(9,567 miles), 79,959,604 tons were carried in the year 1890, corre-
sponding to 7,252,273,014 ton-kilometres ; i. e., a traffic of 464,464
tons per kilometre.
On those waterways, for which documents have been prepared, on
a total length of 1,656 kilometres (1,035 miles), there were carried in
1890, 5,238,005 tons, corresponding to 446,498,681 kilometric tons;
i.e., a traffic of 269,625 tons per kilometre.
The economic value of both methods of transport, which is shown
by the given rates, is as follows: On the railways the rates for mer-
chandise per mile ton is from 15% to 16 mills; on rivers from 4% to
7 mills. The lowest down stream freight was I mill per mile ton,
against Io by rail along the banks.
The next paper was on the improvement of the Lower
and Outer Weser, by Ludwig Franzius, Director of Public
Works, Bremen, Germany.
The length of the Lower Weser, between Bremen and Bremerhaven,
is 41 English miles. The length of the Outer Weser, below Bremer-
haven, is 6 English miles. The object of the improvement is to
create a depth of water in the fairway enabling vessels drawing 19
feet 8.2 inches of water to reach the free port of Bremen.
The cost of this improvement is estimated at 7,900,ooo dollars, to
be paid for by the free town of Bremen. The time of construction
is estimated at 6 years. The following results are anticipated :—
38
In 1886 the depth of water in the fairway only enabled vessels
with a maximum draught of 9 feet to reach Bremen; at the expira-
tion of 4 years, vessels drawing 15 feet 6 inches can safely navigate
to and from Bremen at ordinary high water. The available depth at
high water spring tides is proportional to the height of the tide;
with favorable tides vessels drawing 16 feet 6 inches of water have
already come up to Bremen.
w The Method of Construction.—The improvement works are
executed under the personal direction of Mr. Franzius, according to
the plans proposed by him in 1879.
Predging planſ.—The dredging is done by day and night; the
work during the night being carried on by electric light. The num-
ber of dredges at work in the channel is 8, which lift 746 cubic yards
per hour. -
The conveying of dredging spoil to those branches of the river
which cannot be navigated by the punts and barges on account of
the insufficient depth of water, is done by special auxiliary dredging
machines, which force the material mixed with water by means of
centrifugal pumps through pipes to a distance of 872 yards.
The dredging spoil is conveyed by 22 steam hopper barges, vary-
ing in capacity from 131 cubic yards to 262 cubic yards, also by 58
tug punts, with a capacity of 52 cubic yards; 48 of these have bottom
valves; Io of these are without bottom valves. The punts are towed
by 5 tug steamers.
For the general surveying service there are: I director's steamer,
I steamer for the surveys in the Outer Weser, and 8 steam launches
of different sizes.
Statement of the work executed from 1888 fill 1892.-From the
beginning of the regulation works to the end of 1892, 22,300,000
cubic yards have been removed from the channel of the river; 17
miles of training walls and 7 dams, cutting off branches of the river,
have been built; 2,747,ooo cubic yards of fascine wood were employed
for the construction of the training walls and dams.
Zhe total expenditure up to December, Z892, was 5,700,ooo dollars.
FRANZIUS,
Offerðaudirektor.
Bremen, in January, 1893.
The next paper was contributed by the Secretary on the
navigation of the Seine from Paris to the Sea.
39
This paper concluded with an account of the remarkable
experimental investigations of Prof. Vernon-Harcourt of
London on the effects of training walls in the Seine Estu-
ary. It was illustrated by Prof. Harcourt's original draw-
ings loaned to the Secretary for the occasion. His
drawings illustrating the effects of training walls in the
|Mersey, were also exhibited. The chief value of such in-
vestigations consists in their indicating the influence that
any scheme of training walls would have upon an estuary :
thus enabling the most effective of the schemes to be
adopted, and those injurious to be avoided.
The next paper was on “The Port of Havre,” by Baron
Quinnette de Rochemont, General Inspector of Roads and
Bridges, Paris, France.
The next paper was on the hydraulic works and pneu-
matic foundations made at Genoa, and at La Pallice, the
Port of Rochelle—by the Secretary.
This paper was illustrated by photographs and drawings
furnished by the contractors C. Zschokke and P. Terrier
of Paris.
The Port of Rotterdam. G. J. de Jongh (Engineer-in-
chief, Director of the Rotterdam Board of Works), placed
at the disposal of the Congress one hundred fifty copies of
his illustrated description of the Port of Rotterdam. After
a summary of the contents had been given by the Secre-
tary, copies were distributed to the members present.
The next was a note on The subaqueous framework-
constructions in the Baltic Sea, by Th. Shmeleff, Réval,
Russia. *
Subaqueous framework constructions are convenient in the Baltic
sea, because the borer (Teredo navalis) does not exist here. Those
built in the beginning of the past century are well preserved. The
timber of the old frames has been examined and found as solid as
new. The low price of timber, the abundance of cobble-stones on the
coasts of the gulf of Finland, and the simplicity of timber construc-
tions have enabled us to select here the types of such construction.
Breakwaters may be built of:
4O
I. Piled-up cobble-stones and masonry (Sketch 1). 2. Regu-
larly set masonry (Sketch 2). 3. Piled-up cobble-stones enclosed
by pale-walls (Sketch 3). 4. Frames filled with cobble-stones.
(Sketch 4).
The average cost of the works at some ports is as follows:
A cubic metre of piled-up cobble-stones, Io francs. A cubic
metre of timber-work, 6o francs. A cubic metre of masonry, 70.
francs. A cubic metre of regularly set masonry, 75 francs. The
driving of a pile of 15 metres in length with mean diameter of o.33
metre together with the erection of the pale-walls, 4oo francs.
Let us take for data the above mentioned estimates and the follow-
ing profiles and calculate the cost of one metre in length of the
breakwater. *
The mean depth of the water supposed to be Io metres.
The above mentioned comparisons show the frame-constructions to
be the cheapest type of breakwater. But only when a cubic metre of
timber costs 200 francs, which is very rare at present, a breakwater of
the fourth type would cost as much as one of the first or second. In a
sea where the teredo does not live, the cheapest breakwater would
be of timber. But the only way to attain this economy in those
seas inhabited by this animal, is to protect the timberwork against the
worm, or discover some means of destroying it. For this purpose the
caissons may be coppered at a cost of 20 per cent of the value of
the breakwater. I propose for the fourth type of breakwater to copper the
caissons: then the breakwater will cost 3753 × 1. 2 = 45oo francs per
running metre. And then for those seas inhabited by the teredo the
fourth type of breakwater will be the cheapest.
2O January, 1893. Reval, Russia.
Alist of books, plans, and photographs presented to the Congress.
Forth and Clide Ship Canal in relation to the Development of
Commerce, by J. Law Crawford, Law Agent and Secretary to the
Provisional Committee of Promoters.
La Régularisation des Portes de Fer et des Autres Cataractes du
bas Danube. Rapport par M. Béla de Gonda, Conseiller technique au
Ministère royal hongrois du Commerce, Professeur agrégé à l’Ecole
Polytechnique de Budapest.
Canal de la Marne a la Saone. 3° Partie.—Bief de partage et
descente en Saone jusqu'a Piépapeet, et
w
Jºketch /
• * *
. On the first type, composed of piled-up
cobble-stones and massives, one metre in length
— — — of the breakwater will cost:
K.T.T [(*#sº).3+(*#º)el 10 fr. --
º, +(#4). 8. 70 fr. --
* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
$
On the second type, composed of regularly
set massives upon a foundation of piled-up
cobble-stones, one metre in length of the break-
water will cost:
23 + 17
º (*#) 3. 10 ft. 4-
sº 9,40+ 7,60 3 + 1 -
; :- - - - - - - - #3+ . . . . . . . . : +[(*#iº ).9+(*#! ) 4]75 ſr. = 6937, fr.
© - - - - - - - - - - - - - 423.6°- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jºketch 3
º º On the third type, composed of cobble-stones
* H:
… cº-º-º: enclosed by pale-walls, l l piles calculated for a
ax=}==########–
4. frº-E jº ==E metre of the breakwater, one metre of its length
35 Bºº; ººt ºº - will cost:
Rººijºº l 1, 400 fr. —H
####| r + - —
ği-, +[(*#)94-º'--º] to ſº. +
• ,, . . . . * * * * * * +(*#sº) 1. 70 ſr. --
+ I(*#iº) 2 + (*#) 4] 75 ſr. = 7720 fr,
On the fourth type, composed of 20% of
timber and 80% of cobble-stones, one metre
in length of the breakwater will cost .
(*#) 2. l () (r. —H
l 1 + 10,30+9,90+ 9,20 tº
+[( 2 )35+3.25](0.2.60ſ.--
+ 0,8 10 ſ)+
9,20 + 8,00\ q_ r 3 + 1
+[(*#sº)3 3 2.5-(+)3](0.2 60 fr.
+ O.S. 70 ſ) = 3753.6 francs.















42
Note sur l'accident à L'Ascenseur Hydraulicue D'Anderton suivie
de la traduction du rapport publié sur le mème sujet par M. Edwin
Clark, par Cadart, Ingénieur ordinaire.
Canal Projecté de Tancarville. Memoire présenté par la munici-
palité de Rouen a la commission de classement des voie navigables
au sujet de ce canal.
Notice sur les Travaux d'Amélioration de l'embouchure du Danube
et du bras de Soulina, Par Voisin Bey, Inspecteur Général des Ponts
et Chaussées, en Retraite.
Die Beziehungen der Eisenbahnen und Binnenschiffahrt zu
einander. Vortrag von Direktor Ströhler. Berlin, Sept. 9, 189o.
Ship Canals, by Prof. Lewis M. Haupt, C.E.
The Proposed Ship Canal between Philadelphia and New York
(via Trenton). Addresses by Prof. Lewis M. Haupt, C.E., Univ.
of Penna., Mr. Thomas Martindale, Philadelphia, and Mr. Erastus
Wiman, New York.
Resolutions of Boards of Trade and other Organizations in behalf
of a ship canal across New Jersey.
Publications of the American Economic Association, containing
I. The Canal and the Railway with a note on the Development
of Railway Passenger Traffic, by Professor James, University of
Pennsylvania.
II. Canals and their economic relation to transportation, by Pro-
fessor L. M. Haupt, of the same university. -
The Chignecto Ship Railway, the substitute for the Baie Verte
Canal, 3 copies, by H. G. C. Ketchum, Amherst, Nova Scotia.
Sul Regime Della Spiagge e sulla Regolazione dei Porti ; studi di
Paola Cornaglia Ispettore nel Corpo R. del Genio Civile a riposo
Allievo anziano della Scuola Nazionale dei Ponti e Strade di Parigi, 2
copies.
La Seine Rade de Guerre par M. de Coene, 2 copies.
Documents relating to Pneumatic Foundations presented by C.
Zschokke and P. Terrier, engineers and contractors, Paris.
3 Photographs: Avant-port de la Pallice (La Rochelle). (1). Con-
struction sous-marine des jetées et du batardeau. (2). Caissons
mobiles. (3). Jetées du du sud.
Pamphlets. Execution des Travaux sous-marins.
One number of the “Annales des Ponts et Chaussees,” containing
“ Notice sur les fondations à l'air comprimé des jetées.”
Two numbers of the “ Génie Civil,” Travaux de Gênes –Travaux
de Livourne. l
43
Travaux Hydraulicues à Rome, Gènes, et Livourne.
Travaux Hydrauligues exécutés en France de 188o à 1889.
The Commercial Aspects of the Manchester Ship Canal, by Mar-
shall Stevens, General Manager. -
Description of the Manchester Ship Canal and 1oo copies of the
General Plan and Proposed Berth and Quay arrangements at Man-
chester and Salford.
Contributions of the society of Portuguese Civil Engineers to the
World's Columbian Exposition. Descriptive Catalogue.
Mémoire sur l'egout et l'assainissement de la ville de Coimbra par
José C. da Costa, João da Costa Couraga, José Ferro de Madureira
Bessa, Ingénieurs.
Notice sur les Travaux d'Amélioration du Port de Lisbonne.
Nouvelle Méthode pour le Calcul des Profils en travers des routes
et des Chemins de fer par Francisco da Silva Ribeiro.
Portugal. Common Roads, Railways and River Communications
by Frederico Augusto Pimentel, Civil Engineer.
Six semaines en Algérie par le Vicomte de Pulligny Chevalier de la
Légion d'Honneur, Officier de l'Instruction Publique Commandeur de
Charles III., etc. -
L'Art Préhistorique dans l'Ouest et Notamment en Haute Nor-
mandie by the same. r
Studi Sull' Irrigazione della Provincia di Teramo di Gaetano Crug-
nolia, ingegnere capo.
Serbatoi d'Acqua o Laghi Artificiali, by the same.
Sistema Orografico, Idrografia e Archeologia Preistorica della Pro-
vincia di Teramo. Memorie by the same.
Bericht des K. K. Schifffahrts-Gewerbeinspectors, Regierungsrathes
A. Schromm.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.–The Secretary takes this occasion
to express his indebtedness to Henry D. Woods, City En-
gineer, Newton, Mass., for translating the papers of Messrs.
de Bovet, de Hoerschelmann and Halász, also to the
Canadian Society of Civil Engineers for the plates illus-
trating “The Chignecto Ship Railway.”
CLOSING RESOLUTIONS.
Mr. Thomas C. Keefer, C.E., of Ottawa, Canada, after
a complimentary allusion to the Secretary, who, he stated,
&
44
bad served with himself on the Jury at the Paris Exhibi-
tion of 1878, proposed the following resolutions:
Adesolved, That the thanks of the Congress be presented
to the Hon. John C. Dore for presiding over its delibera-
tions; to Professor William Watson for performing the la-
borious duties of Secretary. º
The President, pending the passage of this first resolu-
tion, remarked that the success of the Congress was mainly
due to the ability and untiring efforts of the Secretary, Pro-
fessor Watson. -
The following resolution was also proposed :
Aſesolved, That the Congress present to the Secretary
the foregoing publications and photographs as a token of
its appreciation of his disinterested services, which have
largely contributed to the success of its sessions.
The resolutions were unanimously adopted. The Presi-
dent and the Secretary made appropriate replies and the
Congress dissolved.
AUSTRIA-HUNCAFY.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Bela de Gonda Conseiller au Ministère du Commerce, Budapest.
Farago, Leo., Conseiller Technique, Budapest.
Dr. Halasz, A., Professeur à l’École Polytechnique, Budapest.
Lauda, E., K. K. Baurath im Ministerium des Innern, Vienna.
Pollack, R., Secrétaire de l’Elbeverein, Teplitz, Bohemia.
Russe, W., Jur. Dr. ; M. P., Vienna.
Schromm, A., Navigation Inspector and Govt. Counsellor, Vienna.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Deutsch, J., C. E., Mem. Admin. Danube Navig. Co., Vienna.
Klunzinger, P., Ingenieur, Schrift-führer des Donau-Vereins, Vienna.
Koestler, H., Oberingenieur der K. K. Osterr, Staatsbahnen in Wien.
Kortz, P., Engineer of the City of Vienna. -
Landau, L., Royal Engineer, Budapest.
Lovas, A., Government Counsellor, Budapest.
Mauethner, M., M. P., Pres. of the Cham. of Comm., Vienna.
Petrlik, K., Professor in the Imp. Roy. Tech. High School, Prague.
Ritter von, Proskowetz, E., Mem. of the Austrian Par., Vienna.
Rippl. W., Professor für Wasserbau, Technischen Hoschüle, Prag.
Ritter Weber von Ebenhof, A., Baurath und Professor, Brünn.
BELCIUM.
HoNorARY MEMBERs.
Cavans, L., Sec. du Cercle des Installations Maritimes de Bruxelles.
Gobert, A., Prés. du Cercle des Installations Maritimes de Bruxelles.
46
BRITISH EMPIRE.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Abernethy, J., F• R. S. E., Past Pres., Inst. Civ. Eng., London.
Alderman Bailey, W. H., Hydraulic Engineer, Manchester.
Barios, J., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Cairo, Egypt.
Clark, E., Civil Engineer, Marlow.
Fleming, Sandford, Civil Engineer, Ottawa, Canada.
Keefer, T. C., Civil Engineer, Ottawa, Canada. -
Kennedy, W., Chief Engineer and Harbor Commissioner, Montreal.
Ketchum, H. G. C., Ch. Eng. Chignecto Ship Railway, Amherst, N. S.
Manning, R., M. Inst. C.E., Late Ch. Eng. to H.M.B'd, of Wks, Dublin.
Professor Reynolds, 0., Manchester. -
Smith, W., M. Inst. C. E., Harbor Engineer, Aberdeen.
Stevens, Marshall, Gen. Man. Manchester Ship Canal Co.
Professor Vernon-Harcourt, L. F., Mem. Inst. C. E., London.
Wells, L. B., M. Inst. C. E., Manchester.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Bateman, A. E., Prin. of Com. Dept. of B'd of Trade, London.
Bartholomew, W. H., C. E., Aire & Calder Navigation, Leeds.
Brown, A., Shipbuilder and Engineer, Renfrew.
Brydone, J., H. M. Ch. Insp. under the Canal Boat Acts., Middlesex.
Carey, A. E., M. Inst. C. E., Westminster. -
Collier, W. H., Manager Bridgewater Canal, Manchester.
Crawford, J. L., Solicitor, Glasgow.
Darley, C. W., Ch. Eng. for Rivers and Harbors, Sidney, N. S. W.
Dykes, C. R., Manager of the Rochdale Canal, Manchester.
Fowler, A. F., C. E., Engineer Ribble Navigation, Preston.
Griffith, J. P., M. Inst. C. E., Dublin.
Hunter, W. H., M. Inst. C. E., Manchester.
Jeans, J. S., Secretary to the Iron and Steel Institute, London.
Sir E. G. Jenkinson, K. C. B., Director Manchester Canal, London.
Knowles, E. R., Canal Superintendent, Liverpool. *
Sir J. C. Lee, Dep. Chairman Manchester Ship Canal, Manchester.
Lewis, W. T., Civil Engineer, Aberdare.
Lindsay, C. C., M. Inst. C. E., Glasgow.
Miller, T., M. Inst. C. E., Eng. to Ipswich Dock Commission.
Nicol, R. G., Harbor Engineer, Aberdeen, Scotland.
f
47
·Palmer, J. E., Director Grand Canal Co., Howth Co., Dublin.
Pigot, T. F., C. E., Sci. Exam., Royal College of Science, Dublin.
Rhodes, J. H. W., Asso. M. Inst. C. E., Leeds.
Saner, J. A., Assoc. M. Inst. C. E., River Weaver Nav., Northwich.
| Stewart, D., Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Aberdeen.
Stileman, F., M. Inst. C. E., Barrow-in-Furness.
Williams, A., Gen. Man. and Sec. Leeds & Liverpool Canal Co.
Williams, Edward Leader, M. Inst. C. E., Altrincham. ,
Williams, J. E., M. Inst. C. E., Boston.
DENMARK.
HON ORARY MEMBER.
Commodore Lueders, F. U. W., Royal Danish Navy, Copenhagen.
FRANCE.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Beaurin-Gressier, Chef de la Navigation, Ministère des Travaux,
4 Publics, Paris.
Bertin,L.E., Direc. de l'École d'Application du Génie Maritime, Paris.
Bouquet de la Grye, A., Membre de l'Institut de France.
- Directeur du Service Hydrographique de la Marine, Paris.
Cadart, Gaston, Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Rouen.
Cadart, Gustave, Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Langres.
Camere, A., Ing. en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. Delegate.
Colson, C., Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées ; Maître des Requêtes
au Conseil d'Etat, Paris.
Crahay de Franchimont, Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées
• · (Service Maritime), Bordeaux.
De Bovet, Manager Lower Seine and Oise Towage Co., Paris.
Delaunay-Belleville, Président de la Chambre de Commerce, Paris.
Desprez, H., Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Port du Havre.
Flamant, A., Ingénieur en chef Professeur à l'École des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris Delegate.
48
Fleury, J., Ingénieur Civil, Paris. -
Fontaine, A., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Dijon.
Guerard, A., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Marseilles.
Guillain, F., Directeur de la Navigation au Ministère des Travaux
- Publics, Paris.
Hirsch, J., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Laroche, F., Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
LaSmolles, Directeur de la Cie, du Touage de la Haute-Seine, Paris.
Le Brun Raymond, Ingénieur Civil, Paris. - - :
De Mas, F. B., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. .
Molinos, L., Ancien Prés. de la Societé des Ingénieurs Civils, Paris.
Pasqueau, Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. -
Pontzen, Ernest, Ingénieur Civil, Paris. -
Baron Quinnette de Rochemont, Inspecteur Général Professeur à
l'École des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris Delegate.
Renaud, G., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Ribiere, C., Ing. des Ponts et Chaussées (Service des Phares), Paris.
Seyrig, T., Ingénieur Civil, Paris.
Stoecklin, Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Terrier, P., Ingénieur, Entreprenneur de Travaux Publics, Paris.
Vetillart, H., Ing. en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Havre Delegate.
Voisin Bey, Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées en retraite.
Ancien Directeur Général des Travaux du Canal de Suez, Paris.
HoNoRARY MEMBERs.
, Berthelot, Senateur ; Secrétaire Perpetuel de l'Acad. de Sci., Paris.
Bonaventure, B., Ingénieur de la Cº de Fives-Lille, Paris.
Bonniol, L., Ingénieur de la C" des Eaux, Paris.
Bourguin, Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Soissons.
De Brevens, E., Secrétaire de la Bourse de Commerce, Paris.
Carlier, E., Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Clerc, Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Vernon. -
Considere, A., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Quimper.
Dargner, Président de la Chambre de Commerce, Calais.
De Coene, J., Ingénieur Civil, Rouen.
Dingler, Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. .
Donan, M., Ingénieur; Directeur des Services de la Chambre de
Commerce, Dunkerque. - 4
Galliot, F., Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Dijon.
Girardon, H., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Lyon.
49
Gruner, E., Ingénieur des Mines, Paris.
Jozan, Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Labat, C., Ingénieur Maritime, Bordeaux.
Colonel Laussedat, A., Paris.
Le Chatelier, L., Ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
Lourdelet, E., Member of the Chamber of Commerce, Paris.
Mazoyer, A., Ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Nevers.
Petyt, M.A., Président de la Chambre de Commerce, Dunkerque.
Pelletreau, A., Ing. en chef des Ponts et Chaussées, Constantine.
Polonceau, E., Ancien Prés. de la Société des Ingénieurs Civils, Paris.
De Pulligny, Ingénieur du Port de Marseille, Marseille.
Baron Reille, Deputé Prés. du Comité des Forges de France, Paris.
Rigaun, Charleville, Ardennes.
Rousseau, A., Conseiller d’Etat; Inspecteur Général des Ponts et
Chaussées, Paris.
Wyke, Wilberforce, Secretary of the Siamese Legation, Paris.
GERMANY.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Won Doemming, A., Elbstrombaudirector, Regierungs-und-Baurath,
Magdelburg.
Franzius, L., Oberbaudirektor, Bremen.
Froeler, Railway and Ship Director, Berlin.
Merkins, F., President of the “Westdeutche Fluss-und Canal Verein,”
Cologne-on-the-Rhine.
Moeller, M., Professor der Technischen Hochschule, Braunschweig.
Nehls, J. C., Wasserbau Director, Hamburg.
Opperman, L., Regierungs-und Baurath, Vorsitzender der Königlich
Kanal-Kommission, Münster.
Pescheck, Ingénieur en chef, Conseiller du Gouvernement, Breslau.
Roessler, H., Königlicher Regierungsbaumeister Kostheim bei Mainz.
Dr. V.On Rumpler, Royal Consellor of Foreign Affairs, Munich.
Schlichting, J., Professor für Wasserbau an der Königlichen Tech-
+ nischen Hochschule, Berlin.
Schultz, A., Directeur au Ministère des Travaux Publics, Berlin.
Symper, Ingénieur en chef a Holtenau-b-Kiel.
Thiem, R., Königlicher Baurath, Eberswalde.
Weber, Moritz, Wasserbau-Director, Dresden.
50
HONORARY MEMBERs.
Blenknisop, Regierungs-Baumeister, Kiel.
Broemel, M., Mitglied des Reichstags, Berlin.
Buesser, 0., Techniker, Oderberg.
Crasemann, R., VorsitSender der Handelskammer, Hamburg.
Damme, R., Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Danzig.
Diffene, P., Praesident der Handelskammer, Mannheim.
Engels, H., Prof. of Hydraulics, Roy. Tech. High School, Dresden.
Flinsch, H., Vorsitzender des Vereins zur Stebung den Fluss u Ka-
nal Schifffart für Süd u West-Deutschland, Frankfort-a-M.
Frentzel, A., Geheimer Commerzienrath, Berlin.
Frentzen, Regierungsbaumeister, Holtenau-by-Kiel.
Grunner, T., Praesident der Handelskammer, Bremen.
Dr. von Halle, E. L., Berlin.
Hess, A., Baurath, Hanover.
Baron Heyl zu Hermsheim, Mitglied der I Kammer der Staende
. Worms.
Hoeniger, C., Betriebs Director der Süddentschen Donan Dampf-
schifffahrts-Gesellschaft, Wien. - †
Hoech, T. G., Inspector of Water-Ways, Ger. Leg., Washington.
Dr. Landgraf, J., Syndicus der Handelskammer, Mannheim.
Lieckfeldt, E., Wasserbauinspector, Lingen.
Lindenmeyer, C., Praesident des Vereins zur Wahrung der Rein-
schifffahrt-Interessen, Ludvigshafen am Rhein.
Lindley, W. H., M. Inst. C. E., City Engineer of Frankfort-on-Main.
Meyer, J. L., Ship-builder, Papenberg, Hanover.
Nebelthan, F., Jur. Dr. Syndicus der Handelskammer, Bremen.
Pfeiffer, Geheimer Commerzienrath Praesident der Handelskam-
mer, Düsseldorf.
Rehbock, T., Government Engineer, Bremen.
Schwartz, T., Ingenieur & Schifffahrts-Director, Ruprort.
Wiggers, M., Late Member of Parliament, Mecklenberg.
HOLLAND.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Conrad, T. F. W., Gen. Inspector of the Waterstaat, M.P., The Hague. *
Deking-Dura, Ingenieur en chef du Waterstaat, Zwolle.
De Jongh, G. J., Ch. Eng., Director of the Rotterdam, B’d of W’ks. *
Welcker, J., Ingénieur du Waterstaat, Rotterdam.
5I
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Boissevain, J., Director of Nederland Mail S. S. Co., Amsterdam.
Caland, P., Chief Inspector of the Waterstaat, The Hague.
Fegelberg, P. E., Directeur de la Societé Nederland, Amsterdam.
Baron Findal, Président de la Societé Nederland, Amsterdam.
Hendrichs, A. M. J., Chairman Cham. of Com. & Ind., Amsterdam.
Baron d'Ittersum, Chief Engineer of the Waterstaat, The Hague.
Lycklama, a Nijholt, P., Bourgmester, Rotterdam.
Reiger, B., Bourgmester, Utrecht. -
Schorer, J. W. M., Queen's North Holland Commissioner, Harlem.
Van Stolk, J., Civil Engineer, Delft.
Telders, J. M., C. E., Professor in the Polytechnic School, Delft.
Van Diesen, G., Chief Inspector of the Waterstaat, The Hague.
Colonel Van Zuylen, G. E. W. L., Roy. Inst. Eng., The Hague.
ITALY.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Cornaglia, P., Inspecteur Général du Génie Civil, enretraite, San Remo.
Giaccone, P., Ingegnere Capo, Genova.
Luiggi, L., C. E. Tech. Priv. Sec. of the Minister of Pub. WKs., Rome.
Torricelli, G., Ingenere; Professore d'Idraulica Agroria netta R*Scuola
Superiore d’Agricoltura, Portici.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Baravelli, G. C., C. E., Sec. of the Soc. of Ital. Eng. and Arch., Rome.
Brin, B., Inspecteur Général du Génie Maritime, Rome.
Professeur Crugnola, G., Ingénieur en chef, Teramo.
Magazini, I., Chief Engineer of Public Works, Rome.
Orlando, P., Civil Engineer, Leghorn.
Tuccimei, C., Civil Engineer, Rome.
NORWAY.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Sotren, G., Chef"de l'Administration Royale des Canaux de Nor-
vège, Christiania.
*
52
PORTUGAL.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Da Costa Couraca, Joao, Civil Engineer, Lisbon. -
Guerreiro, Mendes, J. V., Ingénieur en chef de 1" classe, Lisbon.
De Souza-Gomes, J. Pises, Inspecteur des Travaux Publics, Lisbon.
ROUMANIA.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Professeur Mironesco, C. M., Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaus-
sées, Bucarest.
RUSSIA.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
De Hoerschelmann, E. T., Ing., Chef-Adjoint de la Direction des
Voies de Communication, Kief.
De Sytenko, N., Councellor, Editor of the Official Journal of Public
Works, St. Petersburg.
Schmelef, Th., Inspecteur en chef, Réval.
Prof. de Timonoff, V. E., Engineer of Ways and Communications, St.
Petersburg. ©º
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Fadeieff, P. A., Senateur; Conseiller Privé ; Ingénieur des Voies de
Communication, St. Petersburg.
Nyberg, A., State Counsellor; Professor in the School of Roads and
Bridges, St. Petersburg. Delegate.
Vosnessensky, N., Prof.-Adj., Inst. of Ways of Comy, St. Petersburg.
Delegate.
53
SFAIN.
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Arenal, Fernando Garcia, Ing. Direct. des Travaux du Port de Vigo.
Jague y Buil, R., Ing. jefe de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Valencia.
De Llaurado, A., Chief Engineer of the Forest District of Madrid.
HONORARY MEMBER.
De Churruca, E., Ingéniero jefe, Director de las Obras del Puerto,
Bilbao.
SWEDEN.
ADVISORY councIL.
Richert, J. G., Chief of the Royal Administration of Roads, Stockholm.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Peyron, Le C., Rear Ad., Royal Swedish Navy, Stockholm.
Sidenbladh, E., Directeur en chef du Bureau Central de Statistique
de Suéde, Stockholm.
Waern, C. F., Late Pres. Swedish B'd of Trade, Stockholm.
SWITZERLAND.
HONORARY MEMBER.
De May, M., Ingénieur Civil, Bern.
THE UNITED STATES.
A DVISORY COUNCIL.
Blanchard, N. C., Lawyer; Member of Congress, Washington, D. C.
Bogart, J., Civil Engineer, New York, N. Y.
Hon. George Clinton, Pres. Buffalo Merch. Exch. Delegate.
Comstock, C. B., General, U. S. A.; Pres. Mississippi River Commis-
- sion, New York, N. Y. *
54
Cooley, L.E., Civil Engineer, Chicago, Ill. *
Craighill, W.P., Colonel Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., Baltimore, Md.
Ely, G. H., Pres. Central National Bank, Cleveland, O. *
Fuertes, E. A., Director Coll. Civ. Eng., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N. Y.
Greene, G.S., Jr., Engineer-in-Chief Dept. of Docks, New York, N. Y.
Professor Haupt, L. M., Philadelphia, Pa. *
Henderson, T. J., Member of Congress, Princeton, Ill.
Hutton, W. R., Consulting Engineer, New York. …”
Kirby, F. E., Consulting and Const. Eng., Detroit Dry Dock Co.
Colonel Mendenhall, T. C., Supt. U.S. Coast Survey, Washington.
Menocal, A. G., U.S. N. ; Ch. Eng. Nicaragua Canal Co., Norfolk, Va.
Hon. W. Miller, Late Pres. Nicaragua Ship Canal Co., New York.
Prof. Mitchell, H., Cambridge, Mass.
North, E. P., American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.
Roberts, T. P., Ch. Eng. of the Monongahela Nav. Co., Pittsburgh.
Snow, A., President of the American Shipping League, New York.
Hon. Horatio Seymour, Civil Engineer, Marquette, Mich.
Thompson, S.A., Secretary of the Board of Trade, Duluth, Minn.
Vivian, T. J., Supt. Transp. U. S. Census Bureau, Washington, D. C.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Bates, W. W., N. A. and Shipbuilder, Chicago, Ill.
Boyd, J. T., Constructing Engineer, East Cambridge, Mass.
Clarke, R. H., M. C., Alabama, Washington, D. C.
Dolph, J. N., U. S. Senator, Washington, D.C. '
Frye, W. P., U. S. Senator, Lewiston, Maine.
Haynes, W. E., Banker, Fremont, Sandusky Co., Ohio.
Post, Philip S., Member of Congress, Washington, D. C.
Stephenson, S. M., Member of Congress, Menvoninee, Mich.
Weadock, T. A., Member of Congress, Bay City, Mich.
Woods, Henry D., Ingénieur des Arts and Manufactures, Boston.
MEMBERS.
Hon. G. H. Anderson, Dele. Cham. of Com., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Babcock, W, I., Manager Chicago Ship Building Co.
Beach, L. H., U. S. Engineer, Chicago, Ill.
Blount, W. A., Counsellor at Law, Pensacola, Fla. -
Brewer, F., Correspondent for (Industries & Iron) So. Orange, N. J.
Brown, G. H., Manufacturer, Portland, Me.
Burnham, T., Lawyer, Chicago, Ill.
55
Bryson, A., River & Coal Trade, Davenport, Iowa.
Chanute, 0., Consulting Engineer, Mem. Local Committee, Chicago.
Chase, Champion S., Lawyer, Board of Trade, Omaha, Neb.
Chipley, H. D., Vice Pres, of the P. & A. R.R., Pensacola, Fla.
Cobb, S. C., Merchant, Pensacola, Fla.
Hon. G. L. Converse, Att'y at Law, Columbus, Ohio.
Hon. F. A. Copeland, Delegate, La Crosse, Wis.
Cragin, E. F., Chicago, Ill.
Crandall, C. L., Assoc. Prof. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N. Y. .
Corthell, E. L., C. E., Member of the Local Committee, Chicago.
Dalton, H. G., Man'g Minn. Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Capt. Delahoussaye, L. P., Delegate Board of Trade, New Orleans.
Hon. J. C. Dore, President of the Congress, Chicago, Ill.
Drake, M. M., Delegate Merchants' Exchange, Buffalo, N. Y.
Hon. J. F. Dravo, Delegate Chamber of Commerce, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Dutton, C.M., Civil Engineer, Wilmette, Ill.
Edwards, N. M., C. E., Appleton, Wis.
Gilchrist, C. H., C. E., Chicago, Ill.
Gillette, C. E., U. S. Engineer, Chicago, Ill.
Goff, L. B., Manufacturer, Pawtucket, R. I.
Goodman, W. D., Editor “Railway Age,” Aurora, Ill.
Grabery, M. L., Philadelphia, Pa.
Gunn, 0. B., C. E., Kansas City, Mo.
Haarslick, H. C., Delegate Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, Mo.
Hotchkiss, H. L., Banker, New York City, N. Y.
Hon. J. B. Jones, Att'y at Law, Little Rock, Ark.
Keasler, T. W., Manufacturer, Pensacola, Fla.
Laidley, F.A., Steamboat Owner, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Capt. Leathers, B. S., Delegate Board of Trade, New Orleans, La.
Mattocks, C. P., Delegate Merchants' Exchange and Board of Trade,
Portland, Me. e
Capt. Mason, I. M., Delegate Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, Mo.
Morgan, G. H., Secretary Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, Mo.
Mulrooney, J. M., Editor “Marine Review,” Cleveland, Ohio.
Nelson, M., Member of the Local Committee, Chicago, Ill.
Nicholson, W. F., Manufacturer, Providence, R. I.
Nickerson, J. E., Architect, Providence, R. I. .
O'Brien, J. E., Delegate Chamber of Commerce, Pensacola, Fla.
Owen, F., C pt. Transit Co., Ogdensburg, N. Y.
Parker, J. D., Delegate Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ray, C. H., Delegate, La Crosse, Wis.
56
Roney, C. P., Civil Engineer, Chicago, Ill. -
Samuel, W. M., Delegate Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, Mo.
See, H., Engineer and Naval Architect, New York City. -
Hon. E. O. Stanard, Delegate Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, Mo.
Thurston, W., Delegate Merchants' Exchange, Buffalo, N. Y.
Treat, C. P., Contractor, Chicago, Ill.
Hon. C. P. Walbridge, Mayor, Delegate Merchants' Exchange. St.
Louis, Mo. . .
Prof. Watson, W., Ph.D., A. A. S. Mem. Am. Soc. C. E., Secretary
of the Congress, Io'7 Marlboro St., Boston, Mass.
Wheeler, F. W., West Bay City, Mich.
Wisner, G. Y., Civil Engineer, Detroit, Mich.
Capt. Wood, B. D., Delegate Board of Trade, New Orleans, La.
Wright, H. T., Delegate Cham. of Commerce, Pensacola, Fla.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress,
CHICAGO, 1893
w/º
CABLE TOWAGE ON CANALS AND RIVERS–THE
HYDRAULIC CANAL LIFT AT LES FONTINETTES,
FRANCE – THE NAVIGATION OF THE SENE
FROM PARIS TO THE SEA--THE PNEUMATIC
FOUNDATIONS AT GENOA AND AT LA PALLICE,
THE PORT OF ROCHELLE.
BY
WILLIAM WATSON, PH.D.
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, Member of the
American Society of Civil Engineers, Secretary of the Congress. -
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CABLE TOWAGE FOR BOATS ON CANALS
AND RIVERS.
The principal difficulties in cable towage arise from the
following circumstances:—
. First. That owing to the obliquity of the towrope, the
boat tends, constantly, to pull the cable out of the grooves
of its guiding pulleys. Some means, therefore, must be
found to confine the cable within these grooves.
Second. When the towrope comes to a pulley, it passes
into the groove with the cable; while the latter should be
confined to the groove, the former should immediately slip
out without carrying the cable with it. These two contra-
dictory conditions render the solution of the problem ex-
tremely difficult, especially in going around concave curves.
Third. The joint between the towrope and the cable
should be such that the former cannot be twisted upon the
latter by the rotation of the cable; otherwise the towrope
would be wound upon it, and could not then be detached
from it. -
Fourth. The towrope must be easily detached from the
cable at any instant, an operation of some difficulty, as it
is done by a cord 60, 80, or 150 metres long, which forms
kinks by being dragged on the ground or through the
Water. ſº
Fifth. Starting should be progressive, although the boat
is made fast suddenly to a cable in motion.
System adopted.—The system of cable towage intro-
duced by M. Maurice Lévy solves all these difficulties as
follows:—
The first condition of success was to avoid all irregular
motions of the cable. For this purpose, instead of deter-
mining the weight and tension of the cable according to
4
the usual rules governing telodynamic transmission, he
determines them by the double condition of maintaining
the oscillations of the cable, whether horizontal or vertical,
within certain prescribed limits, which can be made as
small as may be desired. This requires that the cable
should be heavy (about 3 kilogrammes per metre), and
that it should be set up with an initial tension incomparably
greater than that usually adopted in such cables. This
tension, as well as the weight of the cable, depends on the
length of circuit and the speed required for the boats.
For the system constructed between Paris and Joinville,
the weight and tension were determined by the condition
that the deflection caused by the oblique and irregular haul
of the boat, should not exceed ten centimetres. This was
accomplished by giving to the cable a weight of 3.65 kilo-
grammes per running metre, and a permanent tension of 5
tonS.
The cable as shown by Figs. I–3 has a breaking strength
of 50 tons. -
Advantages of this tension.—A boat of three hundred
tons attached to the cable at any point exerts a pull of from
IOO to 150 kilogrammes, which is added to the permanent
tension of 5 tons; this addition produces scarcely any local
deflection. -
The mean force, F, required to impart to a boat at rest,
the velocity, V, of the cable is found as follows: Let W.
be the weight of the boat, g the acceleration of gravity
(9.81 metres), and / the length of the towline.
2
A'- A V
2 g /
If P = 300 tons, V = I metre per second, and l = IOO
metres, then F = 150 kilogrammes (neglecting the resist-
ance of the water as compared with the inertia of the boat).
The supporting and guiding pulleys.-The vertical sup-
porting pulleys are o.80 metre in diameter, and have a
5
depth of groove of o.20 metre. A roller on the top of the
pulley prevents the cable from leaving it, but the towrope
attachment would catch between the pulley and the guide
roller. To obviate this, openings are made on the water
side of the pulley grooves, consisting of two notches ex-
tending the whole width of the groove, and having their
edges curved in the form of the involute of a circle (Figs.
8–9); other notches are added having a depth slightly
exceeding the thickness of the towrope. When the tow-
rope coupling enters the groove, it is caught by one of the
notches, carried over the pulley, and escapes, as shown in
the figure.
The passage around convex bends in the banks presents
no difficulty; it is accomplished with the aid of horizontal
pulleys turning round vertical pivots solidly fixed in metallic
supports. These pulleys have no need of notches, as the
cable, with its towrope coupling, passes only on the water
side, and the latter thus escapes. On account of the great
tension of the cable there is no danger that the towrope
will pull it off.
The passage around concave angles is, on the contrary,
an extremely delicate problem. In that case, the cable
passing round the pulley on the land side, the townope
joint cannot clear itself unless we adopt very special and
precise arrangements.
This problem has been solved in several ways. The
first method is shown in Figs. IO-II.
In the elevation, the plane of the lower pulley is sup-
posed to be revolved to coincide with that of the upper one.
Two vertical pulleys are taken, having a common tan-
gent, to the bottom of their respective grooves, one of the
pulleys being in the plane of the part coming on, and the
other in that of the part going off. The cable rolls upon
the first (which we may suppose to be the upper one) and
descends vertically along the common tangent, and then
passes on to the second.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 8.
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8
This solution permits any change of direction whatever
by the aid of two vertical pulleys, and consequently it suf-
fices to notch these pulleys like the supporting pulleys to
let the towrope coupling escape. But it subjects the cable
to two consecutive bends at right angles. In order to save
the cable from wear, large 2-metre pulleys are used, and
on account of their great dimensions the number of the
notches is increased. |
The expense of such pulleys with their supports would
be considerable if they had to be used wherever there is a
concave angle, and this arrangement is only suitable for
curves with exceptionally short radii, or at the entrance of
tunnels, where it may be convenient to suddenly change
the direction. For the usual deviations a large pulley is
used of the type of I.40 or 2 metres, furnished with notches .
on the upper face (Fig. 7). This solution is derived from
that of the two vertical pulleys.
The principle of the two pulleys is very elastic. We
may, for instance, take both pulleys inclined, or one verti-
cal and the other inclined. Then we may arrange them so
that the first shall be an ordinary pulley O.60 metre, and
then there remains only one large pulley. But the inclina-
tion of the latter, its direction relatively to that of the cable
as it comes on and goes off, and the length and width of
the notches, should be determined with the most perfect
precision by certain rules which have been established by
theory and experiment. {
Another method consists in using a horizontal pulley,
and passing the towrope over it by means of a wooden
guide placed at a distance of 60 centimetres from the cable.
This guide, beginning at a point 20 centimetres below the
level of the cable and 6 metres from the wheel, has an up-
ward slope of ſº, and thus rises 30 or 40 centimetres above .
that of the wheel. This carries the towrope horizontally
over the wheel; the coupling, raised by the guide, is caught
by a notch, carried to the other side of the pulley, and
9
escapes. The economy resulting from this arrangement is
considerable, amounting to three hundred dollars per kilo-
metre.
The rotation of the cable.—Towrope joint.—A cable in
motion is constantly turning like a screw in its nut. This
motion can be easily observed. If we stick a piece of paper
to the cable, it will make a complete revolution in going a
distance of from 12 to I4 metres. After passing certain
angles, the direction of the rotation will be reversed, so that
the cable twists in certain portions, and untwists in others,
without any precise law. It follows from this that the tow-
rope cannot be made fast directly to the cable, for if it were,
the former would be completely wound upon the latter after
going a distance of from one to two hundred metres. This
fact renders it difficult to join the two. The joint should
consist of two pieces having distinct and independent mo–
tions; one solidly attached to the cable, and the other form-
ing a loose ring about it. The towrope is attached to the
second piece and pulls it against the first, which serves as
a stop; this pull keeps the ring fixed while the cable and
the stop rotate together.
Aetails of the joint adopted.—Figs. I–6. The tow-
rope grip consists of a malleable iron saddle. Figs. 4–6,
60 millimetres long, formed of a demicylinder, S, 32 milli-
metres in diameter, and terminated by vertical tangents 14
millimetres long ; the cable being 30 millimetres in diam-
eter, there is a play of 2 millimetres between it and the
saddle. The posterior portion of the saddle is hollowed
for a length of IO or 12 millimetres, so as to fit upon the
corresponding part of the stop. The stop is thus boxed in
for three fourths of its perimeter, and in this position the
saddle cannot be lifted vertically off of it, but can only be
pulled off by turning about its posterior edge. This is
accomplished by pulling a cord, R, attached to the pommel
P. This saddle is encircled by the tackling-rope, T, which
has a “Turk's head” K, at one end, and a loop for mak-
IO
ing fast to the towline, at the other; its length is 4.5o
metres. At a distance of about 3 metres from the knob
there is a cut splice or buttonhole, O, to hold K. Lead
beads, W, W, W, strung on the tackling rope just below O,
serve as weights to draw the saddle back onto the cable
after it has been pulled off by the releasing cord, R.
To hook on a boat.—After making fast the towline to
the tackling loop, and seeing that the releasing cord is
attached, the boatman goes on shore, saddle in hand, puts
it upon the cable, buttons in the “Turk’s head,” and returns.
to the boat. He need not hasten, for the saddle will slide
along the cable until it meets the first stop. If he is not
ready to start, he makes fast the releasing cord to the boat,
and slackens the towline before going ashore. Then each
stop pulls the releasing cord, which makes the saddle jump
over the stop. The saddle momentarily quits the cable,
but the weights, W, W, bring it back; this prevents any
friction between the tackling rope and the cable.
Aſooking on, and management by a single boatman.-
After hooking on to the cable, the method of starting is as
follows: The boatman first sets his rudder so as to steer
away from the shore, and pushes off the bow ; then he
loosens the releasing cord and winds the towline crosswise
oo about the two bitts. When the stop takes hold and the
boat begins to move, he slackens on his towline, slowly
letting out IO or 15 metres until the boat acquires the ve-
locity of the cable; this done, he goes to the helm. The
steering is much simplified by the uniformity of the pull.
Mr. Lévy states that he has frequently seen boats carrying
a party of several persons, and all of them in the cabin :
the boat was taking care of itself, without any steering at
all.
Automatic starting.—The bitts being well greased, the
boatman takes a number of loose turns about them, and
then as the towline tightens it slips on the bitts. The
haulage in this way may be made automatic with the two
II
bitts well greased, and just the proper number of turns
taken about them to maintain the normal haul; the tow-
line will then slip automatically, if the boat meets with an
unexpected resistance.
Stopping en route without casting off from the cable.—
If during the journey it is necessary to stop or slacken
speed, it is done by making fast the releasing cord and
slackening the towline. Then the pull on the releasing
cord causes the saddle to jump over the stops as fast as
they come along. n
To cast off from the cable.—The boatman first makes
the saddle jump over the stop, which is done by the haul
of the boat; then pulling on the releasing cord, he draws
the saddle along the cable until it is opposite to him ; the
towline then is perpendicular to the cable; continuing to
pull, the saddle quits the cable, leaving the “Turk's head”
resting upon it; then by giving a sudden jerk, the “Turk's
head” is drawn out of the splice O, the saddle falls to the
ground and is pulled on board. It may be noticed that the
saddle does not touch the cable during the haul; it rests
with its cupping on the stop, and thus does not wear the
cable. -
Method of circuits.-In an extended application, the
circuits may cover without difficulty a distance of from 15
to 18 kilometres, and as the two machines driving two con-
secutive circuits may be united, it follows that the machines
may be from 30 to 36 kilometres apart.
The machines thus placed, two and two in the same
shed, can mutually help each other in case of accident to
either. Continuous towage can go on with slightly dimin-
ished velocity, it is true, but with no stoppage.
The power used depends on the velocity desired. With
a velocity of O.70 metre per second, the velocity of horse
towage, it requires only two horse power to draw a barge
loaded with 350 tons, and one horse power for lighter
loads.
I2
If we adopt the velocity of one metre per second, we
must multiply these figures by 2.25. One half a horse
power per kilometre should be added for power consumed
by the unloaded cable. Under these conditions for a traffic
of 1,000,000 tons per year, with a velocity of one metre
per second, two machines of from 45 to 50 horse power
would be required for each distance of 30 kilometres.
The cost of the plant depends on the dimensions of the
barges, their number, and velocity. -
Assuming the largest, with a velocity of one metre per
second, and a traffic of I, OOO,OOO tons per year, we may
estimate the cost of the plant at 17 francs per running
metre. -
The cost per metre of working, under the severest con-
ditions, and including a sinking fund for the capital, and
the cost of renewing the cable not exceeding 3.18 francs,
the expense of traction is O.OO3 francs per ton per kilo-
metre, if we have a traffic of I,OOO,OOO tons; it descends to
o.oO12, if the traffic amounts to 2,500,000 or 3,000,000
tons. *
This system has been devised and applied between Paris
and Joinville by M. Maurice Lévy, chief engineer of roads
and bridges.
The plate represents the system of cable towage near
Paris. On the right is seen the cable just entering the tun-
nel of Joinville, from which it issues, passing around a
horizontal pulley, and thence at the left around an inclined
winged pulley used for concave angles; thence under a
guide pulley. The boat is seen emerging from the tunnel
with its towrope and releasing cord.
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THE HYDRAULIC CANAL LIFT AT LES
FONTINETTES, FRANCE.
The Neufossé Canal, on which this lift is situated, con-
nects Dunkirk, Gravelines, and Calais with the system of
internal navigation, and has an annual traffic represented
by I.3,OOO boats.
The Fontinettes locks, situated on this canal, near St.
Omer, consist of a flight of five successive locks surmount-
ing a difference of level of 43 feet.
The time consumed in passing through these locks often
exceeded two hours; the system of crossing was conse-
quently abandoned, and the locks were used for the ascend-
ing boats one day, and for those descending the next.
The traffic has so increased that the locks could not ac-
commodate it; accordingly, the Government ordered the
construction of an hydraulic lift capable of raising boats of
3OO tons burden.
Principle of the liſt.—The lift, properly so called, con-
sists of two iron troughs containing the water in which
the boats float. Each trough is bolted at its center to the
head of a piston, or ram, which works in an hydraulic
press set up in a basin. The two presses communicate by
a pipe containing a valve serving to cut off, at will,
communication between the cylinders.
We thus have an hydraulic balance, and it is sufficient to
give a certain surcharge of water to one of the troughs
when the valve is opened, in order that one trough shall
descend, and in so doing raise the other. Besides, the
weight of the trough does not vary, whether it contains a
boat or not, provided the water in it stands at the same
level in both cases.
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Fig. 2.—Hydraulic lift at Les Fontinettes. Longitudinal section along the axis of the trough. A, canal bridge; B, movable trough; C, pistons; D, great
presses; H, frames supporting the lifting gates; I, guides; K, towers; L, lookout cabin; M, machine house; Q , service bridge; S, Capstan.

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FIG. 3.-Cross section through the transverse axis of the Hydraulic lift at Les Fontinettes. B B, movable
troughs; C C, pistons; D D, great presses; E E, supply pipes; F, connecting valve; -->
I I I I, guides; K K K, towers; L, lookout cabin; P P, compensating reservoirs.



5
The lift was placed just below the point where the canal
is carried across the Boulogne and St. Omer Railroad by
an iron aqueduct.
The troughs.—The troughs have their ends closed by
lifting gates; they contain a minimum depth of water of 6
feet Io; inches, and are lodged at the bottom, in a dry
masonry basin below the level of the lower bay. This
basin is divided, by a wall 17 feet wide, into two
compartments, each closed by a gate at the extremity of
the connecting aqueduct.
The pistons.—The pistons are cast-iron plungers, 57 feet,
long, 6 feet 6% inches in diameter, and 2.8 inches thick;
they are formed in sections 9 feet 2 inches long, flanged
on the inside, united by bolts, and made water-tight by a
ring of sheet copper inserted between each flange.
The presses.—The great presses are 71 feet high and
6 feet Io inches in diameter. They rest upon masses of
cement béton at the bottom of the pits, tubbed with cast
iron. The presses themselves are made up of rolled weld-
less steel hoops 6 inches wide, stepped into each other at
half thickness, with a joint .2 of an inch high, and made
water-tight by a copper lining.
The joint between the piston and the press is formed by
an India-rubber band, lined with sheet copper, and lodged
in an annular recess made in the cylinder cover. This
lining is kept in place by a bayonet attachment.
The presses communicate by an iron pipe 9% inches in
diameter inside, starting from the bottom of each cylinder
and ascending the corresponding pit. The pipe has a
horizontal branch at the bottom of the basin between the
two pits, and contains a valve in the middle. This branch
has also tubes connecting with two distributors, by means
of which water may be forced under pressure into either
press, or allowed to escape therefrom.
Guides.—The troughs are guided on the upstream end
and in the middle. The center guides, D D, which are the
6
most important, rest against three massive square towers.
The engineer, in the valve house, L, at the top of the
central tower, directs the whole apparatus, opens and
closes the connecting valve between the presses, and the
valves of the distributors. Access to this house is afforded
by the tower staircase, or by a footbridge from the top o
the lift wall. t
The side towers contain wrought-iron cylindrical reser-
voirs, designed to reduce the consumption of water, but it
has not been thought best to use them.
When one trough is raised to the end of its course, there
is a play of about Iš inches between its upstream extremity
and the downstream end of the aqueduct connecting with
it. At the moment of raising the gates to allow a boat to
enter or to pass out of a trough, the joint is made by an
India-rubber hose running round the end of the aqueduct,
and protected by springs. This hose is inflated with air,
at a pressure of Ił atmospheres. Little valves inserted in
the gates permit this space (between the gates) to be filled
with water before making the connection. The same ar-
rangement is made for the lower bay joint.
Porticos constructed on the lift wall, and also on the tail
wall, have, on their tops, hydraulic apparatus for lifting the
gates. The gates, which are balanced to a great extent by
counterweights, allow, when raised, a free height of 12 feet
above the level of the water. Below the lift, a footbridge,
Q_, connects the two banks with the central masonry wall.
The machinery (Pl. III.) placed in a building, M, be-
tween the two compartments of the dry basin on the up-
stream side of the central tower, consists of two turbines
driven by the water of the upper bay, brought into a tank
between the two lines of the aqueduct. One turbine of 50
horse power drives four double-acting force pumps coupled
together two and two, and supplying an accumulator of
2643 gallons capacity. The other 15 horse power turbine
drives the air compressor for the inflation of the joining
º
º:
GENERAL VIEW OF THE HIYDRAULIC CANAL LIFT AT LES FONTINETTES.

7
hose, and also a centrifugal pump which serves to keep the
trough basins clear of water, whether from leakage or false
maneuvering. w - +
A little steam engine works the pump when the upper
bay is not in use. . •
The weight to be raised, including a piston, a trough,
the water, and a boat floating in it, amounts to about 800
tons; the pressure in the presses is, therefore, about 25 at-
mospheres. But the accumulator has been loaded to 30
atmospheres to make sure of the efficient working of the
presses for lifting the gates. .
Method of working the lift.—The lift is worked as fol-
lows: One of the troughs being raised to the height of its
course and containing a depth of water 7 feet Ioſſ inches,
the joint is made by opening the cock admitting compressed
air into the hose running around the face of the end of the
aqueduct. Then the trough and aqueduct bridge are
hooked together, and at the same time the space between
the gates is filled by means of a little valve. The two
gates are then raised together by means of a counterpoise
and the hydraulic apparatus; a boat is hauled into the
trough, then the gates are lowered and unhooked, the valve
is closed, and the air in the rubber hose allowed to escape.
During this time similar operations have taken place be-
low ; the other trough being at the end of its course, resting &
on wooden blocks, and containing water 6 feet Io; inches
deep. The upper trough has thus a surcharge of I2 inches
in depth, corresponding to about 64.6 tons.
The connecting valve between the presses is then opened,
and one trough descends while the other rises. The mo-
tion is stopped by closing the connecting valve when the
level in the ascending trough is 12 inches below that of the
upper bay. The descending trough has also its level 12
inches above the level of the lower bay. The joints are
formed, and the gates lifted, slightly at first, then com-
pletely. The upper trough takes its surcharge for the
8
following operation while the lower one gives up its water
ballast to the lower bay. The boats can then be hauled
out and replaced by others.
The position of a trough may be corrected either before
or after the opening of the lifting gates. It is sufficient for
this purpose to move the distributor valves so as to allow
water to escape from the press or to introduce water under
pressure from the accumulator into it.
Also safety valves are introduced, opening automatically,
and thus preventing the trough from rising too high, which
might be dangerous.
At the beginning of the operation, the press of the upper
trough contains 41 tons of water more than that of the
lower. The force producing the descent attains about 106
tons. This force diminishes progressively, since the water
in the first press passes gradually into the second, and at
the end of the operation the force is only 24 tons; this is
necessary to overcome the friction and passive resistances.
This force would be in reality only 12 tons if the connect-
ing pipe were entirely free, but it was thought best to reduce
the section by valves and thus regulate the apparatus, in
order to avoid either an excessive velocity or a premature
stoppage in case of error in taking the surcharge.
As we see, the initial force diminishes and the motion
slackens continuously, so that each trough comes to the end.
of its course with nearly no velocity. -
The actual time of the ascent and descent of the troughs.
is 5 minutes.
The total time, including the entrance and the departure
of a barge in each direction, is 20 minutes.
The total cost of the lift was about $374,000.
SUMMARY,
Ales Fontinettes Lift, Weufossé Canal, France.
Metres. Feet. Inches.
Trough :—
Length iº g tº e tº © . 39.5o 129 7
Breadth & * * © © º e 5.60 18 4%
Depth of water . tº º © ſº t 2. IO 6 Ioš
PLATE II.
N.
VIEW OF THE TROUGH HASI
FONTINETTES.
IIYDRA UILIC CAN AI. I. I. FT AT LES

9
Metres. Feet. Inches.
Press; copper internal cylinder with exterior
weldless steel hoops :—
Thickness of copper cylinder . . º e O.OO3 O. I 18
Thickness exterior steel hoops . e º o.O6o 2.362
Length of press . º º & 15 682 5 I 5.4O6
Length of stroke (height of lift) * º I3. I3 43 I.
Pressure in the press, 25 atmospheres, 442
pounds per square inch.
Ram or piston —
Thickness of cast iron º e G º o.o?o 2.755
External diameter o e tº wº 2.OO 6 6#
Total weight lifted, including water, trough,
and ram, 800 tons.
Equivalent to a pressure of 25 atmospheres.
The contents of one stroke in water, 41 tons.
Equivalent to a surcharge on the trough of . O. 20 8.
Actual surcharge used, 64.6 tons.
Equivalent to a depth of water of . e o O.30 II .81 I
Size of boats lifted, 300 tons.
Actual time of lift, 5 minutes.
Acknowledgment.—I wish in this connection to express
my indebtedness to M. Gruson, chief engineer of roads
and bridges, for the information concerning this interesting
subject as well as for the three figures which accompany it.
Plate I. is a general view of the lift.
In the foreground is seen the iron lattice bridge over the
two branches of the canal containing the lift. Immediately
Dehind, is the lower iron frame supporting the downstream
gates; the trough on the right is raised; on the right and
left are the towers with their iron guides to steady the
trough in its ascent and descent. Behind the first tower,
on the left, is the machine house containing the accumu-
lator, the turbines, and the feed pumps; on the top is the
lookout cabin containing the levers for opening and closing
all the valves used in operating the lift. Still farther in the
rear are the supports for the upstream gates, also contain-
ing the hydraulic moving apparatus. Below, in the rear,
is the iron girder bridge carrying the canal over the
Boulogne and St. Omer Railroad, resting on the massive
abutment. At the extreme right is the original canal lead-
ing to a flight of five consecutive locks.
IO
Plate II. shows the trough basin, giving a view of the
trough as seen from beneath when it is raised, and of the
parts of the structure which are then below the trough. It
exhibits the junction of the square head of the ram with the
trough bottom and the details of the construction of the
latter. On the side of the house is seen the guide; beyond
is the gate with its lifting chain and guide pulley, sur-
mounted by the iron lattice supports. On the left side is a
little centrifugal pump for draining the trough basin.
PLATE III.
HYDRAULIC CANAL LIFT AT LES FONTINETTES. VI EW OF THE PUM PING MACHINERY.

THE NAVIGATION OF THE SEINE FROM
PARIS TO THE SEA.
At the beginning of the century the navigation of the
Lower Seine was often interrupted by low water and by
freshets. Great difficulties and even dangers were en-
countered in passing the bridges and dams. Ascending
only by horse towage, consuming from Rouen to Paris
fifteen days for ordinary freight, and four or five for accel-
erated freight, the boats were rarely able to be loaded to
their full depth, from 6 to 64 feet. The cost of freight
was $3.20 per ton from Rouen to Paris, and the annual
traffic did not exceed 77,000,000 kilometric tons.
Without undertaking to describe the improvements made
in the navigation of the river before 1878, it is sufficient to
say that with the works recently constructed, the river
between Paris and Rouen has been divided into nine
reaches by the construction of locks and dams, with a
minimum draught of water of IO feet, and no difficulties are
experienced either from low water or the passage of locks.
The transport is made by steam, either by freight boats or
towboats, by the former in 28 hours, and by the latter, tow-
ing a convoy, in 3 days. The price of freight, which was
from $2.4O to $3 per ton in 1840, is now from 80 cents to
$I ascending, and from 65 to 70 cents descending, and
will diminish progressively as new boats are built to utilize
more completely the improvements of the route.
Indeed, the traffic” since the completion of the canaliza-
tion, has considerably augmented. The total tonnage be-
tween Paris and Rouen, including that taken on the way,
* M. Cameré pointed out to the author a new steamer of 600 tons
burden, built for the coasting trade, just returned from a voyage to Spain.
sev N + N F E R E U R =
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Map of the tidal Seine.















3
was in 1881, 227,307,266 kilometric tons, and in 1888 it
was 389,668,346.
Cost.—The cost of the works of canalization amounts to
88,553,000 francs ($17,21O,OOO). If we compare this
total expense with the actual traffic we find the interest at
5 per cent on the first cost, divided by the number repre-
5 88,530,000
— — X — - ––– E O.OII = 2.2
IOO 389,568,346
mills per kilometric ton, and it is certain that the cost of
freight has diminished very much more than that.
senting this traffic to be,
EMBANKMENT WORKS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE
TID AL SEINE.
The object of the improvement of the tidal Seine is to
facilitate the access of vessels to the port of Rouen, situ-
ated 78 miles from the sea. Of this distance, half required
improvements to render it navigable, and this comprised
the parts between La Mailleraye and the sea below Hon-
fleur. The breadth of the river increased between these
places from five eighths to six miles. See map. ;
Depth of water.—This vast extent of water was filled
with banks of shifting sand, which were constantly chang-
ing place through the action of the strong currents of the
ebb and flow of the tide, and it often happened that in the
course of a few days the position of the channel would be
shifted from one side of the river to the other. The depth
was also variable and insufficient. During the highest tides
there was a depth of 14 feet below Quillebeuf, and only
5 feet at high neap tides, and many dangerous rocks and
shoals impeded the navigation above this point. These
perils encountered at intervals of the voyage were con-
siderably augmented by the tidal wave or bore, and vessels
were stranded by its powerful action without the possibility
of receiving assistance. Under these circumstances the
navigation was confined to vessels of from IOO to 200 tons
burden. The voyage from the sea up to Rouen occupied
4
four days; a great number of wrecks marked the route,
freights between the sea and Rouen rose to $2 per ton, and
the rate of insurance was one half per cent.
Improvements.—Such was the state of things in 1848,
when the improvements were begun, which consisted in
building training walls, sometimes on one side, sometimes
on both sides, extending from La Mailleraye to the mouth
of the Risle, a distance of 26 miles. The distance between
the training walls was 984 feet at La Mailleraye, and grad-
ually increased to 1,640 feet at the Risle.
These training walls are constructed of random work
built of blocks of chalk taken from the cliffs on the banks
of the river; some are raised above the level of the high-
est tides, while others are capable of being submerged, so
that they may have less influence in promoting the accu-
mulation of deposits.
The stones from the neighboring quarries were soft, and
subject to the action of frosts, currents, and particularly the
tidal wave or bore, a powerful volume of water preced-
ing the flood tide, rushing up the river, and dashing against
the banks with great violence; this has undermined and
sometimes destroyed the original walls. Very extensive
repairs, or rather reconstructions, were necessary, which
bring up the total cost of the walls to the sum of $5,300,-
OOO since the beginning.
Alluvial land.—Behind the training walls, and in parts
formerly occupied by the shifting sands, alluvial meadows
were formed to an extent of over 20,000 acres in 1880.
These meadows are of excellent quality, and they are
actually worth $325 per acre. When all the alluvial lands
now forming are definitely constituted, the total value of
the lands thus reclaimed will be $6,71O,OOO. Finally, it
should be understood that these calculations only include
the lands above the actual limit of the training walls, and
that the influence of these works extends a long distance
beyond them into the estuary.
, 5
Aresults.—The results have surpassed all anticipations.
The channel has become fixed and deepened between the
walls more than 6 feet 7 inches, so that vessels of 2,OOO
tons can navigate the river, the depth being at low tide 17
feet, and at high tide 20 feet. The charge for freight be-
tween Havre and Rouen has been reduced one half, that
is, to 5 francs per ton, and the insurance for Rouen is the
same as for Havre. The traffic has consequently in-
creased from 500,000 tons in 1860 to I,6OO,OOO tons in
I888.
The effects of the training walls have been confined to
the channel between them, but their deepening influence
extends little beyond their extremities. The estuary chan-
nel is constantly shifting. In M. Vautier's report he traces
on the chart of the estuary twelve totally different locations
of the main channel beyond the walls, from 1874 to 1880.
A prolongation of the southern bank below the Risle
was carried out in 1870, but a proposed prolongation of the
northern bank was refused, and the works finally stopped,
for fear of endangering the approaches to Havre, the
second port of France, by the silting up of the estuary.
Such was the state of things in 1886, when the idea
occurred to Prof. Vernon-Harcourt, the eminent hydraulic
engineer, of making the experimental investigations on
the Seine estuary described in the following extracts from
his paper on The Principles of Training Rivers through
Tidal Estuaries.
INVESTIGATIONS ABOUT THE SEINE ESTUARY.
The training works in the lower portion of the tidal
Seine are acknowledged to be incomplete; and great
interest has been evinced, particularly within the last few
years, in the question of their extension, so that the shifting
channel between Berville and the sea may be trained and
deepened, and the access to Honfleur improved, without
endangering the approaches to Havre. The objects
desired are distinctly defined, but the means for attaining
6
them have formed the subject of schemes, exhibiting great
varieties in their general design, and illustrating very
forcibly the great uncertainty which exists, even in a special
case where the conditions have been long studied, as to the
principles which should be followed in designing training
works. It is evident that no reasoning from analogy could
prevail among such very conflicting views; and having had
the subject under consideration for a long time, the idea
occurred to me in August, 1886, of attempting the solution
of this very difficult problem by an experimental method,
which might also throw light upon general principles for
guidance in training rivers through estuaries. The estuary
of the Seine is in some respects peculiarly well adapted for
such an investigation, for old charts exhibit the state of the
river before the training works were commenced, and
recent charts indicate the changes which the training walls
have produced, while the various designs for the completion
of the works, proposed by experienced engineers, afford an
interesting basis for experimental inquiries into the prin-
ciples of training works in estuaries. If, in the first place,
it should be possible to reproduce in a model the shifting
channels of the Seine estuary as they formerly existed, and
next, after inserting the training walls in the model as they
now exist in the estuary, the effects produced by these
works could be reproduced on a small scale, it appeared
reasonable to assume that the introduction, successively, in
the model of the various lines proposed for the extension of
the training walls would produce results in the model fairly
resembling the effects which the works, if carried out,
would actually produce.
When the third Manchester Ship Canal bill was being
considered by Parliament, in 1885, Prof. Osborne Reynolds
constructed a working model of the portion of the Mersey
estuary above Liverpool on behalf of the promoters of the
canal, with the object of showing that no changes would
be produced in the main channels of the estuary by the
canal works, which have been designed to modify very
slightly the line of the Chesire shore above Eastham.
This model was, I believe, the first experimental investiga-
tion on an estuary by artificially producing the tidal action
of flood and ebb on a small scale, and Professor Reynolds's
experiment showed that a remarkably close resemblance
7
to the main tidal channels in the inner estuary could be
produced on a small scale. But the very interesting and
valuable results obtained in the model of the Mersey, could
afford no assurance that experiments involving essentially
different and novel conditions would lead to any satisfactory
results. I therefore restricted the requirements for my ex-
periments within the smallest limits, and contented myself
with the simplest means, and the limited space available in
my office at Westminster.
APescription of the model of the Seine estuary.—The
model representing the tidal portion of the river Seine and
the adjacent coast of Calvados, extending from Martot, the
lowest weir on the Seine, down to about Dives, to the
southwest of Trouville, was moulded in Portland cement
by my assistant, Mr. Edward Blundell, to the scales rºotſ
horizontal and Tºm vertical. Where the rocky bottom lies
bare, near Havre and Villerville, the model was molded
to the exact depths shown on the chart of 1880; but in
other places the cement bottom was merely kept well be-
low the greatest depth the channel had attained at each
place, whilst the actual bed of the estuary in the model
was formed by the flow of water over a layer of sand.
Arrangements for the tidal and fresh-water flow.—The
mouth of the Seine estuary faces west, but the tidal wave
comes in from the northwest, and the earliest and strongest
flood tide flows through the northern channel between
Havre and the Amfard bank; whilst the influx through the
southern Villerville channel occurs later, and is stronger
toward high water. Accordingly, the tidal flow had to be
introduced from a northerly direction, at an angle to the
mouth of the estuary ; and the line of junction of the
hinged tray, producing the tidal rise and fall, was made
at an angle of about 50° to a line running from east to
west in the model, so that the tidal flow approached the
estuary from a point only about 5° to the west of north-
west. The tray was made of zinc, inclosed by strips on
three sides to the height of the sides of the estuary ; and
it was hinged to the model, at its open end, by a strip of
india-rubber sheeting along the bottom and sides, so as to
make a water-tight joint, with sufficient play at the sides to
admit of the tray being tipped up and down from its outer
end. The rise and fall of the tray was effected by the
8
screw of a letter press, from which the lower portion had
been detached, by raising and lowering the upper plate of
the press, half of which was inserted under the tray.
After the requisite amount of sand had been introduced to
raise the bottom to the average level, the model was filled
with just enough water for the surface of the water to
represent low water of spring tides when the tray was
down and the screw at its lowest limit; and the tray was
made of such a size that, when the screw was raised to its
full extent, the water in the model was raised, by the tip-
ping of the tray, to the level representing high water of
spring tides. The water representing the fresh-water dis-
charge of the Seine was admitted into the upper end of
the model from a tap in a small tin cistern ; and the efflux
of a similar quantity of water was provided for at the
lower extremity of the estuary, on its northern side near
the tray, by a cock with a larger orifice placed at such a
level as to allow the water to flow out into a second cis-
tern, of similar size, during the higher half of the tide.
Aºrst results of working the model.-The construction
of the model was commenced in October, 1886, and its
working was commenced in November. Silver sand was
used in the first instance for forming the bed of the estuary.
From the outset the bore at Caudebec indicated by a sud-
den rise of the water, and the reverse current just before
high water near Havre, called the “verhaule,” were very
well marked. The verhaule is evidently a sort of back
eddy, on the northern shore, occasioned by the influx of
the tide, and by the final filling of the estuary from the
southern channel; whilst the bore appears to result from
the concentration of the tidal rise by the sudden contraction
of the estuary above Quillebeuf. The period given to each
tide in working was about twenty-five seconds, which ap-
pears fairly to reproduce the conditions of the estuary.*
After the model had been worked for a little time, the
channels near Quillebeuf assumed lines resembling those
which previously existed, and a small channel appeared
on the northern shore, by Harfleur and Hoc Point, which
is clearly defined in the chart of 1834. The main channel
* According to the formula in the paper by Prof. O. Reynolds on his
Mersey model, read at the Frankfort Congress in August, 1888, the tidal
period would be nearly twenty-three seconds.
9
also shifted about in the estuary and tended to break up
into two or three shallow channels near the meridian of
Berville, where the influences of the flood and ebb tides
were nearly balanced. The model, accordingly, fairly re-
produced the conditions of the actual estuary previous to
the commencement of the training walls, though the chan-
nel in the estuary did not attain the depth, as represented
by the proportionately large vertical scale, which the old
channels possessed, owing, doubtless, to the comparatively
small scouring influence which the minute currents in the
model possess. The sand did not prove satisfactory for
producing the requisite changes when the training walls
were inserted in the model. It became, therefore, essential
to search for a substance which the water could to some
extent carry in suspension for a short period. At last, in
July, 1887, I found a fine sand, on Chobham Common, be-
longing to the Bagshot beds, which combined the advan-
tages possessed by silver sand with a considerably greater
fineness.
Results of working the model with Bagshot sand.—The
bed of the estuary having been formed with the sand ob-
tained from Chobham Common, after the model had been
worked for some time, the channels assumed a form very
closely resembling the chart of the Seine estuary of 1834.
Accordingly, the first stage of the investigation was duly
accomplished by the reproduction of a former state of the
estuary in the model, with the single exception of a de-
cidedly smaller depth in the channels, except in places
where the scour was considerable; which is readily ac-
counted for by the circumstances of the case. It is probable
that with a larger model, and especially if the bed was not
so nearly level as in the Seine, the depth would approach
nearer to the proper distorted proportion as compared with
the width.
Introduction of the existing training walls into the
model.-The second stage of the investigation consisted in
the introduction of training walls into the model, corre-
sponding in position to the actual training walls established
in the estuary down to Berville. These walls, formed with
strips of tin, cut to the corresponding heights at the differ-
ent places, and bent to the proper lines, were gradually
inserted in sections; and the model was worked between
IO
each addition, to conform, as far as practicable, to the actual
conditions. The fine particles of the sand accreted behind
the training walls, and the channel between the walls was
scoured out, corresponding precisely to the changes which
have actually occurred in the estuary of the Seine. The
foreshores at the back of the training walls were raised up
in some parts to high-water level, whilst in other places
the accumulation was somewhat retarded by the slight re-
coil of the water from the vertical sides of the model, and
by the wash over the vertical training walls, these forms
being necessitated by the great distortion of the vertical
scale of the model. On the whole, however, the accretion
and scour in the model correspond very fairly to the re-
sults produced by the existing training walls in the es-
tuary. The accretion, moreover, in the model, extended
beyond the training walls on each side, down to Hoc Point
on the right bank, obliterating the inshore channel close
to Harfleur, which had been reproduced in the model, and
down to Honfleur on the left bank, corresponding in these
respects also to the actual changes in the estuary. The
main channel also, beyond the ends of training walls, was
comparatively shallow, and was unstable, reproducing the
existing conditions in the estuary.
The experiments relating to this stage extended over a
year and a half; they formed the turning point of the in-
vestigation, and have the interest of being, as far as I am
aware, the first attempt at putting training walls in a
model, and obtaining the resulting accretion on a small
scale. Without the accomplishment of this stage, it would
have been useless to continue the investigation; and its
satisfactory attainment proved so difficult in actual practice,
that for a long time it seemed probable that the attempt
must be abandoned.
Application of the system to ascertain the probable effects
of any training works.-As the first and second steps in
the investigation, by the aid of the model, had furnished
results which corresponded very fairly with the actual
states of the estuary of the Seine before and after the exe-
cution of the training works, the final stage of the investi-
gation, for ascertaining the probable results of any exten-
sions of the training walls, could be reasonably entered
upon. In selecting the lines of training walls to be experi-
II
mented on, it appeared expedient to adopt those which
have been designed, after careful study, by experienced
engineers, both on account of the results from these being
far more interesting than those of a variety of theoretical
schemes, and also in the hope that some assistance might
thereby be rendered to French engineers in the prosecu-
tion of this important work. Moreover, the schemes ex-
hibit sufficient variety to admit of their being taken as
types of schemes for throwing light upon the principles on
which training works should be designed in estuaries.
Accordingly, the third stage in the investigation consisted
in extending the training walls in the model, in accord-
ance with the lines of some of the schemes proposed; and,
after working the model for some time with each of the
extensions successively, the several results were recorded,
as shown in figures I-4. The lines of training walls ex-
perimented on in the model were taken, with one excep-
tion, from five out of the seven most recent schemes pro-
posed, as these five schemes are, I believe, the only ones
which are still put forward for adoption. The lines shown
on figure 5, represent merely a theoretical arrangement of
training walls, inserted for a final experiment in the model,
to ascertain the effect of the most gradual enlargement of
the trained channel which the physical conditions of the
estuary would have admitted of at the outset, whilst main-
taining the full width at the mouth.
Scheme A.—The first arrangement of extended train-
ing walls introduced into the model was taken from a
scheme put forward in an amended form in 1886. The
design, as inserted in the model, consisted of an extension
of the parallel training walls from Berville down to Hon-
fleur, and the formation of a breakwater across the outlet,
from Villerville Point, on the southern shore of the estuary,
out to the Amfard bank, thus restricting the mouth to the
channel between Amfard bank and Havre. The lines of
these works were formed in the model with strips of tin, as
shown on fig. I ; the northern training wall was kept low,
and the southern wall was raised to the level representing
high water of neap tides; whilst the strip representing the
breakwater was raised above the highest tide level, thus
forcing all the flood and ebb water to pass through the
Havre Channel. The results obtained in the model with
I 2
these arrangements, after working it for about six thousand
tides, are indicated on the first chart (Fig. 1). The chan-
nel between the prolonged training walls had a fair depth
throughout, partly owing to the concentration of the fresh-
water discharge between the walls, and partly from the re-
tention of some additional water in the channel at low
water, by the hindrance to its outflow offered by a sand-
bank which formed in front of the ends of the training
walls. A deep hole was soon scoured out in the narrowed
outlet by the rapid flow of the water filling and emptying
the estuary at every tide. The absence, however, of con-
nection between the direction of the flood tide current
through the outlet and the ebbing current from the trained
channel, aided by the accretion of sand in the sheltered
recess behind the breakwater, led eventually to the forma-
tion of two almost rectangular bends in the channel, one
just beyond the training walls and the other near Hoc
Point, in the model. This tortuous channel, moreover, was
shallow, except at the bends and the outlet, and a bar was
formed a short distance beyond the outlet. The contraction
of the mouth of the estuary by the breakwater interfered
so much with the influx of the tide into the estuary as to
render it impossible to raise the tide inside to its previous
height, and the reduction in height of the tide was clearly
marked at Tancarville Point in the model. Sediment ac-
cumulated in the estuary beyond the trained channel, being
brought in by the rapid flood current, and not readily re-
moved by the ebb, except in the trained channel and near
the outlet; and this accretion, by diminishing the tidal
capacity, gradually reduced the current through the outlet,
and consequently the depth of the outlet channel. A con-
siderable accumultion of sand took place outside the break-
water, along the southern seacoast, so that the bank
opposite Trouville in the model was connected with the
shore, and the foreshore advanced toward the end of the
breakwater. $
Scheme B.-The second arrangement of training walls
inserted in the model below Berville, was taken from a
scheme proposed in 1888, representing a modification by
another engineer of the design from which Scheme A was
copied. It comprised the retention of the breakwater from
Villerville Point to the Amfard bank, the most essential
I3
HARFL £ U tº %2
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prville Rville
Fig. 2 — Scheme B.
14ARFLEUR .
ſº
Fig. 3—Scheme C.
The existing training walls stop at Berville.






I4
feature in Scheme A ; but the extension of the northern
training wall was dispensed with, whilst the southern train-
ing wall was prolonged, in a continuous curve, from Berville
to Honfleur, and eventually to the Amfard bank, connect-
ing it there with the extremity of the breakwater (Fig. 2.)
A slight widening out of the existing trained channel by an
alteration of the end portion of the northern training wall,
completed the arrangement of the model. The results
obtained by the double operation of inserting the training
wall down to Honfleur and working the model for about
3,500 tides, and then prolonging the southern training
wall to the breakwater, and working the model for about
3,700 tides, are shown in Fig. 2. The channel followed
pretty nearly the concave line of the prolonged southern
training wall, between Berville and Honfleur in the model,
except near Berville; but the depth of water was less
regular than in the previous experiment, owing to the
diminished concentration of the ebb from the absence of
the northern training wall. The channel, however, above
Honfleur was not improved, owing apparantly to the want
of uniformity between the directions of the flood and ebb
currents in the model.
Scheme C.—The third arrangement of training walls
experimented upon in the model was chosen from a design
published in 1885. It consisted of an enlargement of the
original trained channel below Quillebeuf, by a modifica-
tion of the southern training wall from Quillebeuf, and of
the northern training wall from Tancarville, and the
extension of the northern wall to Amfard and Havre, and
the southern training wall to Ratier, as shown on Fig. 3.
The trained channel was thus given a curved, gradually
enlarging form, and was directed into the central channel
of the model, between Ratier and Amfard, the Villerville
and Havre channels being practically closed near low
water. The effects of working the model for about 6,500
tides with this arrangement of training walls are indicated
on Fig. 3. The main channel kept near the concave
southern training wall for some distance below Berville,
and then gradually assumed a more central course between
the training walls towards the outlet, passing out just to the
south of the Amfard bank. The channel thus formed had
a good, tolerably uniform depth, together with a fair width,
I5
owing apparently to the flood and ebb tides produced in
the model following an unimpeded and fairly similar course.
Deposit occurred behind the training walls on each side;
and the foreshore advanced in front of Trouville in the
model, in consequence of the shutting up of the Villerville
Channel.
Scheme E.-In the next scheme as laid down in the
model the trained channel in the bend between Quillebeuf
and Tancarville, where the depth was greatest, was en-
larged in width by setting back the southern training wall;
the original width of the channel was retained at the point
of inflection opposite Tancarville, and the channel was
widened out below La Roque by a modification of the
lines of both training walls down to Berville. The train-
ing walls were also extended beyond Berville in sinuous
lines, as shown on Fig. 4, the southern wall being carried
down to Honfleur, and the northern wall not quite so far.
The portion forming the last bend of the northern training
wall was kept low, whilst the others were made high, ac-
cording to the design. Both in this and the preceding
arrangement of training walls experimented on, the ex-
panding trained channel was somewhat restricted in width
along the portions near the changes of curvature, to make
it conform to the principles which experience has laid
down for training winding rivers in their non-tidal course,
as previously mentioned. The results obtained, after
working the model for about 3,700 tides, are represented
on the chart (Fig. 4). The channel between the train-
ing walls was somewhat shallow in places, and though a
deep channel was formed along the inner concave face of
the southern wall below La Roque and Berville, a shoal
emerging above low water appeared along the concave
face of the last bend of the northern training wall. This
bank appeared to be due to the protection the extremity of
the bend afforded from the action of the flood tide in the
model, whilst the ebb followed the central flood-tide chan-
nel, instead of passing over to the concave bank, as would
have occurred with the current of a non-tidal river. The
main channel beyond the training walls, which, though of
fair depth, was somewhat narrow and winding, was also
unstable, for in the early part of the experiment its outlet
was in the central channel between Ratier and Amfard in
I6
the model, whilst at the close of the experiment it had
shifted, as shown, to the Havre Channel. Accretion oc-
curred behind the training walls in the model, and some
silting up took place in the Villerville Channel and along
the foreshore in front of Trouville, owing apparently to the
preference of the main channel for the other outlets, and
the diminished capacity of the estuary, resulting from
accretion.
HARFLEU 8
Fig. 4.—Scheme E.
NARFLEU R -
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Fig. 5–Scheme F.


I7
Scheme F.—The last experiment was made on an ar-
rangement of training walls inserted in the model, making
the trained channel expand as gently as practicable between
Aizier and the sea, whilst retaining the natural width at the
outlet (Fig. 5). This is the form of channel which theory
indicates as the most suitable; for whilst it facilitates the
influx of the flood tide, it prevents, as far as possible, the
abrupt changes in the velocity of a river in passing from
its estuary to the sea, which are so prejudicial to uniformity
of depth in a channel. It was therefore of interest to ascer-
tain what results would be produced by this theoretical ar-
rangement of training walls in the model, which, in order
to leave the outlet free, and thus avoid favoring a progres-
sion of the foreshore outside, had to provide a wide chan-
nel near Honfleur, compared with the restricted width
available at Quillebeuf. The direction of the channel
between Aizier and Quillebeuf, together with the cliffs bor-
dering the river at Quillebeuf and Tancarville Points,
determined the maximum width obtainable at Quillebeuf
and the direction of the channel from Aizier to Tancar-
ville; and the extension of the training walls in the model
from this point was regulated by the necessity of passing
close to Honfleur at the south, and not impeding the ap-
proach to Havre on the north. The effects produced in
the model by working with this arrangement of training
walls, for about 7,300 tides are indicated on the chart
(Fig. 5). The southern training wall was kept above
high-water level all the way to its termination at Honfleur
in the model, but the northern training wall was gradually
reduced in height from nearly opposite Honfleur toward
Havre. The trained channel had a good width at low
water throughout, in spite of the distance apart of the
training walls in the model, the whole channel being below
low-water level, except near the southern wall between
Berville and Havre, and against the northern wall nearly
opposite Hoc Point, where banks emerged slightly above
low water. The channel, moreover, was distinctly, though
slowly, improving with the continuance of the working, and
the banks diminishing. There was also a fair depth in the
channel, the shallowest place being opposite Berville,
whilst a deep place was formed just above, near the south-
ern wall between La Roque and Berville. The depth in
I8
all the outlet channels was well maintained; and though
deposit naturally took place behind the northern training
wall, no accretion was visible along the foreshores outside.
The value of experiments resembling those just de-
scribed depends entirely upon the extent to which they
may be regarded as producing effects approximately cor-
responding, on a small scale, to those which training
works on similar lines, if carried out in an estuary, would
actually produce. If the effects of any training works
could be foreshadowed by experiments in a model, the
value of such experiments, in guiding engineers toward
the selection of the most suitable design, could not be over-
estimated.
Some of the influences at work in an estuary cannot pos-
sibly be reproduced in a model—such as winds and waves.
Winds coming from different quarters are variable in their
effects; but the direction of the prevailing wind indicates
the line in which the action of the wind has most influence,
which may be exerted in re-enforcing the flood or ebb cur-
rents, and may aid or retard accretion by blowing the silt-
bearing stream more into or out of the estuary. Waves
are the main agents in the erosion of cliffs along open sea-
coasts, and in stirring up sand in shallow places; and the
material thus put in suspension may be transported by
tidal currents, aided by wind, into an estuary, and be
deposited under favorable conditions; but the action of
waves in modifying the channels is stopped by the inter-
vention of training walls. Accordingly, the further the
training walls are extended, and the more an estuary is
protected by works such as those indicated in Figs. I–2,
the more is the modifying influence of waves eliminated,
and therefore the more are experiments in a model likely
to correspond with the conditions of estuaries under similar
conditions.
HYDRAULIC works AND PNEUMATIC FOUN-
DATIONS MADE AT GENOA.
The Duke of Galliera having bequeathed to the King-
dom of Italy several million francs for the improvement
and extension of the harbor of Genoa, the special commis-
sion of engineers appointed to execute this work, in view
of its exceptional technical difficulty, opened an inter-
national competition. Eight competitors responded to the
invitation of the commission, and after a long examination
they reported in favor of the project presented by MM. C.
Zschokke and P. Terrier. The works to be constructed
included the quays and two graving docks.
Character of the foundation.—The soil upon which the
works had to be founded is a calcareous stratified rock of
the Miocene formation, with shelving banks, covered with
fine layers of sand and rock ruins. The formation is very
variable, both as to the quality and hardness of the rock.
The water has washed away the soft parts and left the
hard, so that the surface of the rock presents a series of
projections with the hollows filled with sand and fragments;
hence the same arrangements had to be made as if the
rock had been completely porous, by substituting a béton
bottom for the natural soil. The submarine operations
were as follows: First, the blasting of the rock; second,
the removal of the sand and rock blasted ; and, third, the
laying of the masonry on the bottom thus cleared.
The thickness of the banks and their great depth under
water precluded, for the boring, any arrangement employ-
ing machinery set up above the level of the water. The
same circumstances would have rendered the extraction of
2
the pieces of rock by dredges very difficult. Again, the
sinking of beton under water at such great depths would
have given only mediocre results. -
Recourse to a pneumatic process was necessary. That
which the contractors proposed, and which was adopted
by the commission, consisted in removing the rock and
laying the masonry under water in great diving-bells,
furnished with the apparatus necessary for rapidly effect-
ing the horizontal or vertical displacement of those
machines best adapted to the boring and extraction of the
blasted material and the introduction of new.
This process permitted the direct building of the founda-
tion upon the prepared bottom, avoiding risks of change
of form and of rupture in the perfectly homogeneous and
continuous masonry, in which no portion of iron remained
imbedded. It allowed the different portions of the work
to go on independently. To carry out this plan the con-
tractors constructed,—First. A movable caisson for blast-
ing out the rocks. Second. Two other movable caissons
for constructing the quay and basin walls. Third. A
great floating caisson for removing the rocks, and for lay-
ing the floor.
Caisson for blasting out the rocks.-The blasting caisson
(Fig. 1) is 20 meters long and 6.50 meters wide. The
working chamber does not differ from those ordinarily used
for the construction of bridge piers, except that the walls
are lighter, as they do not have to bear the load of the
masonry above the bottom.
Iron pigs placed between the beams of the roof bal-
ance the underpressure and keep the caissons on the bottom.
Two horizontal plate-iron cylinders are fixed above the
frame parallel to the transverse axis of the caisson. They
are open at their lower parts. A tube connects one with
the other, and puts them in communication with the com-
pressed-air pipes which supply the working chamber.
Water is allowed to ascend in the cylinders to fill them
when the caisson is kept at the bottom for blasting. The
Yºu. * g
,": - - { -
Fro. I.--Transverse section of the movable caissons used for drilling the rock for the purpose of submarine blasting. X, the working chamber; Y, the lightering chamber; Z,
pontoons supporting the caisson; U, lock for the workmen; B, drills (Brandt’s system); M, two steam engines, driving pumps feeding an accumulator from which water
under pressure is conveyed to drive the boring machines.

4.
water is forced out by means of compressed air when the
caisson is to be raised and changed in position.
This substitution of water for air in the cylinders, can be
regulated at will and continued just to that degree neces-
sary for the equilibrium of the load so as to assure the
stability of the caisson upon the bottom. The slightest ef-
fort then suffices to lift the apparatus. The caisson is sur-
mounted by two shafts with air locks for the entrance of
workmen. A third is reserved to add, if necessary, a lock
for the materials extracted. §
The caisson is suspended by twenty-four chains to as
many jacks resting on a heavy staging, which in turn rests
on two barges furnished with all the apparatus necessary
for a rapid displacement.
Boring apparatus.—The boring apparatus is arranged
in the following manner: The platform of the caisson is
divided lengthwise into three equal belts by four double
T-irons, the lower wings of which serve as a rolling track
for three trunnions on rollers. Each of these trunnions
has a collar at its lower part to which one of these boring
machines is suspended by a joint. The trunnion moves
the length of the platform, the collar slightly unscrews
along the whole trunnion so that the point of articulation of
the boring machine may occupy every position of a plane
within the limits of one of the three belts, and the tool may
also turn in each of its positions in all directions so as to
pierce sloping holes at will. The boring machines are
driven by water under pressure brought from an accumu-
lator on the boat, by jointed piping which descends along
the central shaft, runs along the platform, and feeds the
tools in all positions and inclinations given them. As the
boring progresses the boring tool is prolonged by hollow
rods screwed together. Two double-acting twin pumps,
furnishing water under pressure, are placed in a boat
fastened to the caissons, and driven by two portable engines
of 25 horse power each. The water, taken from the sea,
is driven into an accumulator and kept under pressure by
5
the steam from the engine boilers. The steam acts on the
upper surface of a plate, fourteen times the section of the
piston, which transmits directly to the water the pressure of
60 or 70 atmospheres, necessary for boring. This arrange-
ment avoids the great load which would have to be placed
upon the barge with an accumulator so weighted as to be
capable of giving such a great pressure. When the boring
of the holes has been completed just to the required depth
over the whole surface covered by the caisson, they are
filled with cartridges or dynamite gelatin, the wires are at-
tached to a floater which is passed under the cutter, the cais-
son is raised and moved by the supporting barges, and the
mines exploded by an electric battery. By experience in
regulating the distance between the holes and the amount
of the charges, they succeeded in giving to the fragments
of rock broken off, the dimensions most convenient for use.
The two caissons, which served also for the removal of
the broken material, were constructed, ballasted, and
suspended like the one just described. They were pro-
vided with a man lock, and a second lock" for the removal
of the spoil and the introduction of the materials, and a
third for the introduction of béton.
The second lock, small, light, and very easy to move,
allowed the rapid removal of very considerable quantities,
and quite large blocks without requiring for its manage-
ment the presence of a single man in the compressed air.
The chain drum is driven by means of two friction wheels.
by a Schmid water motor taking its supply directly from
the city reservoir situated IOO meters above the sea.
The two caissons served not only to introduce the béton,
but also to lay the masonry and the revetement in brick
and cut stone of small dimensions. When the hewn stones
were of too great dimensions to be carried in through the
locks they were lowered outside by means of a floating
crane, the caisson which had to be removed for this opera-
*For the details of this lock the reader is referred to the U. S. Paris
Exposition Report of 1889, page 729, Vol. III., by the author.
6
tion was replaced, and the workmen found in the working
chamber the stones to be set up.
Great floating caisson.—The great floating caisson
shown in Fig. 2 is intended for the removal of the fragments
of rocks made by the explosion of the mines just described
and the putting in place of the béton flooring.
The caisson consists of three essential parts: First. The
working chamber with its two tight plate-iron envelopes.
Second. The equilibrium chamber above the first, com-
pletely enveloped with plate iron and traversed by shafts
giving access to the working chamber.
Third. The iron reservoirs or regulating pits, which
rest upon the equilibrium chamber without communicating
with it, and which are open at their upper parts above the
level of the sea. These pits, four in number, are connected,
and the rectangular central portion formed by their interior
walls communicates by a pipe with the sea. The walls
and braces of the four pits form the framework to support
the service bridges and stagings which lead to the different
air locks, and carry the tracks, cranes, etc., required for
the handling of the excavations and the materials.
Arrangements have been made for filling the equilibrium
chamber with water or compressed air, as may be necessary,
and for changing, at will, the level of the water in the
regulating pits, which may even be completely emptied by
means of pumps. The apparatus is thus maintained in
equilibrium under all circumstances. It is brought into the
condition of stability required for working by placing iron
ballast between the braces and over the ceiling.
The weight of the ballast and the dimensions of the pits
depend on the depth at which the work goes on with a
stable caisson. At Genoa the arrangements were made for
a depth of from 8 to I4.50 meters.
The rock excavations are taken out by six locks. The
béton is spread along the whole length of the flooring in
superposed layers of O.50 meter thickness.
In order not to allow the caisson to be floating during
7
these operations, it is supported upon two rows of jacks
resting upon iron plates placed on the layer of beton pre-
viously spread.
The air-compressors, which supply the pneumatic appa-
ratus above described, are placed on the land in a shop, by
the side of the four 150 horse power engines which drive
them. The flexible jointed supply pipes leading to each
caisson are placed on rafts.
The free air spaces are lighted by Gramme arc lights,
and the caissons by incandescent lamps. The shops and
the caissons are connected by electric bells.
FOUNDATION OF THE JETTIES AT LA PALLICE, THE PORT
OF ROCHELLE,
The foundations of the two jetties in the outer harbor of
La Pallice had to be laid below the level of the lowest tide.
The specifications required them to be made of great blocks
of masonry, 20 meters long by 8 broad, separated by an
interval of 2 meters and carried up to the level of 1.5o
meters; the choice of methods for carrying out the work
was left entirely to the contractors.
Above this series of blocks arose the body of the jetty,
which was carried over the spaces between the blocks by
little segmental arches of 3 meters span.
A rocess adopted for constructing the blocks.—As the
blocks had to be built on the coast, without shelter against
the sea, and especially against the southwest gales, the
contractors could not employ the usual system of cais-
sons, and build upon the interior flooring of the caisson,
which the sea would have carried away and destroyed, but
by the use of movable caissons they were able to lay dry
at sea, without leaving a particle of iron in the masonry,
twenty-four monolithic submarine blocks containing 1,150
cubic meters each. -
AJescription of the carssons and air locks.—Two similar
iron caissons were built by MM. Baudet & Donon, 22 me-
ters long and IO meters wide, with two superposed com-
8
partments. The lower compartment was the working
chamber, I.80 meters high, and the upper, the equilibrium
chamber, 2 meters high, and completely tight; a platform
was placed on the latter which carried a scaffolding 7 me-
ters high, supporting a second platform 16 by 4 meters.
Four locks and shafts led from the platform to the working
chamber. Two of these passages carried the ordinary air
locks, and two others served for the discharge of the ex-
cavations and the introduction of the cut stone.
At Rochelle, the caisson worked easily at several hun-
dred meters from the shore, and the waves, during the tem-
pests, passed over the scaffolding. Schmid motors were
used, supplied by the compressors set up on shore. The
caissons weighed IIO tons each. They carried between
the braces and on the lower platform a permanent load of
220 tons of masonry. They were set up on the shore,
rolled down on rollers at low tide to the bottom of an in-
clined plane; launched at the next high tide, and towed near
to the grounding place. The draught of water, with the
equilibrium chamber filled with air and the working chamber
filled with water, was then 3.30 meters. The grounding
was an operation always delicate and sometimes danger-
ous. It was necessary to go down exactly upon the loca-
tion of the block to be constructed, against the waves, and
especially against strong currents. It was anchored to six
fixed points, one of which was furnished by the jetty be-
hind and five others by buoys strongly anchored. The
anchoring lines passed over the grooves of pulleys fixed
above the upper platform and terminated at winches placed
on the platform. By hauling and letting go with these
winches, the position of the caisson and its alignment were
regulated.
The height of the water above the bottom at low tide
was, for the first blocks, below the draught of the floating
caisson. It was sufficient then to let it go down with the
tide. When it struck upon the bottom the valves were
opened, giving the water access to the equilibrium cham-
Port of GENOA.
...-->
:
!
*
cº
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tº-ºº-ºº º
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25- -- 5.
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FIG. 2.-Great floating caisson used in laying the flooring of dock No. 2; transverse section. M, Shaft for the materials, 1.05 meters; P, Shaft for
the workmen, O.70 meter; C, Shaft for the bêton, o.45 meter interior diameter.














9
ber, and the surcharge prevented the caisson from rising
with the tide.
The depth increasing as the work advanced, the low
water did not bring the cutter to touch the bottom. In this
case the valves were opened when the caisson was low-
ered, and the entry of the water into the equilibrium cham-
ber produced the grounding. *
The load was then more than sufficient to fix the caisson
on the bottom, but a new load was necessary to balance the
underpressure of 400 tons produced by the introduction of
compressed air into the working chamber and to assure the
stability of the apparatus. This surcharge of about 220
tons was given by cast-iron ballast which was stowed upon
the upper platform.
Work ºn the caisson.—The first care of the workmen
going into the working chamber was to put the caisson on
a level by digging at first under the highest portions of the
cutting edge.
They then proceeded to remove the upper layers of the
bottom just to the limestone bed which was judged proper
to serve as the foundation of the block.
The operation of raising the caisson during the laying of
the masonry was done with the aid of twenty-four great
screw-jacks with steel rods I.80 meters long and o. IO meter
in diameter. These rods passed through brass nuts set up
on the smaller bases of reversed plate-iron cones, the larger
bases being riveted to the ceiling of the working cham-
ber. The rods were in line parallel to the wall and 1.5o
meters from it. The lower extremity terminated in the
form of a hemisphere carried in a hollow of the same form
in a cast-iron plate resting on the masonry, which thus
avoided all rigid connection between the suspending pieces
of the rod and the plate.
When the masonry was begun, the twenty-four jacks
having been raised to the end of their course, had their
plates O.80 meter above the ground. A layer of masonry
o.80 meter thick could then be laid. They then took
IO
the support on this layer to raise the caisson. As there
was to be overcome in this first operation, not only the
weight of the apparatus, but the friction of its walls in the
ground, they worked six hydraulic jacks of 30 tons, at the
same time as the screw-jacks. The caisson being thus
raised O.40 meter, they kept as points of support one jack
out of two, that is, twelve in all, and took away the other
twelve jacks to build o.40 meter of height under their plates.
They then carried the caisson upon these twelve jacks,
raised it, and then placed the twelve others to lay the ma-
sonry under. They had thus, around one block and just to
the walls, a continuous belt of masonry I meter thick and
o 40 meter high. By a double working of the jacks iden-
tical with the preceding, they raised the caisson again o.40
meter and carried the height of the surrounding belt to
O.80 meter. They then filled with masonry the portions
within the belt, which completed the second course of 80
centimeters. They proceeded in the same manner until
the block rose to the reference, I.50 meters.
High waves interrupted the work sometimes for several
weeks, during which the caisson, exposed to the tempests,
had to rest upon its twenty-four jacks. First, they limited
themselves to removing the underpressure and allowing
the water to come into the working chamber and placed a
number of struts between the walls of the caisson and the
partly finished block. Experience having shown that
these precautions were insufficient, they built upon the
block four great pillars of masonry reaching up to the
ceiling, upon which the caisson rested during the interrup-
tions of the work.
They worked night and day in the caissons (except dur-
ing the incessant stoppages caused by heavy seas). An
average of eight hours out of the twenty-four was used for .
laying the masonry, the sixteen others to raise the caisson
and to carry the stone into the working chamber. Fifteen
masons worked in the caisson, with thirty laborers, laying
50 cubic meters of masonry per day. These hands did
I I
not include those employed on the service bridge for carry-
ing materials and for the preparation of the mortar on
shore. The caissons were raised by sixty men, forty-eight
to work the twenty-four jacks, and twelve for the six hy-
draulic jacks. It took on an average one and three-quarter
hours to raise the caisson o.40 meter.
Z)isplacement of the caisson.—When a block was fin-
ished they waited to the next high tide to disengage the
caisson. - -
The reference of the top of the block being 1.50 meters
and that of the high tide 5.40 meters, with a draught of
water of 3.30 meters, there was a margin of about o 60
meter for the grounding. -
The operation of displacement consisted in withdrawing
the cast-iron ballast, which was deposited upon the boat, in
replacing the six anchorages at low tide and in driving out
the water from the equilibrium chamber, and allowing the
caisson to rise with the tide. At the moment of high tide
they pulled with the winches upon the anchorage chains
toward the open space, and they let go on the opposite side
until the caisson was brought over its new anchorage.
They then repeated the operations already described for
immersion.
The difficulty of this operation arose because the caisson
had to float nine hours, often in the night, from the mo-
ment when it lost its support upon the finished block to the
moment when the following low tide allowed it to be
grounded anew. If a tempest arose when the caisson did
not cover the block they could, although not without risk,
precipitate its immersion; but the danger would be very
much greater if a sudden change of weather, as was often
the case in these regions, had overtaken the cassion float-
ing at the moment when one could not disengage it from
the block nor ground it again upon it, hence they did not
move the caisson except when the weather appeared to be
favorable and the tide sufficiently high. It was not possi-
ble always to fulfill this double condition, except by wait-
12
ing five or six weeks, during which the materials and the
workmen were idle. *
These operations of incontestible boldness were repeated
twenty-four times. -
Access to the caisson was from the jetty, which was built
as the first blocks were laid, and by a service bridge
constructed upon the last blocks not yet finished.
This service bridge rested on an iron framework having
its uprights of channel iron fixed in the masonry. It was
constructed as light as possible, so as to not offer much
resistance to the waves, but at the same time solid enough
to give passage to the cars loaded with materials for the
work. Over this bridge passed the electric wires for light-
ing, the two air pipes which supplied the working chamber,
and the air for driving the little motors of the excavation
locks,
The level of this service bridge was constant, while the
platform surrounding the locks varied according to the
height of the caisson on the block. When the platform was
sensibly higher than the service bridge the two were joined
by a safety planking, carrying rails upon which the little
cars were raised by means of a winch driven by one of the
little compressed-air motors of the locks.
The construction of these great blocks began in 1884,
and terminated in 1888. During this time the two caissons
constructed twenty-four blocks.
The depth at which the blocks were laid varied from the
reference, O.76 to 5.35 meters.
The total cubic mass was 18,OOO cubic meters; it was paid
for at the rate of 70.49 francs per cubic meter, the excavated
rock and cement being provided by the Government.
For the purpose of maintaining a large coffer dam it
became necessary to join the blocks with solid masonry;
this very difficult operation was accomplished by convert-
ing the interval into a caisson formed by the two walls of
the blocks and two lateral iron panels” held together by
*The details of this operation are given on pp. 742-744 Paris Exposi-
tion Report Vol. III., 1889. -
I3
tie rods and turn buckles, the whole covered by an arch
through which an aperature was left for the passage of
the lock shaft.
This operation is shown in Plate I. At the right is seen,
the arch loaded with masonry to resist the under pressure,
through which passes the shaft surmounted with its air
lock. One panel being removed, the tie rods are seen
hanging from the other.
PLATE I. OUTER HARB or of LA PALLICE (Rochel LE).
- ****
---
-
METHOD OF JOINING THE BLOCKS.
VIEW OF THE CAIS SONS IN OPERATION






The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
CHAIN TOWAGE
WITH MAGNETIC AD HERENCE
BY
L. MOLINOS
Past President of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, Presi-
dent of the Zower Seine and Oise Zowage Company
(
y
AND
A. De BOVET
Airector of the Zower Seine and Oise Zozyage Company
BOST ON . W
D A M RE L L & U PHXSº
@The Øſt. Torner ºcciºğtore
283 Washington Street


CHAIN TOWAGE WITH MAGNETIC
ADHERENCE.
I.
The traction on rivers of boats not individually pro-
vided with motive power is done either by means of chain-
towing or by tug-boats.
The first method, taking a bearing on fixed points, gives
much higher duty than the second, and has thereby an
absolute, incontestable superiority over it. It is, however,
necessary to give rational preference to the chain-towage
over tug-boats, that the economy due to this higher duty
be sufficient to cover the expenses chargeable to the chain
and those incurred by the difference in cost of chain tow-
boats over ordinary tug-boats. This is a question of rela-
tive, and not absolute, superiority, and depends only on
the nature of the river.
It can be established, at least with sufficient approxima-
tion for practice, that the work required of the engines
for drawing the same tow in still waters, with the same
speed, is twice as great in the case of tugs as in that of
chain tow-boats. In running waters, going up stream, if
the speed of the tow with reference to the shore is in
absolute value equal to that of the current, the ratio of
power required of the tug to that furnished by a chain
tow-boat equivalent thereto (as above described) would be
as 4 to I. This ratio would be between 2 and 4 to I,
when the speed of the tow with reference to the shore is
greater than that of the current. It will be greater than
4
4 to I when the speed is less, the ratio increasing rapidly
as the difference in speed increases. -
We know, on the other hand, what an amount of power
is required to give an appreciable speed to a tow going
up stream if the current is somewhat rapid, and that
this speed is much below that of the current when the
latter reaches from 4 to 5 kilometres.
It will therefore be understood why chain-towage is pref-
erable as the current increases, and is finally the only
method possible on streams having steep grades, either
when in a natural state or where artificially regularized,
and this even where the depth is sufficient to allow of
powerful tugs. We might easily cite as examples large
rivers, such as the Rhone, for instance, where, owing to
the want of success up to the present time in establishing
chain-towage, navigation is carried on by self-propelled
carriers only. Such an example shows also that, as at
present practised, chain-towing has not been developed
successfully in many cases where it would be the most
natural method.
On canalized streams, one effect of canalization being
among others to reduce the current to a considerable
extent, and that during long portions of the year chain-
towage, during the seasons when the dams can remain more
or less raised, loses its relative advantages, and the use
of tugs, on the contrary, becomes more easy, and the
struggle between the two methods is so intensified that
one is forced to ask if both can possibly coexist. This
is the case on the Seine. There canalization has been
carried forward to a rare degree of perfection. The use
of tugs therefore has found exceptionally favorable condi-
tions, and has, in fact, been greatly extended during the
last few years. It has thus shown that chain-towage was
not, or was no longer, able to satisfy all the needs of navi-
gation, but without, however, succeeding in showing that
tugs alone could fulfil these needs, to a larger or to a better
extent. It is not, however, probable that there are two
5
equally good and sufficient ways of performing the same
work; and one is forced to conclude that either one or the
other method has not yet reached its highest perfection.
What is wanting in each of these methods? Nothing
can show this better than the study of facts on a stream
where both are in concurrent use; and the Lower Seine,
with which we are specially familiar, seems very suitable
for this comparison. It shows at the same time why chain-
towage may have a hard struggle against tugs on canalized
rivers, and why it is not always available in places where
tugs are useless. We shall see that the cause is due to
certain inherent defects in the apparatus in actual use for
chain-towage, and we will show how we think these defects
may be remedied.
II.
We will not insist on the origins of chain-towage and
the experiments preceding its industrial application.
The first idea is attributed to Marshal Saxe. He pro-
posed towing boats by means of a cable, one end of which
was made fast to the shore. A horse-gin set up on the
boat wound the cable on a drum. The cable was then
unwound, and the end carried further ahead on the shore,
and so on. But this was practically what had been done
at all times on ships by means of the capstan.
We consider that chain-towage really began with the
use of a submerged chain having the length of the whole
route, the idea of which, we believe, is due to Messrs.
Tourasse and Courteaut, who in about I 832 conceived the
project of applying it to the Seine, from Paris to Rouen.
The experiment failed. It was premature. In 1855 there
was a short tow-line of submerged chain from the lock at
the Mint to Port-à-l’Anglais, 6 kilometres long, used for
clearing the empty barges from the docks in Paris.
It was this embryo application which caused the forma-
tion of the first large towage company, that of the Lower
6
Seine and Oise, which had a line 72 kilometres long, and
had considerable traffic between the Mint lock at Paris
and Conflans, at the mouth of the Oise.
At the time of its foundation, 1856, the canalization
of the Seine was very imperfect, the régime of the river
was very irregular, the current frequently violent, and the
depth of water variable, being less than I. 50 metres in
summer.
Owing to the absence of a lock at Suresnes, the ship-
ping from the north, arriving with full cargoes at the
Seine, were obliged at great expense to lighten their
loads, in order to reach the Paris docks and the basin of
the St. Denis canal.
Chain-towage, the object of which is to realize economi-
cally great traction power, rendered during this period
incomparable service. -
Substituted for horse-towing, or the use of the few rare
and inferior tug-boats, it absorbed at the start nearly all
the traffic except that down stream, which was mostly
drifted; and its proportion amounted to 97 per cent. It
lowered the cost of traction of a barge from 6 to 2 mills
per kilometric ton; * and, although in the last few years
its proportion of traffic has been much reduced, it has in
thirty years towed from Conflans to St. Denis or Paris over
1,800,000 kilometric tons. It has consequently caused
a saving to the Parisian commerce and industry that may
be estimated at some $6, OOO, OOO, seeing that its influence
was the cause of the reduction of rates. And this useful
result was obtained without any subsidy or any other help
from the authorities than the permission to lay a chain in
the bed of the river.
But since its formation the navigation of the Seine has
been greatly modified. The construction of new weirs
with locks has carried the depth of water at all times to
a minimum of 3 metres. The water section has been
* In 1856 the cost of traction of a 250-ton barge from Conflans to Grenelle was $1oo in winter
and $53.25 in summer. To-day, at the maximum, all included, it is not over $33.75.
7
thereby naturally increased; and the velocity, except in
times of freshets, correspondingly reduced. These modi-
fications, very advantageous to the shipping interests,
reduced the relative advantages of chain-towage, as the
necessity for it decreased with the reduction of the veloc-
ity of the current. On the other hand, the increased
depth of water allowed improvements to be made in the
tugs, which also profited by all the improvements made in
steam-engines in the last twenty years as regards economy
of fuel, whereas the chain tow-boats in actual use to-day
are the same as those used at the outset. The consequence
has been that, except during the three, four, or five months
of high water, when chain-towage has the advantage, tugs
compete successfully with it; and its traffic has been
reduced. In the last few years its share of the total traffic
has fallen off from 97 per cent. to about 50 per cent.
Moreover, the slackening of the current has rendered
down-stream traction more and more necessary. Steam-
tugs, that were better adapted for this work, came up,
sure of finding employment. Once established, they natu-
rally endeavored to procure loads for the down-stream
trips, and thus gradually increased their power for service
in this direction.
Hence the development of tug service on the Lower
Seine, where there are to-day in use for regular or tempo-
rary service about 75 screw-tugs and screw-carriers. Of
this number, besides those belonging to water transporta-
tion companies, I9 are employed at all seasons in towing
barges; but in summer there are at least 28, of a total
horse power of 4,450. -
Is this condition of things to be final? Is chain-towage
to disappear on the Seine? Is it not possible, on the con-
trary, to improve the appliances for chain-towage and the
conditions of its service, so as to give to it decisive advan-
tages over the other systems of towage?
This is the question that the Lower Seine and Oise
Towage Company has been studying with perseverance for
8
the last six years. It is of great interest from a general
point of view, in regard to the best solution to be adopted
for towage on canalized rivers. The common character-
istic of these streams is to have necessarily a variable
7%gime. In summer, the weirs being raised, the current
is almost annulled, whereas in winter, during the rainy
season, it is necessary to partially lower the weirs, and
the current increases; and during flood waters the weirs
are completely removed, and the natural régime of the
river is re-established. Now, the usefulness of tugs dimin-
ishes considerably with the increase of the current. For
instance, a tug of the “Wasp" type can in summer tow 7
barges, whereas during high water it can tow but I I-2,
3 for 2 “Wasps” coupled together, and only I during
very high water. The proportion remains about the same
for the large 3OO horse-power tugs. In summer they can
take I 2 barges, but only 3 with high waters, sometimes
only 2, and that at reduced speed.
It is thus seen that, in order to meet the requirements
of traffic which is pretty regular, four or five times as
many tugs would be required in winter as in summer;
and, as they would not have employment for the greater
part of the year, it is difficult to conceive how satisfac-
tory service can be organized with the use of tugs only.
There would naturally be either a dearth of means of tow-
age in winter, an accumulation of barges, and excessive
rise in prices, or else in summer a surplus of tugs (as
we have stated above), and abnormal cuts in prices, thence,
in short, a great latitude in the scale of rates.
Chain-towage, on the contrary, owing to its method of
traction, is much less affected by variations in the current.
In practice, the weight of the tow during high waters is
reduced rarely in the proportion of 5 to IO (very excep-
tionally 4 to IO). It should also be added that, whereas
any variation in the current is of importance for the tug,
only notable variations affect chain tow-boats. Conse-
quently, with a given plant towage by chain can give much
9
more regular service, and at the same time prevent large
variations in the rates.
It is evident that a system of traction that has a crushing
advantage over all others during from three to five months
of the year, according to the conditions of the waters, will
supersede all its competitors, if during the remainder of
the year it equals them as to cost, security, and regularity
of service.
Now, chain-towage does not at the present time fulfil
this last condition; and, in order to explain the cause cor-
rectly, it is important to explain briefly how it operates
and the defects inherent in the arrangement of its plant.
The method of hauling on the chain adopted at the
origin by the Lower Seine and Oise Towage Company,
was copied from the arrangements of the Small tow-boat of
Port-à-l’Anglais, and it has been universally adopted both
in France and abroad. No other method was known;
and, notwithstanding its defect, no French or foreign
engineer has hitherto been able to propose a better one.
It consists of two drums with five grooves each, with par-
allel axes set 3 metres apart, around which the chain is
wound a sufficient number of times (generally 4 half-turns
on each drum) for the adherence to equal the necessary
traction effort.
This system is very defective with reference to the pres-
ervation of the chain. If the gauge of the grooves in the
drums is not absolutely the same, the winding from one
groove to the other becoming different, the chain is
obliged to slip, which brings abnormal strains on the
intermediate portions, that may considerably exceed the
traction strain on the portion stretched in front of the bow
of the boat. Besides, the chain is bent and straightened
out eight times while under strain in passing around the
drums, which, in presence of sand brought up by the
chain, increases the wear. This apparatus is, therefore,
in itself a cause of breakage of the chain. In fact, this
usually occurs on the drums.
IO
With regard to the general service, the inconveniences
of this arrangement are not less serious. The length of
chain wound around the drums is 37 metres. It therefore
does not allow the use of boats having a propeller, which
might cast off the chain at the end of the route; for at
each trip it would bring up stream 37 metres of chain, and
erelong all the chain would be accumulated at the upper
end of the route.
It has been tried on the Lower Seine, and also on the
Danube, to cut the chain in IOO metres lengths, which
the tow-boat returns, to be added to the down-stream end;
but this expedient, very unsatisfactory in many ways, has
the serious inconvenience of displacing successively the
chain in the whole length of the route. It cannot there-
fore be methodically repaired by placing new sections at
the points the most strained or the most dangerous, such
as bridges, etc., so that this arrangement consequently
increases considerably the cost of maintenance of the
chain, which is already quite heavy.
The consequence is that the towage service is done by
relays, each boat remaining on the chain as well going
down stream as going up, plying up and down with those
preceding and those following it. If the traffic increases,
if in consequence one or two more tow-boats are added to
the service, there is no other way but to shorten the
relays. But at the end of each relay the tow-boat must
swap tows with the following one. This causes much loss
of time, for it cannot be done at all points on the river.
It is only practicable, without danger, at certain mooring
places, so that the boats are obliged to wait for each
other, absolute regularity being incompatible with all
navigation service. The amount of this loss of time is
so great that in winter, during the short days, when the
traffic is usually most active, there is scarcely any advan-
tage in putting on a fifth boat between Conflans and St.
Denis, the loss of time taken up by these changes compen-
Sating for the advantages gained by an extra tow.
I I
Another and more serious drawback to chain-towage is
that, although an excellent system for going up stream, it
is much inferior to tug-boats for down-stream work.
In the first place, especially in high waters, if the boat
going down stream has a tow, its speed, limited by the
winding apparatus, is not sufficient for the steerage-way
of the barges. The operation of swapping tows is much
more complicated, much more dangerous, and takes more
time. Finally, if the chain breaks, the boat is stopped.
Held by the chain rolled on the drums, the tow may col-
lide with it, and more or less damage may result from it.
Hence a certain repugnance among bargemen to chain-
towage down stream. For the same rates they prefer
tug-boats.
All the chain-towage companies established under the
same conditions as the Lower Seine and Oise Company,
such as the Upper Seine Company, the German companies
on the Elbe, the Main, the Necker, the Russian company
on the Tcheksna, are subjected to the same difficulties.
All, or most of them, have had to give up down-stream
towing. This is for them a loss of an important part of
the traffic. It is also an avowal on their part of their
inability to render to shipping all the service required.
Towage down stream is convenient, even when the barges
might float down. It is necessary on streams where the
effect of the weirs is to frequently annul the current.
Chain-towage has not, however, up to the present time
been able to do this except by the means used by the com-
panies from Conflans to Rouen and on the Danube, -
means which we explained just now, but of which we also
showed the serious inconveniences.
We may now formulate from what precedes the condi-
tions to be fulfilled in order that the chain-towage plant
yield a good service.
Instead of the present chain tow-boats, there should
be used chain-towing tug-boats; that is to say, first-class
propeller or paddle-wheel tug-boats, supplied with a chain-
I 2
towing apparatus for use going up stream only. This
apparatus should be simple, should not injure the chain,
and should allow the chain to be removed and thrown over-
board at any point on the route.
Then the relay service would be suppressed. The boats
going up stream would take their tows to destination with-
out any swapping. On going down stream, they would
operate the same as free tug-boats. The service would be
effected both ways, with a single chain. It would there-
fore gain in regularity, in speed, in traffic power, and in
economy.
All depends, therefore, on the discovery of a system of
hauling which would realize the conditions that we have
just enumerated, and at the same time necessitate but a
short length of chain over the apparatus, and sufficiently
short so that it could be thrown overboard at any point
without causing a dangerous amount of slack in the chain.
III.
Supposing the problem solved as far as the towing appa-
ratus is concerned, there remains in a service organized
according to the above programme one difficulty, which is
to keep the chain in a good position on the bottom.
When a chain tow-boat comes to a curve, as soon as the
traction effort is applied to that portion of the chain
placed on the curve, the tendency is for the chain to swing
towards the centre. It places itself on a shorter line than
the one previously occupied, and there is slack in the
chain at the point where the boat is. If this slack could
be retained on board, to be paid out gradually as the
curve is passed over, the chain could be replaced in its
original position. For this purpose there is needed,
beyond the towing apparatus, an adjustable brake, by
means of which, as needed, less chain could be paid out
at the stern (at the beginning of a curve) or more chain
I 3
(during the passage of the curve) than is taken in at the
bow. For want of this brake, the slack falls back into
the water at the time it is produced, and is not at hand
when needed, so that each boat going up stream leaves the
chain nearer to the convex shore than it was before.
This happens, for instance, on the Seine. When pro-
duced, the slack falls immediately from the stern. Some-
times it accumulates between the guide-sheaves on the
chain-way, and the men have to draw it out. This also
happens on the boats of the Elbe, the Main, the Necker.
There, however, there is behind the towing apparatus a
chain-well, reaching down to the bottom of the hold (the
depth of these boats is nearly the same as that of the
river), so that there is no piling up of the chain among
the sheaves; but, the height which the chain has to rise on
coming out of the well being comparable to that which it
has to fall beyond the stern pulley, the well acts as a regu-
lator. It does not, however, replace a brake, adjustable
at will; and in all these cases, in the latter as well as in
the former, the chain is displaced behind the boat going
up stream, and the boats going down stream, acting both
by their speed and their mass, have to be relied on to put
it back into place. -
On the Danube, with very rapid current, consequently
under the action of very considerable traction efforts, the
chain is still more displaced, but is, however, immediately
replaced, without descending boats, by means of a large
well at the rear of the towing apparatus and a powerful
brake, consisting of two corrugated drums, similar to, but
smaller than, the towing drums, on which the chain is
wound several times, and which are held by spring breaks.
In all services organized with chain tow-boats going up
stream on the chain and going down free, it will be neces-
sary to have something analogous to this; and the brake
will be all the more necessary and have to be all the more
powerful for rivers with rapid currents.
A more or less complete system of brakes being neces-
I4.
sary in the hypothesis we are considering, all that we have
said in reference to the towing apparatus remains true of
this brake. It must of necessity be able to act on a short
length of chain, and will be acceptable only on the condi-
tion that it does not injure the chain and that the latter
can be easily removed. In this last respect the system in
use on the Danube, acceptable with the plant in actual use
on that river, would not be a sufficient solution.
It is evident that the resisting effort required of the
brake will of necessity be inferior to the traction effort,
since these two are in opposite directions; and it is the
difference between the two that alone causes the boat to
advance, which is the final object in view. It is also evi-
dent that, the two operations being of the same nature, only
in opposite directions, whatever arrangement is adopted for
the towing apparatus may also be applied to the brake. In
other words, the considerations that we have just presented
add nothing new to the conditions that we mentioned at
the end of Chapter II. as necessary for a good solution of
the problem of chain-towage.
We will simply note in passing that these considerations
show well one of the reasons why chain-towage has not
been developed on very rapid streams, where its use would
be the most natural. A chain tow-boat going down stream
cannot run at full speed, as the chain holds it back. It
runs at a speed less than the current; and the pull on the
chain on curves displaces the latter in the same direction
as when going up stream, and there is no method remain-
ing to correct the effect produced.
IV.
From what precedes it would seem on the whole that, if
chain-towage as practised up to the present time has
defects that have interfered with its full development, all
these defects are derived from one and the same cause;
and, if means were found to obtain great adherence, using
I 5
up but a small length of chain, which would not be over-
strained, these defects would all be corrected. This being
accomplished, chain-towage would regain, in most cases,
its marked superiority over tug-boat towage.
The problem thus defined by Mr. Molinos, President of
the Lower Seine and Oise Towage Company, this company
has been trying for several years to solve the question.
Previous experiments had shown that all methods of
gearing the chain by embossed pulleys, etc., should be put
aside, owing to the impossibility of obtaining, or at least
of maintaining, a uniform calibre in the chain.
Taking the chain up by a process similar to hand haul-
ing, by means of projecting arms set at certain distances
apart, was tried, but found to present many difficulties.
Trials in the shops were made, giving promising results,
with a pulley having three prongs, which grasped the chain
vigorously, operated by water under pressure. By means
of a system of distribution, each prong or jaw seized the
chain, and held it from the time it entered the groove of
the pulley till it left it. This apparatus, however, was
too delicate for rough towage work. The compression
was liable to deform the chain; and, if the pulley was
of small diameter, considerable water under pressure was
required. Unless a small diameter is used, the speed of
the pulley must be reduced; and this requires complicated
gearing, heavy and massive parts.
Another suggestion was to press the chain on the pulley
by means of friction rollers under constant water pressure,
but here also the excessive pressure required was destruc-
tive to the chain.
At this point Mr. de Bovet suggested magnetizing the
groove of the pulley, hoping thereby to get considerable
power, adding the attractive force of the magnet to the ef-
fect due to winding a flexible organ through a large angle.
Experiments alone could determine whether the results
obtained would be sufficient, or in what measure this effect
would permit of educing other mechanical devices, if any
were needed in addition.
I6
A first trial on a small scale having given encouraging
results, it was decided to build a pulley of the size that
would be used in practice. We have just said that it was
desirable to keep to small diameters. This was fixed at
I.25 metres. --
The plan was to place the chain in contact with two
magnetic poles, set quite close to each other, so that,
being of soft iron, it would short-circuit any magnetic cur-
rent that might be developed in the magnet by an electric
current. To obtain the maximum effect with the least
expenditure of current, it was necessary to make the elec-
tro-magnet — that is, the towing-pulley — of soft steel,
using a large mass of metal, an extra weight in this case
not being objectionable. -
A drawing of the trial pulley built by Messrs. Sautter,
Harle & Co. is shown in Figure 5. The groove is smooth,
turned on a lathe, and made so that the links of the chain
will fit into it alternately in a vertical, then a normal, plane
to it with the least possible play, in order to reduce to
a minimum the distance between the chain and the lips
of the groove. The dimensions taken were those of the
heaviest chains used on the route. Consequently, it was
expected that the adherence would be much reduced at
those points where the chain, being old and worn, weighed
less per metre, and would give more play in the groove;
but, as the oldest parts of the chain are always in those sec-
tions where the resistance of the current, and consequently
the traction effort, are the least, it was hoped there would
still be sufficient adherence at these points, if there was on
the new parts of the chain, situated on the more difficult
portions of the route. For these portions we did not esti-
mate that the traction effort would ever exceed 6, OOO kilos,
and we thought we should be in safe conditions if we could
reach these figures with the new chain. •
The total angle encompassed by the chain on the pulley
would necessarily be less than 360 degrees. Owing to
Constructive necessities, 270 degrees was determined upon
as a maximum.
17
Figure 5 gives all the dimensions of the trial pulley,
made of 2 flanges of cast steel. The space reserved for
winding the wire is enclosed by a bronze ring with rubber
joints (for extra precaution the induction coil may be
enclosed in a sealed casing). The bolts of the outside
flanges are also of bronze. If of iron, there might be loss
of current. The feed-wires pass through the centre of the
shafting, and terminate on 2 insulated rings, on which are
applied 2 brushes.
As can be seen, the apparatus is strong. The lips alone
are liable to wear out. For pulleys in constant use the
lips should be made in separate pieces, easily removable.
The maintenance of a pulley of this style would be quite
simple. Figure 6 shows this arrangement.
The pulley shown in Figure 5 was tested in the shops of
the makers, being set up stationary; and, without insist-
ing on the details, we will rapidly give a summary of the
principal results obtained.
At first an experiment was made to determine the limit
of current that it would be best not to exceed. This was
done with a portion of new chain (an old worn chain would
naturally be saturated by a weaker current), formed of one
whole and two half links, placed against the bottom of the
pulley, and sustaining a box in which weights were placed
till the chain was pulled off. It was found that this sus-
taining effort did not exceed 300 kilos, and that the cur-
rent above which no greater adherence was obtained was 48
amperes, corresponding to 37, OOO ampere-revolutions and
an expenditure of 4.5 horse power.
This maximum current corresponds to the saturation of
a new chain of 26.5 millimetres, weighing I 5.5 kilos per
running metre; and we were not able to measure the slip
of this chain when wound 3-4 around the pulley, as the
appliances at hand did not allow over 7, OOO kilos to be
applied, which was not sufficient to start the chain.
With old chain, out of service owing to excessive wear
and deformation, and reduced in weight to about 9 kilos
I8
per metre, the limit of adherence, when wound 3-4 around
the pulley when dry, was found to be about 6,000 to 6,500
kilos, and this with an expenditure of only 3 horse power.
Of course with new chain, this same power would carry
more than 6,500 kilos.
With the chain wet in clear water, or soap and water,
which we consider would give the same slipperiness as the
Slime brought up by the chain, the loss was about Io per
Cent.
Even when twisted, new chain carried all the load we
could get on without any slipping; and, when twisted as
much as possible, badly placed on the groove, and oiled as
much as possible, with 3-4 turn on the pulley, it carried
more than 4, OOO kilos. The adherence is good; and, with
sufficient current, it is maintained even where there is
back lash produced. When the limit of weight for a given
current is reached or exceeded, there is a more or less rapid
slip of the chain, according to the load. In fact, the pul-
ley itself limits the stress.
We will add a last remark. We have shown how we
measured the power necessary to pull the chain off in the
direction of the radius with but 2 links. If we call f the
shearing stress, or normal attractive force per centimetre of
chain, the same conditions of current and chain which give
for the total length wound 3-4 round the pulley sum f =
4,OOO will give for the effort necessary to produce slipping
of the chain in the groove 6, Ooo kilos. This abnormal
result seems to us to show plainly that the mechanical
effect of winding enters for a large part in the results
obtained.
All these experiments were made in place, but in ser-
vice the speed foreseen, at the circumference of a towing-
pulley of the diameter of the one experimented with, is
about I metre; and every one knows that with such speeds
the coefficients of friction are the same as at rest. At
most the loss would only be that corresponding to a few
less degrees of winding, and due to the retardation of the
I9
links of the chain in motion in reaching the maximum
state of magnetization. There does not seem to be any-
thing to fear on this head, as the results obtained were far
beyond practical needs; and, the experiments being con-
cluded, the Lower Seine and Oise Towage Company decided
to build a boat with a magnetic pulley, the same pulley
used in these experiments.
We will note that the pulley might be built in some
other way, as long as the chain could short-circuit the
magnetic current applied.
Thus electric cores might be placed along the radii of
the pulley, as in the armatures of an alternate current
Gramme machine, or along the rim, normally to the plane
of the pulley, as in the armature of an alternate current
Siemens machine. With the addition of a properly fitted
collector, these arrangements would allow of suppressing
the current at the point where the chain leaves the pulley,
and thus detach it without any effort. But the construc-
tion of the apparatus would be complicated, the mainte-
nance more delicate; and it has seemed preferable, if only
on account of its rusticity, to use the arrangements just
described, although the chain has to be forced off of the
pulley, and a small amount of energy applied for this
purpose. This is quite small, however. If we turn back
to the figures given above for the shearing force per centi-
metre of groove, and if we admit that, after a separation
of, say, 2 centimetres, no more effort is necessary, it is
easy to figure that for the speed required only about 1-2
horse power is needed.
V.
In a report presented to the fifth congress of navigation
(Paris, 1892), from which has been largely extracted what
proceeds, we gave a description and a plan of the boat that
the Lower Seine and Oise Towage Company was then
building for applying the system we have just described.
2O
The boat was not then completed. The work was well
under way, and was to be completed according to the
description that we then gave; but we could only surmise
as to its working capacities.
Now it is completed and in regular service,” experience
has caused us to make but few modifications to the arrange-
ments first adopted, as can be easily seen by comparing the
description given at that time and the following one.
The boat built by Mr. Sâtre, of Lyons, is shown in Fig-
ures I, 2, 3, and 4.
It is 33 metres long, 5 metres wide amidships, with 2.70
hold, and a mean draft, when towing on chain, of I.90
Imetres.
Advantage was naturally taken of the fact that there is
a great depth in the Seine in adopting a rather large
propeller.
The engine is of the overhead, compound type, placed
near the centre of the boat; and, by means of two clutches,
it can, as may be required, drive the propeller by direct
action or the towing apparatus by means of bevel gears.
When working on the propeller, it is intended to
develop I 50 horse power, with I 50 revolutions per minute;
when working on the chain, 60 to 80 horse power and 90
revolutions.
At the rear are 2 boilers of 50 square metres of heating
Surface each; near the bow the towing apparatus, the trans-
mission to which is clearly shown on the drawing.
The two rudders have been maintained as in ordinary
chain tow-boats. The forward one is placed in such a way
that, when it is set at rest, while the propeller is in use,
there is no tendency for it to turn. The two wheels are
set near together, by the side of the captain’s stand, the
forward one at G, the aft one at G'.
Instead of the ungainly-shaped hulls of the boats in
*We have sent to the Chicago Exposition to be shown in class 31 : (1) Plans of the boat just
as it was built; (2) Photographs of it as used in service. We also added drawings of the towing-
pulley and a photograph of the old style boats used by the Lower Seine and Oise Towage
Company.
2 I
actual use, this one has been moulded so as to give satis-
factory speed when used as tug-boat. When drawing on
the chain, the boat will set practically level longitudi-
nally. In this position the bow widens out suddenly, in
order to insure sufficient steadiness, even when drawing
obliquely on the chain. When using the propeller, the
stern must set down lower, and the raised bows show finer
lines. In order to obtain this difference of water lines,
there are 2 water-ballast compartments, W, W’, one for-
ward and the other aft, with a pump for shifting the water
from one to the other, as may be required.
The general form of the deck remains the same as usual.
Forward and aft the chain passes over needles F, F,
similar to those on the company’s other boats, then over
the vertical blocks E, E'. (Figures 8, 9, Io, I I, and 12
show details of the needles and blocks.)
From the forward vertical block the chain follows the
chain-way D to the towing-pulley A, around which it can
make a 374 turn. It is guided on and off of the pulley by
2 sheavy B, B', set symmetrically on either side of the
vertical/ tis. If the boat is only going up stream by
chain power (when going for any distance down stream on
the chain, the boat is turned about), it is sometimes
obliged to work backwards for a short distance in shunt-
ing, etc. The 2 guide-sheaves are set on carriages, and
can be pushed back to put the chain in place or cast it off,
or in order to reduce the encircling angle of the chain.
As to the towing-pulley, it is mounted at the end of the
shaft; and 20 or 30 centimetres play between it and the
iron portions of the deck and engine, are sufficient to pre-
vent all loss of current.
After leaving the towing apparatus, the chain follows
the chain-way, D', beyond which, before reaching the ver-
tical blocks, is a well, L, and a brake, M, for the purpose
already described.
As chain-towage presents no great difficulties on that
portion of the Seine where this boat was to be used, and
22
does not necessitate any very great strains, we considered
best to give to this well a size sufficient only to hold from
20 to 25 metres of chain. The shape, an inclined plane
from fore to aft, is to prevent the accumulation of the chain
on the outgoing end. The brake-pulley is built similar to
the towing-pulley, only smaller, 50 centimetres. (The de-
tails of this brake are shown on Figures 16, 17, 18.) Set
loosely in the boxes supporting its axis, as long as it is
not magnetized it acts simply as a supporting sheave; but a
roller firmly set on the same standard and just behind it
obliges the chain to cover at least 90° of the sheave. So
that, when a current is sent through it, the magnet always
acts on a sufficient length of chain to insure its action,
which would not be the case if the chain was in contact
with the brake-pulley only at one point.
On the lower quarter of this same pulley there is a
shoe, encircling the groove at a small distance from it,
free to be drawn into it by magnetic attraction when the
current is turned on, and falling back by its own weight
when the current is cut off. The operation of the brake
is easily understood. Turning on the current attracts the
shoe, which prevents the pulley from revolving. At the
same time the chain, which becomes slack on the side
towards the well, is drawn on to the upper quarter of the
pulley. It then covers half the circumference, and can
resist a strain of I, OOO kilos in the case of a new chain
with full current. The result can be varied by graduating
the intensity of the current; and the paying out of the
chain is the result of its weight, the tension of the chain
falling at the stern, and the variable resistance of the
brake. All that is needed for operating is a commutator
and a rheostat placed at the captain’s stand.
As to the sheaves, B, B', that guide the chain on and
off of the towing-pulley, we at first thought it might be
well to make the entering one, B, of non-magnetic metal,
in order not to affect the field on this side. This precau-
tion seems superfluous. The other sheave, B', was, on
23
the contrary, made of magnetic metal, with a very thick
rim, in order that, when in contact with the large pulley,
it would present less resistance than the chain to the pas-
sage of the current, and the chain, being almost indiffer-
ent, would leave the pulley more easily. For safety and
to insure this separation, a pawl, H., of non-magnetic metal,
was added, fitting into the groove and overhanging it, but
also supported by 4 bronze rollers resting on the pulley
and transferring all the stresses to it, either from the press-
ure of the chain on the end of the pawl or from its tendency
to raise it. (Figure 7.)
As the chain-way is but slightly inclined between the
sheave, B', and the well, in order to make doubly sure of
the paying out of the chain, we placed a sheave with rough
surface at the end of the chain-way, that in case of need
could be operated by a receiving dynamo.
As a matter of fact, the action of the sheave, B', which
is quite massive, though somewhat effective, is insuffi-
cient to insure for a certainty the easy detaching of the
chain, which has a tendency, as soon as the tension of the
outgoing end is reduced, to jam in between the pulley,
the sheave, and the pawl. The first trials showed that
the arrangements we had made were insufficient, and that it
was necessary to maintain a constant tension on the out-
going end, to make sure of detaching the chain from the
pulley.
The figures from experiments referred to in the previ-
ous chapter showed that this tension need not exceed 300
kilos. It could therefore be easily obtained by a slight
winding on a small pulley lightly magnetized, on the con-
dition that the pulley was constantly revolving with a cir-
cumferential speed equal to or slightly superior to that of
the large pulley.
It was best to operate this pulley by a mechanical trans-
mission taken directly from one of the shafts of the towing
apparatus. This is shown in Figure I, at J, K. As to
the details of the apparatus set up at the entrance of the
24
chain-well, they are found in Figures I 3, I4, and I 5. Two
guide-sheaves pressing on the chain oblige it to make a
quarter turn around the magnetized pulley. Sometimes
it happens, however, that the chain is under considerable
tension at the rear of the boat, as well as at the bow.
Then the use of the magnetized pulley at the entrance of
the chain-well is unnecessary, but the supports of the 2
small guide sheaves may be considerably strained. In
order not to have them made too heavy, they are mounted
on springs, which allow them to rise when the general
tension of the chain exceeds 300 kilos, so that they never
are submitted to excessive stresses.
In the engine-room a small receiving dynamo runs a
centrifugal pump that supplies water for washing the decks
and chains and for operating the water-ballast.
The current for the different electric appliances is sup-
plied by a special motor, acting directly on a dynamo set
up at T. This work could not be done by the main
engine, thus leaving the production of current dependent
on the manoeuvres of the boat.
The distributing board and resistance boxes are in the
engine-room. The commutators, which regulate the cur-
rent for the towing-pulley, the brake, and pulley, P, are
enclosed in a box placed on the bridge near the rear rudder
wheel. This is a closed box, from which the handles
only protrude. A plate glass set over the keys shows these
up, and at night they are illumined by 2 incandescent
lights.
On the bridge, which is raised slightly above the deck
(it is placed over the shaft of the large pulley), the cap-
tain has under his hand the wheel of the rear rudder, which
he operates, and the different commutators, thus allowing
him to control all the machinery connected with the pas-
sage of the chain on the boat without having to call on
the crew. He is so placed that he can see perfectly how
the chain is acting on the pulley and also give orders
to the man at the forward wheel.
25
Everything that might interfere is carried on the port
side of the deck, the starboard side being kept clear for
handling the chain and shipping it on or off. The only
obstacles, and these present no great difficulty, are the
cleats for making fast the tow-ropes.
When the boat acts as tug-boat, it draws its tow by a
single line, as usual. This can be made fast to a hook at
the base of the chimney at a short distance from the plane
of the thrust-bearing of the propeller. It is supported on
rollers at the stern, which can be removed when the chain
is used.
There are also fastenings on the deck for snatch-blocks,
used when necessary for handling the chain.
VI.
Such as we have described it, this boat was put in ser-
vice on the Seine at the beginning of this year. Alone
of its kind at present and operating concurrently with the
old style boats, it has, of course, not transformed the
methods of operation; but it has completely filled all
the conditions for which it was built. i t
It has proved that there was a satisfactory solution of
the problem, as we described at the beginning of this
report. We have not sought for greater traction power
than that of the old style boats of this company, for this
was sufficient. It takes as large tows as the others going
up stream, with the same current and equal speed. The
chain may be thrown off at any point with the greatest
ease (it takes at most from 5 to IO minutes) without dis-
placing it longitudinally or forming any slack that might
interfere with boats following. The necessary 3 or 4
metres of slack are obtained by one turn of the engine, by
tightening the chain forward.
Going down stream, free as any other tug, it tows very
correctly.
It realizes, in fact, all the advantages that we could
26
only foretell in our report of 1892, which we then summed
up thus: — -
First, as compared with the system of chain-towage in
general use.
Considerable less wear of the chain, suppression of the
principal causes of breakage, and the service of relays,
better utilization of plant, increase in traffic power, de-
crease in running expenses.
Possibility of towing down stream same as ordinary
tug-boats.
Second, as compared with tug-boats.
Equal to them in shallow waters.
Incontestable superiority to them in high waters.
This whole amelioration, so important from different
points of view, will bring about a real transformation of
towage as practised up to the present time by bringing to
it that which it lacked, in order to give by itself complete
satisfaction to the different needs of shipping.
We will remark that a steamboat supplied like the one
described, with a propeller as well as an apparatus for
chain - towing, will be well adapted for use on certain
rivers, such as are to be found in different parts of the
world, where long stretches of easy navigation are sepa-
rated by rapids almost impassable with the present means
at hand, whether it be for purposes of towing freight boats
or for self-propelled carriers.
We studied the apparatus described for purposes of
chain-towage, the only one we have referred to up to the
present point.
We are aware that trials have been made in different
places to substitute a cable for the chain. All these have
failed except that on the Rhine. This latter success is
due, we think, simply to a local particularity. The bot-
tom of the river where it is applied is covered with points
of rock that prevent the cable from dragging around the
curves, and hold it so well that sometimes it escapes only
just a short distance ahead of the boat, with a vertical
27
whip-lash motion which a chain would hardly resist.
This special circumstance, therefore, obviates the principal
objection to the use of a cable, and justifies it in this case.
But otherwise and in a general way we consider the cable
inferior to the chain for towing.
Owing to its short duration, it is not more economical.
On the contrary, as it can only be rolled on large
diameters, it necessitates much larger and cumbersome
apparatus. -
Being too light, it is displaced much more in the curves
by the tractive effort, and thus renders the passage of a
boat much more difficult, notwithstanding the much easier
steering facilities attributed to a cable tow-boat, but which
we consider very doubtful.
It breaks less frequently, but it is harder to fish up and
much more complicated to splice together.
It winds more smoothly and evenly, it is true; but we
do not think that this single advantage compensates for the
inconveniences we have enumerated.
We can but point out these different facts, as to discuss
them would necessitate an additional report; and we refer
to it only to explain why, in searching for improvements
in the towing industry, we have considered only chain-
towage.
We would, however, note that in the rare cases where
cables could be used with advantage magnetic pulleys, sim-
ilar to the one we have described, might well replace the
one with much more delicate jaws, more expensive, and
one that exerts a most destructive action on the cable.
The twisted chain passes on the pulley, as we have
described it, with sufficient adherence; but sometimes it is
straightened out when in the groove, this giving rise to a
jerk. It is best in all ways to see that it is kept free from
twists, as thereby it is much better preserved. This is
all the easier to do with a few hand spikes, as the whole
towing apparatus has a tendency to untwist the chain when
it has been poorly placed.
28
It might be possible to have a pulley with a single
groove instead of the double one we have adopted, through
which the links would pass x-wise. From a few experi-
ments made, we estimate that with a good construction of
this shaped groove the loss of adherence would be about
I-3 as compared with the double groove system. The
former arrangement seems to us the best.
The total adherence increases with the weight of the
chain. For streams with rapid currents a much heavier
chain is necessary than on the Seine, so that even in this
case there will be sufficient adherence without need of
exaggerating the size of the pulley. Besides the 2 sheaves,
B and B', might be magnetized and made to revolve by
power (Figures I and 7), and thus increase the length of
active chain, and consequently the total adherence. In
this case, if care were taken to give to the sheave, B', a
less amount of magnetism, it would play the part of the
pulley, P; and the apparatus at the entrance of the chain-
well could be dispensed with.
VII.
VARIOUS APPLICATIONS OF THE MAGNETIC PULLEY.
In closing, we would note various applications of the
magnetic pulley that we have been describing.”
Mechanical Traction on Canals.--It appears to us that
it might give a satisfactory solution to the question of
mechanical traction on canals. A pulley of but 40 centi-
metres in diameter would be sufficient with a light chain, 3
to 4 kilos per metre, to give the necessary effort to propel
a dumb-barge, which is the heaviest boat to draw in a
canal. In these conditions the proposed solution would
be to rig up an apparatus consisting of a towing-pulley
with accompanying guide-sheaves, a driving dynamo, and
*See these different applications in the bulletins of December, 1892, and of January, 1893,
of the International Society of Electricians.
29
the necessary connection transmission. The whole, of
small volume (about 1.25 metres by I.20 metres by O.80
metre), and weighing not over 1,500 kilos, would be
enclosed in a box, and set on the boat as it reaches the
canal and unloaded from it as it leaves it, to be used on
another boat for the return trip. There would be one or
two submerged chains in the canal, according as the traffic
was or was not of such importance as to allow the necessary
time for shifting the chains on passing boats. The current
would be taken from an overhead line, as in the case of
electric tramways. A commutator handle projecting from
the box would allow of running faster or slower or of
stopping. This would be done by the boatman himself,
without any outside help, so that he would remain entirely
independent, to stop or go ahead as he pleased, as he might
at any time take on, or throw overboard the chain. We
intend shortly to make a trial of this system, in accordance
with a wish expressed by the fifth international congress.
AHauling by Floating Chain. Transmission by Chain.—
In a different line of thought, it is clear that the magnet-
ized pulley could be applied with success in cases of
mechanical hauling by means of a floating chain. It would
also apply to transmitting movement from one shaft to
another without all the difficulties due to variations in
the thread, which are so vexatious in all systems of chain-
gearing.
Carriage and Car Brakes.— With the same construction
of pulley, but with a different-shaped groove, and replac-
ing the chain by a flexible blade or sheet with shoes, we
obtain a brake at once simple, strong, and easily moder-
ated. Here the widening of a flexible organ again inter-
venes in a very efficacious manner, that certain measures
that we were able to take make quite evident. It is shown
by this fact that the curve constructed by referring the
total slipping stress to the exciting of the electro-magnet
still remains very much inclined on the line of ordinates
in that portion where, if the magnetic attraction acted
3O
alone, it would be almost parallel to it. From trials
made at the shops we believe that we may conclude that
with a pulley of 40 centimetres diameter, the heaviest brake
effort that need ever be applied to the axle of a heavy
wagon at high speed needs but 40 Watts per axle. Such
a brake would have the advantage of absolute simultaneous-
ness. It could easily be made automatic.
Couplings.- By slight modifications in the shape of the
pulley, and replacing the chain or blade by a ring of mag-
netic metal, we lose the advantages of a flexible organ; but
we get an excellent utilization of the field, and arrive at
forms giving good mechanical working couplings, from
which we have obtained very good results. In many cases
they constitute very good limiters of power (for instance,
on dredges). With very slight expenditure of current,
considerable power can be obtained. Coupling is rendered
possible at full speed, or the transmission of any power
without shock, by allowing any length of time desired from
the first setting in motion to the full coupling up. We
think we can obtain with this apparatus even the power
necessary for reversing the run in rolling mills: the pos-
sible applications are evident either as couplers or brakes.
To return to our subject, we will mention as example
the following case. On a river with rapid current the
necessary manoeuvres to keep the chain in proper place
going up stream may require for a time the use of the pro-
peller, or paddle-wheels, at the same time that the towing
apparatus is in Operation. This happens, by the way, on
the Danube. Well, nothing would be easier on a boat
such as we have described than to arrange the coupling of
the propeller in such a way that going up stream it could
be stopped at will, while keeping the arrangements so
that in going down stream by the power of the propeller it
could be coupled without the use of the current.
PARIS, May, 1893.
CHAIN TowAGE witH MAGNETIC AD HERENCE.
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The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
Elºiſt Pºlsion on tails
BY
O. Bij SSE R
Oderberg-in-the-Mark, Prussia
B O ST ON
D A M R E L L & U PH A M
Tb2 Qſb Qorner $500kgtore
283 Washington Street

ELECTRIC PROPULSION ON CANALS.
&
The solution of the canal problem depends largely upon
the construction of a compact portable motor, adapted to
any canal boat, whatever its shape or size, and capable of
being shipped on board when the boat enters, and removed
when it leaves the canal.
In order to meet the demands of trade, canal traffic
should be provided for by the establishment of a system of
mechanical haulage, with a speed of at least from o 5 to
o.7 metres per second (the speed of horses); or, better, I
meter per second,-7. e., 3.6 kilometres per hour (24 miles).
The production of a large amount of power in one
place, and its subdivision and distribution, has been proved
by experience to be economical, as has been shown in
cable haulage. As the power used in propulsion (from 2
to 5 horse power) would be too expensive if produced sep-
larately on each boat, the idea presents itself of making use
of electricity, so applied as to dispense with any addition
to the boat’s crew.
Storage Batteries.—The first application of electric
power to navigation was made in 1839, by Professor Jakobi,
on the Neva. He used a galvanic battery, and since his
day electric boats have been driven by storage batteries.
In this system the motive power is exhausted after working
a few hours, and the boat must stop for a fresh supply at a
special station. But the same objections to the equipment
of every boat with a steam or petroleum engine, have still
greater weight against electric accumulators, which are still
more troublesome and expensive, and for this reason no
further allusion to them will be made in this report.
Transference of the Electric Current by means of
Wires.—The first known use of the transference of the
4.
electric current by means of wires, as applied to canal
boats, was made by R. Hunter, of Philadelphia, in 1888,
and his patent, No. 403,193, for an electric boat, bears
date of May 14, 1889.
Biisser's Invention.—A proposition differing from Hunt-
er's was offered to the Royal Prussian Government for its
consideration, by the author, in 1891. He starts with the idea
of furnishing every boat traversing a canal with a portable
motor, shipped on board when the boat enters, and removed
when the boat leaves the canal. Electricity drawn from a
conducting wire running along the shore, was proposed as
the motive power to drive a screw, a paddle wheel, or a
chain drum. This project was also described, in 1892, at
the Fifth International Congress on Inland Navigation.
BUSSER's SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC CHAIN TowAGE.
The complete establishment of the system requires:
First, storehouses to contain the motors to be placed on the
boats. Second, the motors and their accessories. Third,
a chain with its anchor fixtures. Fourth, a power house.
Fifth, a conducting wire and appropriate transformers.
The general arrangements of the system are shown in
Plate I., figures 6 and 7.
The boat F, carries the motor M, at its bow, over
which the chain A passes. M is connected with the con-
ductor Z, by the wire Z, and the trolley C, which the boat
carries forward as it moves.
Storehouses for the motors are established at the various
ports on the canal. These are provided with traveling
cranes and railway connections to the bank, where other
cranes are placed for loading and unloading the motors.
These cranes may be worked by electricity.
The Motors.-Of all the appliances requisite for electric
towage, the motor alone merits a detailed description.
Position in the boat.—The most available position of the
motor in respect to the efficient working of the chain, is in
the bow. Figures I and 2, Plate I., represent the motor in
i

6
question. As may be seen, its frame, hollowed so as to
avoid all useless weight, and strengthened by ribs and
flanges, rests on the boat by means of two crosspieces
fastened to the gunwale, and capable of being adjusted to
the varying widths of the boats. The anterior crosspiece
fixed at its ends to the gunwale, is formed of two parts,
sliding one within the other; the frame resting on this
crosspiece by the appendage, d. The posterior crosspiece
is partly openwork, and held by sliding into the two rings,
g and gº of the frame; the support is completed by the part,
f, which is fixed to the side, like the extremities of the cross-
pieces, by a special arrangement, readily understood from
figures 3 and 4.
The crosspiece is held by a strong ring h, which has a
shoulder Z; the latter has a hole, into which the pivot A.
fits, AE arises from the top of the stirrup /; / rides on the
gunwale, and is held in position by means of the clamp
SCI eVVS 772. - -
The frame thus fixed at the bow of the boat, carries a
dynamo S, which, by means of the spur wheels n, m1, m2,
ms, drives the main shaft p to which the chain wheel o is
keyed.
Rollers tº and v are also placed in front and below this
wheel, to guide the chain ; the latter passes first on the hor-
izontal roller w, thence between the two vertical rollers tº
and v.; the axle of roller w rests on brackets & , &, which
are connected to the frame a of the machine ; the rollers
u and v turn round axles supported by cast-iron bearings,
u and v. The head of the roller tº is rounded, and the
nut which fixes this roller on the axle is countersunk, so as
not to impede the passage of the chain. Other arrange-
ments for the same object have been omitted, so as not to
confuse the drawings.
After the chain passes over the wheel o, it returns on
the roller y, whose axle is also fixed to the frame by means
of the cast-iron hanger z. Figure 5 shows the arrange-
ment of the upper and lower rollers on a larger scale.
7
The electro-motor chosen is the machine S, 3 of the
“Aerliner Maschinenbau Aktien-Gesellschaft” which
makes 600 revolutions per minute, and weighs 235 kilo-
grammes. It is a 3-horse power machine, having an
efficiency of 75 per cent. It absorbs, therefore, 2,940
volts. #
The main shaft bearing the chain pulley revolves 50
times a minute; as this pulley has a radius of I55 milli-
metres, the length of the chain developed per second is
97.4 millimetres.
The motor is completed by a commutator, for putting
the machine in and out of circuit, and a resistance coil,
which regulates the speed of the boat. The electrical ap-
paratus is protected by a casing omitted in the drawing.
Finally, the trolly takes the current from the conducting
wire and carries it by the wire Z to the motor on the boat.
This connection is effected in the same manner as for the
electric railroads.
The Chaân.—The thickness of the links is Io milli-
metres, which gives a resistance of 975 kilogrammes, while
the actual stress never exceeds 300 kilogrammes, allowing
a factor of safety of 3; its weight is 2.2 kilogrammes per
running metre; it is raised from 25 to 30 metres in front of
the boat using it.
In order that boats going in opposite directions may pass
each other, the chain is double at the locks; the two chains
are interrupted and united transversely, so as to have an
endless chain, for the following reason : when the boat is
moving, it carries the chain forward as much as the
difference in length between the taut chain and the slack
chain; instead of having to carry back this excess, it is
carried across the canal to the other chain ; thus the chain
will have passed the whole length of the section, up on one
side and down on the other, whereby the irregularity is
obviated by subjecting every link to the haul of the boats;
besides preventing the formation of kinks, as the moving
boat has no superfluous length of chain in front of it.
8
In the straight part of the canal the chain rests freely
without anchors; in the curves, anchors or guiding posts
are necessary; at each extremity the chain passes through
&
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I LIFT ºf h[T TºS IT II-ILT-I
H TCA,
Plate II. sº
a simple ring, solidly fixed, which serves as an end anchor.
It is not absolutely necessary to interrupt the chain at
every lock; on the contrary, it can very well be carried

9 *
over: the places of its interruption must be determined by
the practical necessities of the case.
The Power House, and the system of distribution.—We
shall not consider here the source of power, the details of
the power house, or the plan of distribution; we may
simply remark that the high-tension electric current leaves
the power house requiring only a small conducting wire;
but as this current cannot be used for driving the motors,
it must be transformed, in special stations erected for that
purpose, a short distance from each other into one of lower
tension, and it is only this secondary current, thus obtained,
which gives the available motive power. For this working
current a second wire is necessary, but no addition to the
personnel is required.”
The electric motor-steering boat is a small craft used
for propelling and steering both boats and rafts; it is not
intended to go independently, and, therefore, has no
arrangement of its own for steering, and no room for a
steersman, but is fastened to the boat or raft in place of its
rudder, which is temporarily removed and laid aside during
the passage through the canal. This steering boat is
operated from the craft to which it is attached.
Description.—The motor-steering boat consists of a
small boat of wood or iron (figs. I–4, Plate II.). Its keel
is enlarged so as to have the shape of a rudder blade, a.
m is an electro motor, keyed to a horizontal or vertical
driving shaft, figure I, which is carried through the side
wall of a well c, c, being water-tight, is raised above
an opening in the bottom of the boat, and closed with
a lid. The end of the driving shaft projecting into the
well c, carries a pulley p, from which the belt is carried to
a second pulley r keyed to the screw shaft.
*An article by Professor Fischer on the “Introduction and Development
of Steam Navigation on the Elbe,” in the Kingdom of Saxony, published
in the Civil Ingenieur for 1891, page 233, contains a statement of the cost
of chain towage as compared with steam towage, together with Mr. Büsser's
comments; but as the discussion has been superseded by M. de Bovet's
report, it has been thought best to omit it.—ED.
IO
In the vertical position of the driving shaft, figure 4, the
latter is carried downward, through a stuffing box, in the
bottom of the boat. The transmission of the motion to the
screw shaft is effected by a pair of bevel wheels, r, the
well naturally is omitted in this case.
The propeller screw s, mounted on a horizontal shaft in
the midship section, half way up the blade a, rests on two
bearings fastened to a the latter is hollowed out, so as
to allow the revolution of the screw. The tiller g, has
the usual form of those of river boats, but is not perma-
nently fastened to the steering boat, and, therefore, ends
with a knee.
The fastening of the tiller q, to the boat is effected by
two flat rails A, fastened to the bottom of the boat and
braced. The knee of the tiller q, fits into the space be-
tween these two rails, and is fastened to them by two screw
bolts. The tiller g, has a different position when fitted
to a boat than when fitted to a raft. On a boat it is turned
forward, and fastened to it by means of a pintle, in the usual
way. In order to counterbalance the upward pressure,
which tends to lift the pintle, n, there is a plate, Z, on the
knee with a hole in one end, through which the lower part
of the pintle passes.
For rafts, the motor-steering boat is used somewhat dif-
ferently. A free space corresponding to the size of the
boat is left in the head of the raft when the logs are fas-
tened together, and a simple footbridge d, figure 4, is put
across this space at such a height that the rails, k, can be
pinned into it just above the gunwale of the boat.
The bridge, d, is here either cut out, or provided with
two pintles, in order to prevent the rails from sliding side-
ways. The tiller, g, is fastened in the opposite direction,
so that it projects backward over the steering boat, and can
be handled there for steering the raft.
The downward pressure on g, caused by the working
motor, is Counteracted by a wooden crosspiece, e, pushed
under 7. The accessory pieces of machinery belonging
II
to the motor, m, are not indicated in the drawing, because
their arrangement, as well as the fastening of the tiller to
the steering boat, and the attachment to the boat or raft,
can be varied indefinitely. The motor has a rheostat, by
which the velocity of the screw can be varied within cer-
tain limits; this regulator is placed upon the boat itself.
The flow of electricity is regulated by a commutator fas-
tened to the tiller; the working of the commutator and the
rheostat is limited to the handling of two levers by the
steersman. The trolley pole is attached to the end of the
tiller.
Ademarks.-First, electricity from a central station can
be used to drive tugboats provided with electric motors, as
the boat invented by Hunter, and mentioned above. Sec-
ond, we may also have electric funicular traction. In this
case electricity is used instead of steam to drive the cable.
Third, Wollheim's Electric Railway. A system of electric
haulage has been proposed by Leonhard Wollheim, of
Vienna, in which a boat is provided with a storage battery,
and the current from this, used to drive an electric loco-
motive running on a railroad laid along the shore, and
drawing the boat by a tow line. The experiments already
made with steam locomotives for this purpose are not very
encouraging. The weakest point in Wollheim's system is
the necessity for storage batteries.
Financial Conditions.—The use of electricity for the
propulsion of boats allows the production in one place of
an amount of power required for the propulsion of a great
number of boats. Besides, the consumption of motive
power is more easily adapted to the exigencies of the sit-
uation than is the case with steam, and it can, therefore,
be supposed that electricity will have the advantage of
cheapness. This supposition might be proved by careful
calculation, but as long as practical experiments in elec-
tric towage are wanting, the financial advantages can only
be ascertained by computation, and that only for chain
towers and the motor-steering boat, as even the necessary
data for an estimate are wanting for the others.
I 2
Suppose a stretch of canal IOO kilometres in length : let
the boats be of 200 tons capacity, to be moved as fast as
they could be towed by horses, i. e., at the rate of o.667
metres per second (2.4 kilometres, or 13 miles per hour).
The dimensions of the boats, if laden to 80 per cent of
their capacity, are as follows: length, 38.32 metres; width,
5. II metres ; draught, I.54 metres. If the ratio of the
Cross section of the canal to the maximum cross section of
a boat floating on it be as 5 to I, the canal will have a cross
section of 39.27 square metres. Therefore, the power nec-
essary for the propulsion of the boat, calculated according
to Bellingrath's formula, will be: P = 20.387 Vºg=
O.990 horse power with a full cargo, and O.244 horse power
with one fifth of a full cargo. In the formula, V equals
the velocity in metres per second ; C equals the cross sec-
tion of the water in the canal; Q equals the largest sub-
merged cross section of the boat. The traffic is supposed
to be such that the boats always carry a full cargo on their
first trip, and only one fifth on their return trip. The high-
est rate of traffic may be found as follows: Let the boats
follow each other in the canal at a distance of 300 metres,
both up and down stream, this speed being O.667 metres
per second. One boat up stream and one boat down stream
will pass a certain point in the canal every 450 seconds.
At 15 working hours per day there will be a traffic of 240
boats a day; of these, I2O carry each 200 tons, making
24,OOO tons; I2O carry each 40 tons, making 4,800 tons;
making in all 28,800 a day, or, with 3OO days of traffic a
year, 8,640,000, or 864 million kilometric tons. The actual
average traffic may only amount to 45 boats at 200 tons,
2. e. 9,000 tons ; 45 boats at 40 tons, i. e. I,8OO tons ; total,
IO,8OO tons a day, making in all 3,240,000 tons per year,
or 324 million kilometric tons per year.
In the former case, z. e., with the heavier traffic of
864,OOO,OOO kilometric tons, there would be in the canal
at the same time : ***.** = 334 boats with full loads,
3 () ()
* P = 74.35 k.m. = O.990 H. P.
I3
requiring each op90 horse power = 331 horse power; as
well as 333 boats with partial loads, requiring each O.244
horse power = 81 horse power. The propulsion of all
these boats consequently requires 412 horse power.
At an average traffic, there are to be propelled simul-
taneously : 120 boats with full loads, at O.990 horse power
= 119 horse power; I2O boats with partial loads, at O. 244
horse power = 29 horse power. For ordinary traffic, this
would be 148 horse power.
The expenditure of establishing the system is supposed
to be based on the first sum of 412 horse power; the
expenditure of carrying on the traffic, on the sum of
I48 horse power.
The total amount of power necessary for propelling two
boats separately is greater, as is well known, than the
power required for both when the second is towed by the
first. Assuming this to be the case, and that the locks of
the canal are capable of accommodating two boats at a
time, we should only require ******, say 350 motors.
The average traffic would only require 130 motors; but
in order not to overrate the capacity of the system, this
item of saving will not enter into our calculations. The
total propelling power of marine engines, according to
Weisbach’s formula (“Engineering and Machinery’), is
rated at from o.30 to O.50 for a screw or paddle, and at
O.65 for chain boats. -
In transmitting the motive power by electricity different
conditions arise, and so we may estimate it at O.50; so that
it would hardly be overrating if we estimated the degree
of power of the screw at O.30 X O.5O = O. 15, and that of
the chain machine at O.60 × 0.50 = O.30.
The 412 horse power calculated above for the haulage
of boats gives the following : *H for the screw motor
= 2,750 horse power ; ; for the chain motor = 1,400
horse power. And the average traffic requires #; for the
0 . I 5
screw motor = 1,000 horse power; ; for the chain motor
= 500 horse power, which would have to be supplied by
the steam engine from the central station.
I4
The cost of the plant, including the steam engines, may
be estimated as follows:—
Screws Chains
Marks. Marks.
Central Station (dynamos, transformers, etc.) e 4OO,OOO 4OO,OOO
Poles and wires for Ioo kilometres, with transform-
ing stations tº g tº tº * Ç gº 90O,OOO 900,000
350 motors at 2,000 marks * e tº i. wº 7OO,OOO 7OO,OOO
IOO kilometres double chain, at 5,000 marks . * > 5OO,OOO
Cranes, storehouses, etc. . º * tº * e 2OO,OOO 2OO,OOO
Total sº º te e e g . 2,2OO,OOO 2,7CO,OOO
THE ANNUAL EXPENSE OF MAINTENANCE. º
Interest on the cost of the plant, at 4% e § 88,OOO Io3,OOO
Sinking fund, Io9% . & © º e ſº tº 22O,OOO 27O,OOO
Wages in excess of those paid under the present
administration . * & & 3O,OOO 3O,OOO
Motive power (interest, sinking fund, attendance,
maintenance, at a price of coal of 2 marks for
IOO kilogrammes), par effective horse power, is ©
o.O4 per hour x 2,750 horse power x 1.5 x 30O = 495,000
1,400 x ooq x 15 x 300 = es g sº gº g 252,000
Expenses for the heaviest traffic . . 833,000 66o, OOO
For the average traffic these sums would be reduced by
a smaller consumption of coal, the expenses of which, cal-
culated at I.O5 kilograms per horse power, per hour, for
the difference of
2,750—I,OOO= 1,750 horse power, amounting to 236,000
1,400–500=900 horse power, amounting to I2 I,OOO
Consequently the yearly expenses= 597,OOO 539, OOO
The average yearly traffic amounts to 324,OOO,OOO
kilometric tons, the cost of I kilometric ton is o.oO1,843 o.o.o.1,664
For the heaviest traffic which would cost yearly 833,OOO 66o,OOO
Which corresponds to 864 OOO,OOO kilometric
tons; hence, the cost of propulsion would
amount to O.OOO,964 O.OOO,764
Per kilometric ton. -
The cost of haulage by horses is from O.OO25 to o.o.o.30
marks, and, in comparison with the electric system, would
afford the following noteworthy savings:—
At an average traffic for the screw . { } o.OOO7 or 26%
At an average traffic for the chain . e O.OOO8 or 333%
I5
With an increase of the average traffic, these savings
would also increase, and if the canal were used to its full
capacity they would amount to :—
For the screw . ity e e se * } o.OO15 or 61.5%
For the chain . * © º º © O.OOI7 or 69.5%
Although practical experience will necessitate many
corrections in these numbers, yet it is evident from the
foregoing calculation that electricity used as motive power
for navigation on canals has financial advantages, and that
the chain motor, in spite of higher cost of plant, affords
cheaper haulage per kilometre than the motor-steering
boat; besides, it may be noticed that the chain has been
assumed about three times as strong as necessary, and
consequently the sinking fund would hardly amount to the
sum calculated.
C. CON CLUSION.
I. The use of electricity for the haulage of boats on
canals offers a fair prospect of financial success, and that
in a higher degree than steam power.
2. For the development of these projects, practical trials
are absolutely necessary.
3. The theoretical and practical solution of the problem
is so elaborate and expensive that practical results could
only be attained by spending a considerable amount of
time and money.
4. This improved haulage of boats on canals must be
followed by an improvement in the traffic on water ways,
and consequently an increase in trade and industry. The
profits arising from this increase would not accrue to the
benefit of any individual, but to the whole community;
therefore the State should be called upon, in the first
instance, to provide the necessary means for the realiza-
tion of these projects.
ODERBERG-IN-THE-MARK, May 9, 1893.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
2–
CHICAGo, I893
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES
ON
THE FORMS OF CANAL AND RIVER
‘BOATS
BY
i
F. B. DE MAS -
Ingenieur en Chef des Ponts et Chaussées
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- B O S T ON
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283 Washington Street
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3. * -: * * *

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES ON THE FORMS
OF CANAL AND RIVER BOATS.
I. OBJECT OF THE RESEARCHES.
The object of the researches made during the three years
1890, 1891, 1892, was to improve the construction of boats
plying alternately upon rivers and canals.
This subject has a special interest in France, where the
traject in the most frequented waterways is equally divided
between canals and rivers ; and the boats capable of alter-
nately navigating each form the immense majority of the
boating fleet.
As the boats have to pass through locks 38.50 metres
long, 5.20 metres wide, with a draught of 2 metres, this
requirement unfortunately restricts their dimensions within
very narrow limits, and consequently their tonnage. Again,
the tendency of constructors has been to utilize as much as
possible the capacity of the locks by reducing the sacrifice
of space for the sake of form to a minimum. They have
gone as far as possible in this direction.
The Coefficient of Displacement of a boat is the quotient,
always less than the unity, of its real displacement, by the
volume of a rectangular parallelopipedon circumscribed
around the immersed portion; this measures the sacrifice
of space made for the sake of the form of the boat in its
construction. Now, for the type most used in France,
the “péniche flamande,” this coefficient rises to O.99; the
real displacement only differing by one one-hundredth from
the volume of the parallelopipedon circumscribed around
the immersed portion of the hull.
On the contrary, the result of this total absence of form,
at least upon rivers, is to increase the tractive effort, and
*Dumb barge.
4.
consequently the cost of haulage, thus materially augment-
ing the cost of transportation. This expense can only be
lessened by improving the form, thus diminishing the coeffi-
cient of displacement, and consequently the displacement
itself, and therefore the tonnage of the boat.
In what measure can we conciliate these two contradictory
interests 2
It is very easy to evaluate with sufficient precision the
loss resulting from a diminution of the coefficient of displace-
ment. The dimensions of the immersed part of the hull of
the boats in question are subject to very slight variations:
length, 38.50 metres; width, 5.00 metres ; draught, 1.8o
metres. The product of these in round numbers equals
350 cubic metres. The maximum displacement of these
boats being 350 cubic metres, their total weight (dead
weight and useful weight) does not exceed 35o tons; and
each hundredth of diminution in the coefficient of displace-
ment corresponds to a reduction of 3.50 tons at the most,
in the total weight. As elsewhere, in the limits where the
form may vary, we must consider the dead weight a con-
stant. We may admit that the diminution bears entirely
on the useful weight, and state the following rule. In the
construction of boats plying alternately on canals and rivers
in France, each hundredth of reduction in the coefficient of
displacement corresponds to a diminution of 3.5 tons, at the
most, of freight.
What, on the other hand, is the reduction which an im-
provement of form affords in the effort of traction, and con-
sequently on the cost of traction, especially on the rivers ?
This is precisely, as we have said above, the object of our
researches during the last three years.
II. METHOD EMPLOYED IN THE RESEARCHES.
All our experiments have been made with the boats
themselves, by means of direct towage, on a part of the
Seine immediately above the upper dam at Port à l’Anglais,
near Paris, where the width and the depth are sufficiently
great to assimilate it to an indefinite stream of water, and
5
where the velocity of the current is nearly zero in ordinary
times.
The experiments made on each boat consisted in towing
it successively at different speeds with a special apparatus,
making continuous registration, Ist (le dynamometre hy-
drauligue enregistreur) of the efforts of traction, 2nd (le
moulinet avec enregistreur de vitesse) of the relative velocity
of the boat and the water in which it is towed. For the
description and use of this apparatus we may refer the reader
to Vol. I. of Recherches Expérimentales sur le Matériel de la
Bazellerie.*
When this apparatus indicates simultaneously a constant
effort and a constant relative velocity, we consider that we
have accurately the effort corresponding to the velocity; and
we note both. If we take the velocity for the abscissa and
the effort for the ordinate, we shall have, on a chart, a point
for each observation. The curve determined by the relative
positions of points in the same experiment constitutes what
we call the curve of total resistance of the boat experimented
upon.
It is by comparing the curves of total resistance obtained
under different circumstances that we are able to show the
characteristic properties of different crafts.
In place of the curves themselves, we can compare the
resistance at certain typical velocities laid off on the said
curves. This is what we shall do in the course of the present
report, where we shall find for the experiments mentioned
tables showing the resistance at velocities of O.50 metre,
I.OO metre, I.50 metres, 2.OO metres, and 2.50 metres per
second.
We rarely exceed this last velocity in our experiments.
Sometimes it is for the want of towage power, sometimes
the guidance of the boat becomes impossible or its security
is menaced. Besides, the velocity of 2.50 metres per second,
or 9 kilometres per hour, may, in most cases, be considered,
practically, a maximum.
*Two volumes have already appeared : they are in vellum, price 3f. They may bº obtained
from the following publishers in Paris: —
Mme. Wve. Dunod, Quai des Grandes-Augustins, 49.
M. M. Chaix et Cie, Rue Bergère, 20.
M. Baudry, Rue des Saints-Pères, 15.
6
Some experiments made in 1890 have already established
the following fact: “At moderate speeds practically in use
on our rivers, for boats of which the coefficient of displace-
ment nearly approaches unity, varying between very narrow
limits, the effort of traction per cubic metre of displace-
ment, i.e., per ton dead weight and useful weight com-
bined,—yet varies in very wide proportions, which may ex-
ceed unity and sometimes may go up to two.”
The usefulness of the researches is thus manifestly con-
firmed : we have methodically pursued them during the two
years 1891 and 1892. We give the following abridgment
of the most interesting results obtained.
III. INFLUENCE OF THE SURFACE.
We have, first of all, sought how, in the same boat, the
resistance to traction varies with the draught ; and for this
purpose the experiments have been made with the “Alma,”
a boat of the type called ſliºte (Plate I.), at the successive
draughts of I.OO, I.3O, and I.6O metres.
The following table shows the principal dimensions at the
different draughts : —
DRAUGHT.
DIMENSIONs of THE IMMERSED PART of THE
FLUTE “ALMA.”
I. OO IIls I.3O m. I.60 m.
Z. Length, . . . . . . . . . . 37.54 m. 37.74 m. 37.99 m.
1. Breadth of beam, . . . . . . . 5.02 m. 5.02 m. 5.02 m.
& Draught, . . . . . . . . . . I,OO Iſl. I.30 m. I.60 m.
d. Coefficient of displacement, . . . O.957 O.954 O.950
A. Displacement, . . . . . . . . . I80 cu.m. || 235 cu.m. || 290 cu.m.
The second table, on the other hand, shows how the im-
mersed midship section, the total wetted surface, and the
resistance at the velocity types of O.50, I.OO, I.50, 2.OO, and
2.50 metres vary with the successive draughts, for both ab-
solute and relative values.
DRAUGHT.
DATA AND RESULTs RELATIVE To THE FLUTE “ALMA.”
I.OO IIl. I.30 m. 1,60 m.
* - sº tº & absolute: w = 2 * 5. O2 m. 6.53 m. 8.o3 m.
Immersed midship section, { relative - I •OO I.3O 1.60
Wetted perimeter amidships: x = 1 + 2 t 7.02 m. 7.62 m. 8.22 m.
Immersed length: L 37.54 m. || 37.74 m. 37.99 m.
absolute measured value . . . . 259 sq. m. |283 sq. m. 307 sq. m.
Total wetted surface, absolute calculated value: d = Z. 264 sq. m. 288 sq. m. 312 sq. m.
relative value . a s 5 & 4, I, O.O I.O.9 1.18
t * º g kg. o kg.
Total resistance at the velocity of o.50 m., { . • - sº º ; :
* - e & º º kg.
Total resistance at the velocity of 1.00 m., { . º iºs ºks .. §
º & absolute. 280 kg. kg. kg.
Total resistance at the velocity of 1.5o m., { relative . I.O.O g 3. g : # g
w e absolute. 502 kg. 579 kg. 664 kg-
Total resistance at the velocity of 2.oo m., { relative . I.O.O. I. I5 I.32
- e absolute. 805 kg. 953 kg. 1,119 kg.
Total resistance at the velocity of 2.50 m., { relative . I.OO I.18 3.3%

This table shows that for the same boat, the “Alma,” of
which the draught varies : —
I. The immersed midship section increases as the draught;
2. The total wetted surface increases less rapidly than the
draught ;
3. The total resistance for the same velocity increases less
rapidly than the immersed midship section and more
rapidly than the total wetted surface.
This fact is explained by considering the total resistance
as composed of at least two elements, the first dependent
on the immersed midship section, and the other on the total
wetted surface,— elements which we name respectively; re-
sistance of form and resistance of surface.
This conception is also in accordance with the theory
which considers the total resistance as composed of two
terms: the first expressing the resistance proper, called re-
sistance of form, and the second, the resistance due to fric-
tion, resistance of surface.
What is the ratio of the surface resistance to the total
resistance & This is the vital question ; for, although the
boats which form the principal object of our investigations
8
have very variable forms, the total wetted surface is percep-
tibly constant for the same draught. We know, in a word,
that this surface is given with sufficient exactness by the
formula
S = L (/ 2d)
in which the values of L and of l determined by the maxi-
mum dimensions of the canal locks are constant.
After various trials we have been led to think that the
best way of appreciating the importance of the resistance of
surface is to modify in different ways the nature of the sur-
face of the same boat, and we have again used the flûte
“Alma" for these experiments.
At first, for the sake of economy, we contented ourselves
with modifying the nature of the portion of the lateral sur-
face which emerges when the boat is empty.
This portion of the surface lies between the water line
when empty and the water line when laden to a depth of
I.60 metres, at which the experiments were made, a belt of
I.26 metres in height, and 25 square metres of surface. The
total wetted surface at the depth of I.60 metres being 307
square metres, we see that the modified portion of the sur-
face represented by O.31 would be about 3 of the total sur-
face. -
The “Alma" having been first drawn on land and care-
fully scraped so as to bring the wood into its natural state,
the zone in question was successively tarred, then covered
with a coarse wrapping cloth, with a view of augmenting the
friction, then with enamelled cloth so as to diminish it as
much as possible. The annexed table shows the value for
each experiment of this resistance at the typical velocities : —
TotAL RESISTANCE AT THE SUCCESSIvE
CoNDITIONs of THE “ALMA ’’ DURING THE VeLocITIES.
ExPERIMENTs.
Uniform, Draught of 1.60 mt.
o.5o m. I.OO m. 1.5o m. 2.Oo m. 2.5o m.
Wood scraped to the natural state, . . . . 54 kg. 162 kg. 355 kg. | 664 kg. | 1,119 kg,
Zone of 1.26 m. in height tarred,
Zone of 1.26 m. in height covered with coarse }
wrapping cloth, . . . . . . . . . . 57 kg. 169 kg. 368 kg. 686 kg. | 1,155 kg.
55 kg. 164 kg. 360 kg. 675 kg. 1,138 kg.
Zone of 1.26 m. in height covered with waxed }
cloth, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 kg. | 1.42 kg. 308 kg. 558 kg. 906 kg.
9
The table shows that the partial tarring has had, so to
speak, no effect, since the observed differences in the total
resistance at the different velocities are comprised between
I per cent. and 2 per cent. Again, they are positive, con-
trary to what we should expect; but it should be observed
that the “Alma” is an old boat; having great inequalities in
its sides, and that, only one coat of tar being applied, it was
not completely dry on the day of the experiment.
The partial covering with wrapping cloth did not very
sensibly increase the total resistance. According to the
different velocities, the increase varied from 31% per cent. to
53% per cent. But, as we have already said, the “Alma’’ is
an old boat: it is certain that, in scraping the wood so as
to bring it to its natural state, it has been left very much
rougher than new wood freshly planed. It is also proper to
call attention to the change which, at the end of a certain
time, takes place in the pine-wood bottom of a boat con-
structed like the “Alma.” This bottom undergoes, from the
effect of the mechanical and chemical action of the water, a
change which we believe is shown by a very rapid wearing
and diminution of the thickness. Only the hardest parts,
the knots, the fibres, wear less rapidly, and form projections
appearing very different from the ends of the wrapping
cloth. It is true that the surface of the wood assumes at the
same time an unctuous, Soapy consistency, which may dimin-
ish the friction in a certain degree.
On the contrary, the partial covering with enamelled
cloth seems to have a considerable influence. Although it
effected only one-third of the wetted surface, it diminished .
the total resistance at the different velocities, from 12 per
cent, to 19 per cent. Such important diminutions arising
from the single fact of having substituted upon 31 per cent.
of the wetted surface, the enamelled cloth — that is to say, a
perfectly smooth surface for the wood brought to its natural
state (i.e., a surface passably rough)—seem to show the great
importance of the friction of the water against the hull of
the boat, to the resistance of surface, in a word.
To completely elucidate the question, we have made a new
experiment with the “Alma" entirely covered with enam-
IO
elled cloth. The results are shown in the following table
where the total resistances of the “Alma" are shown : first,
with the sides brought to their natural state; secondly,
entirely covered with enamelled cloth : —
ToTAL RESISTANCE of THE ALMA. DIMINUtion.
DESIGNATION OF THE WELocITIES. e
Hull scraped. ...à. Absolute. Relative.
Velocity of o.50 m. . . . . . 54 kg. 28 kg. 26 kg. o.48
Velocity of 1.oo m. . . . . . 162 kg. IoS kg. 57 kg. O.35
Velocity of 1.50 m. . . . . . 355 kg. 250 kg. IoS kg. O.3O
Velocity of 2.oom. . . . . . 664 kg. 480 kg. 184 kg. o.28
Velocity of 2.50 m. . . . . . 1,119 kg. 81.2 kg. 307 kg. o.27
The great importance of the surface resistance is here
demonstrated, thus : — at the depth of I.60 metres and the
velocity of 1.50 metres per second, for example, the total
resistance of the “Alma" was reduced 30 per cent. by the
simple fact of substituting for the passably rough surface
of the hull, (wood brought to its natural state), a perfectly
smooth surface (enamelled cloth). As, on the other hand,
the friction upon the enamelled cloth, although extremely
slight, is not absolutely nothing, we may conclude that, in
£he assumed conditions of draught and velocity, the resistance
due to the friction of the water upon the hull, in its natural
state, is at least one-third of the total resistance.
We have not sought to carry farther the analysis of the
phenomena of which the surface resistance is the result.
We consider it sufficient to have shown the importance of
the premium assured to constructors and navigators who
will know how to obtain and maintain the smoothness of the
wetted surface of the hulls.
At the same time there is a point upon which we have
strongly desired to throw light. It is the effect upon the
total resistance to traction of substituting an iron hull for a
wooden one. Unfortunately, we have not yet succeeded in
finding two boats, one of wood and the other of iron, pre-
senting such a complete identity of dimensions and forms
II
that we might certainly attribute the differences which would
take place in the curves of total resistance to the difference
in the nature of the surfaces. This is an experiment which
we shall not fail to make finally.
IV. INFLUENCE OF THE LENGTH.
We have experimented with three boats of the flûte type,
the “Alma,” the “René,” and the “Adrien,” having the same
width at the midship section, 5.02 metres, having fore and aft
as identical forms as possible, only differing in length. At the
draught of 1.60 metres, at which these experiments were
made, the length of the immersed portion of the hull was : —
For the “Alma" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.99 m.
For the “René’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.03 m.
For the “Adrien” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.55 m.
The three total resistance curves obtained are identical,
which is shown in examining the following table which gives
the resistances at the typical velocities : —

RESISTANCES AT THE Successive VELOCITIES.
DESIGNATION OF THE BOATs.
O.50 m. I.OO IIls I. Som. 2. OO IOl. 2.5O In.
Alma, . . . . . . . . 54 kg. I62 kg. 355 kg. | 664 kg. I, II9 kg.
René, . . . . . . . . 5I kg. I60 kg. 355 kg. | 665 kg. I, I.20 kg.
Adrien, . . . . . . . 5I kg. I60 kg. 355 kg. | 665 kg. 1,120 kg.
Hence the three boats present the same resistance to
traction ; an equal effort is required with a flotation length
of 20.55 metres or the “Alma,” with a flotation length of
37.99 metres; that is, with a displacement almost double.*
This result seems at first paradoxical, and in entire con-
tradiction to the resistance of surface previously demon-
strated; but it is easily explained, if, conformably to the ideas
of Du Buat, we admit that the resistance properly called the
resistance of form is equal to the sum of the live pressures
*With the depth of 1.60 metres, the displacement of the “Adrien” is 150 tons, and that of
the “Alma” 290.
I 2
exercised on the bow of the boat and the non-pressure exerted
at the stern, the first independent of the length, the second
varying inversely as this length, or rather with the ratio of
this length to that of the breadth of beam.
Considering the forms of the “Alma,” the “René,” and
the “Adrien’’ identical, the live pressure is the same for
the three; but, for shorter boats, the non-pressure is greater,
and consequently, also, the resistance of form. We may
therefore admit that for these boats the increase in the re-
sistance of form, arising from the shorter length, is compen-
sated by the diminution in the resistance of surface, resulting
from the same cause. -
This explanation appears very plausible ; it is, besides,
confirmed by the results of other experiments made under
similar conditions. We may therefore consider it demon-
strated that, other things being equal, the resistance of form
varies inversely with the ratio of the length of the boat to its
&readth of beam, #.
V. INFLUENCE OF THE FORM.
From what precedes it is evident that, in order to demon-
strate the influence of form, we must compare the results of
experiments made with boats having as nearly as possible,
the same length, width, draught, and condition of surface.
We have united in the following table both the data and
the results of the experiments relative to five boats sat-
isfying the above conditions, and belonging : —
Two, the “Dalila” and the “Ourouki,” to the type called
pémiche (Plate I.).
Two, the “Alma" and the “Pour nous,” to the type called
flûte (Plate I.).
One, the “Désirée,” to the type called toue (Plate I.).
The sketches in Plates I. and II, give a sufficiently exact
idea of the forms of these different types.
This table shows the inferiority of the type péniche
and the superiority of the type toue: in reality, at the
velocity of 1.50 metres for example, the tractive effort required
for the péniche being I.OO, that required for the flûte
I3
DIMENSIONs of THE Boats AND
DESIGNATION OF THE BOATs ExPERIMENTED UPON.
RESISTANCE TO TRACTION. Péniches. Flötes. Toue.
Palila. | Ozerozeki. A/ma. Pour nozes] Désirée.
Dimensions of the immersed part:
Z. Length, . . . . . . . . . 38.16 m. 38.oom. 37.99 m. 36.70 m. 37.76 m.
f. Breadth of beam, . . . . . . 5.oom. 4.97 m. 5.02 m. 5.oz m. 5.og In.
Ratio: #. 7.64 7.64 7.57 7.3 I 7.5I
t. Draught, 1.60 m. 1.60 m. 1.60 m. 1.60 m. 1.60 m.
d. Coefficient of displacement, O. 990 O.990 O.950 O.942 o. 966
. Displacement, . . . . . . . . 302 cu.m. 299 cu.m. 290 cu.m. || 278 cu.m. || 294 cu.m.
Total resistance at the velocity of:
o.50 m. per second, Io2 kg. Ioë kg. 54 kg. 51 kg. 44 kg.
I.oo m. per second, 3or kg. 3oS kg. I62 kg. 153 kg. 126 kg.
1.50 m. per second, 682 kg. 694 kg. 355 kg. 333 kg. 266 kg.
2.00 m. per second, . . . . . . 1,287 kg. 694 kg. 664kg. 619 kg. 484 kg.
2.50 m. per second, 1,287 kg. 694 kg. 1,119 kg. 1,040 °g. 806 kg.
Resistance per cubic metre (or ton) of
displacement at the velocity of:
o.50 m. per second, o:337 kg. o.354 kg. o. 186 kg. o.184 kg. o. 151 kg.
1.oo m. per second. o,996 kg. | 1.020 kg. o.558 kg. o.552 kg. o.43o kg.
1.50 m. per second, 2.251 kg. 2.321 kg. | 1.224 kg. | 1.202 kg. o.907 kg.
2.00 m. per second, 4,261 kg. 2.321 kg. 2.289 kg. 2.235 kg. | 1.646 kg.
2.50 m. per second, 4.261 kg. 2.321 kg. 3.858 kg. 3.755 kg. 2.750 kg.
Resistance at the velocity of 1 metre
per square metre of immersed mid-
ship section, . . . . . . 37.6 kg. | 38.4 kg. 20.2 kg. 19.0 kg. 15.7 kg.

is exactly O.5O, and that for the foue is less than O.39.
The superiority of the type toue even over
the type
filte is more remarkable, as the flûtes are not only sharper
at the bow, but have also certain curved forms astern, while
the toues have only these curved forms at the bow, and have
the stern absolutely square.
The influence of the elevation
of the bottom at the ends was, therefore, preponderant.
In order to further elucidate this point, we have compared,
experimentally, the boat “Suffren’’ of the type called margo-
tat (Plate II.) and the flûte “Adrien,” having the same
I4.
length and breadth. The following tables show in detail the
dimensions of the immersed part of the two hulls, at the com-
mon maximum draught of 1.30 metres, of which the margo-
tat was capable:–
DIMENSIONS OF THE IMMERSED PART. ADRIEN. SUFFREN.
Z. Length, . 2O.25 m. 2O.30 m.
Z. Breadth of beam, 5.02 m. 5.oO m.
Ratio: #, 4.03 4.06
t. Draught, . . . . I.30 m. 1:30 II].
d. Coefficient of displacement, O.9IO o,818
A. Displacement, & I2O Cll. In , Io& cu.m.
The results of these experiments are shown separately.
In order to render them more striking, we have united
them in the same table with those given by the toue “Dési-
rée” and the flûte “Alma,” the dimensions of which are, so
to speak, identical.
FluTE AND Tone DRAUGHT of 1.60 m.
FLUTE AND MARGOTAT DRAUGHT OF
I.30 m.
RESISTANCE TO Diminution for the Diminution for the
TRACTION. “Flöte **Toue Toue. “Flåte, “Margotat Margotat.
Alma.” | Désirée.” Adrien.” | Suffren.” —
Absolute. | Relative. Absolute. Relative.
Total at the velocity
of:
o,50 m. per second, 54 kg. 44 kg. Io kg. o, 185 45 kg. 28 kg. 17 kg. o,378
1.oo m. per second, 162 kg. 126 kg. 36 kg. O.222 143 kg. 72 kg. 71 kg. o,497
1.50 m. per second, 355 kg. 266 kg. 89 kg. O.25I 3.14 kg. 140 kg. 174 kg. O.554
2.oo m. per second, 664 kg. 484 kg. 180 kg. o.271 576 kg. 239 kg. 337 kg. o,585
2.50 m. per second, 1,119 kg. 806 kg. 313 kg. o,28o 950 kg. 377 kg. 573 kg. o,603
Per ton of displace-
ment at the veloc-
ity of :
o.50 m. per second, o. 186 kg. o. 151 kg. o.o.35 kg. o, I88 o,375 kg. o.259 kg. o. 116 kg. O.309
1.oo m. per second, o.558 kg. o.430 kg. o. 128 kg. o,229 1.192 kg. o.667 kg, o.525 kg. O,44O
1.50 m. per second, 1.224 kg. o.907 kg. o.317 kg. O.259 2.617 kg. | 1.296 kg, | 1.321 kg. •ses
2.oo m. per second, 2.289 kg. | 1.646 kg. o.643 kg. o,281 || 4.8oo kg. 2.213 kg. 2.587 kg. o,539
2.50 m. per second, 3.858 kg. 2.750 kg. | 1.108 kg, o.287 7.917 kg. | 3,491 kg. 4.426 kg. O.559

I5
From the figures inscribed in this table, the elevation of
the stern doubles, so to speak, the advantages already ob-
tained by the raising at the bow. At the velocity I.50 metres,
for example, the tractive force for the mangotat is only 45 per
cent. of that of the flûte.
These results are also confirmed by a final experiment
made with the boat “Remesch,” of the type called prussien
(Plate II.). In length and displacement, this boat is sensibly
intermediate between the two flûtes “Alma" and “René.”
The first following table shows in detail the dimensions of
the immersed part of the three hulls, with the common
draught of I.30.

DIMENSIONS OF THE IMMERSED PART. ALMA. RENE. REMESCH.
Z. Length, . . . . . . . . . . 37.74 m. 29.86 m. 34. IO m.
2. Breadth of beam, . . . . . . . 5.02 m. 5.02 m. 4.91 m.
Ratio: #. * * * * * * * * * 7.52 5.77 6.94
4. Draught, . . . . . . . . . . I.30 m. I.30 m. I.30 m
d. Coefficient of displacement, . . . O.954 O.938 O.935
D. Displacement, . . . . . . . . . 235 cu.m. | 183 cu.m. || 203 cu.m.
In the second table below, we have united the results of
the experiments made with the three boats, and compared
the figures obtained for the “Remesch’’ with the mean of
those given by the two others. The “Alma" and the
“René” having identical total resistances, the mean only pre-
sents an interest for the resistances per ton of displace-
ment.
I6
FLUTES. DIMINUTION.
RESISTANCE TO TRACTION, Remesch.
Alma. René. Mean. Absolute. Relative.
Total at the velocity of:
o,50 m. per second, 44 kg. 45 kg. 44.5 kg. 22 kg. 22.5 kg. o. 506
I.oo m. per second, 143 kg. 143 kg. | 1.43 kg. 80 kg. 63 kg. O.44I
1.50 m. per second, 315 kg. 3.14 kg. 314.5 kg. 185 kg. | 129.5 kg. O.4II
2.oo m. per second, 579 kg. 576 kg. 577.5 kg. 349 kg. 228.5 kg. o,396
2.50 m. per second, 953 kg. 950 kg. 951.5 kg. 582 kg. 369.5 kg. o.388
Per ton of displacement at
the velocity of:
o.50 m. per second, o, 187 kg. o.246 kg. o.212 kg. o. 108 kg. o. 104 kg. O.49 I
1. oo m. per second, o,609 kg. o.781 kg. o.695 kg. o.394 kg. oso, kg. O.433
1.50 m. per second, 1.340 kg. 1.716 kg. 1,528 kg. o.911 kg. o.617 kg. O.4O4.
2.oo m. per second, . . . 2.464 kg. 3.148 kg. 2.806 kg. | 1.7.19 kg. | 1.087 kg. o,387
2.50 m. per second, 4.055 kg. 5.191 kg. 4.623 kg. 2.867 kg. | 1.756 kg. o,38o

At the velocity of 1.5o metres, the effort of traction for the
“Remesch’ is only O. 59 of that of the flûtes.
VI. CONCLUSIONS.
It is now possible to form practical conclusions from the
point of view of the improvements to be made in the con-
struction of boats used to navigate alternately the rivers and
canals of France.
We have already said that for these boats the length
(38.50 metres), the width (5.OO metres), and the maximum
draught (1.80 metres) are fixed by the law of Aug. 5,
1879. The only variable elements are the forms at the bow
and the stern.
As far as concerns the forms, the experiments related
above appear to us decisive. From the point of view of the
resistance of traction, two extremities decidedly raised from
the keel of the boat seem obligatory. Let us see if this ar-
rangement is compatible with other equally important con-
ditions,—sufficient capacity, room enough in the locks, facil-
ity for evolution, etc. To illustrate this, we have studied in
a purely geometrical way two theoretical types of boats
17
which only differ in the rake of their sterns, and which are
shown in Plates III. and IV.
The first type (Plate III.) presents a length of 38.58
metres between the perpendiculars, and one of 33.58 metres
between the stem and the stern posts. Through this last,
the section is uniform, and rectangular, 5 metres wide and
2.20 metres high.
The two extremities are identical. They have the follow-
ing longitudinal profile: first, a quarter ellipse, of which the
semi-vertical axis is 2.20 metres and the semi-horizontal
axis 2.50 metres in length ; second, a vertical portion of
O.40 metre corresponding to the rake of the boat.
The length of the immersed part at the depth of 1.8o
metres is exactly 38.50 metres, the water lines determined by
the horizontal plane drawn from O.2O to O.2O metre are all,
in the parts beyond the stern post, ellipses, and conse-
quently the horizontal extremities are circular.
The second type (Plate IV.) does not differ essentially
from the first, except that, the ellipses following those of
the extremities, the longitudinal profiles have their horizon-
tal semi-axis 4.50 metres in length instead of 2.50 metres.
The length of the immersed part has a draught of 1.8o
metres. 38.50 metres, the length between perpendiculars,
is raised to 38.64 metres, and that between the rakes is
reduced to 29.64 metres.
The exclusive adoption of these geometrical lines permits
a very rapid calculation * of the real displacement and the co-
* Here, for example, is the calculation for the first type.
If we call d the displacement of each extremity at the depth of 1.80 metres, the value of the
total displacement is D = 33.58 × 5.oo X 1.8o-H 2d = 302.22 +2d.
The calculation of D is made, in the usual method, thus : —
Water Surface Height of
Line No. Half-ellipse. Application. Volume.
Ox . . . . . . . # 7T × 2.5o X o.o.o = o.ooo O. IO O. OOOO
I , . . . . . . . . I. O4 = 4.090 Oa2O o,8180
2: . . . . . . . I-44 = 5.645 O, 2O I. I29O
3, . . . . . . . 1.72 = 6.740 O's 2C) I.348o
4, " . . . . . • I-93 F 7.575 O.2O I. SISO
5, “ . . . . . . 2. Io = 8.23o O, 2C) 1.6460
6, . . . . . . . 2.23 = 8.745 O,2O I,7490
73 - . . . . . . 2.33 = 9. I45 O.2O 1.8290
8, . . . . . . . 2.4I = 9.445 O. 2C) 1.8890
9, “ . . . . . . 2.46 = 9.655 O, IO o,9655
Total, . . . . . . . . . . . f = 1.8o d= 12.8885
D = 3.02.22 + 2 × 21.8885 = 327.997 = 328
I8
efficient of displacement of each of the two types at the legal
draught of 1.80 metres.
For the first type we have,
q28
J
AX = 328t d = = 0.046:
32 38.50 × 5.oo X 1.8o O.940;
and for the second,-
I
D = 313t d = 3I3 = O.904.
38.5o X 5.oo X 1.80
If for both extremities of the boat we adopt the form
corresponding to either of these two types, or still another
intermediate form by maintaining the immersed length at
38.50 metres, we shall certainly have a coefficient of dis-
placement and an intermediate displacement between those
calculated above.
There is no doubt, therefore, that we can in practice con-
struct boats capable of navigating canals and satisfying the
above-named condition (raking extremities), preserving a co-
efficient of displacement comprised between O.90 and O.95,
and a total displacement equivalent to that of the types act-
ually in use; that is, the péniches. It seems evident that
the use of the iron would facilitate the making of curved ex-
tremities without any projection at the stem or stern.”
It may be remarked that the term “spoon” is precisely
that used by a celebrated constructor in Germany, Mr. Theo-
dore Klepsch, of Frankfort - on - Oder, author of the first
treatise * which was published, we believe, on the construc-
tion of boats for river navigation in order to characterize the
shape which he recommends giving to the ends of boats so
as to obtain the best nautical qualities.
Guided by the experience acquired during long years of
practice, and by the success obtained by the boats built in
his yards, Mr. Klepsch arrives at this conclusion : that boats
intended for river navigation should be spoon-shaped at their
two extremities.
*Der Fluss-Schiffsbau, von Th. Klepsch. Weimar, 1889. Bernhard Friedrich Voigt.
I9
After three years of experimental researches on river
boats, conducted without any preconceived idea, and in
reference principally to their variations in resistance to
traction, we arrive at an identical conclusion.
This fact appears worthy of being noted.
However, we can, in conclusion, strike a balance between
the advantages and the disadvantages presented by those
whose geometric form we have sketched above in respect to
the “péniches” which form the majority of boats capable of
alternate navigation on the canals and rivers of France.
As disadvantages, we have only to note the sacrifice made
for the sake of their form. It is not excessive, varying ac-
cording to the type from 4.4 per cent. to 8.6 per cent., cor-
responding respectively to from I5 to 30 tons’ reduction on a
total displacement of 350.
As advantages independent of the very superior nautical
qualities, and discounting the possible benefit in the substi-
tution of iron for wood, we may put into the account the re-
duction of the tractive effort, and consequently of the cost of
traction upon rivers, to about one-quarter* of what they actually
(Z%.
PARIS, May 25, 1893.
*The tractive effort is for the £russierz o.59 and for the margotato.45 of what it is for the
jääte ; that is, respectively, o,295 and o.225 of what it is for the £4niches.
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The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, I893
THE PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT
OF THE
WATER WW FROM LIKE MIGN
TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER T
VIA
THE ILLINOIS RIVER
L. E. COOLEY, C. E.
zººsºº" “:-ºf-
--~ * - F -- T. -* -- - - -
ejoº Tà? ... tº ºsº a .
º §ºſhi tº it. ić,” * 8.
- w a '*-, ...
*
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BosTo N. *Sº i !
DAM R E L L & Uſ PHAM
the Sto Corner Bookstore
283 Washington Street

&
THE PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT OF THE
WATER WAY FROM LAKE MICHIGAN
TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
v1A THE ILLINOIs RIVER,
I.
A commercial water way via the Chicago Divide and the
Desplaines and Illinois Rivers, through the State of Illinois,
from Lake Michigan at Chicago to the Mississippi River
near St. Louis, is an enterprise of the first importance
when viewed in its most restricted relations as a channel
uniting the Mississippi River and its thousands of miles of
navigable tributaries, and the Great Lakes with their
phenomenal commerce; or even as uniting the Metropoli
of the two great and productive valleys of North America.
In its broadest aspect, however, such a water way is to be
considered as a link in a system of navigation from the
Atlantic Ocean, via the Great Lakes, to the Gulf of Mex-
ico; which, as a result of a progressive development and a
wise policy, shall ultimately extend the navigation of the
high seas through the resourceful heart of the continent,
and make tributary to the one artery, all its rivers and
lakes.
Reservoirs at headwaters and the Great Lakes can
furnish a steady low-water volume as required to develop
any useful depth that commerce may demand through the
alluvial river sloping southward. The lake outflow can
be restricted by works that are incident to overcoming the
sharp declivities dropping eastward. The work in oppo-
site directions is complementary, and thus the largest
development is made possible. The solution of the engi-
neering problem is feasible at moderate cost, measured
4
by the economic achievement; and the resources of states-
manship and finance should render it practicable.
The idea of a water route from the Atlantie via the
Lakes to the Mississippi and the Gulf, is nearly a century
ū
Davenporto
O
Pontiac
Blośington
MAP of THE WATER WAY FROM CHICAGO TO CAIRO.
From the Railroad Gazette, by the courtesy of its editor.
old. Such a route, scarcely developed to the meager canal
proportions of our fathers, actually exists to-day. The
possibilities of development to all the demands of deep-

5
water commerce have been suggested by the writer on
other occasions. It is referred to here as furnishing a view
point in considering the water way from Lake Michigan
to the Mississippi River, through the State of Illinois.
The improvement of the connecting channels of the
Lakes, now in progress, for a depth of 2I feet, would seem
to exhaust the useful limit of navigation for the short routes
of these land-locked seas. In extending deep navigation
to the ocean, remoter possibilities of development, up to
26 feet, should govern in the planning of works. The
improvement of the Mississippi by itself, beyond the fullest
needs of steamboat and barge navigation, has been ques-
tioned; and this doubt has also applied to the river in its
extension to the Lakes, on account of the material change
in regimen to be brought about through nearly 1,500 miles
of alluvial streams, and the radical difference in type of
shipping, as developed on river and lake.
When, however, the matter is looked at as a whole, a
homogeneous development from the Lakes, both to the east
and to the south, becomes the primary consideration ; and
it is seen how the engineering possibilities are mutually
facilitated, and, also, how a common interest throughout
the continent may enlist in the consummation. Navigable
waters have everywhere evolved the types of shipping
suited thereto, and when deep channels shall unite lakes,
rivers, gulfs, and seas, the type of carrier which will best
utilize the situation will hardly fail the need.
The link between the Valley of the St. Lawrence and
the Valley of the Mississippi through the State of Illinois,
is the determining factor in the entire project, and sets the
gauge of what shall be attained. This work may be so
planned as to measurably foreclose the future, or it may
define a policy which shall ultimately exhaust the engi-
neering practicabilities.
In an age when so many take comfort in their “practi-
cal ideas,” and are unskilled in what Tyndall is pleased to
term “the scientific uses of the imagination,” it is difficult
6.
to contemplate a policy which seeks to achieve more than
what is now usefully in sight, even though it be ſeasible to
plan equally well for the present need and in harmony
with a policy of progressive development. It is fortunate,
therefore, that this broader project may be accomplished in
separate links, each of which finds local justification, as
the joining of Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the uniting of
Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. It is still more fortu-
nate that the Illinois water way has immediate occasion
for development, and is now actually under way, and, fur-
ther, that urgent public needs, aside from navigation, have
determined for the governing reach a capacity of channel
and a plan of work in harmony with the ultimate demands
of commerce.
II.
The Illinois water way, as a scheme of sanitary relief for
Chicago, has been persistently agitated since 1885. In the
conflict of diverse interests between the city and the Des-
plaines-Illinois Valley, it took on a large capacity for flow-
ing water, and dimensions designed to secure navigable
proportions of channel. The enabling act, under which
the present sanitary district of Chicago is organized, was
passed by the General Assembly of Illinois in 1889. This
provides for a gravity channel of not less than 18 feet deep,
and 160 feet wide at bottom, and of a minimum capacity of
6OO,OOO cubic feet per minute, all at low water, from Lake
Michigan across the Chicago Divide, to a point where the
water can be discharged into the Desplaines River, near
Lockport, whence certain improvements are to be made to
Joliet; and the authority is given to make any river im-
povement in the Desplaines and Illinois Rivers that may
be required, to avoid damage on account of the water con-
tributed to these streams. The law also contemplates a
progressive enlargement of the channel with growth of
population, and a volume at all times sufficient for a sani-
tary condition.
7
The joint resolution passed by the same Legislature,
defined the policy of the State of Illinois to be the securing
of a water way not less than 22 feet deep across the
Chicago Divide, for a distance of some 40 miles, thence
not less than 14 feet for 280 miles to the Mississippi, on
such a design as will permit a progressive increase of
depth to any limit that may ultimately prove desirable, and
called upon the General Government to co-operate with
Chicago in an early consummation of this project.
The Sanitary District of Chicago was organized in
1889-90, and has entered upon the actual construction of
28 miles of main channel and 7 miles of auxiliary works,
by which the waters of Lake Michigan shall be delivered
to the Desplaines River near Lockport, and conducted
through Joliet to a point 38 miles from Lake Michigan.
These works are set for completion in 1896, at a cost of
from $22,OOO,OOO to $24,OOO,OOO.
The plans for the extension of the work through the
city of Chicago, so as to fully utilize this channel, are not
yet matured, nor have any steps been taken to secure the
improvement of some 60 miles of river between Joliet
and La Salle. A movement is now on foot to enlist the
United States, during the present Congress, in the im-
provement of the alluvial section of the Illinois, some 220
miles from the city of La Salle to the Mississippi.
It is anticipated that within the next four years the entire
scope of the work over the 320 miles between Lake Mich-
igan and the Mississippi will be defined, and that public
sentiment will be fully crystallized, not only as to the
utility of the work, but also as to the magnitude of the
achievement and the ultimate policy involved.
III.
The physical features are peculiarly adapted to a great
water way, and the topographical situation has no counter-
part in commercial possibilities. The Chicago Divide is
lower by nearly 200 feet than any other pass between the
8
basin of the Lakes and that of the Mississippi, and is the
only practicable route for a water way of magnitude, con-
sidering the improvement of the Mississippi. The alluvial
'summit is but 12 feet and the rock summit but 8 feet above
the level of low water in Lake Michigan, and some 4 feet
less above high water. Lake level is practically reached
in the Desplaines Valley at 30 miles from the lake, and
thence in the next IO miles the valley descends to 76 feet
below lake level at the pool known as Lake Joliet. In the
next 55 miles the river descends by a series of pools and
rock-bound rapids to the head of the alluvial valley at
Utica, the level of natural low water being 145 feet below
low water of Lake Michigan (the present level, occasioned
by the dam at Henry, is 142 feet below lake level), thence
to the Mississippi. The lower Illinois has but 31 feet fall
at low water in a distance of 227 miles. -
The bottom grade of channel is in alluvium and drift
for 16 miles from Lake Michigan; thence in Niagara lime-
stone overlaid with heavy drift for 6 miles; thence in solid
Niagara limestone for 9 miles; the next 9 miles of descent
being also over the same formation. The descent from
Lake Joliet to Utica is in a valley I to 2 miles wide, gen-
erally bounded by high bluffs, breaking down through
coal measures and over St. Peter's sandstone to the last
rock, the water lime at Utica.
The alluvial valley is from 3 to 6 miles wide to the Mis-
sissippi, with an extraordinarily low declivity for the mod-
ern stream, the bottoms being cut up by a large develop-
ment of marsh, lake, and slough.
All the geological evidences point to a past time when
the outlet of the Upper Lakes was to the south. Ancient
beach lines testify to a lake level, 30 and more feet higher,
when the site of Chicago was a bay leading to the rock-
bound Desplaines Valley, where the water ran 20 feet
deep over the rock floor, in volume not unlike the Niagara
River at Black Rock, descending in a precipitous course
to Utica, whence the stream flowed gently onward more
9
than 30 feet deep ; a depth which may be presumed to have
extended southward to the sea.
The logic of the past may guide the present policy even
to better purpose than had the ancient conditions persisted.
The cutting of the Chicago Divide on any scale of useful-
ness is simply measured by the funds which may be
applied thereto, and the work may be planned for further
development. The works required from Joliet to Utica
involve no element of chance, and lend themselves to pro-
gressive treatment. Through the alluvial section, ſrom
Utica to the Mississippi, the depth obtainable is simply a
question of water supply, dredging and channel correction,
and the results attained can be regarded as substantially
permanent.
A channel of 22 feet across the Chicago Divide will be
adequate to supplying the water for the maintenance of a
channel of not less than 300 feet in width and 14 feet in
depth through the lower Illinois, and the intermediate
stretch may be developed accordingly. The cost of the
works for 280 miles from Joliet to the Mississippi will be
less than that for the Chicago Divide, and of this two thirds
are required for one fifth of the distance, or from Joliet to
Utica. Greater depths may be attained through a larger
water supply, in conjunction with such further works as
will apply it to advantage, but this means a more capacious
channel across the Chicago Divide than is now being pro-
vided. -
It is evident that the opening of the channel across the
Chicago Divide will of itself bring lake and river naviga-
tion within 60 miles of each other, for very little im-
provement is demanded with this volume of water to carry
Io feet through 227 miles of the Lower Illinois.
This scheme of improvement contemplates the removal
of the four State, and United States dams below Utica, and
an open and unobstructed river thence to the Mississippi:
in other words, all permanent structures on a route of 1,600
miles to the Gulf, are restricted to the first Ioo
IO
miles, between Lake Michigan and La Salle. The an-
ticipated effect of the additional water is more than one foot
to low-water bar depths between the mouths of the Illinois
and the Ohio, and half as much below Cairo. This is
a sensible aid to the improvement of the Mississippi, and
has the merit of greatest effect on the upper reaches of the
river, where the attainment of adequate bar depths presents
the greatest difficulty. 4.
IV.
The project for a minimum bar depth of Io feet, at ex-
treme low water, from St. Louis to the Gulf, may be con-
sidered as established, and the General Government has
entered systematically on the attainment of this object.
This improvement can be as well carried over the forty
miles intervening between St. Louis and the mouth of the
Illinois. Extreme low water is limited in duration, and is not
always recurrent in successive years; so that low water is
not the criterion of boating stages, nor of the draft of ship-
ping in which the bulk of the water commerce is carried.
With Io feet minimum, boats of a draft of 14 to 16 feet will
navigate the Mississippi with the same facility as do the
steamboats and barges of a draft of 8 to II feet on the
present depth.
In 1890, the writer made an investigation of the stages
of the Mississippi from gauge records extending through
many years. It was concluded that when the present
project is completed, 14 feet of water will be carried through
the Mississippi for 9 months of the average year; so
boats from Lake Michigan drawing I4 feet could always
reach the Mississippi, barring some 70 days of closure by
ice on the Upper Illinois, and could pass thence to the
Gulf for 9 months, and boats of less draft would be inter-
rupted on an average of but 70 days, and this on account
of ice. -
In contrast with this, navigation on the Lake and the
Atlantic seaboard is interrupted for I40 days. The Wel-
II
land Canal carries 14 feet only into Lake Ontario, while
the St. Lawrence canals carry but 9 feet, though their im-
provement to I4 feet is in progress.
It will be useful also to consider the effect of an increase
in the low-water volume at St. Louis of 60,000 cubic feet
per second ; 20,000 cubic feet to come from reservoirs at
head waters, and 40,000 cubic feet from Lake Michigan.
Such a volume would double the cost of the Illinois water
way on a basis of 20 feet for through navigation. The
depth of 14 feet would be continuous in the Mississippi, and
20 feet would prevail for 9 months.
It will be perceived that there is no useful limit to the
improvement of the Mississippi by restricting the Lake
outflow eastward, and turning the available waters south-
ward through the Illinois water way, sufficiently enlarged
to answer as a conduit, and that the largest useful depth
between the Lakes and Gulf may be thus attained. Nor
does the restriction of the Lake outflow on the Niagara and
the St. Lawrence present any insuperable obstacles from
an engineering standpoint. #
The available navigation of 14 feet which present poli-
cies contemplate is a most useful and far-reaching achieve-
ment. It will serve most satisfactorily the Mississippi
trade with the Lakes, and for lumber, coal, and ore, and it
is adapted to boats which may pass from the Lakes to the
ports of the Gulf, of the Caribbean Sea, and the South At-
lantic coast, and it will permit the entire Lake fleet to seek
employment in the general commerce of the world in the
5 months of winter idleness which now obtains. It will
stimulate North and South commerce as yet scarcely begun
in this country, and it will enable all raw material for
manufacture to assemble in the bread basket of the con-
tinent.
& V.
The present project of the Sanitary District of Chicago
provides substantially for a depth of 22 feet of water, in a
channel of a width of I60 feet at bottom in the rock and
I 2
I62 feet wide at the flow line ; and 21o feet wide at bottom,
and 290 feet at the flow line in the clay, and the capacity
is to be not less than 600,000 cubic feet of water per minute,
or IO,OOO cubic feet per second, under the most unfavorable
conditions at low water of the Lake. In a length of 28
miles of main channel now under contract or to be soon
advertised, there are II,000,000 cubic yards of rock and
31,OOO,OOO cubic yards of earth excavation, the average
depth of cutting throughout being 35 feet. These quanti-
ties will be added to by the work required between the end
of the main channel and Lake Joliet, and that required to
connect with Lake Michigan in order to utilize the full
capacity, but the plans for this additional work have not
been matured.
The increase of the depth so as to give a minimum of
26 feet when properly connected with Lake Michigan, is
being urged, which will involve an extra outlay of about
$600,000, and materially increase the capacity of the
channel. To give the channel a minimum capacity of
I,OOO,OOO cubic feet per minute under extreme conditions,
with a depth of 26 feet, when properly connected with the
Lake, will involve an extra expenditure above that for the
channel now under way of about $4,000,000 ; and this has
been suggested as better satisfying the prospective needs
of the city, and as a justifiable present investment. These
are matters which will doubtless be fully considered before
the channel is completed. -
The considerations which have determined the deep
channel across the Chicago Divide are purely economic,
and pertain solely to a conduit for carrying the required
volume of water. The fact that the half of the channel
most remote from the Lake is in rock, makes a deep prism
throughout and an enlarged section in the earth economical,
thus lessening the total grade and the amount of rock
excavation. The economical limit for the prescribed
width in the rock, and the stipulated capacity, is a depth
of 22 feet, and in an earth section about fifty per cent in
I3
excess of the rock section. The channel of greatest
economy also involves moderate velocities, which are in
the interests of navigation.
No argument is required to show that depth, rather than
width, saves grade, thus making regulation easier at the
lower end of the summit level, and that the volume flowing
is less variable on account of lake fluctuations and ice ; it
is also apparent that for a given water section the excava-
tion above the flow line will be lessened. The most
economical channel has been adopted after elaborate cal-
culation, and it is peculiarly fortunate that the channel so
determined is also in the highest degree adapted to the
requirements of navigation. Should a still greater capacity
be finally adopted, the depth for economy will increase to
the limit of any possible navigable requirement.
When the main channel is opened out to the Lake the
summit level will be 31 miles long, and will be available
throughout as a lake harbor of 22 feet depth to meet the
improvements now in progress through the connecting
channels of the Lakes; and with a depth of 26 feet it will
be adequate to the needs when deep water is extended
eastward to the sea, and will furnish a local reason for such
a standard of depth, which will be valuable in promoting
its consummation.
The uses of the summit level as a harbor, of which
Chicago is in great need, gives substantial commercial
reason for its development on a large scale, and in harmony
with the remoter requirements as a water way; and in this
view it is fortunate that each IOO feet of additional width
on the first 13 miles through, and behind the city may be
had for $2,000,000 for excavation.
It is thus seen how all the present needs and local advan-
tages, both sanitary and commercial, are in strict accord-
ance with the broader development as a link in a conti-
nental water way. The large areas of land necessarily
acquired, the dockage which accrues to the Sanitary Dis-
trict, the water power of IOO,OOO horse power between
I4
Lockport and La Salle, and 300,000 acres of land to be
reclaimed in the Lower Illinois Valley, are all potent local
and State factors in urging the early and full completion of
the Illinois water way, and in such a manner as not to im-
pair any of its functions as an instrument for the accom-
plishment of the greatest useful depth through the Missis-
sippi to the Gulf. *
The improvement of the Lower Illinois so as to utilize
fully the steady volume of flow in useful depth, will no
doubt be undertaken before the completion of the channel
across the Chicago Divide, and in anticipation thereof, and
this may go on progressively to meet current commercial
needs. Thus will the navigation of the river at Utica be
brought within 60 miles of lake navigation at Lockport.
This stretch will cover the permanent works required for
the descent of 140 feet, and their construction is likely to
be deferred until the work on the Chicago Divide is so fully
determined in the public mind, as to insure their develop-
ment on some plan that will permit their fullest utility in
extending deep navigation. &
VI.
The present status of the Illinois water way may be re-
capitulated as follows:—
A channel 22 feet deep has been determined across the
Chicago Divide, which is to be adequately connected with
Lake Michigan, so that deep water will be extended 31
miles from the Lake, and partial works will be extended
from 6 to 8 miles farther; and this part of the project is in
actual process of execution. *
The water from this channel, with very little aid, will
give IO feet minimum for 227 miles throughout the Lower
Illinois to the Mississippi; and it is proposed to enlist the
General Government at an early day in dredging operations
and channel improvement, by which 14 feet shall be se-
cured as fast as the same may be useful.
The Joliet-Utica stretch of 60 miles is to be promoted
as soon as the work on the Chicago Divide is sufficiently
I5
determined to make clear the character of the work that
should be projected.
The securing of any depth required to the Mississippi
presents no serious engineering difficulties. Considerably
over half the cost is involved in the first 40 miles, and
over five sixths in the first IOO, the remaining 220
miles involving less than one sixth the total expenditure.
The work proceeds on the theory of a conduit that may be
enlarged to any capacity for supplying water to strengthen
the low water stages of the Mississippi; and further, that
the present project of Io feet minimum for the Mississippi
exhausts the possibilities without radical disturbance in
regimen, and that further improvement is to be accom-
plished largely through equalization of flow by contribu-
tions to the low-water volume.
The channel across the Chicago Divide may be con-
structed of still greater capacity and of a depth of 26
feet when completed to the Lake, thus exhausting the
possible utility as a future harbor and permitting a higher
development southward, and said channel will furnish
much needed harbor facilities for the deep navigation of the
lakes now developing.
In addition to the harbor facilities, the works now pro-
jected and under way will furnish dockage, provide water
power by the wholesale, and ultimately reclaim several
hundred thousand acres of land.
Local needs and State interests insure the immediate
carrying out of such a portion of the works as will set the
gauge for the water way through Illinois, and thus will be
practically determined the scale of future achievements
east and south ; and thus will the policy be set which links,
by separate steps, a chain of deep navigation along the
lowest continental line through the productive heart, and
unites all navigable waters in one systematic whole. The
idea that deep navigation shall extend from the Atlantic
via the Lakes and the Mississippi to the Gulf, is no idle
dream, and men here to-day should live to “go down to the
sea in ships.”
APPENDIX.
*-**-*-*.
ExCURSION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS To THE
CHICAGO MAIN DRAINAGE CANAL, BY E. P. NORTH,
Mem. Amer. Soc. C. F.
(From the Railroad Gazette of October 6, 1893.)
One of the most instructive incidents connected with the
Congress at Chicago, was an excursion to the canal just
described. Through the kindness of the Board of Trus-
tees of the Sanitary District, on August 7th, a train was
placed at the disposal of the members of the Congresses,
by means of which the various points of interest were
visited.
Without repeating Mr. Cooley's description of the canal,
it is sufficient to say that the contracts for the excavation of.
the II, OOO,OOO cubic yards of rock have been let at an
average of 87 cents per cubic yard; and those for 18,OOO,-
OOO cubic yards of earth at an average of 26.7 cents per
cubic yard. The extreme prices are 20 to 30% cents for
earth and 73 to 91 cents for rock. Some of the earth may
have to be relet.
A ſand/ºng the Material.—Teams and scrapers, or steam
shovels were moving the earth and sending it to waste by
a train of cars in the usual way. A noticeable exception
to this was that of the Western Dredging & Improvement
Co., which drew their loaded cars by a wire rope trans-
versely to the line of improvement up a trestle about 30 feet
high on to a tilting table, where they were discharged
and run back by gravity to the steam shovel. ~~.
The rock work was distinguished by the breadth of cut-
ting, the use of channeling machines for cutting the sides
of the canal, and the employment of Brown's cantilever
hoists or derricks for removing the rock,-the latter are
Chic AGo MAIN DRAINAGE CANAL.
HANDLING THE MATERIAL – METHOD USED BY THE WESTERN DREDGING AND IMPROVEMENT CO.

I7
shown in line and in perspective in the engravings here-
with. The rock operated on is a light colored limestone,
and lies between the Lamont and Joliet beds, which are
used for dimension stones; but it does not dress easily and
is used for rubble masonry, dock filling, etc., so that it may
be broken up and sent to waste by the quickest and most
economical methods. The channeling machines leave a
wall of great longitudinal smoothness, with two or three
horizontal offsets; they also free the rock for blasting, so
that it is thoroughly broken up by the use of about #3 lb.
of No. 2 dynamite per cubic yard. In some, if not in all
instances, this channeling is sub-let by the contractor, at
the rate of I5 cents per square foot, making the cost about
five cents per cubic yard excavated.
The broken rock, as mentioned, is sent to waste along-
side the canal by derricks, the principal dimensions of
which are shown in the illustrations. It is understood that
the wasting of the rock is sublet to the Brown Hoisting &
Conveying Machine Company, of Cleveland, O., who build
and operate the derricks, for about 15 cents per cubic yard,
the contractor loading, hooking on and unhooking the
kibbles. The Brown company has built a track along the
canal, as shown in the cut, on which II machines are now
at work. These machines traverse the track parallel to the
canal at the general speed of 150 to 200 feet per minute.
While the visiting engineers were there, they made a speed
of about 350 feet per minute. The capacity of the buckets
is 75 cubic feet when even full, and when heaped, the load
may be 9,000 or IO,OOO lbs. The guaranteed capacity is
25 round trips per hour, discharging 88 tons on the waste
pile. For a whole day an average of 32 trips per hour
has been made, or, say 900 cubic yards per day. The
engines have double cylinders IO)4 by I2 in., with patent
band friction clutches, and are operated by three levers,
one for hoisting, one for the travel of the kibble on the
cantilever and one for the travel of the machine on the
tracks. It is expected that the tracks and some of the
I8
derricks will be employed in loading the wasted rock for
use in and about Chicago when the canal is completed.
The advantages to the people living on the 1,600 miles
from Chicago to the Gulf will be almost incalculable. The
contribution to the wealth of this locality may be partly
measured by the estimate in the “Report on the Internal
Commerce of the United States for 1891,” that the saving
to the public by water transportation on the entire traffic
of the lakes during 1890 was $135,000,000. This immense
sum, equivalent to a dividend of over 66 per cent on the
gross expenditures by the general government on all rivers
and harbors up to that time, must have been distributed
between the producers who shipped via the lake route and
their customers, for any charge for transportation must
come out of either the producer or the consumer. And as
the freight charges by the lake route were about 6% per
cent of the value of the goods shipped, whereas, if shipped
an equal distance by rail, the cost would have been 46 per
cent of such value, the low freight rates by water must
have been the governing factor in the production of a large.
part of the goods shipped. It is this production which has
filled up the Northwest with inhabitants and railroad lines.
The influence of deep water channels on population,-and
population is a fair index to prosperity,+may be seen from
a comparison of the inhabitants of four lake and four river
cities. Up to 1858 the maximum governing depth between
Chicago and Buffalo was 9% ft. ; to 1871 it was I2 ft., and
from that to 1874 it was 13 ft., and has been I6 ft. since.
In 1870 the aggregate population of Buffalo, Cleveland,
Detroit and Chicago, the four largest cities, was 589, Io'7;
in 1890 the aggregate was I,822,743, a gain of 209 per
cent. In the Mississippi valley, where there has been no
noticeable improvement in the rivers, the total population
of St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and New Orleans, the
four largest cities, was 819,269 in 1870, and in 1890 the total
was I, I5O, I53, a gain of 40% per cent. There seems no
reason to doubt that the prosperity born of a 14-ft. channel
º I- I I
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- -- - - – -—- —- – 24 2' 4" -— — —---—-
The Brown Balanced Derrick — Chicago Main Drainage Canal.
Cross Section of Dump Shown in Broken Line.
WI
R
PLAIN
The Brown Patent Balanced Cantilever Derrick.
In use on the Chicago Main Drainage Canal—The Brown Hoisting and Conveying Machine Co., Cleveland, O.
Height above ground, lower end, 20 ft.; upper end, 94 ft. Capacity of bucket, 75 cu. ft.
Total length of cantilever, 355 ft. Speed, of travel of entire structure on tracks, 150 to 400 ft. per
Working capacity of machine, 120 tons loose rock per hour. minute.
These Illustrations are reprinted from the Railroad Gazette, by the courtesy of its editor.
— ºn
AND THE RIVER OIVERSIUN.
TUM
- - ~
- -
PLAN AND PROFILE OF THE CHICAGO MAIN DRA|NAGE CANAL

























I9
from Chicago to New Orleans, open nine months of the
year, will justify a demand for a 20-ft. channel ſor the
entire distance—a depth within the available resources.
This depth (which would give Chicago control of the com-
merce of the north coast of South America), drawing freight
from Buffalo on the one hand and Duluth on the other,
will cover the route with manufacturing towns, which have
always been located on lines of least resistance, in time and
money, to transportation. The consumption of these towns
will change the population of the Mississippi valley from
“the hewers of wood and drawers of water” for distant con-
sumers, to suppliers of the wants of near-by customers, and
bring the average consumption per capita up to that of the
North. Incidentally Chicago, which in 1859 Horace
Greeley ventured to predict would contain a million inhabi-
tants within the life of some child then born, will become
the largest city on this continent.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO 1893.
THE PROPOSED WATERWIY FROM LIKE MIGHIG|N TO THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER, WIA THE ILLINOIS AND MISSISSIPPI (MNHL.
PY
ALONZO BRYSON,
Davenport, Iowa.
DAVENPORT, IOWA:
THE DEMOCRAT COMPANY., PRINTERS.
1893.

WATER COMMER CE.
THE CONNECTION OF LAKE MICH IGAN AND THE MIS-
SISSIPPI RIVER BY THE HENNEPIN CANAL, MAK-
ING A C () NTINUOUS WATER LINE TO THE ATLANTIC
OCEAN–- WHAT IT MEANS TO THE WORTH WEST.
The building of this waterway means higher prices for
grain and produce to the farmer by making freight cheaper.
This canal will carry wheat from the Mississippi river to
Chicago for two cents per bushel, saving four cents per bushel.
Suppose it carries 400,000,000 bushels of grain, or one-third
of the crop of 1,200,000,000 bushels produced in the six
states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and Ne-
braska, the farmers will be benefitted by this route to the extent
of $16,000,000 on this item alone, and on the 800,000 tons of
anthracite coal used in this valley will at least be saved $2.00
per ton on the through route from Buffalo, which would
amount to $1,600,000 more. Then on the item of salt a
saving of $200,000 could be effected.
So we might go on piling up statistics of saving until we
would consume hours in their recital, but the reports of con-
gressional committees, the able speeches of our senators and
representatives in urging the necessity of the building of this
canal, and the subsequent action of congress in making ap-
propriations for building this great national waterway are
replete with statistics which have been widely read, so I will
desist; but it is safe to assert a grand total of $20,000,000
as the yearly saving to the people of the Mississippi valley.
CAPACITY OF CANAL. -
Did you ever stop to think what this canal can transport to
— 4 —
Chicago, from the Mississippi river, in twenty-four hours,
when it is completed and new propelling power applied to
canals as it no doubt will be by the time this canal is in
operation, pulling these boats along at a speed of eight miles
an hour, landing them alongside of lake vessels in twenty-four
hours after leaving the Mississippi with a cargo of 600 tons,
or 20,000 bushels of wheat, at a cost of not over two cents a
bushel (railroad rate is now six cents). Suppose you place
boats one mile apart or 180 boats loaded with wheat, that
would mean 3,600,000 bushels transported in twenty-four
hours from the river to lake Michigan. Turn these barges
around with 600 tons anthracite coal each, or 100,000 tons in
the fleet carried to the Mississippi in twenty-four hours at a
cost of fifty cents per ton, as compared to present railroad
rate of $1.30 per ton saves eighty cents per ton, or $72,000
on this one item alone between Chicago and the Mississippi
river. Salt can be carried at ten cents per barrel as against
present rate of thirty cents, or twenty cents from the works on
the lakes to Davenport.
CONNECTIONS OF CANAL.
This waterway unites 5,000 miles of lake navigation with
5,000 miles of river. The importance of lake navigation to the
cities of Chicago, Duluth, Buffalo and all lake points as well
as to the whole northwest need not be recited here, it is a
matter of knowledge to every resident in the great west.
WHAT OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 2
Some say its commerce has so declined that it has outlived
its usefulness, but it is not so. To be sure great fine passenger
steamers no longer plough its waters as in days of yore, but
it stands there as the great regulator of freights more power-
ful than the Inter-State Commerce Committee, and the govern-
ment recognizing its value in that respect has expended large
sums of money and successfully improved it as by building
jº
— 5 —
a canal around the Keokuk rapids, capable of floating the
largest Mississippi steamer, or fleet of barges, or great rafts
of lumber in the lowest stages of water, where twenty years
ago there existed a complete blockade at low water. The
upper or Rock Island rapids, at the location of the National
Arsenal, have been made an open waterway over which pass
boats and rafts at lowest water ever known, thus removing the
objection made by those advocating other than the final loca-
tion of the Hennepin Canal. Entering the Mississippi almost
half-way between St. Louis and St. Paul, at a point opposite
Davenport, Iowa, this canal will prove the wisdom of its loca-
tion when it is in operation.
The value of the lumber traffic alone on the Mississippi
river to the people of that valley is a sufficient recompense for
all that has been spent on the river by the government. There
are eighty mills on the main river, sawing 800,000,000 feet of
lumber daily, employing 16,000 men, representing a capital of
$20,000,000. On the Mississippi and its tributaries there are
200 mills sawing lumber, the greater part of which is floated
down the river, employing 100 steamboats in towing these
great rafts to their destination. There passed the Rock Island
bridge alone during the season of 1892, 756 rafts, 200 barges
lumber and logs, containing 2,500,000,000 feet of lumber
valued at $250,000,000.
ANOTHER, OBJECTION ANSWERED.
It has been asserted that freight could not be brought up
stream to this canal any great distance, the answer to that has
been made and that too by a Railroad Company, the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway has for three years been trans-
porting 700,000 oak ties, enough to equip 300 miles of road, to
the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau by rail, thence by
barges up the Mississippi to Davenport, a distance of 5.0 miles
against the stream. Why? Simply because it could be done
cheaper than any railroad on earth could haul them.
— 6 —
WHAT WATERWAYS LACK TO MAKE THEIR SUCCESS COMPLETE
IS SPEED.
The prime cause of the decline of water commerce other
than lake commerce was its slowness. The passenger trade left
the rivers because of the swiftness of railways, the freight left
the canals because it was hauled too slowly and capacity of canal
boats too small, but with enlarged canals and power no doubt
soon to be successfully introduced by electricity or cable draw-
ing large quantities of freight in quick time, success is assured.
Let this Congress urge the encouragement and application of
these new modes of propelling power and the problem of cheap
transportation will be solved, and the time is fast approaching
when this country will need all its modes of transportation to
move quickly and cheaply its vast products brought out of the
soil, the mines, and the manufactory.
PROGRESS OF CANAL TO DATE.
I have personally inspected the work done to this date and
find great progress has been made, the four and one-half miles
from the Mississippi River to the open river navigation on
Rock River will be nearly done by the time snow flies and if it
had not been for the floods and the failure of some contractors to
perform their work, this twenty-seven miles of canal and river
navigation would have been ready for navigation in early spring.
As it is they expect to complete it next summer, and Engineer
Wheeler, under Capt. Marshall, U. S. A., is doing a large
amount of work by day labor and working a double turn of
men. He has collected a valuable and useful plant of machinery
along the canal and is pushing the work as fast as possible and
has enough of the appropriation left to enable him to do so for
some time to come.
DAVENPORT, Iowa, July 28, 1893.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
P^
THE NEW AND ENLARGED WATERWAYS
REQUIRED TO MEET THE DEMANDS
OF COMMERCE IN RUSSIA
BY
f
E. F. DE HOERSCHELMANN
Angineer of Zines of Communication, Kief, Æussia
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B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@Ibe 49ſt. (Corner ºncăgtotz
283 Washington Street

THE NEW AND ENLARGED WATER—
WAYS REQUIRED TO MEET THE
DEMAND'S OF COMMERCE
IN RUSSIA.
•-sm sºm-ºs-
RUSSIA possesses a large number of very important navi-
gable rivers, such as are found in no other European
country. Most of these rivers are so situated as to be
easily united into uninterrupted navigation lines, by
means of canals connecting the upper waters of the differ-
ent streams. The sources of several large rivers are sepa-
rated by only slight elevations of small area. These
natural conditions of the river system of Russia are excep-
tionally favorable to the development of internal naviga-
tion. In comparing the navigable lines of, France and
Germany with those of Russia, it is noticeable that in
France the rivers are comparatively small, with small low-
water discharge, and, as a rule, rather steep grades. This
is the reason why, with a few exceptions, the French rivers
have needed to be canalized and provided with locks, in
order to serve with advantage for internal navigation.
Specially of late, since the extensive development of rail-
roads, the rivers of France, which in their natural condi-
tions could only carry very small boats, could not have
withstood the competition of the railways without the
extensive constructive works which have created and main-
tained sufficiently large and deep channels to allow of the
circulation of the larger boats, which alone are able to
carry merchandise at low rates. Naturally, under these
conditions, the establishment of the system of navigable
ways in France has necessitated large expenditures.
4
In Germany the navigable rivers are larger, so that their
improvement has been much less expensive than was the
case in France. German rivers have slighter grades and
larger discharge of water. Usually, it has not been neces-
sary to canalize or lock them, in order to obtain sufficient
depth of water. Works of regularization, which are much
less costly than those necessary for canalization, have been
sufficient. Thus the natural qualities of the rivers of Ger-
many are more favorable to their improvement for naviga-
tion, which can be realized at comparatively moderate
expense. From what we have said it follows that the
same amount spent for improvement of navigable ways will
produce greater results in Germany than would be possible
in France.
In Russia, the natural conditions of the navigable rivers
are still more favorable. The majority of the large
streams have comparatively insignificant grades, with large
discharge, which facilitates very much up-stream naviga-
tion. On the large rivers, there are but few rapids and
falls. There are but very few that are entirely impracti.
cable or that present great difficulties to navigation. On
our largest river, the Volga, from the town of Tver down
to the Caspian Sea, a total distance of 3,000 kilometres,
there is not a single cataract. Other large rivers, like the
Dwina of the North, the Neva, the Vistula, the Don, etc.,
have none; or, if there are a few, they are but slight
rapids. Among the large rivers, the Dnieper alone, in
its lower course, has very considerable rapids, presenting
great dangers to down-stream navigation, and entirely for-
bidding up-stream navigation, so that the Dnieper is, so to
speak, cut into two separate parts, – that below the rapids,
extending 350 kilometres, and that portion above, with a
length of I, 500 kilometres. In order to give an easy pas-
sage through the rapids of the Dnieper, it would be neces-
sary to establish locks. This, however, is but an isolated
case; and most of the rapids of small importance on the
other large rivers are practicable even for up-stream navi-
5
gation in their natural state, without any constructive
works, and it is but in rare cases that recourse is had to
towage. It may be said, in a general way, that on the
rivers of Russia boats may ply, most of the time, thou-
sands of kilometres without meeting with rapids or
cataracts of any importance. A11 the above conditions
contributed to the development of interior navigation in
Russia at a time when the population was still small and
the financial means of the country amounted to figures
quite insignificant. The oldest of the commercial cities of
Russia, Novgorod, has had an exceptional development,
owing to its favorable situation on the banks of one of the
large navigable rivers, the Volkhoff,” which flows from
Lake Ilmene to the Baltic Sea. The upper waters of one
of the tributaries of this lake, the Lovate, are but a short
distance from the sources of the Dnieper, which, after a
run of some 2, OOO kilometres, discharges into the Black
Sea. These two rivers, the Volkhoff and Dnieper, with
Lake Ilmene and its tributaries, were used in olden times
for transporting merchandise from the Baltic to the Black
Sea, and vice versa. The merchandise was 'transported
from one basin to the other, over the summit, on men’s
backs. Large quantities of freight thus reached Novgorod
from the region of the Volga, by going up the Tvertsa, an
affluent of the Volga, then, after a short portage over land,
coming down by the Msta, an affluent of Lake Ilmene,
from which, as we said, flows the Volkhoff.
The first lines of artificial navigation used to unite the
basins of the different rivers in Russia were built toward
the end of the seventeenth century, under the Emperor
Peter the Great, who personally took the initiative. After
some unsuccessful attempts to connect the Don with the
Volga and the Oka, Peter the Great built the Vychenevolot-
sky Canal, uniting an affluent of the Msta with the
Tvertsa. As above stated, the Msta flows into Lake
*See the Hydrographic Atlas of the Principal States of Europe, published by the Ministry
Sf Public Works in Paris.
6
Ilmene, from which starts the Volkhoff, emptying into
the Baltic. On the other hand, the Tvertsa flows into
the Volga. Thus the Vychenevolotsky Canal unites the
waters of the Caspian Sea with those of the Baltic. Since
the time of Peter the Great, the principal navigable rivers
of Russia have gradually been connected by canals. Thus,
besides the Vychenevolotsky Canal, the Volga has also
been connected with the Baltic by the Tikhvinnsky and
Mary Canals, the latter being the most important of the ar-
tificial navigable ways of Russia. There is between the
tributaries of the Volga and the Dwina of the North the
“Duke Alexandre of Wurthemberg” Canal.” The Dnieper
has been connected by three canals with the Vistula, the
Niemane, and the Dwina of the West; and the two last-
named rivers are themselves connected by a fourth canal,
the Augustoff Canal. All these artificial ways were built
at the commencement of this century, and have from time
to time followed the same fate as the Erie Canal in Amer-
ica; that is to say, their dimensions were no longer suffi-
cient to serve the modern requirements of shipping. For
this reason the Erie Canal had to be rebuilt scarcely twenty
years after its completion. The above-mentioned Russian
canals have lost their preponderant importance for freight
transportation, which is largely done by the railroads.
Commerce is now clamoring for the reorganization of the
existing lines and the establishment of new artificial water-
ways. The renewing of our whole system of artificial
navigable ways would require enormous sums of money.
Up to the present time, only the reorganization of our prin-
cipal artificial line of internal navigation could be under-
taken; that is, the Marie line, or, as it is called in Rus-
sia, the “Marie System.” For several decades, Russian
commerce has been calling for the reorganization of this
route, connecting the largest river of Europe, the Volga,
with the capital of the Russian Empire, and with the .
Baltic, forming thus an uninterrupted line of navigation
* Named in honor of the Director-General of the Lines of Communication of that name.
7
from the Caspian Sea to St. Petersburg, with a total
length of more than 4,000 kilometres. The city of St.
Petersburg is situated in the delta of the Neva River, near
its mouth. The Neva rises in Lake Ladoga, and falls in
the Baltic, and has a length of 65 kilometres. It has an
abundant supply of water from Lake Ladoga, and a depth
and width of channel amply sufficient not only for the
circulation of the boats in actual use, but would present
no difficulties for larger-sized boats.
Lake Ladoga, from which flows the Neva, presents many
difficulties to navigation: it is subject to storms, so that
the shipping coming from the “Marie System ’’ can only
cross the lake with great danger. For this reason it has
been circumscribed by canals on its southern side for a
distance of I68 kilometres. Along this whole distance
there is a double line of canals. The older canals, built
partly during the last century, partly early in the pres-
ent century, are situated the farthest from the lake:
whereas the newer canals built later on — 1863 to 1883
— are between the lake and the old canals. The loaded
boats take the new canals: the old are used for logging
and for empty barges or light loads, going from St. Peters-
burg to the Volga. The Ladoga canals connect on the
east with the mouth of the Svir River, which flows from
Lake Onega to Itake Ladoga. The Svir River, for a
distance of 200 kilometres, forms part of the “Marie Sys-
tem.” For most of its length, this river has sufficient
depth and width for navigation. But rocks and rapids, of
which there are several in its course, present difficulties
from want of depth and from the great rapidity of the
current. Lake Onega, from which flows the Svir, is also
surrounded by a canal called the Onejsky, about 65 kilo-
metres long. Then comes the Vytegra River, which is
locked on nearly its whole length, and connects at its
upper end by a canal and locks with the Kovja River.
This canal, called the “New Marie Canal,” forms the
summit level of navigation between the Neva and the
8
Volga. This canal was built some ten years ago to re-
place the old Marie Canal, which passed through Lake
Matko, and was for this reason, and on account of its nu-
merous locks, not convenient for navigation. The new
Canal goes around this lake, and has only two locks in-
stead of nine on the old one. The Kovja falls into Lake
Bielo-Ozero, which is also turned by a canal 67 kilometres
long, called the Bielozersky Canal. From Lake Bielo-
Ozero flows the Chekska River, which joins the Volga,
near the city of Rybinnsky, and forms the last link of the
Marie System of navigable ways. The Chekska is more
than 400 kilometres long, with a total fall of 35 metres,
very unevenly divided along the course of the river. For
nearly IOO kilometres there is an almost uninterrupted
series of rapids, with steep grades. These rapids present
the greatest difficulties to internal navigation on the
whole route from the Neva to the Volga, and freight
charges on this portion of the Chekska are very high. But
still the advantages presented by the navigation over rail-
road transportation were such that, notwithstanding the
building of several railroads connecting fertile countries
situated on the banks of the Volga with the Baltic ports,
the traffic on the Marie route of navigation continually
increased, and four years ago already amounted to over
a million tons. No further increase in the traffic could
take place without a fundamental reconstruction of sev-
eral portions of the route. The number of boats had
reached 3,400 : with the short season of navigation — about
five months — and the double lift locks situated on the
route, this number could scarcely be increased. It was
then decided to rebuild all the locks, increasing their
size, so as to pass boats of 65 metres in length and 650
tons burden, whereas the old style boats carried but half
this amount of freight. At first, when the question of
rebuilding the “Marie System ’’ was brought up, the ship-
ping interests wanted the adoption of a model of boat cor-
responding to the large boats used on the Volga, having
9
85 metres in length. The administration of Lines of
Communication did not see things in the same light:
these dimensions seemed exaggerated, and it was feared
that they would not be so easily handled. Besides, in
adopting the size of boats used on the Volga, it would
have been necessary to entirely change the lines of the
Marie route by widening the channel, and avoid all sharp
turns or curves, which would have increased the cost enor-
mously. The topography of the country where the locks
of the route are situated is such that the locks have to
be placed close together, so that sharp curves cannot be
avoided. Under such conditions, boats of great length
(85 metres) could only circulate at reduced speed, thus
preventing most of the boats returning the same year to
their starting-point, and would present great hardships for
the crews, who would be obliged to pass long winters
away from their homes. Gradually commerce and the
shipping interests became convinced of the exaggeration of
their demands, and saw that the reorganization of the
Marie Navigation Route, so as to admit of the circulation
of the large barges of the Volga, would necessitate extraor-
dinary expenses without being absolutely indispensable.
As early as 1887, the Chambers of Commerce of the cities
the most interested in the wheat trade, supplied by means
of the navigation route from the Volga to St. Petersburg,
began to make appeals for the adoption of a plan of reor-
ganization of the “Marie Route ’’ such as would answer
for the use of barges 64 metres long, 9.60 metres wide,
and with a draft of 1.78 metres, of about 650 tons burden.
Boats of this model would allow of a great increase in the
traffic: in fact, it could be double its present amount.
The present boats on this route measure only 42 metres,
with a capacity of about 350 tons.
In order to obtain the results required, the following
works were found to be necessary. On the Onejsky and
Ladojsky Canals and the Svir River there is considerable
excavation and rock-cutting going on; for the canals were
IO
somewhat silted up, and the Svir River presented many
shallows over ledges, with insufficient water. On the
Kovia and Vytegra Rivers and the “New Marie Canal,”
which unites them, all the locks have been rebuilt of
wood, like the old ones, but of larger size, suitable for the
new model of boats. Instead of twenty single chamber
locks and eight double locks, one above the other, there
will be thirty-two single chamber locks. This is done by
increasing the fall on some of them, which was previously
very unequal: the new ones are about alike, the fall not
exceeding 3.50 metres. The channel will be 25.60 metres
wide in the tangents, and the curves of at least 240 metres
radius. Where the curves are sharper than this, the width
has been correspondingly increased. The Bielozersky
Canal has been widened and deepened. As on this canal
there are straight sections several kilometres long, with-
out any curves, 23.50 metres has been adopted for the
width in these sections instead of 25.60, as in the other
sections. On the Chekska considerable work of canaliza-
tion and regularization is being carried on. In the upper
portion of this river there are several quite sharp curves.
The improvements in these sections consist in cuttings
having 25.60 metres in width at the bottom and a mini-
mum radius of 530 metres. Near the outlet of the Bielo-
Ozero Lake, a weir of the Poirée System is being con-
structed, with a lock for the passage of boats going from
the Chekska to the lake and vice versa, and to retain in
the lake a portion of the flood waters, which are to be sup-
plied to the river during low waters, in order to increase
its flow. In the central portion of the river, where there
are several important rapids, three large lock chambers are
being built in lateral canals, capable of containing whole
tows, consisting of four barges and their tug-boat. The
available length of the chambers is 320 metres. Near
each lock the river is closed by a weir of the Poirée Sys-
tem. These are in the principal rapids. Several less
important rapids are being improved by rock excavation.
II
The lower portion of the river abounds in sand bars, over
which the new model of boats could not pass. These are
being removed by the construction of longitudinal dykes
and training walls, both formed of fascines and rock-work.
At the present time, over one-half of the proposed works
are completed. It is expected that the whole route will
be completed and turned over to the navigation of the new
model of boats by 1895. The administration of Lines of
Communication is actually building one of the new type
boats, to be used as a model by which to build others.
One of the great difficulties in this reorganization of the
“Marie Route ’’ is the fact that navigation must not be
interrupted during the prosecution of the work. This
route is so important for the transportation of wheat to St.
Petersburg that even a temporary closing would almost
amount to a disaster. For this reason the work had to be
planned out so that all construction which might interfere
with, or completely stop, the passage of shipping should be
carried on in winter. During the past year, when there
was a cholera epidemic in several parts of the Empire,
special precautions had to be taken on the works of reor-
ganizing the “Marie Route,” where, at short distances
apart, gangs of several thousand workmen were engaged
on the improvements. Notwithstanding these difficulties,
the works are progressing rapidly, so that they are some-
what ahead of the estimated time.
The work is subdivided into three contracts, – one for
the excavations on the canals of Lake Ladoga, a second
one for all the works on the Vytegra and Kovja Rivers and
the Marie Canal which unites them, the third contractor
is enlarging and deepening the Bielozersky Canal and
executing all the works on the Chekska River (weirs,
locks, dykes, cuts, etc.). The improvements on the Svir
River and the Onejsky Canal are being done by day labor,
under the charge of the Direction of Lines of Communica-
tion of the Vytegra Arrondissement, which also has the
supervision of most of the rest of the work, which is under
I2
contract, as above stated. The head of the Direction,
Engineer and State Counsellor Zviaginntsef, has for sev-
eral years been studying the project of the reorganization
of the “Marie System ’’ of navigation. Fifteen years ago
he was sent out by the Russian Imperial Ministry of Lines
of Communication to the United States, where he studied
the great works of reconstruction of the Erie Canal, which
was already completed at that time. The rich harvest of
information gained during this trip helped him to the con-
ception of the vast project for reorganizing the navigation
on the “Marie System,” the execution of which, we just
stated, was being carried on successfully toward completion.
After the completion of these important works, there
will still be other works and problems connected with the
improvement of the navigation lines of Russia, the ex-
treme importance of which must not be overlooked. One
of these problems is that of the connection, by means of
an artificial waterway, of the Lower Volga with the Don
River, which empties into the Azoff Sea, a bay of the
Black Sea. This project dates from olden times. Sultan
Selima of Turkey, back in the sixteenth century, started
to dig a canal between the Ilovla, an affluent of the Don,
and the Kamychennka, which empties into the Volga.
He expected to use this canal for the transportation of his
army. Works were begun in 1568 in a locality actually
forming part of the province of Saratoff, but were not com-
pleted. Probably it was expected that a communication
could be had simply by cutting away the summit that
separated the respective affluents, taking no account of the
steep grades existing in this region; and, as at that time
chambers with locks were unknown, the enterprise natu-
rally failed.
Later on the Emperor Peter the Great, who had con-
ceived a vast plan for connecting all the principal rivers
of Russia by means of lines of internal navigation, took
up the question of canal between the Volga and the Don.
At the end of the seventeenth century, he confided the
I3
direction of the works of this canal to Colonel Broeckel,
who, however, was not able to overcome the many difficul-
ties that presented themselves in carrying out the work,
and he left the works soon after their commencement.
Then Peter the Great appointed the English Engineer,
Perry, director of the works. He built a portion of the
cut between the Ilovla and Kamychennka Rivers and sev-
eral locks. But in 17O I, owing to war declared between
Russia and Sweden, the troops that were working on the
canal were recalled, the works stopped and have never been
resumed. Still, the problem of uniting the Don and
Volga by a canal has continued to occupy the thought of
the engineers. Under Nicholas I., the Direction of Lines
of Communications had detailed studies made on the
grounds, which served as a basis for a project of canal
from the Volga to the Don. But the estimated cost of
this work was such that it was never carried out. A few
years ago a private company (Franco-Russian) was formed,
which obtained from the government the permission to
make new studies for a canal from the Volga to the Don.
These studies were carried on in 1885–86, and the result
was a preliminary project of canal by a new route. But
the elaboration of the details necessary before the plan can
be presented for examination to the Russian Imperial Min-
istry of Lines of Communication is not yet complete.
However, one of the founders of the company, Mr. Leon
Dru, published in 1886, in Paris, a pamphlet under the
title of “Project of Canal from the Don to the Volga:
Report on the Project. Franco-Russian Civil Society for
the Promotion of the Don and Volga Canal.” This con-
tains a description of the principal points of the project.
The canal is to serve for navigation of boats 64 metres
long, I2.80 metres wide, with a draft of 2. I 3 metres. It
is proposed to start the canal from the right bank of the
Volga, I6 kilometres below the city of Tsaritsine. Thence
it follows up the valley of the little Proudovaia River, an
affluent of the Volga, clear to the summit, thence descend-
I4.
ing by the valleys of the little rivers, Yagodnaia and Kar-
pofka, toward the Don. The total length of the canal
from the Volga to its outlet in the Don is 85 kilometres.
The summit section is Io.8 metres long and 85 metres
above the level of the Volga. On the Volga side, which is
7.46 kilometres long, there are twenty-one locks, with an av-
erage fall of 4 metres: the other branch, descending toward
the Don, presents twelve locks in a length of 67.2 metres,
and a total fall of 42 metres. The most important excava-
tions are at the summit, where for over 4 kilometres the
depth of cut reaches 30 and even 40 metres. The canal is
to be supplied by means of reservoirs, storing rain and
snow water. Plans have also been prepared for raising the
waters of the Volga by means of powerful steam pumps.
The total cost is estimated to be about fourteen millions of
dollars.
The Volga-Don Canal would have great advantages for
the grain trade. During several months of each year the
transportation by water of the wheat crops of the fertile
countries along the Volga, toward the Baltic ports, is
interrupted by ice. A navigable route from the Lower
Volga to the Don would allow these crops to reach the
Black Sea during that portion of the year when the north-
ern routes and northern ports of Russia are closed by ice.
Besides, this route would allow the products of the vast
basin of the Volga being brought to a shipping port with-
out having to be taken up stream. On the contrary, they
would come down stream to Tsaritsine, and, after crossing
the short canal from the Volga to the Don, would continue
down this latter river. This would naturally reduce the
cost of transportation.
Another project of interior navigation, the execution of
which might have great influence in developing the naviga-
tion on another of our large rivers, the Dnieper, is the
improvement of the rapids situated on its lower course, be-
tween the cities of Yecaterinoslaf and Alexandrofsk, where
at the present time only down-stream navigation and log-
I5
ging is possible, and even this with considerable difficul-
ties and dangers.
Thus, one of our largest rivers, which from the earliest
times has been used for transportation of merchandise be-
tween the north and the south of Russia, remains up to
the present, cut into two separate parts, between which no
regular navigation can be carried on. Soon after the
union of the south-western provinces with the Russian Em-
pire, the government undertook the improvement of the
navigation of the Dnieper rapids. In the second half of
the last century, about I78O, some rock excavation was
done, by means of powder, to remove the most dangerous
rocks. At the same time lateral canals were excavated in
the Nenassytets and Kaidaki rapids. At the time of the
trip of the Empress Catherine II. to the south of Russia,
in 1787, the corps of pilots was established to pilot oats
and logging rafts through the rapids. In the first years
of the present century, the work of rock excavation was
continued, and three lateral canals were begun, without
locks, in the three first cataracts below Yecaterinoslaf,
and one locked canal in the most dangerous cataract, that
of Nenassytets, from plans prepared by General Devolant
of the Engineer Corps. But these works were not com-
pleted, owing to the insufficiency of the sums appropriated .
for them. Most of these works were destroyed by the
waters and the ice. About 1830, the General Direction of
Lines of Communication (later on transformed into a
Ministry) had plans prepared for extensive works intended
to make these rapids accessible for up-stream navigation;
but, owing to the enormous expense that these works would
have involved, it was found necessary only to undertake
the improvement of the rapids with a view of down-stream
navigation only, by means of non-locked lateral canals,
limited on each side by random rock dykes. The first of
these canals was begun in 1833 in the Old-Kaidaki cata-
ract: the building lasted eight years, and was completed in
I84I. In the other eight cataracts the works lasted till
I6
1854. The construction of these nine canals and some
rock excavation in the secondary rapids, which are very
numerous between the principal ones, cost about one mill-
ion dollars.
The above-described canals present, no doubt, advan-
tages for down-stream navigation, especially in low waters;
but they are not sufficient to allow of boats passing up
stream, and consequently do not afford an efficacious final
improvement of the Dnieper rapids, which can only be
done by means of locked canals, owing to the extreme
steep grades, reaching over 4 metres per kilometre in
some places.
For several years, systematic rock excavations have been
going on in the rapids for removing the most dangerous
rocks and ledges by means of dynamite. But a project for
the final improvement of the Dnieper cataracts is still to
be elaborated. It is a difficult problem, quite unique of
its kind.
“The Iron Gates” of the Danube, the regularizing
works of which have been pushed forward since 1891, are
much more easy of treatment than the cataracts of the
Dnieper. At the Iron Gates of the Danube the cataracts
are less numerous, not so extensive, the grade and velocity
are less, and the rock is not as hard as on the Dnieper.
It is to be hoped that the experience gained on the
works of the regularization of the Iron Gates will help to
hasten the solution of the problem for the complete and
final improvement of the cataracts of the Dnieper. At
the present time, the budget of interior navigation is pretty
well loaded down with the large expenses necessitated by
the works of reorganization of the Marie Navigable Route
(from the Volga to the Neva). When these works are
completed, which will be in 1895 or 1896, it is hoped that
means may be more easily obtained for executing, in the
domain of interior navigation, other very urgent works,
among which the canalization of the cataracts of the
Dnieper is of very great importance, and merits special
attention.
17
I do not wish or intend to retrace, in this brief notice,
a programme of all the navigable routes, the execution of
which would have an important bearing on the develop-
ment of our interior navigation; but it is proper to state
that there are still several principal arteries between our
large rivers missing, and that most of our artificial naviga-
ble routes have to be rebuilt the same as the Marie Route,
in order to satisfy the requirements of modern shipping,
which, in order to compete with the railways, is obliged
to use boats of very large capacity and draft of water.
Besides the canal from the Volga to the Don, already
spoken of, it would be of great importance to connect the
Volga and Dnieper, by an artificial navigable route, which
could be done by means of the Oca, one of the principal
affluents of the Volga and the Desna, which fall into the
Dnieper near Kief. The respective affluents of these two
rivers run close to each other in several places, and might
present favorable conditions for digging a connecting
canal. If at the same time the Berezinnsky, Oguinnsky,
and Dnieprofsko-Bougsky Canals, uniting the Dnieper
with the Western Dwina and the Vistula Rivers, could be
improved, an uninterrupted navigable route would be
obtained several thousand kilometres long, crossing the
fertile, and in part industrial, countries of Central Russia,
and extending from the Caspian Sea to the western frontier
of the empire. As most of the streams and rivers that
would be part of this route have but slight grades and
large discharges, the execution of this work would call for
much less expense than has been needed to build the prin-
cipal artificial navigable lines of the countries of Western
Europe, such as France and Belgium.
KIEF, RUSSIA, May 30, 1893.
MAP of THE RUssian WATER-ways, BY E. F. De HoerschelMANN.
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CHICAGO, 1893
THE PROJECTED
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THE PROJECTED LAKE ERIE AND OHIO
FIVER SHIP CANAL.
• *-*.**** * * * * * * *** **** ****
In 1889 the Legislature of Pennsylvania authorized the
appointment of a Commission to determine the feasibility
of connecting the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio River
by a ship canal, and, in the language of the Act, “To lay
out a route for the same, if feasible, and to estimate the
expense of its construction, etc.;” the sum of $10,000 be-
ing appropriated to cover the necessary expenses.
The Commission made its report to the Legislature in
1891, and three thousand (3,000) copies of the report,
with duplicates from the plates,—which had been prepared,
—were ordered to be printed; but as no money was appro-
priated to cover the expense of printing, the report of the
Commission was never officially published.
No route having been specified in the act of the Legis-
lature, the Commission felt justified in recommending the
shortest practicable route to connect the Ohio River with
the Lakes, and finally reported in favor of a route leaving
the Ohio River at a point twenty-eight (28) miles below
the city of Pittsburgh, and thence via the Beaver and
Shenango Rivers to the head of the last-named stream,
near the Ohio State line; and thence passing into Ohio,
and for a distance of twenty (20) miles in that State to
Conneaut Harbor, Lake Erie, -a point located about one
mile west of the Pennsylvania State line.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE, ETC.
The length of the canal from the mouth of the Beaver,
on the Ohio, to Conneaut Harbor, Lake Erie, on the line
4.
adopted, was found to be one hundred and three (IO3)
miles; or only 7 miles more than an air line connecting the
two points. In order to reach the harbor of Pittsburgh,
however, and to accommodate the vast coal, coke, and iron
interests of that city, the Commission recommended the
extension of the canal paralleling the Ohio River to the
United States dam at Davis Island, situated four miles be-
low the city of Pittsburgh, and which dam makes the
“permanent harbor” of the city. This extension from the
lowermost dam on the Beaver is about twenty-four (24)
miles in length, and forms one continuous pool, or level,
having an exit lock at the Pittsburgh end, dropping 6 feet
into the pool of the city harbor, formed by the aforesaid
Davis Island dam. The water supply of this long level
would be furnished from the Beaver River. Three locks of
an aggregate lift of forty-one-eqi) feet would be required
to reach low-water surface in the Ohio River at Beaver, or
Rochester, and are provided for in the estimate; the said
connection with the Ohio being chiefly for the benefit of
vessels trading from Wheeling, Cincinnati, and other ports
on the Ohio, located below the mouth of the Beaver River.
It was not deemed expedient, or advisable, to terminate the
canal at the mouth of the Beaver, for the reason that the
improvement of the Ohio River below the Davis Island
dam, now being undertaken by the United States Govern-
ment, provides for a minimum depth in the river of only 6
feet, while the ship canal is designed with a depth in the
canal prism of 15 feet, and with the same depth on the
miter sills of its locks.
As designed, the canal will have at the bottom a width
of Ioo feet, and at the surface, one of 152%. The dimen-
sions of the locks, as elsewhere referred to, are 3OO feet
available length by forty-five (45) feet width. For con-
venient reference the following table of distances and
elevations of the most important places along the route of
the canal are herewith presented :-
Elevation No. of
Miles. &ºf iº. #.
Sea Level. Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh . c e º º O.O. 699.29 O
Rochester . g & • e 27.4 7O5.3 I
New Brighton g e tº * 3O.4 7O5.3 2
Beaver Falls tº g tº & 32.4 715.6 3
Rock Point . g º e © 4O. I 739.O 4.
Wampum . * * ſº jº 42.9 755.O 5
New Castle . e e e © 5 I.4 790.O 8
Middlesex . © © e ge 66.4 823.5 I 2
Sharon . wº § & º * 72.4 856.5 I4
Sharpsville * & * 75.9 866.O I6
Head of Shenango Navigation . 79.6 876.o 17
Transfer tº º •e re 8I.9 976.O 22
Greenville . e † º tº 86.7 984.O 23
South End of Summit . & te 98.5 1,016.O 25
North End of Summit . & * * I 18.5 1,016.O 26
Conneaut Harbor . e * º I3O.4 572.89 5 I
As early as 1824, the General Government executed sur-
veys for a canal from the mouth of the Beaver River to
Lake Erie at the Harbor of Erie, Penn., and between
1837–40, a canal of sixty-five (65) ton boat capacity was
completed, and continued in operation until 1872, when it
was sold to private parties, and a portion of the old aban-
doned canal is now used as a roadbed for a railroad.
Although terminating twenty-eight (28) miles below the
city of Pittsburgh, and small as it was, the old canal ac-
commodated a very considerable business; there being
carried over it in some years as much as 400,000 tons of
coal, and its net toll receipts were more than $1OO,OOO per
a111]ll II] .
The abandonment of this canal has left the too prevalent
impression in Western Pennsylvania that it was a failure,
and increases the difficulty in reviving interest in any kind
of a canal. The old canal had I.33 locks, and its summit
level was 66 feet higher than the proposed ship canal, and,
besides, it was 31 miles longer between the river and the
lake than the Contemplated project. Two years previous
to its final abandonment, an attempt was made to have the
State assist in enlarging it to the present capacity of the
6
New York and Erie Canal, viz., to a depth of 7 feet, and
made available for boats of 250 tons; but the opposition
of certain Eastern politicians defeated this project, and by
the constitution adopted in 1873 the State can now take
no part in this or any other similar enterprise, the State
Canal Commission having been appointed in 1889 merely
for the purpose of setting forth the facts regarding the feasi-
bility of a Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal.
The old canal, as it was maintained for a number of
years, suffered greatly from the neglect to deepen its sum-
mit level; and in consequence, while there was an ample
supply of water to be had by natural means, pumping from
Conneaut Lake into the feeder—two miles long—had to
be resorted to to keep up the supply’; and frequently the
inefficiency of the pumps resulted in insufficient depth being
provided, so that ox teams were sometimes employed to
drag the boats eight miles through the summit level. So
again, at its Ohio River end, during the season of low
water in the river, when no boats were moving, agricul-
tural produce, for want of adequate means of transporta-
tion on the river to Pittsburgh, suffered deterioration in
value. There can be no question, however, that had the
old canal terminated at Pittsburgh instead of at Rochester
and Beaver, 28 miles below, it never would have been
abandoned ; and it is from such miserable excuses for canals
built for the most part on routes abounding with lockage,
and where the water supply was generally insufficient, that
the average American citizen draws his conclusions regard-
ing inland water transportation in general.
The newly projected ship canal leaves the old canal.
route at the head of the proposed slack-water navigation of
the Shenango River, the main prong of the Beaver River,
and 55 miles above the mouth of that stream. This divis-
ion, which forms rather more than one half the distance
between the Ohio and Lake Erie, is remarkably direct,
requiring but few changes to make it suitable for a ship
canal of splendid proportions. The natural width of the
7
Beaver varies from 3oo to 500 feet, and of the Shenango
from 175 to 300 feet; and the thalweg of these streams, as
shown by soundings indicated on the profiles, shows that
with a comparatively small amount of dredging, a depth of
I5 feet can be had without the necessity of erecting dams
any higher than those constructed for the old canal, some
of which are still in use, affording water-power for mills.
The new dams might in some portions—as in the neigh-
borhood of the city of New Castle—well be arranged with
adjustable tops, or made so as to be entirely lowered to the
bed of the stream, in order to pass floods which, at rare
intervals, have overflowed the adjacent low lands.
In addition to the iron-manufacturing towns of Beaver
Falls, New Brighton, New Castle, Middlesex, Sharon,
and Sharpsville, located on this division, by means of a
branch, about 17 miles in length, upon which an abundant
water supply can be had, the city of Youngstown, Ohio,
on the Mahoning River, could be reached. Youngstown
and its neighborhood is the seat of 13 furnaces, each one
of which is equivalent, as a freight producer, to an average
city of thirty or forty thousand inhabitants. In addition to
these 13, there are I6 more furnaces directly on the route
of the canal in the Shenango Valley, with many rolling
mills, etc., and at the Pittsburgh end 25 furnaces, most of
them larger than can be found elsewhere in the world, be-
sides iron and steel works in great numbers.
From the head of the Shenango navigation, 55 miles, as
before stated, from the Ohio, and I6 from the southern
end of the summit level, the canal proper would begin
(referring now to the country between the Ohio and Lake
Erie, and neglecting for the time being the 24-mile exten-
sion above the mouth of the Beaver to Pittsburgh).
In this distance of I6 miles eight locks, averaging not
quite 18 feet lift each, are projected to reach the summit;
which summit level, as at present designed, is 20 miles in
length through a region of swamps for most of the dis-
tance,—the exact point of the divide being difficult to
8
determine by ordinary observation. The conformation of
the Country is such, however, that the summit level could
be extended entirely to the “head of navigation,” so
called, on the Shenango, making it nearly 30 miles long;
and thus it might be possible to dispense with the eight
locks, substituting in their place a double lift of 140 feet.
The canal, as projected, would be provided with single
locks, measuring 315 by 45 feet, or with an available length
of 300 feet; but in case lifts should be decided upon, in
order to reduce the number of locks, it would probably be
found necessary to make the lifts double. The time re-
quired to pass lifts, under the best circumstances (appears
to the writer, who has, however, had no personal experi-
ence with them), would be considerably in excess of that
required to make a lockage, say of 20 feet, which is the
maximum proposed by the Pennsylvania Ship Canal Com-
mission.
The elevation of the summit level above mean tide is
I,OI6 feet, and 443. II feet above the mean level of Lake
Erie; and this descent of 443. II feet from the summit is
provided for in 25 locks, with an average lift of 17.7 feet,
all in a distance of about I 2 miles. The Commission
made no serious study of the possibilities of lifts for this
division, though it is manifest that there is here afforded an
opportunity by their employment to dispense with quite a
number of these locks, and, as well, to economize in the
use of water necessary for the maintenance of the supply
in the summit level, etc. Auxiliary reservoirs were pro-
vided for to maintain an equable supply at several of the
intermediate levels between the summit and Lake Erie,
but it must remain for further study to determine which of
several practicable expedients would be best for actual
construction in this situation.
The lake terminus in the mouth of Conneaut Creek
was specially surveyed, and numerous borings made to
determine the depth to the rock, etc. It was found
that a dredged channel, of about 250 feet width, passing
9
straight inward from the proposed breakwater of 17 feet in
depth, and one mile in length to the first lock, was entirely
practicable at a moderate cost. Examinations of the mouth
of Elk Creek Harbor, in Pennsylvania, seven miles east
of Conneaut, were also made ; but Conneaut Harbor was
`--found to furnish more favorable natural conditions, and
proved to be the terminus for the shortest and least expen-
sive route which could be found for the canal.
On the entire route between the lake and the river there
are no engineering difficulties worthy of much notice, the
most important being two arched spans of 40 feet each in
an embankment 50 feet high for the passage of Conneaut
Creek beneath the canal, at a distance of about 5 miles
from the lake terminus; and besides this an aqueduct
embankment over the valley of Big Run, about 14 miles
south of the terminus of the summit level,-the said em-
bankment averaging about 30 feet from the top of the berm
to the ground for a distance of about 6,000 feet; the material
for this embankment comes from the adjacent canal cuts.
At no point does it appear necessary to excavate more than
35 feet to secure the full depth of the canal prism ; and
this kind of location may be secured with an alignment,
save at one or two bends in the Shenango River, where
the hills come down on both sides to the stream, requiring
a curvature of a less radius than 2,000 feet. It may be
said in general that the contours of the country between
the Shenango and the lake are quite gentle, and never
broken by sharp ravines. It is a region, for the most part,
which permits of considerable latitude on the part of the
engineer in the arrangement of his levels, so as to reduce
the excavations necessary for the canal to a minimum, and
with but little material to waste. The slope toward the
lake, which presents such a formidable appearance on the
profile, would, with the exception of the Conneaut Creek
crossing, afford almost a natural bed for a railway, on one
mile of which, however, the descent would be rather more
than IOO feet, but in all it averages less than 40 feet fall
per mile.
IO
THE WATER SUPPLY.
From the territory directly tributary to the summit, the
Commission found that 13,000,000 cubic feet of water per
diem could be obtained for the 2I4 days of lake and canal
navigation allowed by the underwriters. The basis of this
calculation is a conservative one. With a rainfall of, say
4O inches, the first assumption is that 40 per cent is avail-
able flowage, which in this case is I6 inches, and these
I6 inches are distributed as follows:—
Compensation to riparian owners . © e 6.72 inches.
Evaporation from surface of reservoirs,
4, I per cent of rainfall . * tº & t 1.64 “
Percolation from reservoirs and conduits ę 1.64 “
Available storage water . e tº * tº 6.OO “
Total * e * (h . I6.OO “
It would be practicable, in my opinion, to supply the
few riparian owners who live in that sparsely settled region,
and from whom necessary streams are diverted, by pipe
lines from the reservoirs, and thus largely increase the
available supply to be had from the country immediately
adjacent to the summit level.
The canal can obtain 40,000,000 cubic feet per diem by
uniting these reservoirs with the surplus flow of French
Creek, supplemented by storage reservoirs constructed in
the valleys of Cussewago and French Creeks. At the
Bemus dam in French Creek, above Meadville, from
whence the old canal feeder ran to Conneaut Lake 23
miles, Mr. W. Millnor Roberts (late Chief Engineer of
Pennsylvania) states that the lowest discharge is 19,000,000
cubic feet per diem, and of this 15,OOO,OOO cubic feet was
considered available for canal purposes, leaving 4,000,000
cubic feet daily for the use of landowners below. The
mean discharge of French Creek for ten months yearly is
much greater than the figures reported by Mr. W. M.
Roberts. •
We have to sum up, an area of country about the heads
of the Conneaut and Shenango Rivers, Cussewago and
II
French Creeks, embracing an area of more than 800 square
miles; a region—and the late Colonel Merrill, of the
United States Corps of Engineers, agreed with me in
the opinion—most favorably disposed for the location of
shallow reservoirs, the kind harmless even should they
burst, yet, in some instances, of enormous area and storage
capacity. One dam of this sort, shown by the surveys of
the Commission only 14 feet high, would make a pond of
8,000 acres on ground now mostly a worthless swamp.
This pond would lie alongside the summit level for a
number of miles, but its water surface would be 26 feet
lower than canal level. Pumps could be resorted to to lift
water into the canal from it, but its principal use would be
to keep up a brisk supply in the canal south of the summit.
With 40,000,000 cubic feet daily, and making the liberal
allowance of 5,000,000 cubic feet daily loss in the hot
months by evaporation, infiltration, and gate leakage from
the summit, we should still have 190 locks full daily, which
is rather more than could theoretically be used in the lock-
age of vessels through single locks over the summit. One
and a half locks full will pass a vessel into and out of the
summit level. The supply, therefore, is shown to be
enough for 125 vessels, or 62 passages each way daily.
Should the time ever come when a duplicate ship canal
upon this chosen route should become a necessity, some-
thing, however, not within the bounds of reasonable prob-
ability,+the Alleghany River, with its 4,000 square miles
of drainage area, could be tapped in the neighborhood of
Tidioute, and made to flow to Conneaut Lake through a
feeder branching from the French Creek feeder, and pos-
sibly not more than 60 miles long. I know from my own
gauging of French Creek, and other tributaries of the
Alleghany River, that its low-water discharge from its
1,100 square miles, which is the area of its entire basin, is
more than equal to the Kiskiminetas of I,3OO square miles,
the Clarion River, Redbank Creek, and the Mahoning
River, all united. Evaporation is much more excessive,
I 2
for some reason, in the valleys last named, in the summer
and fall months, than is observed on French Creek.
French Creek originates in a cool, elevated region, trav-
ersed by moisture-laden winds fresh from the Great Lakes ;
and this is probably the explanation of the marked atmos-
pheric and hygrometrical differences in the valleys named.
It was my fortune to have referred to these facts, which
now have so much significance, in a report to Colonel
Merrill, when I made a survey of the Alleghany River in
1878, under his direction, for the United States Govern-
ment.
COMPARISON WITH OTHER PROPOSED ROUTES.
A comparison between this route and those which have
been surveyed by State and United States engineers, upon
some of which small canals are now in operation, connect-
ing the waters of Lake Erie with the Ohio River, will
show most conclusively the superiority of the Beaver route
over them all in the following prime considerations: Ist,
length of route ; 2d, aggregate of lockage, with one
exception ; 3d, cost; 4th, prospective business.
Ohio River to Lake Erie. Length, Lockage,
Miles. Feet.
|Miami, or Cincinnati-Toledo Route tº e 238 882
Maumee, or Wabash Route . * e º 5OO 648
Portmouth-Cleveland Route . e tº . 312 II 30
Beaver-Conneaut Route . * e º g IO3 759.81
Upon none of the routes named west of the Beaver
route is it possible to find a water supply for a canal of the
dimensions proposed for the Beaver route ; viz., I5 feet
depth of water, with a canal prism IOO feet wide at the
bottom, 152 feet at the surface, having locks 3OO feet
available length by 45 feet actual breadth.
ESTIMATE OF COST.
Regarding the estimated cost of the canal, I can say that
while the surveys were only of a preliminary nature, suffi-
cient data was secured to make a reasonably close approx-
I3
imation of what the actual cost would be. Some of the
more important items were made purposely large, and in
some instances the prices attached are lower than respon-
sible dredging companies both in this country and England,
who had been communicated with by Mr. Goodwin, my
associate, advised. The report of the Commission and
memoranda printed separately from the report, may be
referred to for further details as to the cost. The total
estimated cost of the work is $27,000,000. I can conceive
of no reasonable additions or improvements which would
make it cost more than $30,000,000. The Beaver sand-
stone is noted for its durability and the ease with which it
can be worked. Clay for brick slope revetment; cement,
equal to the best made in America, manufactured in its
valley; sand, gravel, timber, and everything else needed
by contractors, is at hand, or conveniently accessible by
railroads. g
PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OF THE PROPOSED CANAL.
The coal region of Western Pennsylvania and the Pitts-
burgh, Shenango, and Mahoning iron-manufacturing dis-
tricts presents more business prospectively for a canal than
any equal area of the country can possibly exhibit; but to
make the exhibit as it should be made would require much
more time than I, can devote to it in this place.
The following table, compiled from the records of the
“American Manufacturer and Iron World,”—a recognized
authority,+exhibits the number, condition, and capacity of
the furnaces in the “canal district,” as I shall beg leave to
term it, on February Ist of the present year:—
In Blast Weekly Cap. Fur. Total Cap.
Furnaces. Total Feb. naces in Blast Weekly
No. I St Tons. Tons.
Pittsburgh Region, 24 2 I 34,214 39,616
Shenango Valley, I6 9 9,869 I5,793
Mahoning Valley, I3 IO I IO,O72 I 4,432
West Virginia, 4. 2 2, IS4 3,340
Totals, 57 42 59,309 73, 181
Total U. S., 528 281,865
I4.
The 57 monster furnaces of our canal district, which by
their output so astonished the visiting members of the
British Iron and Steel Institute, have alone a capacity equal
to one quarter of the entire furnace production of the whole
United States.
The present production of furnaces of this dictrict is, no
doubt, greatly in excess of 3,000,000 tons per annum.
Their production actually was 2,593,719 tons in 1889, as
shown by reports of the American Iron and Steel Associ-
ation.
Of the iron ore to supply these furnaces, including a few
thousand tons shipped through Pittsburgh to Johnstown,
etc., there was received in 1889, 4,627,049 tons—all of
which had been transferred from lake vessels to railroads
at Pittsburgh's five lake ports; viz., Cleveland, Ashtabula,
Fairport, Loraine, and Erie. The ore receipts at these
ports have largely increased since 1889, and it may fairly
be assumed that from 5,500,000 to 6,000,000 tons are now
annually consumed in our canal district.
It is reasonable to think that within a few years after its
completion the canal would do an enormous business in the
transportation of coal, ore, lumber, grain, and miscellane-
ous freight; and such was the conclusion of Hon. John
Dalzell in the report prepared by him, and favorably rec-
ommended to Congress by the Committee on Railways and
Commerce last winter. On the assumption that a toll was to
be levied to provide for interest on cost and for mainte-
nance of way, I think it can be shown the canal would be
profitable in operation with tolls of no more than IO cents
per ton on coal, 15 cents on iron ore, and with somewhat
higher rates upon more valuable articles of merchandise.
The interest account on, say $30,000,000 at 5 per cent
would be $1,500,000. The cost of maintenance of way
on 2,431 miles of canals in France, summing up accounts
for the 5 years 1883–1888, was only $390 per mile per
annum. It seems to me scarcely probable that a rate in
excess of $1,000 per mile per annum for actual mainte-
I5
nance of way would be required upon this canal; this, with
$70,000 for office and contingent expenses, should be ample
for maintaining the work in the highest state of efficiency.
We might, therefore, have to provide for a revenue of
$1,700,000. As the canal district now pays to the rail-
roads perhaps as much as $7,000,000 for the transportation
of its direct lake business, it may be seen that there is a
safe margin to meet canal expenses, provide a profit to
vessel owners, and still effect a large annual saving to
shippers. I will not undertake to refer to the indirect ad-
vantages this canal would be to the people of the Ohio
Valley, and to the possibilities of the future.
THE PITTSBURGH TERMINUS.
Pittsburgh with its environs now forms a compact manu-
facturing and mercantile Community of 575,000 population,
employing in 1892, in her various establishments, 134,097
persons, the annual product of their labor being for the
year mentioned $350,2OI,925, as reported in the statistics
printed by the Chamber of Commerce. But population
alone affords no criterion of the extent of the commerce of
this great community. The commerce originating in
Pittsburgh is vastly greater than that originating in any
other city in the Union, and including that which passes
through, forms an aggregate of 40,000,000 tons per annum,
a tonnage in excess of the united volume of traffic of the
Great Lakes annually passing the city of Detroit; and it has
been well said that Pittsburgh's financial and material
interests in lake navigation is equaled only by Chicago and
Buffalo of all the cities directly on the lakes.
Her tonnage of vessels on the Ohio River, engaged
chiefly in the transportation of coal to the Mississippi
Valley, from her inexhaustible coal mines, is greater than
that of any lake or ocean port in America.
Twenty-two firms and individuals in Pittsburgh, engaged
chiefly in the coal trade in 1889, reported the numbers and
tonnage of vessels owned by them as follows:—
Number. Tonnage.
Coal boats . & tº Qe * tº I,467 I, I'74,600
Coal barges tº e * > & ſº 1,776 958, IOO
Coal flats . & ge * (* e 648 I2O,8OO
Total e e © g & 3,891 2,253,500
The steamers registered at the port of Pittsburgh, ex-
clusive of small propellers and dredging vessels, number
I54, with an aggregate tonnage of 32,438; of these, fully
I25 are coal-towing steamers. These are universally stern-
wheel vessels, and are used to push, and not tow, the fleets
of barges, etc. A fleet leaving Pittsburgh generally con-
veys IO,OOO tons of coal, and at Louisville, the larger
class of towboats combine not infrequently three of these
fleets, making up a tow of 30,000 tons. In addition to the
high power of the engines, with which these towboats are
equipped, they are provided with a number of balanced
rudders, against which the current is thrown by reversing
the wheel when making sharp bends, which produces a
leverage that enables the most intricate channels among
bridge piers, and in the face of violent currents to be
steered in safety. This is a system of towing, of course,
not possible to be put in practice on the lakes or the ocean,
but the inventive skill of Pittsburgh boatbuilders, which
has enabled her to present the cheapest means of trans-
portation on difficult waters known to the world, may be
relied upon to furnish vessels well adapted to ply upon the
canal and lakes in the iron ore, coal, coke, lumber, and
grain trade.
With an outlet to the Lakes, her unrivaled facilities for
steel-vessel construction would promise soon to result in a
decrease of their cost. The facts regarding this so-called
“inland city” should be better known to the world than
they are ; and when such a place is ready to grasp hands
with the Lake people in their efforts to improve lake
navigation, and to extend it to tide water, it argues well
for the early consummation of these truly national enter-
prises. Pittsburgh's situation is much the same as that of
à
I7
Manchester, England,-though happily for Manchester, a
situation which will shortly be relieved, thanks to her own
energy, a large contributor to, but a small receiver of
the benefits accruing from deep-water navigation. But
in favor of Pittsburgh, it may be said that for less than one
half the expenditure of that incurred by Manchester, she
can, by means of a ship canal to the Lakes, benefit a
tonnage, not so valuable per ton, but nearly three times
as great in volume as the most hopeful friends of the Man-
chester Ship Canal anticipate for their project, now so
nearly completed.
The Davis Island dam affords 14 feet of water for two
miles above in the Ohio over a width of more than 1,000
feet, and about Io feet water, thence to the wharves of
Pittsburgh, and to the lowermost dam of the Monongahela
Slack-water Navigation, which unlocks the territory of the
coal fields of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The existing
conditions of Pittsburgh's Harbor as a canal terminus
are susceptible of great improvements, and it can be made
in every respect suitable for the commerce which would
naturally be developed in case of the construction of the
Ship Canal.
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The World's Columbian Water Commerce CongreSS
CHICAGO, I893
ON THE UTILISATION
OF
WATER AND RAILROUTESIN HUNGARY
AND
Ilº (main ſºil ºn Hitting
BY
DR. ALEXANDER HALĀSz
Professor in the Polytechnic School at Buda-Pest
--ºs-
2&Whº Jºs
Zºš *A*.
| ^
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U.P. H. A M
The CWIb Corner $ookstore
283 Washington Street

Page.
3,
E. R. R. A. T A.
Line from
the bottom.
3,
I2,
29,
2O,
4,
I7,
2O,
38,
4.
9,
IO,
I4,
I5,
4,
Io,
I2,
I9,
22,
5,
5,
28,
5,
8,
35,
35,
35,
36,
9,
}
for devolpment put development.
for the put this.
leave out the word much.
for 1,733,917 put I,733,944.
insert was before still.
for obtained put given.
for 3,786,02O put 3,486,02O.
for Pecs, put Pécs. -
for 71.2 put 71.3.
for 61. I put 60. I
for 46. I put 45. I.
for hectolitres put tons.
for Hungarian put Royal State.
for obtain put determine.
for insignificant put not important.
insert should before have.
for 234,605 put 232,605.
for 34,486 put 32,4S6.
insert economical after general.
omit of farming.
for long put only.
for Essegg put Eszék.
for Gombsrog put Gombszög.
for Srentes put Szentes.
for Sreged put Szeged.
for Becskeres put Becskerek.
for Maje put Nagy.
for calling put task.
ON THE UTILISATION OF WATER AND RAIL
y ROUTES IN HUNGARY,
AND THEIR COMPETITIVE INFLUENCE IN REDUCING
FREIGHT CHARGEs.
I.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The great progress accomplished throughout the whole
of Hungary since the Compromise of 1867, by which its
independence was assured, is also apparent in the develop-
ment of the transportation facilities of the country. If
one considers the reciprocal effects of the institutions and
the economical conditions, it may be said that the means
of transportation have been one of the principal factors in
this progress.
The railroads have rendered eminent service to the traffic
of the country, but have not been able to reduce the im-
portance of the water routes. To be sure, since the
economical reawakening of the country, public attention
has been turned almost entirely to the railroads, and the
funds obtained, through the loan of 150 millions of francs
(30 millions of dollars), for canal and railroad purposes,
has been spent on the construction of railroads, and most
of the loans since contracted by Hungary have been
absorbed in extending and buying up the railroads. But
if human labor has been denied in forming and developing
the river routes, Nature has undertaken to overcome this
deficiency by supplying the country with a system of rivers
which allows of a very extensive devolpment of navigation.
The river routes of Hungary extend over 5,000 kilo-
metres, 3,OOO of which are easily available for steam navi-
4.
gation. The Danube, one of the greatest commercial
routes of Europe, passes through 973 kilometres of the
central portion of Hungary, by a route which, even in
times of antiquity and the Middle Ages, was of the first
importance, and has maintained its importance as a water
connection between the eastern and western Countries.
With few exceptions all the rivers of Hungary belong to
the Danube system, thus making a connected system, by
which the products of all parts of the country are collected
on this principal route. The advantages of the unity would
be much enhanced, however, if the frequent changes in the
beds of the river, due to the lack of regulation works, did
not cause obstacles in many places, occurring especially in
summer and autumn, when the wheat crops, the staple
product of the country, require the greatest efforts of the
transportation companies.
The general formation of our river system also presents
some disadvantages. If our principal river, instead of
flowing to the east, followed the direction of our commerce,
and flowed to the west, or if the other rivers, the Theiss,
Save, Drave, ran into the Danube, not on the south frontier
of the country, but near the capital, the political and eco-
nomical centre of the State, then the water system would
be in harmony with the economical organization, and our
products carried by the water routes would not have to
make long circuits and be taken up stream. But even in
their present state, owing to their extent and their topo-
graphical conditions, our water ways are successful com-
petitors of the railroads.
In fact, competition was inaugurated when the first engine
started out on the rails, and it was increased when the
railroads were extended into the regions till then served
only by the rivers. It was not long ere the railroads drew
away a larger traffic than the rivers. This necessarily
happened in Hungary, as everywhere else.
The question now is to find out whether, notwithstanding
the triumphant progress of its powerful rival, the water
5
way has maintained its importance with regard to traffic,
and has increased its attractive power. It is therefore
necessary to establish the respective situations of the two
systems, and the relative extent and conditions of the
services rendered by each. f
II.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC.
We will first consider passenger traffic, for which the
water ways are available to a large extent.
The Danube, over its whole length, is used for the trans-
portation of travelers; but on the Theiss, owing to frequent
obstacles to navigation, this travel is cut in sections, and
extends over half of its navigable course. The Save is
also used by travelers. There are over 2,000 kilometres of
our rivers that are used for the transportation of passengers.
Taking no account of travel from one bank to the other,
this transportation is done by three different companies:
The Imperial and Royal Navigation Company of the
Danube, The Navigation Enterprise of the Hungarian
Railroads, and The Navigation Company of Lake Balaton.
The last two companies have but short routes, used in part
for merchandise. The Danubian Navigation carries on 90
per cent of the passenger traffic, and maintains regular
routes over 2,050 kilometres (967 kilometres on the
Danube, 467 kilometres on the Theiss, and 607 kilometres
on the Save river).
In 1891 these three companies carried 2,690,987 pas-
sengers over the water routes, or 79,271,906 kilometre
passengers. On the other hand, our railroads, extending
over 12,000 kilometres, transported in 1891 some 35,886,050
passengers, who traveled 1,504,346,679 kilometres. -
These few figures show the inferior role of the water
routes. This is still better shown if we go back to ten
years ago. -
6
The passenger traffic in Hungary shows the following
figures:—
WATER ROUTES. w RAILROADS.
No. of Distance in Years No. of Distance in
Passengers. Kilometres. g Passengers. Kilometres.
2,455.7 I'7 93,283,532 1881 IO,2 I3,333 58O,272,865
2,533,034 66.3O3,431 1889 19,036,700 939,909.21
2,659,888 75,088,824 1890 29, 163,756 I,327,016,947
It would seem at first sight that the passenger traffic had
not much diminished, at least as far as the number of trav-
elers is concerned, notwithstanding the large extension of
the railroad routes; on the other hand, railroad travel did
not increase much till 1889, and did not make a great
showing till 1890. This last is explained by the fact that
the new tariff was introduced on the Hungarian State rail-
roads in August, 1889, by which Hungary inaugurated a
new epoch in the history of transportation rates, the power-
ful effects of which is shown by the results of the last two
years. This reform shows that the stagnation in travel that
lasted such a long time with regard to the railroads, was
due to the high rates of the old tariff, which exceeded those
of any other country except England and Turkey.
If we wish to study the elements constituting the traffic
on the water routes, and see the decadence of this traffic,
we must examine the group of figures of the preceding
official returns, and distinguish between the long-distance
travel, between a long series of landings, and the local
travel, established between the two shores at Buda-Pest,
between the capital and the suburbs, or between certain
stops on the Lower Danube. The above table contains the
results of the totalizing of all these services, including the
boats that only ply between the two shores in the capital.
This local travel constitutes a very large part of the total
traffic ; thus of the 2,593,882 passengers transported by the
Danubian Company in 1890, there were I, 199,745 whose
trips did not extend outside of the capital. It is evident
that the traffic of a capital whose population and territory
is constantly increasing in an extraordinary measure, will
7
always exert a favorable influence on the total results; but
it should not be taken in account in appreciating the role of
the water routes as compared to all the means of communi-
cation of the country, and the transportation of travelers.
This distinction is necessary, not only in order to appre-
ciate the traffic of the different lengths of routes, but also
to bring out the influence of railroad competition on navi-
gation. This influence varies with the length of the trips.
It is evident that this competition has reduced the rates on
long distances, but has not affected the development of local
service; and this explains the fact that we have already
noted, that the total number of travelers carried by water
does not sufficiently show the diminished traffic.
In the existing statistics we have found the quinquennial
average of each kind of travel to be :—
Long routes, annual average for 1881 to 1885, 900,025 passengers.
& 4 & & 1886 to 1890, 770,731
Short routes, & 4 1881 to 1885, 1,733.977 $ &
& & { { 1886 to 1890, 1,810,970 & &
Without doubt it is the railroad competition which has had
the greatest influence on this result. The simple establish-
ment of a railroad, that is an improved method of travel,
suffices to draw away from river travel the large flow of
passengers. Here it is man that is being transported, so
that speed will be insisted upon, and the regularity and pre-
cision of the stops; advantages that the traveler will be
willing to pay for at higher rates, especially as–notwith-
standing the much lower tariffs—transportation by water is
not always the cheapest on long distances. For long dis-
tances river navigation can scarcely hope to hold its own
against railroad competition, although the latter has some-
what higher rates. The traffic on the Danube gives us a
good example of this. The steam navigation companies
run boats from Vienna and Buda-Pest to the country of
the Lower Danube, and even to the Black Sea. In 188o
and 1881 the Hungarian lines carried from 700,000 to
8OO,OOO passengers per annum. Since then the railroads
8
have been built from Buda-Pest to Pecs, to Zimony, and
to Bruck along the banks of the river, and the number of
river passengers has fallen off to from 600,000 to 700,000 ;
yet the railroads maintained their high rates, while the
navigation companies were reducing theirs, in order to
maintain the competition. ..
The decrease in the passenger traffic is not only shown
by the number of passengers, but also in the mileage,
showing that the travelers choose the river routes for
shorter and shorter trips. Here is a table that shows
this :—
NUMBER OF TRAVELERS ON
the Danube. the Theiss. the Save.
In 1883 & & tº 788,480 • ' . 63,786 tº º 76,533
‘‘ I 886 tº e º 7 I7,097 te º 45,865 Q { } 68,862
“ 1889 g © ſº 690,853 e º 4 I,999 © • 5O, IO5
NUMBER OF KILOMETRES TRAVELED.
In 1883 * tº . 62,316,083 g . 6,961,496 ſº I3,965,672
• ‘ I 886 g g . 51,598,079 . . 3,786,020 . IO,O28,954
“ 1889 * g . 46,866,830. . • 2,364, 182 . 6,545,599
CONSEQUENCES OF THE ZONE TARIFF.
After the reduction of tariff obtained by the Zone Tariff
the railroads obtained a very much larger proportion of the
travel. Navigation made vain efforts to reduce the effects
of this tariff, which revolutionized passenger traffic in
Hungary. -
The Zone Rate was first put in operation on August I,
1889. At the end of the year—that is, in five months—
the increase in the number of passengers had reached
3,203,388, as compared with the corresponding period in
1888. This increase, representing 134 per cent, was still
greater the following years. The influence of this rate
was very disastrous to the river routes, whose total traffic,
already reduced, went down to 775,140 in 1890, with a
total of 61,712,462 kilometres traveled ; and still less in
1891. The travel on long routes of the Navigation Co. in
1891 was only 495,373 passengers, carried 50,486,882
kilometers.
9
The services on short routes naturally felt this influence
much less. The short time, comfort, and pleasure of the
trips, here present advantages for the water routes that the
traveler will naturally choose, on condition that the compa-
nies reduce their rate as low as is necessary for competi-
tion. By all these circumstances, the results on short
routes remain the same, notwithstanding the competition of
the railroads. Local traffic, especially in the capital, is
increasing, and this helps to bring up the totals on river
transportation.
Thus the total for 1891 shows an increase on that of
I890, for it shows 2,690,987 passengers, carried 79,271,906
kilometres. This result has been obtained only, however, -
by great sacrifices and reductions in rates. Thus the Dan-
ubian Transportation Company carried in 1878, 3,196,443
passengers, with receipts of 3,598,736 florins* ; in 1890 it
carried 3,565,063 passengers, and received but I,619,993
florins. To-day the transportation in Hungary is carried
on by the company at a loss.
CONCLUSIONS AS TO PASSENGER TRAFFIC.
Now let us summarize our opinion as to the role of these
two methods of transportation, by water and by rail, and
the effect of their competition with regard to passenger
travel. - -
Passenger service by steamboat, inaugurated in Hungary
about 1830, was able to maintain its supremacy until rail-
roads were started, especially the roads following the lines
of the river. Since that time business has constantly been
on the decline, notwithstanding the extent of the river and
the importance and richness of the cities accommodated.
Expressed in figures, the number of passengers carried by
water routes in the last ten years has diminished from Io
to I5 per cent.
The appearance of the locomotive has caused this de-
crease, notwithstanding the reductions of rates made by the
* A florin is equal in value to 50 cents.
IO
navigation companies, and the higher rates that the rail-
roads felt that they must maintain. But the complete de-
feat of navigation came when the railroads decided for
their general interests to inaugurate that extraordinary
reform known as the Zone Rate. This reform, after in-
creasing enormously passenger travel, imposed new con-
cessions on navigation companies, which, however, did
help to maintain their previous position. Low prices leave
to navigation companies only the role of serving short
routes, which is the only mission left them for passenger
transportation.
III.
FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION.
The situation is entirely different with regard to the
question of transportation of merchandise, for which river
navigation is favored by several conditions. •.
Hungary is especially an agricultural country, and
cereals form the principal article of production, traffic, and
foreign commerce. At one time the country was con-
sidered the granary of Europe; but the competition of
Russia and America has caused a change in this respect.
But its productive power, and capacity for export have not
ceased,—in fact have increased. How the cereal production
has developed in the last few years, is shown by the
following table :-
From 1869 to 1873 the annual production was 90 1-4 million bushels.
4 & 1874 ( & 1878 & & { { II 2 I-2 - & & O
& 6 1879 { { 1S83 & & & 4 I34. { {
“ ISS4 “ 1888 & & 4 172 I-2 & 4
The native consumption does not need these enormous
amounts of grain, notwithstanding the constant increase in
the population : by increasing its production through a
more rational cultivation, the country can easily furnish
for exportation an amount averaging 42 I-2 million bushels
a year. These quantities come mostly from the regions of
the Theiss and Maros Rivers, of those between the Theiss
II
and Danube, and from the right bank of the Danube; here
we constantly see the mass of grain being carried up on
the main line to its outlet in the West. The quantities put
in motion by the native production is still more increased
by those of the Danubian countries of the Balcan Peninsu-
lar, whose economic life is also based on the export of
agricultural products, and which also send a large portion
of it by this same route, except when prevented by politi-
cal or custom house measures.
This route over which, besides grain, large quantities of
the products of the agricultural districts pass, presents a
very animated aspect.
In the opposite direction, that is, from West to East, it is
the mass of manufactured products that prevail. These go
to the less developed sections, which are obliged to rely on
importation for these products.
NATURE OF THE TRAFFIC.
The character of the traffic is manifested in the results of
the companies called upon to effect the transportation.
Four groups of merchandise (grains, grist, fuel, and build-
ing and working woods) constitute from 60 to 70 per cent
of the merchandise transported.
This proportion of bulky freight brings out the impor-
tance of the river routes, and explains their ability to stand
against the competition of the railroads. Those articles that
constitute the principal item of freightage of both means of
communications, take the river routes from choice, owing to
their peculiar nature. For the reception and transportation
of grain, these routes provide strong boats of large capac-
ity, which the companies are constantly enlarging. From
1870 to 1890 the river fleets of Hungary only increased 16
per cent as to the number of boats; but the capacity was
increased 246 per cent, and the number of boats of over
600 tons capacity is constantly on the increase. More than
30 per cent of the fleet consists of boats of over 300 tons.
As they are mostly used for carrying grain, they are ar-
§
THE HUNGARIAN RAILROADS CARRIED IN
[All measured in hectolitres.] Total
l
Fuels, Per
Year Grand Total Cereals Per cent Grist Per cent Coal, Wood Per cent Timber Per cent cent
1891 I4,524,709 3,O72,722 (21. I) 6O6,719 4. I 2, 181, IO9 I5.O 976,993 6.7 46.9
1890 13,456,192 2,438,826 I8. I 583,492 4.3 2, I 19,658 I5.8 940,695 6.9 46. I
1889 8,447,936 I,864,756 22.0 631,724 7 5 I,810,734 2 I, 4 774,33 I 9.2 61. I
I888 8,862,755 2, 182, 138 24.6 626,330 7.o 1,385, 128 I5.7 748,708 8.4 55.7
1887 6,996,158 1,622,251 23.2 465,491 6.6 I,369,070 I9.5 699, 182 99 59 2
THE DANUBIAN TRANsportation company carried
1891 1,660,446 665,622 4O. I . 151,140 9. I I47,716 8.8 122,858 7.4 - 65.4
1890 I,917,618 890,052 40.6 I57,385 8.2 I73, IO3 9. O I49,167 7.7 71.2
1889 I,743,739 695,834 39.9 I56,648 8.9 184, 195 10.5 148,686 8.5 67.8
1888 I,7I4,953 747,607 43.6 176,466 8.2 14 I,082 8.2 142,963 8.3 7O.3 -
1887 1,574,080 619,940 39.3 152,813 9.7 7.8 116,661 7.4 64.2
I23,784
I3
ranged for easily loading and unloading large quantities.
A boat of 600 tons will carry 60 full car loads, representing
two freight trains.
The water routes allow of transportation in bulk, where-
as the railroads take grain only in bags, which costs much
labor and expense. The water route presents another ad-
vantage: the Danube is so long that merchandise can
arrive at destination without transshipments, which cause so
much expense and loss. The Danubian Transportation
Company can deliver Bulgarian and Roumanian wheat
even into Bavaria; frequently the boats are used for store-
houses, which is favorable for speculation, whereas the
railroads charge high rates for demurrage and handling.
On the other hand, one cannot overlook the inconven-
iences inherent to river transportation,-such as the slow-
ness and uncertainties of the trips, which are doubly felt
in Hungary, where merchandise for export is obliged in
most cases to travel up stream in order to reach the West-
ern markets, and are also delayed by low waters, which
coincide precisely with the season of the greatest rush of
the export trade.
It is generally thought that the river routes attract only
bulky merchandise,—that is, articles requiring a large
amount of space, out of proportion to its value, which can
therefore not stand the high railroad rates. This is not
true in Hungary, as well as in some other countries. The
great competition between producers, and the increase in
salaries, have reduced the profits of the contractor very
materially, and he looks for compensation either in the
reduction of the cost of production, or of transportion. It
is therefore natural that merchandise whose value presents
a favorable ratio to its weight, and could therefore stand
the higher rates of transportation, should also seek the
water route if the rates are lower than those of the rail-
roads. This happens all the oftener in Hungary, as these
products of greater value, which are traveling toward the
East, go down the Danube, and can therefore travel pretty
I4
rapidly. Consequently here, also, the water routes compete
with the railroads. The returns of The Danubian Naviga-
tion Company show, not a reduction, but even an increase
of traffic belonging to this class, notwithstanding that both
banks of the river are lined with railroads, and that the
traffic between Vienna and Buda-Pest, particularly im-
portant for these products, is no longer reduced to a single
railroad route on the left bank, but has also a railroad in
first-class order on the other bank at its disposal.
Owing to all these favorable conditions, freight traffic by
water, instead of declining, and suffering from the competi-
tion of the railroads, shows symptoms of a systematic
development. - - - -
In the report that we had the honor of presenting to the
Paris Congress of Interior Navigation, in 1892, we showed
the development of river traffic. We will here give a
summary of it. It will suffice to go back only ten years,
as during that time the navigation companies have had to
withstand the influences of the increase in the rail routes
and their new system of tariff.
Here is the comparison of the traffic of merchandise in
Hungary over the railroads and the rivers:–
TABLE OF COMPARISON OF THE TRAFFIC ON RAILROADS AND RIVERS.
By River Routes. By Railroads.
Years. Tonnage. Kilometric tons. Tonnage. Kilometric tons.
I881 I,865,992 678,470,685 13,861,818 I,621,593,755
1890 2,839,572 I,OO2, 18O,777 21,286,32O 2,797, I32,372
1891 2,841,856 927, 176,830 23,258,978 3, IO4,244,529
It is evident that the river traffic is insignificant as com-
pared with that on the railroads, but it must be remembered
that there is much more traffic by water than would appear
by the above tables, as they are taken from the official re-
turns of steam navigation only, and take no account what-
ever of the traffic by rowboats and rafts, which is quite im-
portant, but much more difficult to obtain. In examining
the tables, however, we notice that, notwithstanding the
very unfavorable conditions, the total river tonnage has
increased 52 per cent, and the total distance traveled 78
I5
per cent; which increase is all the more remarkable, as the
railroads, working in much more favorable conditions, and
whose length has been notably extended, show for the
same time, almost identical increase; i. e., 53 per cent for
the tonnage, and 72 per cent for the total distance run.
INFLUENCE OF RATES ON THE TRAFFIC BY EITHER
- ROUTE.
We must now examine the important role played by the
tariffs, or rates, in order to produce the present state of
affairs. -
It may be stated in a general way that the rates have a
downward tendency; and if from time to time rates on
certain articles are raised, the general tendency, is not-
withstanding, toward a reduction. The transportation
companies have to comply with the economical exigencies
of the traffic, and everywhere the interests involved have
obtained reductions of rates,—which rates are an item in the
cost of production. This reduction, therefore, has a gen-
eral motive. But there always has been, and always will
be, interests of special nature, for which transportation com-
panies will be willing to cut under the reduced rates in
certain cases; thus when it is to render certain raw mate-
rials or certain ingredients more accessible, in order to
favor increased industrial or agricultural production, or
when it is necessary in order to allow native production to
compete with foreign production. In these cases the reduc-
tion is in the form of various favors. The reduction of rates
may also be due to competition between different transpor-
tation companies, a war in which rates form a very effi-
cacious weapon. -
As the latter is the case that we are considering, we will
note that it is not always a war between the railroad and
the water route. It may be between two railroads, or two
water routes. The latter, in fact, presents more definite
results. - -
Whereas the railroads are more or less monopolies, and,
in a certain way, are under the control of the public, and
I6
have fixed tariffs, the river ways form a free route, on
which rival transportation companies can use various
methods for regulating their rates and making their con-
traCtS.
WATER ROUTES.
That which caused for a long time reduced rates in
Hungary was not the competition of rail and water routes,
but the rivalry between the different navigation companies.
The Danubian Navigation Company, owning 190 steam-
boats and 782 towboats, of a total capacity of 276,809 tons,
and which covered extensive routes, soon occupied a dom-
inant position, and on the Lower Danube stations had a
monopoly ; but private navigation finally became a power-
ful rival, as shown in the following figures.
At the close of the year 1891 native companies and in-
dividuals owned 112 iron boats of a capacity of 34,486
tons, and I,OOO wooden boats of 200, II9 tons capacity,
making a total of I, II 2 boats, and a total tonnage of
234,605. This fleet in 1891 carried 267,911,802 kilometric
tons, or 41.3 per cent of the total river traffic; whereas, The
Danubian Navigation Company, which carried 90 per cent
of the passenger traffic, carried only 58.7 per cent of the
freight which traveled by water routes. The great activ-
ity and the light expenses of private navigation enterprises
have caused frequent variations in transportation rates,
and, by forced competition, reductions which have had
their effect on the railroads and their tariffs.
As to the direct conflict between the rail and water routes,
the outcome is not doubtful wherever the water route serves
but a small district; this weaker route will fall back to the
rear, or should, more rationally, become a feeder of the
railroad. But in sections where the rivers offer a first-
class route, this is the case in Hungary, where the charac-
ter of the products, the quality of the merchandise to be trans-
ported, favor river traffic, and where the water routes coin-
cide with mercantile traffic,+competition against the rail-
roads will certainly be possible. It was not even necessary
17
that in Hungary this conflict should be specially prepared
for ; it came up spontaneously, by the nature of things, as
fast as railroads were built. But it would be a mistake to
suppose that this competition, based on a purely economi-
cal law, had at the same time caused reductions of rates,
and that the lowering of the railroad rates was caused
specially by water competition. This happened long after
I88O.
At first the railroads established their rate alone; the
powerful development of production, the favorable condi-
tions to export trade, increased the amount of merchandise
to be transported, so that the railroads, still incomplete,
were not in condition to take all the traffic, and refuse all
division with the water routes. Most of the railroads, and
specially the State roads of Austria and Hungary (very
important in view of the competition we are referring to),
were held by private companies, who, not wishing to reduce
rates solely in order to get the traffic away from the river
routes, preferred to consolidate with the Danubian Navi-
gation Company the most powerful of the water transpor-
tation companies. Thus no competition existed between
these two routes to reduce rates; in some cases the water
route could maintain rates almost as high as the railroad.
In these conditions the railroad, instead of competing,
entered into an agreement with the river route, to maintain
rates, to the detriment of national development; and we
are shown the strange phenomenon that the water route
caused no reduction on the railroad rates, but only followed
in its lead.
COMPETITION OF THE STATE ROADS.
The situation has materially changed in the last ten
years, since the time when the old natural competition
developed by the general laws of farming, has given place
to a definite policy, organized with a definite end in view.
The policy of State railroads inaugurated in the country
became more and more prominent. Railroads were built
along the rivers and bought up by the State; thus the
I8
Danube was followed by two lines of road, parallel with
each other, one from Buda-Pest to Zimony, and the other
from Buda-Pest to Bruck. The system of State roads,
at the end of 1891, comprised 7,505,439 kilometres out of
a total of II,967,023 kilometres, or 62.8 per cent of the
whole. The direct influence of the State also extended to
certain private roads, and the total of roads run by the State
amounted to 9,787,727 kilometres, or 81.8 per cent.
The predominant character of the State roads already
offered a chance of reducing the rates, which was imperi-
ously demanded by the economic situation. Besides the
continued competition with our products, the tendency of
protective tariffs of the different States of Europe was
added. Hungary, whose life depends on the exportation
of its raw materials, and which is already encumbered by
the cost of production, found itself in the presence of many
difficulties to maintain its own in its old markets, or to
establish new ones. It was evident that the reduction of
transportation rates was the only way to counteract the new
difficulties of competition. The State, by means of its
State roads, could do this.
The water routes naturally felt the effect of this reduc-
tion. They were still more affected by the new measures
of 1889, which assured for the railroads the heavy freights
on which the water routes relied. The reports of the Hun-
garian Minister of Commerce to Parliament enumerates
the reductions, constantly increasing, which have been
allowed, outside of the general and special tariffs, in order
to compete with the river routes. These concessions not
only refer to bulky materials, such as cereals and flour,
but also to manufactured products arriving at Buda-Pest
from Vienna, either direct or in transit.
As this policy was carried on systematically, the navi-
gation companies had to submit. Under these circum-
stances they could only turn and reduce their rates to a
considerable extent; and we have this new phenomenon,
that it is rather the railroads, and not the water routes, that
impose reduced rates to the competing companies.
I9
To show up what we have just described, we will give
a table of charges on cereals which the Danubian Naviga-
tion Company has made, since 1858, on some of the impor-
tant routes competing with the railroads.
RATES IN KREUTZERS (ONE-HALF CENT) PER IOO KILCS, TO BUDA-PEST
FROM
Major
year Srentes Sreged Becskeres Temesvar Ujvidek Zimony
1858 55 78 76 67 39 3')
1864 IOI 92 83 Ioé 7t 78
1868 IOI 92 83 IO6 71 78
1871 92 84 76 96 66 72
1876 94 86 78 98 66 7I
1881 67 6I 56 7o 5 I 55
1885 57 5 I 46 6o 46 5O
1887 6O 53 5O 65 48 5O
1891 78 42 4O 56 36 4O
We might in the same way compare the rates on other
products. After the moderate rates of 1858 we see the high
rates of 1867–1868, which were continued in 1871–1876,
when railroad competition was not yet felt. In 1881–1885
the rates begin to decline; the extraordinary fight inaugu-
rated in 1887 by the State roads, specially on the Buda-
Pest Zimony route, and the Buda-Pest to Bruck, is shown
in the rates of 1891, which are about a half of those of
1867–1871.
To bring out the influence of the competition of the two
routes on freight rates, it is only necessary to quote an ex-
ample out of the statements of the Hungarian railroads in
the cereal tariff, to show the difference in charges for the
same distances with and without river competition.
THE CHARGES FROM BUDA-PEST TO THE FOLLOWING STATIONS ARE :-
Competing Distance, Charges, Non-competing Distance, Charges,
Stations." Kilometres. Kreutzers. Stations. Kilometres. Kreutzers.
Baja, 23O 33 Gombsrog, 23O 63
Ujvidek, 272 4O Kassa, 272 7o
Vukovar, 29I 4O Perbenyik, 295 73
Essegg, 297 4. I Devecser, 298 73
Zimony, 343 46 B. Hunyad, 349 8I
Mitrovica, 347 49 Homonna, 35O 8I
We should be going beyond the scope of this paper if we
were to expose in details the existing conditions, and exam-
2O
ine the effects of the reductions of rates spoken of on the
expenses and the financial condition of the companies in
question; but it can be set down as a result of this great
competition of rates, that a large benefit has been reaped
by national production and the country at large, which can-
not be overestimated.
CONCLUSIONS AS TO FREIGHT TRAFFIC.
Let us now summarize the results of the facts above
referred to, as regards freight transportation.
To be sure, the amount of freight carried by water is
much less than that carried by the railroads, but it would
be hard to point out a fact that would show that the rail-
roads have prejudiced the traffic of the water routes. As a
fact, the water traffic has advanced with that of the rail-
roads; the work on both for a series of years shows a
uniform increase in traffic, which shows that the country
possesses in both economic organs full of vitality.
But, whereas in the case of the railroads, this result has
been obtained by the exclusive solicitude of all the interested
parties, and by the great sacrifices that the country has
submitted to in order to create at short notice, a power-
ſul system of railroads; the water routes have obtained
their success only by a constant fight against numerous
impeding circumstances. It is proper to expect that the
capacity, and, therefore, the use, of the water routes will
increase as fast as the regulating works shall remove the
present obstacles to navigation, and as fast as new artificial
water ways and canals are established to complete routes
that are now disconnected, owing to natural conformations
of the country. Now that our railroad system is completed,
public attention will have to turn to the water routes,
doubly necessary in a country where bulky freight pre-
dominates.
The simple fact that a certain line of traffic has two
routes at its disposal, is not sufficient to bring about a com-
petition that will terminate in reduced rates. When both
the railroad and the river route are in exceptional condi-
2 I
tions, the struggle to get traffic may cause the two enter-
prises to come to an understanding in view of maintaining
rates equally high on both routes. This is an unwhole-
some state of things, prejudicial to the economic life of the
country, which is in contradiction with the principle—the
motives of which it is needless to expound—that the water
route which, by its nature, can consent to lower rates,
should exert a pressure on the railroad rates.
Competition can bring about lower rates only if the
parties compete more energetically to draw away the traffic
from each other, which can usually be done by means of
special measures relative to rates. In all cases State rail-
roads are more disposed and more able to reduce rates than
private companies, and are much more to be feared by the
navigation companies as rivals. Of course rate war has
limits. On the one hand it must be considered that the
State railroads are not only economic institutions, but are
also financial institutions, whose profits are closely con-
nected with the revenue. On the other hand the navigation
companies, which are in competition, serve not only the
private interests of their owners and stockholders, but also
serve the needs of the economic life of the country. It
would be a great mistake to invoke the economic role of
the State railroads to the point of compromising their
revenue; but it would be no less irrational to carry the
struggle to the point of endangering the prosperity, or even
the existence, of the navigation companies.
The rail and water routes are called to complete each
other; their common calling consists in serving to the best
advantage the interest of traffic. This determines the object
of their competition; and if it is a question of deciding the
time and the limits claimed by the interests of traffic for
reductions of rates, one must never look from an exclusive
point creating an unreasoned contrast between the two
routes; one must always consider the general economic
effect that the harmonous working of the two is called on
to produce.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
The Benefits to be derived from the
Improvement of Waterways
—z—
SHIP-CAN ALS
R E PORT
BY
LEVESON FRANCIS VERNON-HARCOURT
M.A., MEM. INST. C.E.
\
tº ...”
**-ºs.º. 32 ºr *
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@The Øſt (Carmer ºochátore
283 Washington Street

IMPROVEMENT OF WATERWAYS, AND SHIP-
CANALS.
BY LEVESON FRANCIS VERNON-HARCOURT, M.A., M. INST. C.E.
The benefits to be derived from the improvement of water.
ways depend upon the length of the navigation, and the
nature of the traffic. When a country is comparatively
small, and detached from any continent, like Great Britain,
its rivers cannot be large except at their tidal estuaries,
owing to their restricted drainage area; and therefore inland
navigation can only be provided for by purely artificial works
at a considerable cost. The extensive seaboard, moreover,
in such a case, in proportion to the area, affords numerous
outlets for the trade of the country; whilst the distance of
any portion of the interior from the seacoast is so moderate,
that a waterway is too short to compete on favorable terms
with railways, unless there is a large traffic in bulky goods.
Accordingly, the improvement of rivers for navigation in
Great Britain has been, to a large extent, confined to their
tidal portions; and no large inland navigation works have
been recently carried out, except the Manchester ship-canal,
which is more an extension of ocean navigation a few miles
inland than an inland waterway. Inland navigation in Eng-
land has been practically superseded by railways, except in
rare instances, such as the Aire and Calder navigation, and
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, on which the traffic in coals
and bulky goods has enabled these waterways to flourish in
spite of brisk railway competition, and where the trade has
been carefully fostered by successive improvements. Even
in France, where inland navigation is encouraged and devel-
oped by the State and made free of tolls like the roads, the
4.
traffic by water is not very large, except on the north coast
and along two or three waterways connected with Paris,
owing, no doubt, to the extensive seaboard possessed by
the country and its excellent system of railways. Indeed,
the only inland waterways in France having a considerable
traffic are those connecting Dunkirk and the Belgian coal-
fields with Paris, the Seine between Havre and Paris, and
from Montereau to Paris, the Marne and Rhine Canal at its
connections with Paris, and to a smaller extent the Loire
lateral canal with the canals joining it to the Seine. A large
portion of this traffic consists of the carriage of coal and
other bulky goods to Paris. The Rhone and the Saône have
only a very moderate traffic; but they undoubtedly suffer
from the bad condition of the mouth of the Rhone, and the
absence of direct connection by water with Marseilles. Un-
doubtedly, France in general and Paris in particular, have
derived great benefits from the progressive improvement of
French waterways; but it is evident that inland navigation
is only capable of the fullest development where large quan-
tities of bulky goods have to be conveyed, and where there
is direct access by water to the sea.
The greatest opportunities for inland navigation occur in
the interior of large continents, where the seaboard is distant,
and small in proportion to the area of the country, and
where often the rivers are large and more or less navigable
for long distances inland. The Rhine, the Danube, and the
Volga are instances of such rivers in Europe; and the St.
Lawrence, the Mississippi, the Amazon, and La Plata in
America. These rivers, owing to the vast areas which they
drain, possess not merely a larger channel, but also a more
regular discharge, and consequently a moderate amount of
improvement in places suffices to render them navigable
for very great distances; and they form natural highways
for the trade of the country. The economy, moreover, of
transporting goods in bulk by water in such cases is fully
realized on account of the long distances that can be trav-
ersed.
A remarkable instance of the benefits to be gained by
even a small increase in depth of a river navigation, at a
5
long distance from the seacoast, is afforded by the canaliza-
tion of the river Main from its junction with the Rhine up
to Frankfort. Till these works were carried out in 1883–86,
the navigable depth of the river in dry weather was liable to
fall below 3 feet; and the traffic by water up to Frankfort
did not exceed 12,000 tons in the year. As soon, however,
as the minimum navigable depth was increased by canaliza-
tion and dredging to 6% feet, enabling vessels of from 700 to
1,000 tons to get up to Frankfort, the traffic rose to 3OO,OOO
tons. The traffic last year reached 709,000 tons; and the
success of the works has led to the decision to augment the
minimum depth to 84 feet, and to enlarge the locks sufficiently
to receive a train of six Rhine boats with their tug. More-
over, this great rise in river traffic has been effected in the
face of keen railway competition; for, like the Rhine, the
Main has a railway running along each bank.
The blasting of a channel through the “Iron Gates” of
the Danube, and the removal of other rocky obstacles, will
considerably extend the navigable capabilities of that river;
and improvement works on the Rhine at the rocky rapids
below Bingen, where the minimum depth is 43 feet, would
prolong the minimum navigable depth of 6% from below this
point right up to above Mannheim. The proposed connec-
tion of the Volga with the Don, by means of a canal, would
greatly increase the commercial importance of the Volga by
giving it access to the Black Sea, especially as its trade is
considerably hampered by the shallowness of its outlets into
the Caspian Sea. *
The most notable instance of a large extension of inland
navigation is afforded by the works which have surmounted
the obstacles to navigation between the large lakes of North
America and the St. Lawrence, and which have placed the
important cities established upon the shores of these lakes
in direct communication by water with the ocean. The
benefits conferred by these works are sufficiently attested
by the successive enlargements which a growing traffic and
the increasing size of vessels have necessitated. This is a
case where a large expenditure in perfecting the connecting
links is most fully justified, and where trade is sure to follow
6
with rapid growth every increased facility afforded to naviga-
tion. These works must, indeed, be regarded as ship-canals
connecting inland seas, possessing flourishing ports on their
shores, with the ocean, and not as ordinary extensions of
inland navigation ; and it is under such special conditions
that inland traffic by water is capable of attaining its highest
development.
The moderate minimum depth of 6% feet has been adopted
as the standard depth along the main lines of inland naviga-
tion in France, and has proved capable of accommodating a
large traffic; whilst on the Rhine, a similar depth has enabled
Mainz, Frankfort, and Mannheim to acquire the importance
of seaports, though situated inland, at a long distance from
the ocean. Undoubtedly, a greater navigable depth is prefer-
able, if it can be obtained at a reasonable cost, as it enables
larger vessels to be employed, and therefore the carriage to
be effected more economically, and can also accommodate a
larger traffic. Nevertheless, though the navigable depth of
the Lower Seine, proving the connecting link by water be-
tween Havre, Rouen, and Paris, has been gradually increased
to Io; feet, only the portion of the Lower Seine between the
mouth of the river Oise and the St. Dénis Canal has a
larger traffic than the portion of the Upper Seine between
Corbeil and Paris, where the minimum navigable depth is
6% feet.
The conditions favorable to the development of inland navi-
gation are a large area of country at a distance from the
seacoast, a considerable traffic in bulky goods, the ex-
istence of large rivers stretching far into the interior, and
large inland lakes or seas capable of connection by water
with the ocean. All these conditions are found in North
America; and, if France, with her extensive seaboard on
the north, west, and south, has found it expedient, notwith-
standing her network of railways, to improve, extend, and
throw open her waterways, it is evident that a similar policy
is far more important for America, where the distances from
the ocean are so vast, the rivers so large, and the inland
lakes so extensive. Railways undoubtedly enable traffic to
be carried on in regions which waterways could not ap-
7
proach,- such, for instance, as the Denver and Rio Grande
Railway in North America, and the Oroya and Transandine
railways in South America. In level districts, however,
canals are beneficial in supplementing and relieving rail-
ways, and furnish means for economical transport in bulk
for great distances, when connected with and serving as
feeders for a large river system. Moreover, whilst the con-
struction of an extensive system of artificial waterways at
the public expense may be open to question, there can be
no doubt that river navigation, in a country like America,
should be carried as far into the interior as practicable, es-
pecially as, in large rivers, moderate local improvements
often open up a considerable length of navigation. Whilst
the construction of local canals might be sometimes left to
private enterprise, the improvement of the main waterways
should be effected by the State; for the government can
more easily raise the necessary funds, it alone can under-
take a comprehensive scheme of improvement, extending
over long distances, and occupying a considerable period
in execution, it looks to the interests of the community at
large, and not to local advantages, and it alone derives the
indirect benefits resulting from the general development of
the resources of the country. When the increase in traffic
from any scheme of improvement of waterways is uncertain,
the work can often, to a considerable extent, be carried out
in successive stages, so as to proportionate the expenditure
to the rate of growth of trade.
SHIP-CANALS.
Ship-canals, being intended to accommodate ocean-going
vessels, are much larger works than ordinary inland canals.
They may be designed for improving the access to a seaport
of which the natural approach is circuitous or deficient in
depth, as, for instance, the Baltic and North Sea Canal
and the Amsterdam Ship-canal,—or for bringing ocean-going
vessels up to an inland town, such as the Manchester Ship-
canal and the schemes for converting Paris and Brussels
into seaports. Again, a ship-canal may cut through a
8
narrow neck of land, and thereby shorten the sea voyage
between certain ports, of which the Corinth Canal is a
notable instance, whilst the Florida Canal has been proposed
with a similar object. The ship-canals, however, which pre-
sent by far the greatest interest, are those which, cutting
across isthmuses, materially shorten the routes between far
distant countries. The first class, though constituting very
important engineering works, possesses merely a local value;
the second class shortens the distance between a few ports ;
but the last class is of universal interest to mankind, and
modifies the lines of traffic between distant quarters of the
globe. e
SHIP-CANALS FOR PORTs.— The commercial success of the
Manchester Ship-canal, 35 miles in length, will wholly
depend on the trade of Manchester and the surrounding dis-
trict, and on the development of traffic which cheaper
transport and increased facilities may produce. Unfortu-
nately, the actual cost of this work has largely exceeded the
estimate,_ a fate not uncommon in works of unusual mag-
nitude and somewhat novel in character, where the actual
work to be done is difficult to define with adequate accuracy
at the outset, the nature of the soil is varied, additional
works are found necessary during construction, and unfore-
seen contingencies arise. Manchester will, indeed, benefit
equally, whatever may be the financial results to the share-
holders; but the absence of a suitable return in such an
undertaking prevents capital flowing in toward the promo-
tion of works of a similar nature, and thus checks enterprise.
The Amsterdam Ship-canal provides a direct route with
deep water between Amsterdam and the North Sea, and
has thus secured the trade of this old commercial city from
the serious injury with which it was threatened by the in-
creasing draught of vessels, the improved access to Rotter-
dam, and the marvellous development of Antwerp. The
Dutch government recognized the necessity of saving the
capital of the country from the loss of commercial impor-
tance by the inadequacy of the depth of the Zuider Zee and
the North Holland Canal to meet the requirements of mod-
ern ocean navigation; and it was, moreover, bound to give
9
similar facilities of access to the ocean to Amsterdam as had
been conferred on Rotterdam by the works at the mouth of
the Maas. Accordingly, though Amsterdam is not sur-
rounded by the same thriving industries as Manchester, its
prosperity is of national importance; and the government
wisely came to its aid, in order to preserve and improve one
of the main ancient outlets of the trade of the country.
Owing to the shortness of the route, which is only 15 miles,
the flatness of the country, and the existence of lakes along
a considerable part of the distance traversed by the canal,
the works did not approach in magnitude or cost the Man-
chester Ship-canal, whilst the sale of large tracts of land
reclaimed from the lakes by the construction of the canal,
enabled the government to recoup a portion of the outlay.
Moreover, the country will be amply repaid for the expendi-
ture by the preservation of the trade of the capital, and by
the increased commerce which an improved waterway to a
centre of trade has produced.
The Baltic Canal is of national importance to Germany in
a somewhat different sense; for its object is to place Kiel,
the naval arsenal of Germany, in the Baltic, in direct com-
munication by water with the North Sea, and thereby im-
prove the naval position of the empire, which has been
considerably hampered by the comparatively small extent of
its seacoast, and till the conquest of Schleswig-Holstein, by
the inadequate depth of its Baltic seaports. To a large
nation, with such an object in view, the cost of such an
undertaking is of secondary importance; for in the event of
war the value of this route might be very great. But, never-
theless, though the canal will have a length of 60 miles, a
minimum depth of 29% feet, and regulating locks at each
end, in Kiel Harbor and the Elbe respectively, its estimated
cost of £5,000,000 is less than the expenditure on the Man-
chester Ship-canal works; and, even allowing for a probable
excess over the estimate, the expense will be worth the
facilities afforded. Moreover, the new waterway should also
prove very useful for the commerce of the country, by
shortening the route from the Baltic ports to the North Sea
by 240 miles. Irrespective of the naval advantages, the
IO
government can raise the necessary funds for such a work
on easier terms than a private company, and reaps all the
indirect advantages of an increased trade. Government aid,
however, can only be invoked where the proposed waterway
is of national importance, and not in such a case as Man-
chester, where a provincial city away from the seacoast
desires to be converted into a port, though in propinquity to
one of the largest seaports in the world. -
SHIP-CANALS ACROSS NECKS OF PENINSULAS.—Ship-canals
of the second class are designed to shorten the sea route
of vessels, by cutting a channel through a neck of land,
so as to avoid a circuitous voyage round a projecting penin-
Sula.
The Corinth Canal, for instance, has been constructed
through the isthmus of Corinth, to afford more direct com-
munication between some of the ports of the Mediterranean
and the Black Sea, and also to avoid the stormy circuit round
Cape Matapan. This canal, consisting merely of a straight
open cutting only four miles in length, with protecting piers
at each end, was proposed and actually commenced in the
reign of Nero ; but its execution has been reserved for the
close of this century. The cutting, however, though so
short, and mainly in rock, reaches a maximum depth of
about 290 feet. The works, moreover, have been delayed
by financial difficulties, owing chiefly to the increased ex-
cavation necessitated by slips, resulting from the unex-
pected dislocation of the strata traversed. The canal has
been carried out by private French enterprise, as it will be
principally used by vessels trading beyond the limits of
Greece.
The proposed Florida Canal would considerably shorten
the voyage between the ports on the east coast of North
America and Galveston and the mouth of the Mississippi.
This canal would be a much greater undertaking than the
Corinth Canal, on account of the far greater width of the
narrowest portion of the peninsula; and, unlike that canal,
it would naturally have to be carried out by the nation
through whose territory it passes. At present it can hardly
be regarded as of sufficiently general commercial importance
II
to the United States to justify its being undertaken by the
government; but, if the prospects of traffic are adequate, it
might be carried out by a private company, or still better at
the expense of those States whose ports it would principally
benefit. This route, however, would acquire greatly in-
creased importance if a passage for vessels was obtained
across the isthmus of Panama, especially if the more north-
ern Nicaragua Canal was carried out, or the Tehuantepec
Ship-railway was constructed; for then the Florida Canal
would be in the direct course between the eastern and west-
ern coasts of North America.
A similar object is being attained for coasting vessels up
to 2,000 tons by the Chignecto Ship-railway, which will
enable vessels trading between New England and the St.
Lawrence River and Prince Edward’s Island to shorten
their voyage by over 500 miles of stormy sea, by being
transported over a neck of land 15 miles wide, connecting
Nova Scotia with the mainland. This enterprise, though
simply an extension on a large scale of the system of in-
clines in place of flights of locks, adopted many years ago
on the Morris Canal for vessels of 80 tons and at George-
town for vessels of I I5 tons, as well as in Great Britain and
Germany, is of considerable interest, as the first work carried
out for hauling sea-going vessels overland. The working of
this ship-railway will afford an indication of the prospects
of extending the system to the conveyance of the largest
class of vessels, so as to offer another method of enabling
vessels to traverse the isthmus of Panama. The comple-
tion, however, of these works, though not presenting any
formidable difficulties, has been delayed by financial impedi-
ments, which appear inseparable from large undertakings
where no return can be obtained for the capital expended
till the works are finished.
A canal has been undertaken for providing more direct
communication between the Sea of Azov and the Danube
and north-western parts of the Black Sea by cutting through
the isthmus of Perekop, which connects the Crimea with
the mainland. This canal, with a length of 73 miles and a
depth of I4 feet, will accommodate the coasting traffic along
I 2
the northern shore of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov,
and will place the navigation of the Don in more direct com-
munication with the Danube and the Dnieper.
A scheme has been proposed for cutting a navigable chan-
nel through the Palk Strait, between Ceylon and India, and
thus shortening the route to the east coast of India by about
350 miles. Another obstacle to direct navigation is the
Malay Peninsula; and, if it was feasible to cut a canal
through it, a much shorter route would be obtained between
India and the China Sea.
Any works which materially shorten the routes of sea-
going vessels are advantageous to commerce; but the extent
of the barrier to be traversed and the uncertainties as to the
actual cost and as to the amount of traffic which would be
secured, render the prospects of success of a private company
uncertain ; whilst such works as have been referred to above
are not of sufficient national importance to claim the appro-
priation of public funds.
Inter-oceanic Ship-canals.- The earliest instances of works
carried out for connecting two seas, which are still in ex-
istence, are the Languedoc Canal, which connects the Bay
of Biscay with the Mediterranean, and the Caledonian Canal
traversing Scotland. Both these canals were constructed by
the governments of the countries in which they are situated,
and were designed solely for the benefit of these countries.
The Languedoc Canal, constructed in the seventeenth cen-
tury, though intended for sea-going vessels, has only the
depth of the main inland waterways of France at the present
day; but its enlargement to meet the present requirements
of sea-going trade has been proposed. The advantages of
the route for shortening the passage between the western
and southern ports of France are evident; but the length
of the canal and the height of its summit level at 600 feet
above sea-level would make its adequate enlargement very
costly, and consequently it is unlikely that the scheme will
be carried out. The Caledonian Canal, executed in the
early part of the present century along a naturally favor-
able route, owing to the existence of a chain of lakes, was
designed on a larger scale, with an available depth of 17 feet.
I3
This canal, however, is no longer adequate for sea-going
merchant vessels, and still less for the passage of vessels
of war, as originally contemplated ; but this route never at-
tracted much traffic, and the advent of railways, the adop-
tion of steam for navigation, and the increased draught of
vessels have aided in keeping away trade.
Recent inter-oceanic canal undertakings have aimed at a
far more general accommodation of traffic, and have been de-
signed to shorten the main routes of the traffic of the world
between far distant ports. The vicissitudes through which
the Suez Canal passed, and its ultimate great commercial
success, are well known. The work presented no serious
engineering difficulties, the greatest depth of cutting being
only 80 feet, and the prospects of the silting up of Port Said
Harbor having been greatly overrated. The real difficulties
consisted in raising adequate funds for the execution of the
work; but these were overcome by French energy, the cor-
dial support of the Egyptian rulers, and their aid with forced
labor and money. This canal has entirely altered the sea
route between Europe and the East, and to some extent the
Australian traffic; and the trade through it has been so
great that traffic by night has had to be organized by the
aid of the electric light; whilst more perfect accommodation
for the shipping will eventually be secured by the widening
works in progress. Great Britain has derived great benefits
from the canal by the shortening of the voyages to India
and her colonies, and the shareholders are receiving ample
dividends. Egypt has already derived considerable advan-
tages and increased importance from being on the highway
to the East; but the full value of the Suez Canal to that
country will not be fully realized till, on the termination of
the concession shortly after the middle of the next century,
its government will have the possession of this splendid in-
heritance.
The piercing of the isthmus of Panama by a navigable
channel would probably confer almost equal advantages on
the commerce of the world as the Suez Canal. Unfortu-
nately, the conditions of the work are less favorable. The
length of cutting is, indeed, considerably shorter, both at
I4.
Panama and Nicaragua; but a tide-level canal at Panama
would have involved a depth of cutting reaching a maximum
of 344 feet, mainly in slippery clay, and the proposed Nica-
ragua Canal would necessitate a cutting 328 feet deep about
20 miles from Greytown. The climate of the isthmus is
unhealthy; the region is subject to occasional earthquakes;
and the abundant tropical rains are liable to produce consid-
erably greater inconveniences than the dryness of Egypt.
In spite, however, of these disadvantages, the uniting of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans cannot be regarded as beyond
the limits of engineering skill. No financial aid can be
expected from the governments of the countries through
which the proposed canals would pass; and the financial
difficulties of the problem have been exemplified in a vivid
manner by the collapse of the Panama Canal Company.
A private company experiences almost inseparable obstacles
in raising capital for such a gigantic work; and a certain
amount of the capital having been raised at the hopeful
commencement of the enterprise, and the works partially
carried out, the company, in seeking the additional capital
necessary to complete the undertaking, and to give any
return to the capital first subscribed, falls into the clutches
of rapacious financiers, who can impose exorbitant terms
on a company at the end of its resources. The peculiar
features of such a work are the immense capital required,
the uselessness of the canal till its final completion, and the
uncertainty as to the actual cost of the enterprise. The
Manchester Ship-canal had to be aided by financiers to start
it; and the works would unquestionably have been brought
to a standstill, except for the timely aid of the Manchester
Corporation, though the capital involved is considerably less
than any Panama scheme would require. The regulation of
the Danube, and the deepening of its outlet, have been
effected by a European commission, composed of represen-
tatives of the nations interested in the navigation of that
river; but this was the result of a special clause in the
international treaty at the close of the Crimean War, and
the nations interested were clearly defined. It would be
more difficult to form a combination of the nations inter-
2^
I5
ested in the cutting of a navigable channel through the
isthmus of Panama for the purpose of raising the capital
and constructing the works; but some national guarantee
appears essential for obtaining the necessary funds at a
reasonable rate and insuring the completion of the work.
Probably the most feasible plan would be for the United
States government to undertake the work, as it would be
the nation that would reap the main indirect benefits of the
canal, by thus connecting its eastern and western coasts,
and thereby promoting the commercial prosperity of the
nation. This course would obviate any international com-
plications, and would give the United States that command-
ing control of the canal which, in a waterway so close to
their territory, and of so much importance to the nation,
they naturally desire. Till the stoppage of the Panama
Canal works, it might have been unwise of any government
to promote a rival scheme; and the construction of two
waterways would have been injurious to the success of both.
Now, however, when there is no prospect of a revival of
the Panama Company, and the French government has
declined to intervene, the work of joining the two oceans
is again open to the world.
There appear to be three practical solutions of the prob-
lem ; namely, the completion of the Panama Canal, the
construction of the Nicaragua Canal, and the formation of
the Tehuantepec Ship-railway. The original scheme of the
Panama undertaking as a level canal might have proved an
impracticable work, owing to the depth of cutting in a
treacherous soil under tropical rains, combined with the
unhealthiness of the climate and the floods of the river
Chagres. The introduction, however, of locks would greatly
reduce the excavation, and render the work much more
feasible; whilst the waters of the Chagres might be utilized
in supplying water for lockage. The route possesses the
advantage of being only 46 miles long. Portions of the
work have been executed, especially at the two ends; and
no difficulties seem to have arisen about harbor accommo-
dation at the entrances. The work, however, has not as
yet passed out of the hands of the French company. The
I6
undertaking has been so unfortunate that its revival would
not readily be contemplated, and it might seem invidious
for the government of another nation to assume control of
the work. These objections, combined with the uncertainty
as to the cost of the purchase of the undertaking, and the
natural preference for an original scheme, weigh strongly
against the taking up of the Panama works by another nation,
unless, after full consideration, it should prove decidedly the
most economical method of piercing the isthmus.
The preference shown by Americans for the Nicaragua
7 oute has doubtless partly arisen from a desire to see the
junction of the two oceans effected by their own nation,
and their objection to a European nation obtaining control
of an American waterway in the neighborhood of their
country and of great importance to their trade. Assuming,
however, that the cost of the Panama and Nicaragua routes
were similar, the Nicaragua Canal would be decidedly the
better for the United States, on account of its being nearer
to their coasts. As far as small longitudinal sections permit
a comparison, the excavations for the Panama Canal with
locks and for the Nicaragua Canal do not appear very dis-
similar. The Nicaragua route is nearly 170 miles long, or
more than three and a half times the length of the Panama
route; but this is compensated for by the large proportion
of lake and river navigation, leaving only 27 miles of actual
canal. The climate, moreover, is said to be more healthy
and the rains less heavy than at Panama. An objection
formerly raised against the scheme was the prospect of
silting up of a harbor at Greytown on the Atlantic; but
similar fears were expressed about the harbor at Port Said,
which has been easily maintained; and the great improve-
ments in dredging appliances have much increased the facil-
ities for overcoming such obstacles. Accordingly, the bal-
ance of advantages appears to be in favor of the Nicaragua
Canal, which is more conveniently situated for the United
States.
The Tehuantepec scheme aims at solving the problem in
a somewhat novel manner, which is still under trial. It
was, however, proposed by the late Mr. James Eads, and
17
therefore was doubtless satisfactorily designed. The site,
being to the north of the Nicaragua route, is still better
situated in respect of the United States; and the cost of an
overland road should be considerably less than the expense
of canal excavation. On the other hand, the risk of damage
to the vessels is considerably greater on a ship-railway; and
the cost of dragging the vessels across the isthmus would
devolve on the company, instead of the vessels being pro-
pelled by their own engines. There would therefore be a
much greater liability incurred, and considerably greater
expenses involved in the working of a ship-railway than in
the case of a ship-canal; for the company would be responsi-
ble for the safety of the vessel from the time it is taken out
of the one ocean till it is deposited in the other, as well as
for its transit across the isthmus. The absence of experi-
ence in such undertakings, on a large scale, and the uncer-
tainty as to possible risks in working, render the simpler,
though possibly more costly, expedient of a ship-canal the
most reliable method of traversing the isthmus.
Conclusions.—The value of waterways for traffic in bulky
goods, especially in the interior of vast continents, has been
fully established; and the care of the main waterways should
devolve on the State, which alone can undertake a compre-
hensive scheme, and which alone reaps the indirect benefits
of the increase in the trade of the country. Only the main
lines of inland navigation should be improved at the public
expense, local improvements and the establishment of quays
and depots for merchandise being left to private enterprise.
Works for connecting river navigations or for extending them
further into the interior and the development of main lines
of inland navigation are specially incumbent upon the State,
as constituting national benefits.
The formation of new outlets for ocean traffic may be ex-
pedient when the ancient outlets have become inadequate
in depths, and when there is a danger of diversion of trade to
other countries by the absence of adequate access between
commercial centres and the ocean.
Canals for shortening sea routes by piercing narrow necks
of land do not come within the province of national under-
.*
I8
takings, except under special conditions, as they are rather
serviceable to special ports, possibly of different countries, .
rather than general benefits to a particular nation; and they
may sometimes confer no advantages on the country through
which the works pass.
Inter-oceanic ship-canals traversing isthmuses and trans-
ferring the routes of commerce of the world confer great
benefits on mankind. The Suez Canal, moreover, has dem-
onstrated that they may under favorable conditions afford
an ample return on the expenditure. The capital, however,
required is so large and so difficult for a private company
to raise on reasonable terms that it appears essential for the
success of such an enterprise that either the government of
the country through which the work passes should come
to its aid, as Egypt did in the case of the Suez Canal, or
that the country most interested in the undertaking should
carry out the work. The construction of the Nicaragua
Canal by the United States government, by its facilities
for raising the necessary funds or by means of its surplus,
would insure the completion of a work of great importance
to America, as well as secure its control over the canal.
Moreover, besides the indirect benefits that would accrue
to the United States from the development of commerce,
such an undertaking offers good prospects of adequate finan-
cial success, by serving as an important route for the trade
of the world.
May 17, 1893.
The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
THE NICARAGUA CANAL
BY
A. G. MENOCAL, M.A.S.C.E., Etc.
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@Ibe 49t, QCorner ºuchâture
283 Washington Street

THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
It is assumed that the reader is sufficiently acquainted
with the early history of Isthmian transit and the various
tentative explorations and surveys conducted under the
auspices of the United States Government, and by private
individuals, from Tehuantepec to the southern limits of
the Isthmus of Darien, with the view of ascertaining the
most practicable route for the safe and economical con-
struction of the canal, and that, after several years of most
careful and thorough investigation, regardless of expense
and labor, the field of inquiry was narrowed down to Pan-
ama and Nicaragua. In 1876, a high commission ap-
pointed by the government, gave its final decision in favor
of the latter route as possessing the greatest facilities for
the economical and safe construction of a waterway be-
tween the Atlantic and the Pacific. This decision was
later on disregarded by the Paris International Canal Con-
gress; for in May, 1879, it voted in favor of a sea-level
canal at Panama as the most advantageous and desirable
route, for a profitable enterprise and a safe waterway.
The sad history of that unfortunate undertaking is ample
justification of the action of the commission and an un-
questionable proof of the soundness of their conclusions.
And yet it may be proper to say that the plans now under
consideration are far more complete than those considered
and indorsed by the commission.
THE SURVEYS.
Government investigation and American enterprise did
not rest with that decision. There was a restless desire
4.
to improve, if possible, on what was already known to be
good; and, regardless of the attempt (which it was believed
would prove fruitless) to overcome insurmountable diffi-
culties at Panama, government expeditions and private
surveying parties succeeded each other at Nicaragua from
I88o to 1890, and the whole ground was gone over again.
Every river, watercourse, valley, swamp, or hill likely to
affect the construction of the work was carefully examined.
Thousands of miles of transit and level lines were run in
some sections of the route before a mile of canal location
was finally decided upon; and this data, together with
numerous borings, penetrating to the bottom of the canal,
and at the sites of dams, locks, and embankments, com-
prise a vast store of exact knowledge, from which a final
location has resulted, as perfect in its details, it is be-
lieved, as the natural conditions will permit. The great-
est obstacles met with at other localities are high
elevations in the Cordillera separating the two oceans,
requiring tunneling, or a high summit level with a large
number of locks for which an adequate water supply was
not obtainable, or torrential streams are encountered whose
control within economical limits defies the skill of the
engineer.
Nicaragua is free from all these obstacles.
NICARAGUA LAKE AND RIVER,
The great lake, a veritable inland sea, I Io miles in
length by an average of 40 in width, is the recipient of
a watershed of 8, Ooo square miles, of which its water area
represents nearly one-half. Its outlet, the river San
Juan, is a noble stream. Its source is at the south-eastern
extremity of the lake, and flows through a broad valley,
almost due east, for a distance of I IQ miles, to its mouth
in the Carribean Sea, south of Greytown. Its minimum
flow is I 2, OOO cubic feet per second: the width varies from
800 feet to 2, OOO feet, and the average fall is II inches per
5
mile. Its main source of supply is the lake, which, by
reason of its large area, restricted watershed, and ample
outlet, is not subject to sudden or large fluctuation in level.
Both the lake and river are, therefore, free from floods;
and it is this important, invaluable feature which distin-
guishes this route from all others, and which enables us to
make use of the lake and a large portion of the river as
parts of the canal. The lake is separated from the Pacific
by a narrow strip of land, a true isthmus, but I 2 miles
wide at its narrowest point. It is at this point, also, that
is found the lowest depression in the Cordillera all the
way from the Arctic region to Cape Horn, and the summit,
or crest, of the ridge rises but 42 feet above the lake, or
I 52 feet above the seas. Through this gap will be cut that
section of the canal connecting the lake with the Pacific,
and terminating on the coast at Brito, a small roadstead
where a harbor is to be constructed. From the lake east-
ward the river San Juan supplies the transit route to a
point below its confluence with the San Carlos tributary,
where the canal leaves the channel of the stream, by a
series of short sections in excavation, connecting a chain
of artificial basins, and stretches in a well-maintained
straight line to Greytown, the Atlantic terminus of the
waterway. This general outline and an inspection of the
map and profile will materially assist in arriving at a clear
understanding of the route and engineering works pro-
posed, which will now be described in detail.
THE CANAL ROUTE.
The lake, which is the controlling feature of the whole
problem, is, necessarily, the summit level of the canal.
The average yearly fluctuation of level due to wet and dry
seasons is about 5 feet, its highest water-mark being I Io
feet above the sea; and that is the elevation assumed for
the highest summit level of the canal. A direct sailing
line between the outlet at Fort San Carlos, on the east
6
coast, and the mouth of the river Lajas on the west, a dis-
tance of 56.5 miles, comprises the lake navigation proper.
On that line the 30 feet contour (below the assumed
level of I IO feet) is met with, about 14 miles from the
outlet and I, 2OO feet from the west shore. Between those
points the depth gradually increases to 150 feet or more,
the free navigable portions comprising the greater part
of the lake area. Dredging in mud to an average depth
of 9 feet will be required in the 14 miles on the east, and
rock-blasting and dredging in the 1,200 feet near the west
shore. Two piers are proposed on the west coast to pro-
tect the canal entrance.
While the isthmus separating the lake from the Pacific
is, at its narrowest point, not more than I2 miles in
width, the most economical route connecting the lake
shore with Brito has a length of 17.04 miles. It starts
from the mouth of the Lajas, a small stream draining a
limited watershed to the south of the line, and trends
westerly through a broad valley slightly rising toward the
“Divide,” which it reaches at a distance of 4.70 miles
from the lake. Descending thence on the Pacific slope, at .
the rate of about 9 feet per mile, at a further distance of
I 3-4 miles it falls into the narrow, tortuous valley of the
Grande, a dry creek during the dry season, but a stream
of considerable flow in the rainy portion of the year. Its
maximum volume has been estimated as high as Io, Ooo
cubic feet per second; but this is attained only in times of
extraordinary precipitation. In this narrow valley, con-
fined by spurs of considerable elevation projecting from
the highlands on both sides, there is not room for the canal
and for an independent channel for the stream. A very
favorable location has been made for the former, and it
will be shown later on what disposition is proposed to be
made of the stream. In I I-2 miles the Grande makes a
detour to the westward; and the canal, free from the con-
fining hills on the north, cuts across a broad valley to fall
again into the stream at a distance of 9 miles from the
7
lake. At this point the surface of the ground is 30 feet
below the assumed level of the lake. The valley con-
tinues its uniform descent of about 8 feet to the mile,
and gradually expands until, at the junction of the Tola
tributary, it attains the maximum width of 12,500 feet.
At mile-post 14, near a place called La Flor, the Grande
passes through a narrow gap, flanked by high hills, into
the more extensive plain of Brito, bordering on the Pacific.
It was the original plan to cut a canal through this valley
of Tola, and four locks were contemplated, with the aggre-
gate lift of I Io feet; but another scheme has since been
adopted by which the valley in question is flooded and
converted into an extensive navigable basin. This will
be accomplished by closing the gap at La Flor by a dam
I,8oo feet long and 70 feet high, so forming a basin whose
surface level will be the same as that of the lake, and, in
fact, forming a part of it. The basin thus created will be
5.60 miles long on the sailing line, with a depth of water
varying from 30 feet to 70 feet, and will have a superficial
area of 4, OOO acres. The advantage gained by this plan
consists not so much in Saving canal excavation for a dis-
tance of over 5 I-2 miles (which is partly offset by the
cost of the dam), as in the increased facilities offered to
traffic by the large, deep, and safe inner harbor, within 3
miles from the Pacific port, where ships can lie at anchor,
or pass each other with safety and freedom when moving
in opposite directions. A better control and disposal of
the surface drainage is provided by this treatment. Two
locks will be placed at the western end of the dam, by
whose combined lift the level of the water will be lowered
85 feet; namely, from I Io feet above sea level to 25 feet.
From these locks the canal route traverses the valley of
Brito, a distance of I. 58 miles, to lock No. 6, where the
last drop of 25 feet is made to sea level. But, as a tide
of 8 feet must be provided for, the lock will have a
variable lift of from 2 I to 29 feet. From this last lock
to the harbor will be about 1-2 mile of canal, but the
8
prism has been so enlarged as to make that portion of the
waterway an extension of the harbor itself.
BRITO.
The only well-founded criticism to the Nicaragua route
for an interoceanic canal is the lack of good harbors; but
an examination of the existing physical conditions will
show that, while the construction of ample and safe ports
will necessarily involve important and expensive works,
yet the cost is not out of proportion to the magnitude and
importance of the undertaking, and the engineering prob-
lems do not present more serious difficulties than those
readily mastered elsewhere for objects less important.
Brito, barely a roadstead, is an indentation of the coast,
formed by a projecting spur from the coast range. About
I 1-4 miles to the southward another headland juts into
the sea. Between, lies a cove now filled to about sea level
with river silt and sand; but this opening, it is believed,
was once an arm of the sea. The Grande traverses this
low land through a narrow channel; and in it the tide ebbs
and flows, with a depth, at the entrance, of about IO feet
at high water. The designs for the creation of this
harbor contemplate the construction of two breakwaters,
one about I, OOO feet long, projecting from the rocky prom-
ontory on the west, and the other 850 feet long, and
nearly normal to the beach on the east side. (See plan of
harbor.) The entrance will be between the jetties, and a
considerable deep water area will be confined; but the
main portion of the harbor will be excavated in the allu-
vial valley of the Grande, the whole forming a broad basin
penetrating 3,000 feet from the present shore line and
about 4, OOO feet from the entrance. Beyond this basin an
enlarged section of the canal, about 3, OOO feet long,
extends to the nearest lock, and forms a substantial portion
of the harbor itself.
DRA IN AGE.
The proposed route of the canal, from the lake nearly to
the summit of the Divide Cut, pursues a right line. The
Lajas has its source in the hills to the southward, and in
its course to the lake intersects the canal line at a distance
of I.25 miles from its mouth. At this point the stream
will be diverted through an artificial channel, carried
along the south side of the canal and discharged into the
lake. A small tributary empties into the Lajas near the
point of proposed division of the latter. This brook,
called the Guiscoyol, will drain the country to the south
as far as the highest point of the line; and the canal fol-
lows the general course of this brook. It will be observed
that the Rio del Medio, to the north of the canal, drains
the country on that side from the vicinity of the Tola
basin to the lake, leaving but a small watershed to be
drained into the canal or, if preferred, by a small ditch
which may be diverted to the lake. West of the Divide
the canal, including the Tola basin, lies within the water-
shed of the Grande. With the canal wholly in excavation,
no doubt could be entertained as to the necessity of divert-
ing that stream; and careful surveys have been made with
that object in view. It was found that to make a diver-
sion channel on the south bank of the Grande would be
a work involving some difficulties and heavy expense. A
safer, less expensive, and far more satisfactory plan was
found to be the diversion of the stream into the Juan
Davila, a tributary of the Lajas, and through the latter
into the lake; and a careful location has been made to that
end. (See plan of western division.) The plan requires
the construction of a dam near “El Carmen,” and the
opening of a canal of diversion from above the dam,
through the valley of Jobite and the watercourse Cumal-
cagua to the Davila, beyond which no other work will be
needed. With the adoption of the basin plan, however,
IO
the additional expense demanded by this work seems to be
of doubtful expediency. With a large reservoir acting as
equalizer of floods, possessing ample facility for discharg-
ing the surplus waters over a weir in connection with the
dam, through the lock culverts capable of discharging
5, OOO cubic feet per second, and through the canal itself
eastward into the lake, it does not seem that any injurious
results need be feared by receiving the waters of the upper
Grande into the basin, especially as the extraordinary
floods, which seldom occur, are of but brief duration; and,
except at such times, the flow of the stream is insignifi-
cant, while for nine months in the year it is nil. The
problem, in any case, admits of a practical and satisfactory
solution; and perfect immunity from all danger can be
secured by the expenditure of, say, $1,500, OOO. From
the Tola basin to the harbor the canal traverses a flat val-
ley, with no watercourse to provide for.
THE RIVER SAN JUAN.
From the lake eastward this river will be made naviga-
ble for a distance of 64.5 miles by the erection of a dam
at Ochoa, and by dredging for the first 28 miles below the
lake. Rock-blasting will also be needed for a short dis-
tance at Toro rapids. The dam at Ochoa will there raise
the water 56 feet. It will be 1,250 feet on the crest and
I,900 feet between abutments, with a maximum height of
70 feet. The river in its natural condition from the lake
to the Atlantic, a distance of I IQ miles by its course, has
an average fall of II inches per mile; but this slope is not
uniform. There are rapids at Toro, Castillo, and Ma-
chuca, with an aggregate fall of about 20 feet in a total dis-
tance,—for the three, of not more than 2 I-2 miles, the fall
at Castillo being 4 I-2 feet in a distance of I, OOO feet.
On the other hand, between the lake and Toro, and for I 5
miles below Machuca, the fall is not more than I inch per
mile. Two rapids, where the first rock ledge across the
I I
river is met with, is the natural weir which maintains
the present lake level, the crest being 9 feet above the
proposed bottom of the navigable channel. At Castillo,
where the ledge is 7 feet lower, 3 feet of rock excavation
for a short distance will be needed; and over the present
Machuca rapids, I 2 miles below, the depth of water as
raised by the dam will be not less than 34 feet. Between
the lake and Toro dredging to an average depth of 4 1-2
feet will be required throughout an aggregate distance of
24 miles, the material to be removed being gravel, clay,
and loose stones. Below Toro no excavation will be
needed in the bed of the river, except at the ledge at
Castillo. Between the rapids the depth of water attained
will vary from 30 to 50 feet, and from Machuca to the dam
from 60 to 130 feet. The width of the navigable channel,
where no excavation is required, will average I, OOO feet,
and, in excavation, I 25 feet at the bottom. The surface
width will at no point be less than 1,200 feet, expanding
in places to 2,500 between the banks, and in the flooded
adjacent valleys to 1 mile or more. A fall of 3-4 of an
inch to the mile has been allowed from the lake to the
dam as the necessary slope to discharge the surplus waters.
Consequently, the level of the river at the dam is esti-
mated at I of feet above sea level, or 4 feet below the lake.
For the purpose of navigation, however, that portion of
the river may be regarded as an extension of the lake, in
which the maximum current will probably never exceed
I-2 mile an hour.
THE SAN CARLOS.
A short distance above the dam the river San Carlos
debouches into the San Juan from the south. This stream
drains a large area in Costa Rica, and possesses in marked
degree the general characteristics of a tropical torrential
river; namely, extreme fluctuations in volume from a
nearly dry bed, with barely enough water to float a canoe,
I 2
to a discharge of, possibly, 3, OOO cubic feet per second.
Its upper channel and tributaries, confined by high banks
and flowing from mountain slopes, gradually broaden and
flatten as they approach the lowlands near the San Juan,
and the flanking hills recede from the banks, so that for
a few miles above the confluence, the San Carlos flows
through a wide valley, elevated but a few feet above the
bed of the stream. This valley will be flooded to the same
level as the San Juan (IO6 feet), and thus converted into
a large basin, or artificial lake, constituting a part of the
summit level of the canal, navigable for some twenty
miles toward the Costa Rica capital. The San Carlos will
discharge into this basin, or artificial lake, at a locality
some 20 miles distant from the nearest point of the canal
navigation. The San Carlos is the only sand-bearing
stream emptying into the waters of the canal. Discharg-
ing its waters into a basin of still water, it will deposit all
the heavier sand and silt now brought from the highlands,
by the rapid current, 20 miles from the canal line. The
lighter material held in suspension will be carried along
with the slowly moving current, which will always seek
the nearest outlet, and be discharged over the vast weirs to
be built in the confining ridge several miles south of the
San Juan, and will never reach the channel of the latter
stream. The lower part of the valley of the San Carlos
will be flooded to a width of from I to 2 miles, and to a
depth of 60 feet. It will require a long term of years to
fill this basin so as to encroach on the canal navigation.
When that time does come, the San Carlos waters can, if
desired, be diverted entirely by throwing an embankment
across the valley and discharging the waters over the weirs
previously built, and through existing watercourses in the
San Juan far below Ochoa.
The confining ridge to the east of the valley extends
from the south abutment of the proposed dam in a southerly
direction for a distance of IO miles to the foot of the high
mountains of the interior of Costa Rica. There are, how-
I3
ever, several depressions in which the ground falls below
the contour II.4, adopted as top of the confining barrier.
These gaps will be closed by embankments, seven of which
will be built wholly above the normal water level in the
basin, eleven will have an average height of 2 I feet, and
two of 50 feet, with an aggregate base length of I 30 feet,
the total length of embankments on crest being 5,893 feet.
THE SAN FRANCISCO.
The canal, as it leaves the river channel a short distance
above the Ochoa dam, is located in the lower valley of
Machado Creek. Continuing easterly, it will cross the
ridge dividing the valley of the Machado from a swampy
region known as Florida Lagoon. It crosses the latter,
and then, by a short cut, enters the valley of the San Fran-
cisco; and, skirting some foot-hills to the south, it enters
the valley of the Chanchos, follows this stream to its junc-
tion with the Limpio, and thence via the valley of the
latter to the foot of the dividing ridge. An examination
of the plan will be necessary to a clear idea of the topo-
graphical conditions existing in this region. It has
required much time, labor, and perseverance to develop
this topography, and the most careful study to make profit-
able use of the information thus acquired.
It will be observed that the canal traverses four adjacent
valleys. The Florida Lagoon drains into the basin of the
San Juan by a small watercourse, the Danta; the San
Francisco Valley by the stream of the same name; and the
Limpio and Chanchos by the brook Chanchos, tributary of
the San Francisco, the latter, as well as the Danta and
Machado, being tributaries of the San Juan. All these
valleys are to be converted into large, deep, navigable
basins by extending through them the summit level from
Ochoa. Their outlets must therefore be closed by em-
bankments; and the foot-hills, wherever their crests fall
below the contour II.4, must be raised to that level. The
I4.
main embankments will have to sustain a water pressure of
about 60 feet, the level of the valleys being about 46 feet
above the sea. Six embankments will have an aggregate
base length of 3,440 feet, and on the crest, of 13,685 feet.
The embankments to close gaps in the chain vary consider-
ably in height. Many of them are wholly above the ordi-
nary water level in the basin, - i.e., from I to 8 feet high,
— while other gaps require embankments of much greater
height. They are 61 in number, with a total length on
the crest of 17,835 feet. (See profile showing development
of the San Francisco embankment line.)
Several important advantages are gained by this treat-
ment. The total length of basin created is II, 267 miles,
of which 8,697 miles will have a water depth varying from
30 to 60 feet. In other words, of the 12.50 miles from
the bank of the river San Juan to the deep cut to the east-
ward of this section, but 1,233 miles will be wholly and
2,570 miles partly in excavation. The economy, however,
is not confined to the saving in excavation, against which
must, of course, be charged the cost of the embankments,
but is principally in the enormous saving in the deep rock
excavation following, and in the valley of the Deseado
beyond, by carrying the summit level through into the
valley of the stream. The increased cost to result from a
plan contemplating a much lower level would have been so
great as to seriously handicap the undertaking financially.
The gain in facilities of navigating and maintaining the
canal is also important. Through wide and deep basins
vessels can move at full speed, lie at anchor, or pass each
other at all points, while in the restricted channel the posi-
tion and speed of ships must conform to rigid regulations.
The problem of drainage also admits of a more favorable
solution. A low, level route from Ochoa to the Atlantic
would be longer by about 12 miles, and wholly in excava-
tion. In order to avoid the high ridges and projecting
spurs, it must keep close to the banks of, and be but a little
elevated above, the San Juan. The canal would therefore
I5
be in constant danger of destruction, — on the South by the
river floods, and on the north by the accumulated drainage
of an extensive watershed, presenting at all points com-
plicated engineering problems of most difficult solution.
By the high-level plan, the largest portion of that water-
shed is eliminated; and, of the balance yet affecting the
canal, a large area is converted into extensive reservoirs,
from which the surplus waters can, without difficulty, be
discharged over waste weirs on the confining ridges into
the low valley on the south, and through the numerous
watercourses traversing the same into the San Juan.
THE EASTERN DIVIDE CUT.
Proceeding eastward, the route, on leaving the basin,
cuts across a narrow neck of the intervening ridge, which
is a spur of the main Cordillera bounding the San Juan
watershed to the north. The topographical conditions
here are remarkable and extremely favorable.
This ridge, as a broad mass of hills, extends on the
south to the banks of the river San Juan, often rising to
elevations of I, 5oo feet; and on the north it merges into
the main Cordillera, but at the point selected the spur
is nearly divided on the west by the valley of the Chan-
chos and Limpio, and on the east by that of the Dese-
ado. It will be observed that the axes of these two val-
leys lie on a generally direct line between Ochoa and
Greytown, and that their floors are at about the same level.
The ridge is thus greatly contracted; and here is also
the lowest gap in the range for many miles on either flank,
its highest point being about 299 feet above sea level.
The cut through this pass will be 2.91 miles long, with an
average depth to the canal bottom of I4I feet; but at one
point projecting a spur must be severed that requires a
maximum depth of cut of 328 feet. The summit, or lake,
level is carried through this excavation and 3.08 miles
beyond into the valley of the Deseado.
I6
THE DESEADO.
At this point the valley is spanned by a dam 70 feet
high and I, O50 feet long, which, together with several
Small embankments in the gaps of the ridge, aggregating
in length 5,800 feet and having an average height of 20
feet, encloses a basin over 3 miles long, in which a depth
of from 30 to 70 feet is obtained without excavation for a
distance of 2.60 miles. The summit level, therefore,
stretches from the upper lock on the Pacific slope to this
point, a total distance of I 54 miles, or from within 2 I-2
miles of the Pacific to within I2 3–4 miles of the Atlantic.
The upper lock in the eastern slope is located close to
this dam. It will drop the level 45 feet into another basin
formed by a second dam, 43 feet high and 82O feet long,
and five embankments with total lengths of 1,763 feet by
about 20 feet high, to close depressions in the confining
ridges. The length of this basin is 1.95 miles, the water
level 61 feet above datum, and the depth 30 feet or over.
By lock No. 2, at the lower end of the second basin, the
water level is again lowered 30 feet into a third basin
extending for a distance of 1.25 miles to lock No. 1. By
connecting this last lock with the flanking hills by ten
small embankments, the lower section of the valley is
partially flooded and the excavation materially reduced
thereby. Lock No. I drops the canal 31 feet to sea level.
From this point to the harbor of Greytown (San Juan del
Norte), a distance of 9.30 miles, the canal traverses an
alluvial Sandy and swampy plain, but little elevated above
the sea, with no features deserving special mention.
THE PORT OF GREYTOWN.
The harbor of Greytown some thirty years ago was yet a
good and safe port, with an inner bay of about 500 acres
area, with from twenty to thirty feet of water enclosed
17
from the sea by a narrow sand spit extending from the
main shore on the east to within a few hundred feet of the
main land to the west. The westerly advance of the Spit
by the shifting sand, under the influence of the north-east
winds and waves, had been gradually contracting the
entrance for a long period, so that at the time referred to,
the channel was already quite narrow, with but 25 feet
depth of water opposite the extremity of the spit, or
“hook.” Nothing being done to check its progress, the
spit continued to encroach upon the inlet; and about 1860
the harbor became a lagoon, separated by a narrow sand
bank from the sea. After long-continued observations
and investigations and due consideration of experience
gained elsewhere in analogous conditions, the following
plan has been adopted for the restoration of the harbor: —
To build a jetty, perpendicularly to the shore line, pro-
jecting seawards about 3, OOO feet to the 6 fathom curve,
and dredging under the lee of this breakwater an entrance
into the lagoon, which will also be deepened over an area
of 200 acres to the uniform depth of 30 feet. The shifting
sands, arrested by the jetty, will gather in the east angle
formed by it and the coast, will cause a gradual advance
seawards of the new shore line, and in the course of time
shoaling at the end of the pier, with tendency to move
around and form a new bank across the entrance. This
can be avoided by short extensions of the jetty from time
to time as may be required, until the new coast line on the
east becomes, in its general direction, perpendicular to
the prevailing north-east winds. No farther change on the
coast need then be apprehended, and the permanent resto-
ration of the harbor will be accomplished.
The breakwater is to be built of “pierre perdue,” the
stone to be brought by rail from the Divide Cut. But in
order to start the work, pending the construction of the
railroad as far as the Divide and the beginning of active
operations there, it was decided to build the shore end of
the pier of a creosoted timber frame filled with fascines
I8
and rock, or concrete blocks, leaving it to the shifting
sands to fill the voids and form a compact structure. It
was expected by this means to afford enough protection to
permit the opening of a sufficient entrance channel, which
was imperatively demanded for the safe and economical
landing of the stores and plant necessary for commencing
the main work on the canal. The wisdom of this plan is
shown by the results obtained, surpassing the most san-
guine expectations. By the time the pier had been extended
6oo feet into the sea, and without any assistance by dredg-
ing, a channel with 8 feet of water was obtained; and
a short time later vessels drawing I 2 to I 5 feet of water
had no difficulty in entering the inner bay. The first
1,000 feet of the jetty have already been thus built; and
it is expected that the wood-work will soon be protected by
stone from the excavation, and the work thus made perma-
nent. It is proposed to dredge the entrance channel to a
depth of 30 feet, with a bottom width of 500 feet, increas-
ing gradually to the 34-feet curve opposite the head of the
breakwater.
RAIN FALL.
The total annual rainfall in Greytown in 1890 was
296.94 inches, in 189 I 2 I4.27 inches, and in I 892 29I. I 5
inches. The maximum rainfall recorded is about 6 inches
in 24 hours. The amount of precipitation decreases
rapidly from the Atlantic coast to Lake Nicaragua.
Records kept in 1890 at Greytown and at the foot of the
Eastern Divide, about IO miles inland, show a decrease of
34 per cent.
Records kept at Rivas, west of Lake Nicaragua and five
miles from the canal line, from 1880 to 1889, show a
maximum annual rainfall of 87.2 I inches in 1886 and a "
minimum of 34.54 inches in 1885. Practically, no rain
falls from November to May on the west side, while on the
Atlantic slope more or less rain falls every month; but
from February to May it is comparatively dry. Ample
I9
provision has been made for the disposal of the surplus
water in designing the works.
DRAIN AGE.
The problem of disposing of the surplus waters in that
portion of the route from the basin of the San Juan to the
lower Deseado will now be considered. The flow of the
San Juan at Ochoa at high flood in both the San Carlos
and San Juan has been found by careful gauging to be
42, ooo cubic feet per second. The river is known to have
risen somewhat higher; but, as no gauging was made at
the time, the above figures will be increased by 50 per
cent., making the possible maximum flow 63, OOO cubic
feet per second, of which not less than two-thirds would
probably come from the San Carlos, the upper San Juan
not being subject to great alternatives of flow. The com-
bined basins of the San Francisco region have a watershed
of about 65, OOO square miles; and, assuming a maximum
rainfall of I2 inches in 24 hours, about twice the greatest
rainfall, there will result a possible discharge of 2 I, OOO
cubic feet per second from the San Francisco basins.
The watershed of the upper Deseado basin is about 12
square miles, which on the above basis will yield a dis-
charge of, say, 4, OOO cubic feet per second, making a total
of 88,000 cubic feet per second, for the discharge of which
provision must be made. No deduction will be made on
account of consumption in lockage, which may reach 1,500
cubic feet per second, nor for leakage, which may take up
a much larger amount. Considerable allowance should,
however, be made for the new conditions established by
the introduction of large reservoirs, which will hold the
waters back and regulate their gradual discharge in lieu of
rapidly inclined streams fed by precipitous watersheds,
which collect and discharge the rain water almost as fast as
it is precipitated. Yet all these considerations will be
for the present kept in reserve as a large margin of safety.
2O
Provisions will first be made for the discharge of 63, Ooo
cubic feet per second from the basin of the San Juan. In
doing so, care will be taken to prevent any large discharge
at any one point, which is likely to cause serious accidents
by undermining and scouring or undue sudden changes in
the level of the water. A large overflow in the vicinity of
a dam will be avoided; and in the San Juan basin the cur-
rent should be directed for its outlet towards the southern
end of the San Carlos basin, or, at any rate, the water of
that river must be excluded from the navigable channel of
the canal as much as possible. This can be done by plac-
ing three or four weirs, with an aggregate length of crest
of I, 2OO feet, as far south on the eastern confining ridge
as practicable. Their discharge will be led off into the
Swamps and lagoons immediately to the east of the ridge,
and thence by Curena Creek into the San Juan about 5
miles below Ochoa dam. In this manner the sediment-
laden waters of the San Carlos will be discharged directly,
before reaching the San Juan, and the heavy deposits of
silt so excluded from the valley. The crest of the weirs
will be placed 18 inches below the crest of the Ochoa
dam; and in ordinary conditions the surplus waters will
escape through these weirs, which will be the lowest
outlets.
It is proposed to place the crests of the Ochoa dam
(I, 250 feet long) at IO5 feet above datum, or one foot
below the water level of the canal at that point. The dis-
charge under varying conditions of level will then be
approximately as follows: —
Cubic feet
per second.
At normal level, IO6', . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,900
At IIo feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,000
At III feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,500
The crests of the weirs on the ridge will be placed at
IO3.5 above datum, and their discharge for the total length
of I, 2OO feet may be estimated as follows: —
2 I
Cubic feet
per second.
At normal level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II,300
At IIo feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,700
At III feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,300
The combined discharge over the dam and weirs at nor-
mal, I Io and I I I feet, levels will therefore be, respec-
tively, I4, 200, 79,900, and IO7,800 cubic feet per second;
that is, to say, the maximum floods will be discharged
before the level of the basin rises 4 feet above normal. In
fact, it is unlikely that the level will ever rise nearly to
that height as assumed, as a rise in the San Carlos basin
will have the effect of checking the flow of the San Juan,
and possibly reverse the current temporarily towards the
lake. For the drainage of the San Francisco basin, three
weirs, with a total length of overflow of 600 feet, will be
built on the bordering ridge, so placed as to carry off the
surplus water without producing injurious currents in the
basins.
By placing the crests at the uniform level of Ioa feet
the discharge will be: — -
Cubic feet
t per second.
At normal level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, IOO
At IIo feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,200
At III feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,700
In the upper Deseado basin 3OO feet of overflow at IoA
feet level will give the following discharges in round
numbers: —
Cubic feet
per second.
At normal level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,OOO
At IIo feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Io,600
At III feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,300
These provisions are more than ample to meet the maxi-
mum requirements in each of the basins, without causing
undue current in the short cuts connecting them.
22
The possible accumulated discharge from the summit
level at a given time may therefore be put down as
follows: —
Cubic feet
per second.
At normal level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,300
At IIo feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III,700
At III feet level, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I47,800
It may be confidently asserted that the second figures
will never be reached, and that the crest of the Ochoa dam
may be raised above the water level in the San Juan, and
yet the highest floods will not reach the I ſo feet contour,
the weirs being ample to so limit it.
Other provisions, however, have been made with the
view to aid in construction, to facilitate repairs, and, as
additional precautions, to meet possible contingencies,
specially in the series of embankments in the San Fran-
cisco ridge, which, it is frankly admitted, is the weakest
feature in the whole route. These safeguards consist of
a guard-gate to be placed in the cut connecting the valley
of the Machado with Florida Lagoon, by which the flow of
water from the San Juan towards the San Francisco basin
can be shut off, and two anti-friction gate sluices, one in
the San Francisco ridge and the other in that of the upper
Deseado, by which the water in these basins can be
drained off to 30 feet below normal level, thus relieving
the embankments of that pressure during construction, and
enabling repairs in the cuts and embankments afterwards.
These sluices have openings of 25 feet by 20 feet, with
the lower sill 30 feet below the normal level. Their
capacity of discharge will vary with the head, being I 2,500
cubic feet per second for each when the water stands at the
IO6 contour.
By these means 25,000 cubic feet per second additional
can be drawn from the summit level, regardless of the lock
culverts, through which 4, 500 cubic feet per second more
can be spilled.
23
The middle Deseado basin will be drained by weirs,
with 4oo feet length of crest, which will be two feet below
ordinary level, and capable of discharging from 2,700
cubic feet per second to 14, IOO cubic feet per second at 61
and 65 feet levels respectively.
In the lower basin 500 feet lengths of weir are provided
for, the estimated discharge being from 3,400 cubic feet
per second to 17,000 cubic feet per second, respectively, at
normal and 35 feet level. Beyond the lower basin the sur-
plus waters are diverted by a short cut into the San Jua-
nillo, and through the latter into the San Juan to the sea.
From lock No. 1 to the harbor no special provision need
be made to drain the adjacent country. The canal tra-
ve ses a swamp with numerous natural drains; and, being
flanked on both sides by high embankments made by the
earth spoil, it needs no additional protection.
OTHER CANALS.
It will be interesting to compare the sections first pro-
posed for the Nicaragua Canal with those of other ship
canals existing and proposed : —

DEPTH - AREA LENGTH
CANALs. IN §: Fº OF IN
FEET. * * | PRISM. MILEs.
Suez, original dimensions, earth, 26.20 328.o 72.2 ...} Existing.
IOO, O.
Suez, enlarged dimensions, earth, 27.90 328.o II2.9 5,412 Enlarging.
Nicaragua, rock section, 3O.OO 184.o 8o.o 2,400 7.8
Nicaragua, earth section, . 3o.oo 184.o 8o.o 3,960 9.7 Proposed.
Nicaragua, earth section, . 28.oo 288.o I2O, O. 5,212 9.3
Manchester, earth section, 26.oo 172.o I2O. O 3,796
35-O Nearly com-
Manchester, rock section, . 26, oo I30.o I2O. O. 3,250 pleted.
Amsterdam, earth section, 23. OO 186.o 88.5 3,156 I5.5 Existing.
Corinth, rock section, . . . . 28.oo 77.4 72.2 I,945 4-O Nº. COIIl-
º pleted.
Panama, earth section, . 27.8o 16o.o 72.2 3,227
47.o Proposed.
Panama, rock section, . 29.5o 91.8 78.7 2,513
North Sea and Baltic, earth, . 28.oo 197.o 85.o 3,93O 6o.o Constructing.
Bruges, . . . . . . . . 26.26 223.o 65.6 3,789 6.5 Proposed.
N. B.-The dimensions given are taken at mean low water.
24.
The Suez Canal cost $100,000,000, and in 1883 passed
3,307 vessels, with net tonnage of 5,775,861 tons before
its enlargement was undertaken. This was accomplished,
notwithstanding the fact that the channel was so narrow
that sidings had to be constructed into which one vessel
had to be placed while another was passing. In the Nica-
ragua Canal the narrow rock sections are divided into two
and the east sections into many short lengths, separated by
broad and deep basins, through which the largest vessels
can steam and meet others without slacking speed.
It was originally planned that some sections of the canal
in earth would be 80 feet in bottom width, with side slopes
of I J–2 to I and in the rock cuts with vertical sides. This
would accommodate the traffic for several years; and then
the areas in cross section could be increased out of the
earnings, as at Suez, but at a greater ultimate cost. It has
been decided to make provision in the designs for the ulti-
mate requirements; and the following table shows the
length of the different sections of the canal in excavation
in the lake, the river San Juan, and through the basins,
and also the dimensions of prism for the same as now pro-
posed: — #
Canal in excavation, east side,
Canal in excavation, west side,
Six locks, both sides, . . .
Basins of the Deseado, . . .
Basin of the San Francisco, .
Basin of Tola, . . . º tº
River San Juan, . . . .
Lake Nicaragua, .
&
*
from the Alamic to the Pacific,
LENGTH, MILEs.
14.870
1 1. 16o
o,759 26,789 Total canal in excavation.
e 4,848
& 11.267
* 5. SO4 21.619 Total length of basins.
ſº 64,540
tº 56.5oo 121.04o
g 169.448 Total length of route.
The dimensions of the
canal in excavation in the several sections are as follows: —
WIDTH IN FRET.
LENGTH, DEPTH, AREA of PRISM,
Mrles. FEET. SLoPE. SQuare FEET.
Top. Bottom.
From Greytown to Lock No. 1, . . . . . . . 9.297 288 I2O 28 3 to 1 5,712
From lock No. 1 to Eastern Divide Cut, . . I.423 2) IO I2O 3o 1% “ I 4,950
Eastern Divide Cut, . . . . . . . . . . 2.917 IOO IOO 3O O 3,Ooo
In Eastern San Francisco basin, . . . . . I, 233 2 IO I2O 3o 1% “ I 4,950
From Lake to Western Divide Cut, . . . 1.565 2 IO I2O 3o 1% “ . 4,950
Western Divide Cut, . . . . . . . . . 4,924 YOO IOO 3o O 3,000
Western Divide Cut to Tola basin, . . e 2.519 2 IO Y2O 3o I W4 “ I 4,950
Lock No. 5 to lock No. 6, tº e is tº 1.582 2 IO 2O 3o 1% “ 1 4,950
Lock No. 6 to Brito harbor, * a tº § o. 570 Variable. Variable. 3o 2 ** 1 Variable.
River San Juan where dredged, gº tº tº 27.5oo Variable. I25 Mean 28 Undetermined. | Undetermined.
Lake where dredged, . . . & e º I4.25o Variable. 15o 3o Undetermined. | Undetermined.



26
THE EXCAVATIONS.
The character of the material to be removed, both wet
and dry, has been accurately determined on the whole route
by numerous borings penetrating to the bottom of the canal
and on the site of the dams, embankments, and locks, to
the depth required to ascertain in each case the nature of
the foundations. In the harbor of Greytown and its
approaches clean, sharp sand is the only material met
with. From the harbor to lock No. 1 and through Benard
Lagoon the materials are sand and sandy clay, underlying
a thin, loamy stratum and decomposed organic matter, and
from the lagoon to the lower lock, stiff clay. The harbor
and this sea-level portion of the canal will be made with
the floating dredge. Slopes of three horizontal to one ver-
tical have been allowed in the estimates; but past experi-
ence gained in dredging by the company in the first mile
of canal shows that the material stands perfectly for sev-
eral months at a much less inclination, and in the excava-
tion for the railroad through the stiff tenacious clay pre-
dominating in this region, the material stands nearly ver-
tical. However, slopes of I I-2 to I have been estimated
for. From the lower lock to the Divide Cut this hard
clay, with occasional boulders, is the only material found
by the boring tool on the axis of the canal throughout, and
also at the site of the three locks and the embankment.
This clay is impervious to water, and has a large sustain-
ing power, so that no apprehension is felt as to the char-
acter of the foundations. In the deep cut the geological
formation is clay, overlying solid volcanic rock. (See
geological profile.) Diamond drill borings have been
taken along the whole length of the cut to the bottom
of the canal at intervals of about I, OOO feet; and the
cores brought up settle beyond doubt the character of the
material to be removed, and dispel all apprehension that
this cut might be a repetition of the disastrous experience
27
in the great Culebra cut at Panama. The slope allowed in
clay is I I-2 to I and in rock I-5 to I to the level of the
water, and below that point vertical. In fact, there is no
good reason why the whole rock excavation should not be
made with vertical sides. In the Corinth Canal, where the
excavation is longer and deeper and the rock less homo-
geneous and softer, a slope of I-Io to I has been carried
down to the water level, and the sides do not crumble or
slide. From the Divide to Ochoa homogeneous clay has
been found at all points; and, as shown in the preceding
table, the standard section in soft material has been
adopted throughout. At the site of the Ochoa dam
gravel clay and rock in the order named are shown by the
borings. *
EMBANK MENTS AND DAMS.
The embankments in the valleys and on the crest of the
confining ridges are proposed to be made water-tight of the
clay, which is of excellent quality for this purpose, pre-
vailing everywhere in those hills and valleys, but taken
principally from the excavations. The embankments rise
8 feet above the water surface, with top widths of 12
feet if not over 8 feet high, I 5 feet if not over 15 feet in
height, and 20 feet for heights above I 5 feet. Water
slope, 3 to I. Dry slope, 2 I-2 to I. Top and water
slopes to be paved with 2 feet of well-laid stones. Of
these embankments, two in the valley of the Deseado and
six in the San Francisco basin will be of considerable
height, especially the latter, as the surface earth will be
removed to form depths so as to insure a solid and secure
foundation.
The maximum water pressure against the Deseado dams
will be 45 feet, and in the San Francisco but little more
than 60 feet, as water always lies on the surface or but
little below it in the valleys. These embankments,
intended to impound so large a volume of water, are
28
important works; and in their construction sound judg-
ment and great care must be exercised, but they present no
more serious difficulties than have already been success-
fully met at many other localities. In a paper like this,
details of construction which belong entirely to the speci-
fications for the works cannot be treated at length; but it
may be proper to remark that with good bottom to build
upon and excellent material of construction, and with
proper execution, no apprehension need be felt for the
safety of works. The small embankments are numerous,
it is true; but they deserve no special mention. They
constitute a number of such ordinary jobs as the practical
engineer is constantly called upon to handle.
The Ochoa and Tola dams are the keys controlling this
great problem at the east and west ends of the summit
level, and should not be passed without special notice, par-
ticularly, so the former, in which a novel method of con-
struction is contemplated. This work has been for years
the subject of long study and careful consideration. The
diversion of the river San Juan is well-nigh impossible;
and construction by the usual methods, with either cut
stone or concrete, of so important a work in opposition to
the mighty power of the stream is a problem involving the
most serious difficulties. It was at first proposed to build
a stone dam upon a series of arches supported by tiers
starting from the foundation, through which the river
waters could flow freely during the construction of the
main part of the structure, these openings to be closed by
gates in the upper side when the upper part of the dam, its
approaches and aprons, were completed; and then to be
filled with masonry from the lower side, while the water
was rising in the basin. This was, perhaps, as a practical
solution, probably the best under the circumstances for
that style of dam; but its execution would be tedious,
difficult, and expensive, and there was to be always pres-
ent an element of doubt not easy to eliminate as to the
final success. The building of the foundations and pilaster
29
for the support of the arches in constant contention with
the whole river would be a most difficult undertaking, in
which the items of time and cost would remain unknown
quantities to its completion. Another idea has since been
suggested, which seems to embody simplicity, economy,
and safety. It consists in dumping from an aerial suspen-
sion conveyor large and small material properly assorted,
across the river from bank to bank until a barrier is
created sufficiently high and strong to arrest the flow and
hold the waters at the required level: the body of the dam
to be made up of large blocks of stone, weighing from I to
IO tons and smaller material to fill the voids. Its base
will be quite broad as compared with the height, probably
from 4oo to 500 feet between the foot of the up-stream
slope and the end of the apron. The top is estimated 30
feet wide, the rock up-stream slope I to I, and the apron,
or down-stream slope, 4 to I, with the lower portion flat-
tening down to 5 or 6 to I. On the up-stream side small
material, such as stone, fragments of gravel, clay, etc.,
Selected as circumstances may require, will be deposited
as the work advances, in sufficient quantity, as tight as
wanted. It is not expected or even desirable to have a
water-tight structure, the object sought being simply to
oppose such an obstruction to the river as may be necessary
to hold the waters at the required level. The minimum
flow of the river is about ten times the water needed for
working the canal. Consequently, 9-IO of it can be wasted
with advantage. That the dam will eventually become
tight there can be no doubt, as the small drifts and detri-
tus forced in by the current will gradually fill the voids
and consolidate the structure.
The method of construction will be quite simple. After
protecting the abutments against possible erosion, large
pieces of rock will be dumped in the bed of the stream
from three or four cableways spanning the valley. The
material should be distributed uniformly over the area
under the main portion of the dam, commencing up-stream,
3O
and keeping up, as nearly as possible, an even level.
Scouring will soon cause settling of the blocks into firmer
soil, the upper level in the mean time being constantly
raised by depositing more stone, while the small material
is being forced by the current into the voids, and the over-
flow dislodging and rearranging the unstable blocks until
they reach a final resting-place. This process to be con-
tinued until the resistance at the bottom becomes so great
as to check scouring due to maximum pressure, when the
dam will be carried up to the desired level. The river, in
the mean time running over the mound, will readjust the
material in, and adapt the apron to the necessary conditions
of stability to withstand the effect of the fall, and carry off
the water safely. If the dam is then raised so as to shut
off a whole or the largest part of the river flow, which can
by that time be discharged over the waste weirs, the
structure will be permanent. If the river is not able to
prevent the completion of this work, having, on the con-
trary, greatly contributed to its construction by a better
distribution and consolidation of the material, now that
the waters are diverted to another outlet, no fear need be
entertained as to injury from that source. There may be
some settlement and final readjustment of the component
parts for some time after completion, but that can be easily
remedied by depositing more material where needed. It
is believed that this dam will be safer, as it is by far more
economical, than a stone dam. An earthquake might
cause serious damage to a masonry dam, but it can do no
harm to this. On the contrary, it may add to its consoli-
dation by bringing the parts in closer contact. There are
no cemented joints to be opened, and a seismic disturbance
would have a tendency to compact rather than to disinte-
grate the large mass. The rock for the dam will be brought
by rail from the Divide, and delivered immediately under
the wire cables, each one of which will be capable of hand-
ling and depositing about one thousand tons in ten hours.
Consequently, the work can be completed in from four
to five years, and, if it need be, in less time.
3I
DEEPENING THE RIVER BED.
Another work of some magnitude is rock-blasting under
water at Castillo and Toro rapids, amounting to about
400,000 cubic yards, the quantity to be determined by the
side slopes found necessary. This work can be more eco-
nomically done before the water is raised to the assumed
summit level, but not before the lower section of the river
has been raised by the Ochoa dam to the level of the
upper rapids. Otherwise, the excavation in the upper rock
ledge might cause an undue fall in the lake level, which
would greatly interfere with navigation and the progress of
the works in river and lake. This work presents no un-
usual difficulties, and the estimated cost of $5 per cubic
yard will more than cover the cost. Above Toro rapids
dredging will be needed in the bed of the river for about
24 miles. The average depth is 4 I-2 feet. The material
is mud, clay, silt, and some loose boulders.
LAKE DREDGING AND PIERS.
At the east side of the lake dredging will be needed for
about 14 miles from the outlet. The material is soft
mud. The bottom width of the navigable channel here
proposed is I 50 feet, and the slopes 3 to I. That side
of the lake being sheltered from the prevailing north-east
winds, no provisions are needed to protect the channel.
On the west side rock excavation in the lake amounting
to 176 OOO cubic yards is estimated for, also at $5 per
cubic yard. This shore of the lake is exposed to the pre-
vailing winds and waves, and the canal entrance must be
protected by two piers projecting to deep water in the
lake. They are proposed of crib, for which the native
hard wood is admirably suited, and ought to be filled with
stone from the excavations.
32
THE WESTERN DIVIDE.
From the lake shore to the Tola basin the excavation is
in rock and clay, rock predominating through the Divide
and clay in the valley of the Grande. Borings have been
made from the bottom of the canal all the way to the sea,
and the amount and character of the material to be removed
accurately ascertained. From the basin to lock No. 6
clay is the material met with, and in the harbor area prin-
cipally sand, with some mud and clay in the upper section.
THE LA FLOR DAM.
Numerous deep borings have been lately made at the
site of La Flor dam, the results showing the solid rock
ledge to lie much deeper than the first earth augur borings
indicated, and that the original plans for that work must be
materially modified to adapt them to existing conditions.
It was contemplated to build this dam of rock-fill, on the
same principle adopted at Ochoa; but the great depths of
soft earth overlying the rock ledge, reaching in places to
96 feet below the valley, renders that plan inapplicable to
this case, especially as here, unlike the San Juan, there is
no large flow of water to assist in scouring the soft soil
and in consolidating the fill. A dam with solid masonry
core and earth slope is now proposed, spanning the valley
with a length of about 2,000 feet, an extreme depth for
1, Ooo feet length, of 17O feet from crest to foundation of
core, of which 70 feet will be above ground, and in addi-
tion, to core walls aggregating about 500 feet in length,
penetrating the abutment hills to the rock ledge. Locks
Nos. 4 and 5 will also rest in this bed of rock, forming
part of the dam abutment, and connecting with the core
wall at its western end. A waste weir, about 300 feet
long, will be cut on the east side for the discharge of
surplus water into the lower bed of the Grande. All this
comprises a very important piece of work; but with good
33
rock foundations and suitable material at hand, although
its cost will be proportional to the magnitude of the enter-
prise, there is nothing to intimate serious engineering
obstacles. Concrete will be used for the core walls and
locks, the rock to be obtained from the Divide Cut. The
earth for the puddle fillings and embankments can be had
from the canal excavation or from the valley in the vicin-
ity of the works.
THE LOCKS.
The locks are to be 650 feet long by 80 feet wide in the
chamber. The lifts, as now proposed, will vary from 30
feet to 45 feet; and a change is under consideration by
which the lift of locks No. 3 may be reduced to 40 feet
and that of No. 2 increased from 30 to 35 feet. These
high lift locks must not be regarded as necessary features
of the project imposed by existing conditions. The grad-
ual descent of the Pacific and Atlantic slopes to sea level
after leaving the Divide Cuts, combined with the highly
favorable topography of the country traversed by the canal,
present many admirable sites for locks, the number of
which could be so increased as to greatly diminish all the
lifts. Such a plan, however, is not regarded as the best
with a view to economy in original construction and
future maintenance or in facility to the traffic through
the canal. Of course, the matter of safety is of first con-
sideration; but, with the exercise of proper care and engi-
neering skill, the plans proposed can be successfully
carried out. In the proposed plan for a lock canal at
Panama lifts of 36 feet, with a possible maximum of 46
feet at high water, were adopted by the commission; but
we cannot recall any ship-canal lock in actual operation
with lifts approaching these figures. Yet, in working out
the problem, the mechanical details, although necessarily
of large proportions, have not so far developed any insur-
mountable difficulties either in construction or manipula-
tion afterwards. The body of the lock is to be of concrete
34
with cut stones in the mitre sills, the hollow quoins, and
such angles as need protection from shocks. The gates
will be of steel, to be manipulated by hydraulic machinery,
of which we have an admirable example at the St. Mary’s
Falls Canal, where a lock 519 feet long by 80 feet wide
and a lift of 18 feet is filled in II minutes and emptied
in 8 minutes, the time consumed in opening or closing the
gates more than 40 feet high being but I I–2 minutes.
Another lock 8oo feet long and IOO feet wide, with 2 I feet
minimum depth of water over the mitre sill, is here under
construction and the time of filling and emptying the
chamber by enlarging the size of the culverts.
TIME OF LOCKAGE.
The traffic passing through the canal will be limited by
the time required for a vessel to pass a lock. In the St.
Mary’s Fall Canal vessels of over 3,000 tons’ capacity are
put through the lock inside of 20 minutes; and the writer
has seen the whole operation of opening the lower gates,
entrance of the steamer, filling the chamber, opening the
upper gates, and exit of the vessel from the lock, inside
of 19 minutes. In the Nicaragua Canal the operation of
filling the lock and handling the gates will consume no
more time, yet 45 minutes have been estimated as the
average required for lockage. On that basis, and allow-
ing but one vessel in each operation, the number that can
pass the canal in one day is 32, or in one year I I,680.
At the average tonnage of vessels using the Suez Canal,
these would supply an aggregate of 20,440, OOO tons. The
traffic through the St. Mary’s Canal lock in seven months
in 1891 was nearly 9, OOO,OOO tons, and in the same time
in 1892 it exceeded II, OOO,OOO tons, or at the rate of 19,-
Ooo,000 tons annually; and the maximum capacity of the
lock has not yet been reached. The vessels taking the
Nicaragua route will be much larger than those upon the
Great Lakes, and the tonnage per lockage will, conse-
35
quently, be proportionately greater. For this reason a
single system of locks has been proposed at the start; and,
when the business requires it, parallel locks can be built,
and the capacity of the canal doubled. Attention is called
to the important feature of having all the locks connected
with large basins, which will greatly facilitate the move-
ment and allow the withdrawal of a large volume of water
in a short time without injurious current or marked fluctua-
tions of level in the basins. The question of water supply
needs but a passing reference, the maximum amount re-
quired for the thirty-two lockages, on the improbable
basis of one lock full for each operation, — namely,
I27,400, OOO cubic feet, - being but I-IO of the minimum
daily discharge of the lake.
TIME OF TRANSIT.
In estimating the time of transit from ocean to ocean,
the speed in the excavated sections of the canal has been
limited to five miles an hour, although in the Suez Canal
steamers of 6, OOO tons are allowed to move at six miles an
hour and smaller vessels proceed at the rate of seven or
eight miles an hour. In the lake and in the greater part
of the river San Juan, vessels can travel with unrestricted
speed hence: —
ESTIMATED TIME OF THROUGH TRANSIT BY STEAMERS.
h. IIl.
26,030 miles of canal at 5 miles an hour, 5 I2
21,619 miles in basins at 7 miles an hour, 3 O5
64,540 miles river San Juan 8 miles an hour, . 8 O4
56,500 miles in lake at Io miles an hour, . 5 39
Six lockages at 45 m. each, 4 3O
Allow for detentions, I 30
Total time of transit, 28 OO
36
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.
Railroad lines have been projected from Greytown to
the river San Juan at Ochoa, a distance of 37 miles, and
from the lake to Brito, I8 miles. Of the former distance
12 miles are already finished, from Greytown towards the
Divide, and are now in excellent condition and in opera-
tion in connection with the canal works. As soon as the
rock is reached, the road will be extended across the Grey-
town Lagoon to the breakwater at the harbor entrance,
upon which the rock from the excavation will be brought
and dumped directly, as at Galveston, Texas.
PERIOD FOR CONSTRUCTION.
The time in which the canal can be finished will be con-
trolled by the time needed to complete those important
works without which the traffic cannot be established. It
has been pointed out that the Ochoa dam can be finished
in four or five years. The Tola dam, the locks, and the
harbors can also be done in that time. The Western Divide
Cut contains about I I, OOO,OOO cubic yards of rock and
earth; but the excavation is about nine miles long, and
the greatest depth but 72 feet, consequently this work is
of lesser magnitude than the Eastern Divide, in which a
probable total of I2, OOO, OOO yards will have to be
extracted and removed from a trench less than 3 miles
long at an average depth of I4I feet. It is therefore to
this latter work that we will have to look for a limitation
in estimating the time in which the whole route can be
opened to the world’s traffic. On the basis of 12,000,000
cubic yards, of which two-thirds will be rock, assuming
six years’ continuous work, at the rate of ten hours a day,
there will be an output of 6,700 cubic yards per day.
This amount of material can be lifted and landed on the
cars by 22 overhead wire cables at the moderate rate of 300
37
cubic yards each per day, and can be hauled to the dump
or place of destination by I 12 train loads of but 120 tons
each, or, say, I I train loads an hour. About one-eighth
of this will go as far as Ochoa, for the construction of the
dam, and about the same amount for the breakwaters and
the locks Nos. I, 2, and 3. Of the balance, one-half will
probaby be needed for the embankments in the valleys of
the Deseado and San Francisco; and the rest can be
deposited in the vicinity of the excavation, but a few hun-
dred yards away. Allowing for repairs, accidents, and
other unavoidable delays, it may be estimated that a plant
comprising 3O cableways, with attachment and machinery,
50 locomotives, and 1,000 cars will be ample for this work.
The above would be a rather heavy traffic to handle, if sent
out over the main line; but, distributed as suggested
above, with a large portion of it sent off on spur tracks
from both sides of the three miles of excavations, to be
deposited in the numerous ravines and valleys in the
vicinity of the work, it does not look unmanageable.
But, if need be, work can be carried on without interrup-
tion by the aid of electric lights. Therefore, as regards
the disposition of material, six years seem to be ample;
and, as to the work of digging and blasting, it will be
admitted that the mind capable of organizing and carrying
out the former will have no difficulty in mastering the
latter. Consequently, the previous estimate that the
canal can be completed in six years after the works are
fairly started is adhered to.
On one section. 2 1–2 miles one way of the Manchester
Canal, now under construction, the contractor has taken
out for two or three months continuously at the rate of
20,000 tons per day in one shift of nine hours. This in-
cludes ballasting, loading in wagons, hauling, and deposit-
ing. The plant employed consists of 59 locomotives and
1,400 wagons. The contractor has been much restricted
and embarrassed in his operations by limited dumping
grounds, which would not be the case in Nicaragua.
38
ESTIMATES.
In estimating the cost of the canal, the following prices
per cubic yard have been adopted:—
Dredging, 20 cents and 30 cents. Excavation in earth,
40 cents. Excavation in rock, $1.50 and $1.25. Excava-
tion under water, $5. Embankments, 40 cents to 70
cents. Concrete, $6 to $10. Rock fill, 50 cents. Break-
water, pierre perdue, $1.50. Grubbing and clearing, $100
per acre. Railroads, $60,000 and $25,000 per mile.
Telegraph, $600 per mile. The total cost of the canal is
estimated at $65, OOO, OOO, inclusive of 25 per cent. for con-
tingencies, but exclusive of interest, commissions, and
other charges not coming under the cognizance of the
engineer, and on the basis that the work will be prose-
cuted with vigor along the whole line and without
intermission.
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PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE NICARAGUA CANAL
N R10 SAN CARLOS OCHOA DAM EASTERN LOCKS SAN JUAN DEL NORTE -
FORT CASTILLO DIVIDE OR GREY TOWN Atlantic Ocean
--- BRITO TOLA BASIN LAJAs Inactive Volcanoes - SOLENTINAME IS, FORT SAN CARLOS RIO FRIO RIO SAN JUA
Pacific Ocean WESTERN OMETEPE and MADERA Lake Nicaragua
DIVIDE SAN FRANCISCO BASIN DESEADO. BASINS

WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION
CHICAGO
1893
THE NICARAGUA CANAL
WITH THE COMPLIMENTS
OF THE
NICARAGUA CANAL CONSTRUCTION CoMPANY
44 WAll Street
NEW YORK CITY
THE REPUBLIC PRESS,
536 AND 538 PEARL St., N. Y.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
The Maritime Canal of Nicaragua is the solution of the problem pro-
posed by Columbus to himself and to the world four hundred years ago—
the discovery of an ocean route westward to the Indies.
General Explorations and Surveys for an Inter-Oceanic Canal.
—During the four centuries which have elapsed since the first attempt of
the great adventurer, the best energies of voyagers, explorers and scien-
tists of Europe, and more lately of the United States, have been, from
time to time, directed to the search for such a passage.
Spain, France, and England have one after another sent out expedi-
tions or individual explorers and have expended a considerable amount of
treasure in the investigations. It was, however, reserved to the Govern-
ment of the United States to make the first systematic and thorough ex-
amination of all that portion of the American Isthmus which the partial
explorations of earlier years had indicated as the region where, if any-
where, transit by a waterway from ocean to ocean could be achieved.
Surveys by the United States Government.—In 1854 Lieutenant
Strain, with the permission of the United States Government, investigated
the route between Caledonia Bay and the Gulf of San Miguel, and deter-
mined its impracticability. In 1857 Lieutenants Michler and Craven
were detailed to make explorations and verify surveys, previously made
by Lane and Kennish for Frederick M. Kelly, of a route for a canal
utilizing the waters of the Atrato and Truando Rivers. Their investigations
were made independently and resulted in contradictory reports. The out-
break of the civil war in the United States prevented for a time any
further exploration by the Government. A.
In 1869 an appropriation was made by Congress for a thorough explora-
tion of the entire Isthmian territory, and the work was committed to Capt.
R. W. Shufeldt and Commanders T. O. Selfridge and E. P. Lull, all of
the United States Navy. Capt. Shufeldt was charged with the examina-
tion of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.; Commander Selfridge with the San
Blas and Chepo Regions and all contiguous territory south and east, and
Commander Lull with the survey, first of the route by way of Lake
Nicaragua and afterwards of the Isthmus of Panama. In 1872, by virtue
of a resolution passed by Congress, Gen. Grant, then President of the
United States, appointed a commission, constituted of the Chief of En-
gineers, U. S. A., the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, and the Chief
of the Naval Bureau of Navigation, to consider the subject of communi-
cation by canal between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
4. THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
across the American Isthmus. The officers who filled the positions
named and served upon the Commission, were Gen. A. A. Humphreys,
Superintendent C. P. Patterson and Commodore Daniel Ammen. The
Commission was instructed to examine into and to make reports and sug-
gestions upon the subject of inter-Oceanic ship canal communication.
After the first of these surveys was completed, Major Walter McFarland,
Capt. Wm. H. Heuer and Prof. Henry Mitchell of the U. S. Coast Survey
were, at the instance of the Commission, appointed to make a further ex-
amination of the route at Darien and at Nicaragua, and to report thereon.
Commander Lull made a further survey of the Isthmus of Panama, and
Lieut. Collins of what was known as the Atrato-Napipi route. These
various surveys were completed and reports submitted to the Commission.
The last report, that of Lieut. Collins, was dated December 20th, 1875.
On the 7th of February, 1876, the Commission reported to the Presi-
dent as follows: -
“The route known as the ‘Nicaragua Route,’ beginning on the At-
lantic side at or near Greytown; running by canal to the San Juan River;
thence following its left bank to the mouth of the San Carlos River, at
which point navigation of the San Juan River begins, and by the aid of
three short canals, of an aggregate length of 3.5 miles reaches Lake
Nicaragua; from thence across the lake and through the valleys of the
Rio del Medio and the Rio Grande to what is known as the port of Brito,
on the Pacific Coast, possesses, both for the construction and maintenance
of a canal, greater advantages, and offers fewer difficulties from engineering,
commercial, and economic points of view than any one of the other routes .
shown to be practicable by surveys sufficiently in detail to enable a judg-
ment to be formed of their relative merits, as will be briefly presented in
the appended memorandum.”
Historical Review of Explorations Made by Others than the U.
S. Government.—A brief summary of the numerous explorations which
have been made will show how general and wide-spread was the interest
in the subject.
1771. Survey of Tehuantepec route by Antonio Cramer, and Miguel del
Corral, under orders from Spain
1780. British expedition to take possession of the Nicaragua canal route.
After the capture of Castillo Viejo the enterprise was aban-
doned. --
1781. Exploration of the San Juan River, Nicaragua, by Manuel
Galisteo under orders from Spain. This was followed by an
order of the Spanish Cortes, in 1814, for construction of the
Canal.
1804. Baron Von Humboldt's investigations.
1824. Exploration of Tehuantepec by Gen. Orbegozo, for the Mexican
Government.
1826. Surveys of the Nicaragua Route for Governor DeWitt Clinton of
New York and associates.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 5
1827. Survey at Isthmus of Panama by Engineers Lloyd and Falcmar, by
order of Gen. Bolivar. Mr. Lloyd recommended the adoption of
a line substantially that finally chosen for the Panama Railroad.
1838. Survey of the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua route by
Lieut. John Bailey for the Government of Central America.
1842. Survey of Isthmus of Tehuantepec by Don José de Garay under
concession from the Mexican Government'
1843. Survey of route between Porto Bello and Panama by Napoleon
Garella for the French Government.
1848. Surveys of the Nicaraguan route by Dr. Andreas Oersted of
Copenhagen, who published a map.
1849. Explorations of Isthmus of Darien by Dr. Cullen.
1849. Survey by Col. Geo. W. Hughes of route for the Panama Railroad.
This survey and the line of railroad constructed, was the basis
upon which construction of a canal at Panama was commenced
by M. de Lesseps.
1851. Survey by Col. O. W. Childs of Philadelphia, of the San Juan
River, Lake Nicaragua and Brito route made for Cornelius Van-
derbilt and associates. This was the first survey that fully con-
formed to the requirements of engineering science.
1851. Survey of the Atrato-San Juan route, Darien, by J. C. Trautwine
for Frederick M. Kelly of New York and his associates.
1853–4. Re-survey of the same and of the Atrato-Truando route by Por-
ter and Lane, completed by Capt. Kennish, at personal expense
of Frederick M. Kelly of New York.
1861. Survey of route between Caledonia Bay and the mouth of the Lara
River by M. Bourdiol for the Société d’Etudes of France.
1864. Survey of the San Blas Route by McDougall, Sweet, Forman and
Rude for Frederick M. Kelly and his associates.
1861–1865. Explorations made by De Puydt, Gogorza, de Lacharme and
Flachat of the line between the Gulf of San Miguel and the
Gulf of Uraba or Darien, under French auspices.
Many of these surveys or explorations were made in connection with con-
cessions granted for the construction of a canal.
Thorough Investigations Warrant Conclusions of Commission.—
From this and the preceding statement of explorations made directly under
the control of the United States Government, it will be seen how thor-
ough the investigation of the whole Isthmian territory has been, and what
data were at the command of the United States Commission which re-
ported the ‘‘Nicaraguan Route Sk $ Sk sk pos-
sesses both for the construction and maintenance of a canal, greater ad-
vantages and offers fewer difficulties than any of the other routes” etc.,
etc. (See page 4.)
Recent Surveys for an Inter-oceanic Canal.—Following the report
of the commission and between October, 1876, and May, 1879, partial
6 THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
surveys of the Darien and Panama territory were made by Lieutenants
Wyse and Reclus of the French Navy, and a number of French and two
Columbian Engineers on behalf of the Société Internationale de Canal In-
ter-Océanique, and in the following year the construction of the Panama
Canal was recommended by the canal Congress at Paris, organized under
the auspices of the owners of the Wyse concessions, this notwithstanding
the opposition of many engineers present who denied absolutely the feasi-
bility of the enterprise. Time has corroborated their predictions of failure.
But the movement of Lieut. Wyse and his associates at Panama did
not prevent further explorations, nor the suggestion of other projects.
Surveys and examinations were continued as follows:
1876–77. Of the lower San Juan by A. G. Menocal, in connection with
work for the Nicaraguan Government. -
1880. Of the line between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, by A.
G. Menocal for the United States Government.
I885. Re-survey of the Nicaraguan Route by Menocal, Peary and Cham-
bers, for the United States Government.
I889 to date. Detailed surveys and location in connection with construc-
tion, for the Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua.
The decision of the Paris Conference of 1879, and the following
attempt by M. de Lesseps to construct a canal at Panama, in no way dis-
turbed the opinion of American engineers either as to the impracticability
of constructing such a work at that locality, or the advantages of the lake
and river route at Nicaragua.
In 1880–81, the novel project of Capt. Eads for the transportation of
Ocean-going steamers across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by railway, was
earnestly pressed upon the attention of the United States Congress and
private capitalists, but the world looked upon the scheme as a colossal
experiment, and upon the death of Mr. Eads the project was abandoned.
Organization of the Present Canal Company.—In April, 1887,
The Nicaragua Canal Association, consisting of private citizens of the
United States, interested in the problem of inter-oceanic communication,
obtained concessions for the construction of a ship canal, and applied to
the United States Congress for incorporation. Early in 1889, a charter
was granted and became a law by the signature of President Cleveland,
February 20th of that year. -
Preliminary Work-In the month of May following, work prelim-
inary to the construction of the Maritime Canal of Nicaragua was com-
menced and from that time on has been diligently prosecuted. In the
spring of 1890 Hon. Warner Miller, President of the Construction Com-
pany, accompanied by a party of engineers, United States officers in official
capacity, and others, inspected the work there accomplished and in pro-
gress. The whole party expressed themselves as gratified with the thor-
oughness with which the route had been surveyed and the intelligence
with which the work had been initiated and prosecuted.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 7
In November, 1890, a commission, appointed by the Government of
Nicaragua, inspected the work and declared that the requirements of the
concession had been fully complied with. This report confirmed the rights
of the grantees under their concession.
Thus, while the project of a canal at Panama has been proven futile
by experience, and the scheme of a ship railway at Tehuantepec aban-
doned, the construction of a maritime canal at Nicaragua has been Com-
menced and is demonstrated to be not only entirely feasible, but the only
practical method for accomplishing the end proposed, viz., the transit of
sea-going vessels between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the American
Asthmus.
Geographical and Physical Features.—The Maritime Canal of
Nicaragua is located in the territory of the republic from which it takes
its name. Nicaragua is one of the five States of Central America and
lies between Honduras and Salvador on the north and Costa Rica on
the south. It extends from Cape Gracias à Dios to the mouth of the San
Juan River on the Caribbean Sea, and from the Gulf of Fonseca to the
Bay of Salinas on the Pacific Ocean, occupying the width of the Isthmus
from latitude Io degrees 90 minutes North, to 15 degrees North, and from
longitude 83 degrees 20 minutes West from Greenwich to 87 degrees 4o
minutes West. It has an area of about 49, ooo square miles and in point
of size is first among the Central American republics.
Excepting the Department of Segovia, which borders on and resem-
bles the central portion of Honduras, Nicaragua has a topography and
climate differing widely from its neighbors. Its mountain system can
scarcely be considered as resolved into ranges, although it is frequently
so spoken of. The Cordillera, which traverses both continents, has
nowhere in Central America the character of a single, clearly defined chain.
The crest of the system is generally parallel to the Pacific shore.
Although it occasionally diverges, it is never more than about 75 miles
‘distant from the western coast, while in some portions of Nicaragua and
Costa Rica it approaches within six or seven miles of the ocean. In
Southern Honduras and Northern Nicaragua, instead of any characteristic
chain or range, there is found a wide extent of country of generally high
elevation, from which occasional peaks rise still higher, attaining at times
altitudes of 4, ooo or 5, ooo feet above the sea, but appearing less lofty
than they really are because of the high platform from which they spring.
This mountain mass extends from Honduras into Nicaragua in the depart-
ment of Segovia, and thence southeasterly, subsiding gradually into low
hills, until it is completely interrupted by the San Juan on its course to the
'sea from its source in Lake Nicaragua; the mountain declivities, towards
the shores of the lakes, are often abrupt, but not precipitous; on the east
they fall off in gentle undulations and wooded plains towards the Mosquito
shore, and farther south the hills gradually rise into the lofty mountain
masses of Costa Rica. This is the true Cordillera of the continent; the
fact that its continuity is interrupted by the valley of the San Juan, and
8 THE NICARAG UA CANAL.
that there is but an insignificant barrier west of the lake, is a fortunate
provision of nature, so far as an inter-oceanic canal is concerned. West-
ward, along the whole Pacific coast, there is found a hilly region com-
monly known as the coast range, but the highest elevations are not of suf-
ficient magnitude and continuity to entitle them to be considered as a
mountain chain. Across this ridge, which parts the waters flowing to the
Atlantic and Pacific, there are several low and easy passes, of which that
between the mouth of the Rio Lajas in Lake Nicaragua and Brito on the
Pacific Ocean is the lowest that exists anywhere across the continental
divide from the Arctic Ocean to the Straits of Magellan. It has an eleva-
tion of only 153 feet above the sea. k
The Lake Valley.—Between the Cordillera and the Coast range is
found the great geographical feature of Nicaragua, a remarkable depres-
sion about 70 miles wide and nearly 200 miles long, its major axis parallel
to the Pacific coast. Here are found the broad and beautiful lakes of
Nicaragua and Managua, and the fertile plains of Leon and Conejo, ele-
vated but a few feet above the lakes. In this depression, the bottom of
which is below the sea level, are gathered the waters which flow from the
mountains and plains on either hand. The surplus is discharged by a
single outlet, the San Juan River, which, traversing a valley between low
and wooded hills, flows through the break in the Cordillera and then
through the lowlands of the coast into the Atlantic Ocean. The valley of
this river, the inland waters of the great central plateau, and the low pass.
across the coast range, are nature's route for inter-oceanic communication.
The Trade Winds” Beneficent Influence.—The San Juan River
valley, extending from the great lake to the Atlantic, between the moun-
tains to the northward, and the still loftier peaks of Costa Rica to the
southward, together with the low altitude of the coast range, afford a
natural pathway through which the northeast trades, blowing from the
Caribbean Sea, sweep continually over the coast and valley region, chang-
ing, cooling and purifying its air, and modifying its temperature to such a
degree that early writers, carried away with the delights of its climate,
spoke of it as the Paradise of Mahomet.
Lake Nicaragua.-The lake makes the construction of a ship canal.
practicable at this locality. It is a beautiful sheet of water IIo miles.
long and 40 miles wide, with depth sufficient for navigation by the largest
ships. Together with its outlet, the San Juan River, it drains a water-
shed of 8, ooo square miles. It is an enormous natural reservoir, which,
by distributing over its broad surface the rainfall of the territory which it
drains and discharging gradually and without any excessive flow, renders.
practicable the use of the river for purposes of canalization. But for this.
provision of nature a canal might be as impracticable here as elsewhere,
for in the absence of the great storage basin of the lake, the river would,
be as uncontrollable a torrent in time of flood as the Chagres at Panama.
Climate.—It has been stated that the climate of Nicaragua is modi-
THE NICARAG LA CANAL. 9.
fied by its topography; it might be added that its salubrity, which is no-
table, is largely due to the fact that the country lies entirely within the
zone of the trade winds, the southern limit of which is approximately Io
degrees north. The “Trades" blow almost continuously up the river
valley, and although the temperature may rise to 95 degrees at mid-day,
it is still comfortable in the shade, and the heights are cool and pleasant.
The effect of these winds is more marked on the lake, and in the country
between the lake and the Pacific, than in the river valley and the Atlantic
region; they dissipate all miasma and exhalations, such as have proved so.
pernicious in that part of the isthmus which lies a few degrees farther
south. They not only lower the temperature of the whole country, but
give to it an exceptional uniformity. At Rivas the maximum temperature
recorded during a term of years was 95 degrees Fahr., and the minimum
65 degrees, while the greatest variation in any one year was 26.5 degrees,
and the least 16.2 degrees. At Granada, as determined by observations
recorded at the National Institute in that city, the variations are about 2.
degrees less. The temperature records of the Canal Company cover the
period from January, 1889, to February, 1893. At San Juan del Norte
from the 1st of June to the 1st of November, 1890, the maximum was
89.5 degrees, the minimum 71 degrees, showing an extreme range during
that time of only 18 degrees. In general terms it may be said that the
temperature in the shade rarely rises above 90 degrees and rarely falls
below 70 degrees; the ordinary variation is thus about 20 degrees only,
while the extreme variation does not exceed 26 degrees or 27 degrees
during the entire year. j
Immunity of Employes From Disease.—No better proof of the
healthfulness of the country can be asked than the practical experience of
the men who have been employed in surveys of the route and on actual
work of construction. The surveys were made through dense forests and
jungle where every foot of advance was gained by the use of the axe or
machete, and through swamps and streams where the men were often com-
pelled to work up to their waists in water. The report of the surveying
party of 1885, under Mr. A. G. Menocal, published by the United States
Government, says: ‘‘During the four months we remained in the coun-
try, of which more than three months were of constant arduous work, ex-
posure and privation, no officer of the party was ever affected by sickness
due to climatic causes; and as for the natives attached to the party, their
only ailments were due to bruises caused by want of protection for their
feet or limbs. It is proper to add that our work was confined to the un-
inhabited, and what is generally considered the most unhealthful, portion
of the country.”
Medical Statistics.-The experience of the Company by which all
the later surveys and the work of construction up to the present time have
been carried on, has been equally satisfactory. The Chief Surgeon in an
annual report says: “It has been generally supposed that this country
teems with fatal maladies, and that the employés are exposed to severe
...[O THE NICARAG UA CANAL.
and dangerous types of fever. After a professional experience of ten years,
most of which have been spent in the tropics, and being familiar with
nearly every climate of the globe, I can state that Nicaragua is exception-
ally exempt from any fatal endemic disease.” His report as to cases
treated and their result is as follows: “During these fourteen months
there have been admitted into headquarters hospital I, 669 patients, of
which 1,347 were medical and 322 surgical. Of the whole number there
have been discharged cured or improved 1,646. The total number of
deaths has been 23, or 1 38–Ioo per cent. of those admitted. These
deaths were subdivided as follows: º
Due to accidents, - •º - 5 or o. 30 per cent of patients treated
Due to chronic diseases contracted
before entering the Company's
employ, - wº tº-º †º 6 or o. 36 & C
Due to climatic diseases contracted
while in the employ, - - I 2 Or o. 72 . . .
Total, sº $º 23 or I. 38 { %
This fact I wish to emphasize, viz.: That out of over 1,600 patients,
only 12 have died from diseases that may be termed climatic.”
A better sanitary record cannot be shown in any city of the temper-
ate ZOneS.
Final Location and Physical Features.—The route of the canal
as finally located is as follows: Its termini are San Juan del Norte (more
commonly known as Greytown) on the Atlantic coast, latitude II degrees
North, longitude 83 degrees 40 minutes West from Greenwich, and Brito
on the Pacific, latitude II degrees 15 minutes North, longitude 85
degrees 55 minutes West from Greenwich. -
Both points are north of the region of tropical calms and within that
of the trade winds. The distance from port to port is 169 miles, of which
27 miles will be excavated channel and 142 miles in lake, river and basins.
The summit level, Lake Nicaragua, is 11o feet above the sea. This level
will extend from the last of the eastern series of locks, which is within
about 13 miles of the Atlantic, to the first of the western series, within
two and one-half miles of the Pacific terminus, a distance of 154 miles.
The Atlantic Terminus.-The restoration of the harbor of San Juan
del Norte, the eastern terminus of the canal, is in progress. More than
thirty years ago this harbor, previously one of the best on the Caribbean
Sea, was entirely closed by the formation of a sand spit across its
entrance. To effect the restoration, the construction of a breakwater,
projecting seaward at right angles to the shore line, and the excavation
of a channel to leeward of it, was proposed. The breakwater was com-
menced, as the first requisite to successful prosecution of the work, and
about one thousand feet of it have been constructed. When it had been
extended about six hundred feet, the protection afforded against the mov-
ing sands permitted the natural reopening of a channel across the sand
THE NICARAG U A CANAL. II
'barrier, which had attained a height of three or four feet above sea level.
The channel thus formed was subsequently deepened by dredging and the
old harbor was made accessible to vessels drawing twelve to fourteen feet.
Dredging.—For nearly ten miles westward from the harbor the canal
traverses low lands raised but little above the sea level; here Con-
struction will be entirely by dredging. Two miles of the route has
already been excavated and the material is found to be entirely of sand
and clay easily worked and maintaining well the slopes given the banks.
The LockS.–The first of the eastern series will be nine miles from
the harbor, and will have a lift of 31 feet; the second, about a mile beyond,
a lift of 30 feet, and three miles still beyond will be the third, with a lift
of 45 feet. These locks raise the canal to the level of 1 Io feet, at which
it will be maintained by dams hereinafter mentioned. The western locks
are located closer to each other; the first and second of this series are
within two and one-half miles of Brito and adjoining. They will have
lifts of 42 I-2 feet each. The last of the western series will be about
two miles farther on, with a variable lift of from 21 to 29 feet, according
to the movement of the ocean tides. The locks are alike in their dimen-
sions, 650 long, 8o feet wide and 30 feet deep, with variable lifts as above
stated. Their foundations will be in stiff, tenacious red clay or on rock,
and they will be built of masonry and iron.
The Basins.—The small streams which flow across the line of the
canal, and the gaps between the foot hills, will be dammed or closed with
substantial embankments, and the valleys flooded thereby will be con-
verted into basins requiring but slight excavation in two or three locations
to make them available for canal uses.
The Eastern Divide.—To the westward of the third and last of the
-eastern locks, a rock cutting is required, nearly three miles long and
averaging one hundred and forty feet in depth. The rock from this cut will
be used in building the breakwater at San Juan del Norte, for embank-
ments, for dams, for locks and for other works of construction; if not
obtained in this way the material would have to be quarried elsewhere
and transported greater distances to points where needed for construction.
After passing the divide, the canal route continues twelve miles in a
direct line to the River San Juan, near its junction with the Costa Rican
river, San Carlos, at a point called Ochoa.
Slack Water Navigation.—At Ochoa a large dam will raise the
Waters of the rivers, fifty-six feet, to the lake level. This will submerge
several rapids above in the channel of the San Juan, and will flood its
Valley, thus securing deep slackwater navigation all the way to the lake.
Nearly a mile, in lineal extent, of weirs and sluices are provided to in-
sure immunity of the works from injury by surplus or flood discharges.
From Ochoa, the route follows the broad and deep waterway occupying
the San Juan River valley for 64 miles to the lake, which it traverses by
I 2 THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
a sailing line of 56 miles, to the mouth of the Rio Lajas, where excava-
tion is again required. Some dredging to secure the requisite depth of
channel near the east shore of the lake and some excavation at the western
shore will be necessary, but across the lake, of which the bed is below
the level of the ocean, there is already free navigation.
The Western Divide.—From the mouth of the Lajas for nine miles
westward the canal is in excavation; it traverses a low pass across the
western dividing ridge, which, as before stated, is the lowest in the moun-
tain chain between the Arctic Ocean and the Straits of Magellan, rising
only 43 feet above the level of the lake. Nine miles to the westward the
canal enters the Tola Basin, to be created by a dam and locks as are the
basins of the eastern division. The average width of the sailing line in
this basin is one mile, and the depth of water from 30 to 70 feet. Its
length will be five and a-half miles leading to the western locks, within
two and a-half miles of the Pacific terminus at Brito.
Pacific Harbor.—Brito, the western terminus, is not now, strictly
speaking, a harbor, but may readily be converted into one, both safe and
commodious. It is at the mouth of the Rio Grande. The course of the
river for nearly a mile and a quarter from the beach, is through a low val-
ley, which evidently once formed a large bay. To the north of its mouth,
a rocky headland projects into the ocean, which will be farther extended
by a breakwater 9oo feet long. To the south, another breakwater will be
constructed, the two enclosing a considerable area for harbor uses, which
may be increased, as there is need, by dredging out the adjoining lowlands,
now submerged at high water; but for harborage purposes it is probable
that the capacious Tola Basin will be used more than the port at Brito.
Magnitude of the Work.-In this project there are no unsolved
problems. Engineers, who have examined and carefully studied the de-
tailed plans, and practical builders and contractors all say that it is a
simple undertaking of considerable magnitude, involving the removal of
a certain number of yards of rock and of earth, the construction of locks
and embankments and dams, and the making of harbors, presenting no
physical or engineering difficulties that have not been readily overcome
elsewhere, and the whole being costly merely on account of its propor-
tions.
Estimates Of the Cost Of the Work.-A careful and detailed es-
timate, at unit values established before the recent improvements in
methods of dredging and excavation, placed the actual cost of Con-
struction at sixty-five million dollars. A board of eminent, disin-
terested engineers, after reviewing these estimates and adding a liberal
allowance for unforeseen contingencies, advanced the estimate to eighty-
eight million dollars. If to this be added interest upon capital during
construction, and until the canal is opened for transit, the total cost may
be placed at one hundred million dollars.
But rock excavation, which five years ago cost over a dollar and
:
i
--
a:
-------------------------
------- -----
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
-
3.
A-E a "ºrg /* -
st-san MiGuru-To
-------- ---
M.A. D. E. R. A. º rºº
---- - -
Sonar E 15.
so-tratinama E is.
Excavat-o- -- nºw---
NICARAGUA CANAL
º GENERAL PLAN
showin
LOCATION or sºme CANAL
from the
ATLANTIC to rue PACIFIC
1893
A.G.MENOCAL, Chief Engineen
scale or M-LEs
-- -
-a-a-in-Excavat-o-
FRE--aw-aa-r-o-
------a-d
---
=
§
Ea-R-D-vio- cross sect-o-
---------
i
i
sea--------oss --c-d-
i
:
-
- ºrgº s cº-oss G-c-o- - -a---
g P R D F : L E D F : A N.A. L. ------ s s
- º: s s n
s - sºs santº º s s
º : & Rock s s s -
: º ear-o ; § 2 yº
- - - 5.
Laº ºr w/ CA ºr A. G. L. A 5-5.5 M / L. E. s. E L E v. A 7", a w / / o a 7" - - F 1 0 s a w cy s - saw rºadwc.º sco easy aw º
- - - - º º - Fº - - %
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - º'--— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — *E**—-ºf-ºf–ººlº-Eºis — — — — — — — —” — — — . . . * willimºv. º - wº- Lu ºº: a lºº. Lº
--~~ --Tº-Hoº-ºº: º FrºTºrf7 ...” --- --- --- --- º so sc Al-E OF MILFS st ºn TT T. T. T.T.T. - - - - - - ... --- º º º - º -º-º-º-º: º - - - -º º
o --
- - - - 26.8 miles Total Distance from Ocean to Ocean, - - - 1 69.4 miles Number of Locks, - - - - - 6 -
- - - 21.6 miles Free Navigation in Lake, River and Basins. - 1 4-2.6 miles Greatest Lift of Lock, - - - - 4-5 feet #...º.º.º. t o - - - 1 OO feet Area of Watershed - - -
- - - 64-.5 miles Elevation Summit Level of Canal above Sea, - 1 1 O feet Dimensions of Locks, - - 650 ft. long, 8 O ft. wide Length of Lake N." ſo *...a - T. 23 hours Estimated cost of Canal. . - -
- - - 56.5 miles Length of Summit Level, - - - - - 1 54.2 miles Depth of Canal, - - - - - - 3O feet Surface Area of Lake es, X.º. ...'. 4-O . Estimated Time for construction
- - - - Scuare niles - -
---a -----
----- --- - ºr.
- ----- º
Canal In Excavation,
Length of Basins,
River San Juan, -
Lake Nicaragua,
Estimated Traffic at Opening,
8,OOO scuare miles
$ 1 OO,OOO,OOO
6 years
5,000,000 tons




















































THE NICARAGUA CANAL. I 3
a-quarter per cubic yard, and for which allowance is made in the canal
estimates at one dollar and a-half per yard, can now be done, and is
actually being done, at a cost of only sixty cents per yard. The dredg-
ing and earth excavation and pier work already accomplished by the
Construction Company have also been done at a cost materially below
estimates. From these facts it will readily be seen that the computed
cost of the work is liberal in the extreme, and not at all likely to be
exceeded.
Commercial Importance of the Canal.—The argument in favor of
a ship canal across the American Isthmus is very simple. It is the raison
a’étre of all such works. The extension of trade in the products of any
territory is limited by the cost of transportation which the value of such
products in the market of the consumer will permit, so that, after pay-
ment thereof, there may still remain to the producer a compensative
margin of profit. Other things being equal, the shortening of the routes
of transportation not only reduces the cost of carriage of goods, but
serves also to extend and develop commerce. Such is the argument,
briefly stated, in favor of a maritime canal. The commercial importance
and financial success of the Suez Canal are indisputable demonstration
of the accuracy of the proposition.
Necessity for a Canal.—The opening of the Nicaragua Canal will
provide a gateway and a direct route between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans for the commerce of the world, but especially for the commerce
of the United States. By it the States east of the Rocky Mountains
will be brought into closer business, relations with the 500, ooo, ooo people
inhabiting the countries bordering on, and the islands of, the Pacific. The
ports of the American continents on that Ocean will also be brought nearer
to Europe, the saving of distance varying from one to ten thousand miles.
The countries and islands of the Pacific have to-day an aggregate com-
merce of over twelve hundred million dollars. To what extent the addi-
tional facilities offered by the Nicaragua Canal will increase this com-
merce is more forcibly demonstrated by a presentation of the results of
similar facilities elsewhere than by any argument that can be offered.
Influence of the Suez Canal Upon Trade Routes.—Until the con-
struction of the Suez Canal, the commerce of Europe and of the United
States with Asia and Australia necessarily took either the route via Cape
Good Hope or that via Cape Horn. Prevailing winds and currents made
whichever route was most advantageous as to the port of destination,
about equally convenient for both continents. The opening of the Suez
Canal changed these conditions materially and gave to the commercial
nations of Europe an advantage in distance over the United States of the
width of the Atlantic in the competition for trade, except for that of the
western coast of the American continents and of some of the islands of the
Pacific. As most of the commerce of the United States with Asia is car-
ried in British bottoms it is not possible to ascertain from existing sta-
I4. THE NICARAGUA CAN AL.
tistics the effect of the canal upon it, but the influence of the route
upon the commerce of the world is apparent from the fact that, whereas.
in 1870, the first full year of its operation, there passed through the canal
486 vessels, registering 436,600 tons, the number of vessels passing in
1891 was 4,207, registering 8,700, ooo tons. The most significant fact in
this enormous increase is that the average size of the vessels using the
Canal in 1870 was but a little over 1,300 tons register, while in 1891 it had
increased to over 2, ogo tons, and in 1892 to 2, 200 tons.
Suez Traffic Statistics.—The Suez Canal was opened to traffic in
1869. The growth and present magnitude of its business is shown in the
following table:
Year. Number of Ships. Net Suez Tonnage.
1870. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436,609.
1875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I, 494 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, oog, 984
1889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,926 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, O57, 42 I
1885. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,624. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,335,752.
1899. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,389. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,890, og4.
1891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 207 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,698,777
St. Mary’s Falls Canal Statistics.-The Sault Ste. Marie Canal,
which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron was constructed in 1855.
Its advantage to internal commerce became so apparent that in 1881 the
United States Government became the owner of it and increased its depth
and the lift of its lock to 18 feet. Its depth as originally constructed was
but twelve feet, which was increased to sixteen before the purchase by the
Government. The growth of traffic has been such as to demand still fur-
ther facilities, and the Government is now engaged in further deepening
the canal and in constructing there the largest lock in the world. It is to
be 8oo feet long, Ioo feet wide and to have a depth of 21 feet over the
mitre sills. Until 1881 the growth of traffic appears to have been re-
stricted by the limited facilities offered, but since the increase of the capa-
city of the canal, the increase of business has been phenomenal, as will
appear from the following table, the freight stated in 2, ooo lb. tons:
Season of Actual Freight Season of Actual Freight
I88.I . . . . . . . . . I, 4 IO, 347 I887. . . . . . . . . 5,494,649
I882 . . . . . . . . . 2, O29, 52 I 1888. . . . . . . . . 6,4II,423
I883. . . . . . . . . 2, 267, ro5 1889. . . . . . . . . 7,486, oz 2
I884. . . . . . . . . 2,874,557 1890. . . . . . . . . 9, O4 I, 2 I 3
I 885 . . . . . . . . . 3,256,628 1891 . . . . . . . . . 8,888,759
I886. . . . . . . . . 4,527, 759 I892. . . . . . . . . II, 2 I 4, 333
Influence of Cheap Transportation upon Commercial Devel-
opment.—The foregoing tables are forcible demonstrations of the effect
upon commerce of increased facilities for its transaction. But in the case
of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, another most important principle is also
demonstrated conclusively. The aggregate value of the II, 214,333
N. B.-In any comparison of the two foregoing tables it must be borne in mind that
the Sault Ste. Marie returns are in net tons of 2,000 pounds each freight, while the Suez
tables are in net Suez tonnage of the vessels passed. For instance, in the Suez table the
tonnage of I891, 8,698,777 represents I2,217,986 of gross tonnage.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL. * I5.
tons of freight carried in 1892 was $135, 117,267, an average of $12.
per ton. Its principal constitutents were coal, flour, grain and ore, the
last commodity constituting about 55 per cent. of the whole, and the coal
about 35 per cent; both are articles of low valuation, which could only be
carried the distance requisite because of the low cost of deep water trans-
portation. The opening of the canal has thus created this vast traffic by
making it possible to transport to a market of consumption products of
low value which could not afford the more expensive carriage by rail; and
this it is done in a locality where the thermometer frequently registers.
65 degrees of frost and where traffic is suspended because of ice for
nearly five months in the year. (The open season of 1892 lasted
233 days.)
Cheap Transportation Diverts Traffic.—There cannot fail to be
an enormous and immediate diversion, to the new route, of maritime.
commerce already existing, to which the advantage of distance offered by
the canal will be very much greater than that which has secured to Suez.
its traffic; and the diversion will be immediate, for all experimental ques-
tions, which might otherwise delay the change, have been already
answered by practical experience at Suez.
Cheap Transportation Encourages Settlement of Unoccupied.
Territory.—The effect of the new route on emigration and colonization,
in view of the favorable conditions of climate and fertility of the terri-
tory made available to settlement, cannot be estimated. All precedents,
and especially what has been accomplished by the Sault Ste. Marie under
physical conditions the reverse of favorable, give assurance of an enor-
mous developement.
Summary of Deductions.—With the completion of the Nicaragua
Canal we shall have another demonstration of the principles heretofore
stated, that new routes cheapening transportation and bringing closer to
each other producer and consumer,
First, Promote the development of existing commerce.
Second, Open new and previously unproductive commercial fields;
and,
Third, Permit and aid in the settlement of unoccupied territory.
Distances Saved by the Canal.—The Nicaragua Canal, in connec-
tion with Suez, will provide a maritime highway for the circumnavigation
of the world by a route as nearly direct as is possible for all points in
the northern hemisphere. The actual circumference of the earth on a
great circle is 21,600 nautical miles (about 25, ooo statute miles). Before
the opening of Suez the practical route for circumnavigation, starting
from New York, then around Cape Good Hope to Hong Kong and home
around Cape Horn, was 30,796 nautical miles; when Suez was pierced
the distance was reduced to 28,363 nautical miles; the Nicaragua Canal
will shorten it to 22,309 miles; a gain of two and one-half times what was
deemed sufficient to warrant the construction of the canal at Suez,
§

This diagram-drawn to the scale of 4, ooo miles to the inch
Actual circumference of globe, - º tº sº
Circumnavigation before opening of Suez Canal, gº
Circumnavigation via Suez, º ſº º tº
Circumnavigation via Suez and Nicaragua, ſº tº
is a graphic illustration of the
comparative distances.
- 21,600 Nautical Miles.
- 30,796 Nautical Miles.
- 28,363 Nautical Miles.
- 22,309 Nautical Miles.


160 Tº Tºº gº
*—"—" 100 *" . . . " 40 60 80
- - - - T - - - -T H -- - –
-y N O La Reen and -
-
-> r <!
2.3% K * - CHART OF THE WORLI)
º
y 2, sHow ING
- r
3 - * DIST A N C E S S A.V. EID <>
- A- BY THE - St.Petersburg
Cronstadt
cº -
º 4 º'" q \ M A R IT IM E C A N A L Wººd
". Abert
- - N - or & --Lºs pº º º igsbe
º º NICA RAC U A Belfas §. Aſ ºf *** O. *
º & º C. N - º ºpº. Arcona Danzig
*s AQ - Dººlin Hamburg º
& º º, S. 2% ºterdam
- erp
se ºw- º Q S **** ---, -º-º: Calais º
& Port Townseñº, Seattle º M. le sº ------- º /. Havre
º *Olympia Kin *. Jºº. St.Johns º ** ſ ºcº
º Astoria *stoº ſº º …” º - *-
3. * 2° sº - * * 22* º// - º S. ººri
essiºn ºsus º, - lif gºeºs º º - pe.
** ======Exº-º: - * **-tº- fºss - - :- ---
ºf 3- =s** **EAVºw º 2 - wº- ***E=== º ºf -
*a*- .. **** sº Sº, Chicago.” Nºw York º sºs Bay -
******* *:::s & - Philadelphiaº ==* s **E=-
ae" sº - Baltimore eZºº, Lisbon
** *śs $º san FRAN cis-- Washington R ººz---- - Cadiz
º ºs & º, Nºrfolk º A. -
ohama *sº Charleston Strø º
* *3s, º Los Angeles - * º Tangier -
*& San Diego ºunchau º *
& I
*sº I
- & - *oz d
- Swatow R.
Q Hong Kong º 7 - Nº.
Eunoas nºw mona and new cº-º-Auro cºin
20+ C2 - -T-TTT-TTT- * W. ºransean rº \
* NIETFº --tº a St. Vindent -20
- war. º -
- ºutrº. **cAPE
f º werDE is. -
-> MARSHAL- -
A 2 º: ISLANDS P islands - ". C I F I Sierra Leone º
- *13-
- - W --- Rºsarº
º º EW- S T > * - ºats -
w canoline islands,” cassaua-ºº: * -
Nº settaneº- wº-li-º-
| Tº N Gulf of Guinea - 2^ o
| 0 || *:: *** º: '..cº. o
- * ST, THomas e § º <2* - 0
GILBERT. ISLANDS - º º
\x } \, º | I NT D& I A. N \
t * - *_º -
Parahiba Nº. - - Zanzibarº o zºº. avº: ".
Pernambuco º \\ º *x º St.Paul de Loanda º' cº-
8AMOA OR ºn **, * *J - 23° o. --
navigator ISLANDS e § \ ºv ** 2 Mayotta
- -
º \, . Sº *
Flu Islandsº - tº 1 \! Sºsrºelenºs Mozambique
*.*. ". . society Islands 31 \! - -
20 + FRIENDLY ISLANDS P º *~ *~
I º Y- \ *s *
O C i º - *
# * | *~ *~
- *
-> I - t *~~ Nº. *
- t - * r
o - * - wº
austaat- 1. I *~~ * Port Natal zº-
===-aº ---- So i-2, *~ *~ -*
Laº -- º *~~ N Cape Town Z--"
- - - -
Aucklandº º º-º-º: S&s! c.of good Hoººº-º-º-º-º:
- NEW -- sº t Sºve *onsº AND
e IIow: º RS Liverº -
40+ - º e Wellingtº Rws Sol. To ol--To-GHina-Arno-JAPAN
* ZEALAND - || 40
tºº. \ } *3. Table of Distances, in Nautical Miles, between Commercial Ports of the World, and Distances Saved by the Nicaragua Canal.
evees: Hobart Town S&. - Compiled from data furnished by the United States Hydrographic Office. Length of Sailing Routes approximate only.
+o - - - - -
Live aPoet Nºe r = + i = - 5 § - § 3 t is # = | 3–3 - - - + .
*Ss. - 5s; Fä is # # ài jí 3. #, # #
º BETWEEN EP. E:- § 3 || 33 #: #3 BETWEEN *::: #3 || 3 | # ##| | #3
- $vo ## #5 # ºš # # - ### #: # #3 # #
*- ºsº 3-3 || 333 s E = | > * === | == º -- I - |
*~~ Ş3 ** # 3 |5"# || 5 || 5 || 3* | * * # = |*|| 3 || 3 || 3 ||3:
*_ve ** - - — -
~~ **Jºra * New York and San Francisco, 15,000 || 13,174 on- - - i.e. - -- -
- *~<ser, **-case --~ *** **śćt’sound." | " iº tº "dº º Revºltaneºsco, lºw tº ºg nº º
* -ºº ºn T-S-ºorºw -- * Sitka, 14,439 6,177 8,262 -- | “ Mazatlan. º, | 3. º
- **----------- * ----- * * “ Bering Strait 15,705 7.1% sº -- | Mººlan, jº º 2,48. H
--- -- -------------------º-º- ---" -- ** Acapul - *:::- - - -- .. §allaº. 100.5 3,984 7,021
- - -- -- -- i. pulco, }: 3,045 §,510 |.. Valparaiso, - 4,254 4,551 ||
-- -- #;"ºne * is ºn iš sons | * Liverpool and sº ºsco, 15,620 13,494 iš 1998 || 5 || ||
go NOTES: -- * Yokohama, iñº; jº 5'º -- -- Nº. #: §§ §
" - . . º Z #º #$!! #. º º żº -- “ Auckland, 12,130 iiº) || 13,357 Miš ºts ºf to
Present routes in Black P - -- . Auckland, N-3, º º 14,089 sº tº 3.13. . : Guavaquil, 10,620 5,947 4,573 -
Honolulu, S. 1s., 15,480 || 13,290 6,417 7,063 6,873 ** - Callao 9,960 6,464 3,405 -
- ºr - - -- * Callao, . 9,640 3,744 5,896 -- “l Vaion raiso 9,380 sº #| Lºs .
New Routes via Nicaragua. - . ... Gºyaquil, | 10,300 3,227 7,073 -- “I Honºlulu." " 13.gio gº; " 4.473
Canal in feed - - - Valparaiso, 9,480i 8,440 5,014 || 4,406 || 3,426 -- “l Yokonama, 14,505 || 11,947 3.35s
Length of Canal, in Nautical Miles, . - - - - - - - 147 Wes --- -
New York to Eastern Port of Canal, , - . . . . . . 2,060 Western Pºrt of Canal totºº. - - - - - . 2,700
Liverpool -- -- -- - - - - - - - - 4,780 -- * -- -- ºund - - - - - - - - §
Hamburg -- -- -- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.7 -- - - - - - - - - - - - *º-
- - - ew Orleans - -- -------- -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -
israurºens & co., encºe and en's, N.Y. – l , , , , - 1,300 - Yokohama, . . . . . . . 7,020
120 Longitude 140 East 10 180 In Longitude 120












































































THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 17
Natural obstacles forbid that there should be any other route so nearly
direct as that at the location designated for the Maritime Canal of Nicar-
agua. Its advantages, therefore, cannot be surpassed, and it must always
remain the short and cheap highway for ocean transportation westward
from the shores of the Atlantic as the Suez Canal is eastward, until the
two routes meet at a point antipodal to the port of departure.
Can Wessels Afford to Pay the Canal Tolls 2–The limitations to
the use of a canal imposed by toll charges are in some degree indicated by
the fact that steamships trading between Melbourne and other Australian
ports and Great Britain, make use of the Suez Canal at a cost for tolls,
etc., of about $1.90 per ton, to save 1,230 miles of increased distance
involved in doubling Cape Good Hope. Other Suez routes show greater
advantages, but none that compare in importance with those offered by
the Nicaragua route. The greatest gain in distance by Suez is realized in
the voyage from Liverpool to Bombay where the distances are as follows:
via Cape Good Hope, Io,698 miles,—via Suez, 6,217 miles. Possible
saving 4,481 miles, while the construction of the Nicaragua Canal will save
a distance of nearly Io, ooo miles between two points of our own country,
New York and San Francisco. The advantages of distance by this canal
over the present routes are shown on the map, facing this page.
Estimated Revenue.—It has been computed that the traffic, at
present existing, to which the canal would afford advantages offsetting the
cost of transit, exceeds 8, ooo, ooo tons, which, at a toll of $2 per ton,
would yield a revenue of $16, ooo, ooo, subject to the cost of operation.
The entire operation of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, which has one lock, was
$45,417 for the year 1890–91. Allowing $50, ooo per annum for each of
the six locks of the Nicaragua Canal and a proportionately liberal allow-
ance for maintenance, administration and all other expenses, the total
annual cost, exclusive of interest, cannot exceed $1,250, ooo, which would
leave a net revenue of $14,750, ooo, amounting to 6 per cent. upon more
than $245, ooo, ooo of capital, or two and one-half times the most liberal
estimate of the cost of its construction.
The ablest engineers of the United States and England have expressed
their opinion that the cost of the Nicaragua Canal cannot under any con-
dition exceed $1 oo, ooo, ooo, including interest upon money during the
process of construction.
Will the Nicaragua Canal Pay?—The same question was asked in
regard to the Suez Canal when first projected. The annual net revenues
of the Company for a series of years have been upward of $12, ooo, ooo,
and for the year 1891 were over $16, ooo, ooo. The cost of maintenance
and operation was a fraction over a million dollars annually. Interest
on the obligations and dividends on the stock of the Company are
regularly paid and the quotation for the $1 oo shares, par value, of the
Suez Company on the Paris Bourse is over $500. The dividends paid
I8 THE NICARAGUA CAN AL.
on the shares in 1891 were about 18 per cent, on their par value. The
cost of the canal was about $1 oo, ooo, ooo.
Shall the Canal be Owned by Americans?—This account of the
Nicaragua Canal would be incomplete without some mention of the dispo-
sition of the people of the United States at large and of the Government
to become actively interested in the work of its construction. Private in-
terest is evident in the fact that several million dollars have already been
expended by public-spirited and enterprising men who have prosecuted the
undertaking to its present condition of advancement, and in so doing have
demonstrated the correctness of their plans and the entire feasibility of
the project. But in the public mind in this country there always has been
associated with the idea of isthmian transit an inherent and implicit, if
not always definitely expressed, conviction, that whenever and however the
work might be accomplished, the interests of the United States should not
be subordinated to those of any other nation, and what may be called the
national view was formulated in the treaty between the United States and
New Granada of December 12th, 1846. Under this agreement the
Panama Railroad was subsequently constructed, and repeatedly protected
from violence by American arms.
Government Interest Shown.—On more than one occasion, the
subject of an Inter-oceanic Canal was discussed between the governments
of the United States and of some of the Central and South American
States, but without arriving at a definite conclusion; yet these negotia-
tions always indicated the existence of a public opinion upon the matter
which was seeking practical expression.
Fish-Cardenas Negotiations.—In 1876 Señor Cardenas was accred-
ited Special Envoy from Nicaragua to this country, mainly with a view to
arranging a treaty with reference to such a work, but Nicaragua was
unwilling to grant certain conditions which the United States considered
requisite, and the negotiations failed of the hoped-for result.
Freylinghuysen-Zavala Treaty.—In 1884 another attempt was made
in the same direction. Señor Zavala was accredited Special Envoy from
Nicaragua to the United States, with powers like those conferred on Dr.
Cardenas. A treaty was negotiated between Señor Zavala and the Sec-
retary of State of the United States, known as the Freylinghuysen-Zavala
treaty, by which the United States practically assumed a protectorate over
Nicaragua and undertook the construction and the sole charge and con-
trol of the Canal, sharing with Nicaragua the earnings, and receiving a
considerable grant of Nicaraguan territory. This treaty was considered
by the Senate in executive session, but failed of ratification under the
two-thirds rule; a change of five votes only would have confirmed it.
A motion to reconsider was entered, and the treaty remained before the
Senate, but after President Cleveland took office the following March, it
was withdrawn for further consideration. It was urged by opponents
THE NICARAG UA CAN AL. I9
of the measure that direct ownership of the Canal by the United States
might involve international complications, and as President Cleveland at
a later date, in speaking of the Canal, made reference to the national
policy of avoiding “entangling foreign alliances,” it may be inferred that
such was the reason why it was not again presented.
United States Charter of the Present Canal Company was granted
to the promoters of the enterprise now before the public, by a special act
of incorporation, dated February 20, 1889, as has already been men-
tioned. Work was commenced shortly afterward with means provided by
parties interested, and later on negotiations for the capital required to
Complete the undertaking were instituted in Europe, but these negotia-
tions were suspended at the instance of members of the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Fifty-first Congress, upon the representation
to the Company that the Canal should be a national work, built and con-
trolled by American skill and capital, and that a measure designed to se-
cure these results was then under consideration. On January I oth, 1891,
the Foreign Relations Committee unanimously reported a bill authorizing
the guarantee by the United States of the Company's bonds to the amount
of $1 oo, ooo, ooo and securing to the government such a voice in the ad-
ministration of the Company's affairs as would protect its financial respon-
sibility. The measure was designed to avoid the question of foreign alli-
ance and international complications, and its provisions were adjusted ac-
Cordingly. The bill was ably discussed and strongly supported, but as it
involved financial questions of considerable magnitude, and other busi-
ness of importance occupied attention, there was not time for action, and
it was not brought to a vote.
Technical Report by a Government Officer Ordered.—In March,
1892, the Secretary of War, submitted to the Senate a report by Maj. C.
E. Dutton of the Army on the Nicaragua Canal. This paper contained
the results of a personal examination of the work and plans for the canal;
it was printed about the same time by the Government.
The California State Convention, composed of leading citizens of
California, was held in San Francisco in the Spring of 1892. A memorial
to Congress urging action was adopted, and also resolutions requesting the
Governor of the State to call a National Nicaragua Canal Convention to
meet at St. Louis, Mo., on the 2d day of June, 1892. On April 11th, in
conformity with the resolutions, the Governor of California issued a call
for such convention, requesting the Governor of each State and Territory
to appoint delegates, and expressing his personal interest in the move-
Iment.
The St. Louis Nicaragua Canal Convention met at St. Louis on
the 2d and 3d of June, 1892. Some 3oo delegates were in attendance
from thirty States and Territories. Resolutions were unanimously adopted
calling upon Congress to aid in the construction of the Canal, and an ex-
2O THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
*\
ecutive committee was appointed with definite duties, among others to
report at a future convention, which it was empowered to call.
The National Conventions of the two great political parties assem-
bled later in the month to nominate candidates for the Presidency, and
each made reference in its platform to the political and commercial im-
portance of the Canal. The candidates themselves subsequently made
fuller recognition thereof in their letters of acceptance.
The New Orleans Nicaragua Canal Convention assembled at
New Orleans on the 3oth of November, to further consider the question of
the immediate construction of the Canal under the protection and control
of the United States. The Associated Press reports say that delegates
were present from every State and Territory in the Union, the aggregate
number reaching 6oo. Governor Foster of Louisiana, Judge Jones of
, Arkansas, Judge Estee of California and many others addressed the Con-
vention. Senator Morgan of Alabama, now Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations, amid a scene of great enthusiasm, made
a full and clear statement of the whole question in its diplomatic, political,
strategic and commercial relations, and of the safety with which the Gov-
ernment might lend its aid. Resolutions were unanimously adopted call-
ing upon Congress to aid in the construction of the Canal, and to take
such steps as would ensure the result at a minimum cost of time and
money, and a committee was appointed to visit Washington and to urge
upon Congress the early consideration of the project.
A Bill Providing for Participation in the Work by the Uni-
ted States was introduced on the 23d of December by Senator Sherman,
of the Committee on Foreign Relations; it had been prepared by the
committee after long and careful investigation and full consideration of
the whole subject. It provided, as did the bill of 1891, for the guarantee
by the Government of bonds of the Canal Company, but stipulated that
in consideration thereof the United States should receive in full owner-
ship and without payment therefor $80,500, ooo of the capital stock of the
Company, and have the perpetual right to name ten members of the Board
of Directors. The measure was also introduced in the House of Repre-
sentatives. Several days were given to its consideration in the Senate
and a number of able speeches were made in its favor, but the pressure of
business growing out of the change of administration and the shortness of
the session again prevented a vote upon the measure.
State and Other Petitions or Resolutions.—The record of reso-
lutions adopted by Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce, of con-
ventions assembled in the interests of commerce, of instructions by State
Legislatures to their representatives at Washington, and of petitions to
Congress, is too large to be embodied in this paper. They are the
unanimous expression of multitudes of our people, demanding the con-
struction of the Canal and urging the necessity of its remaining under
* -
THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 2 I
American control. That importance cannot be better stated than in
the remarks of Senator Morgan made before the United States Senate,
January 7, 1892.
Senator Morgan’s Appeal.—“Now, let us bring the borders of our
nation together; let our coast line be practically unbroken from the State
of Maine to the State of Washington; let the East join hands with the
West through this Nicaragua Canal or some other waterway. If any man
can find a better plan than this, I will most cheerfully adopt it, but after
years of most patient investigation, I have found nothing that approxi-
mates it. Indeed, it seems to me that if the Divine hand of Providence
had placed the Lakes of Nicaragua and Managua upon the summit line of
the Cordillera, between these two seas, with a view of extending an invi-
tation to the genius of the American people and to the intrepidity of their
enterprise, to encourage them to make a construction there which would
honor this country more than any public work in which she has ever en-
gaged; which would be worth more to the United States than all the ter-
ritory we acquired from Mexico; would give to the Mississippi River
another mouth in the Pacific Ocean, and would cause all the commerce of
the East and West, which seems to be invited by the very laws of nature
themselves and the arrangement of the geography of that country, to
float backwards and forwards through the Nicaragua Canal.”
The World's Columbian Water Commerce CongreSS
CHICAGO, 1893
THE WORKING
• OF THE
V
FIRST SHIP–RAILWAY
, HY
WM. SMITH, M. INST. C.E. .
ABERDEEN, N.B.
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@Ibe (Pſi, Torner ºodſigture
283 Washington Street

THE WORKING OF THE FIRST SHIP-RAILWAY.
The first ship-railway was laid by the present writer at
Edinburgh Exhibition, in the year 1890, as a practical illus-
tration of his system. He had then developed the flexible
car, curved and graded ship-railway, for the transport over
land, by multiple line railways on ordinary grades and curves,
of ocean-going vessels fully laden with cargo. Starting from
, the point of view of the ordinary railroad capable of travers-
ing an undulating country, the author had labored for years
to provide on a ship-railway car of great length, width, and
height, the means of insuring lateral flexibility of the wheel
base and vertical flexibility of the car, while leaving the rigid
length of the ship unstrained.
The leading principles upon which ship-railway cars must
be based are: (1) the distribution of the weight of the ship
and the car over a great number of wheels on parallel lines
of rails, so that the maximum pressure on each wheel should
not exceed the resistance of the permanent way or the
strength of the wheel and axle; (2) the retention of the
distribution of the pressure over the skin of the ship upon
the ship-railway car the same as at sea ; (3) the adaptation
of the car for running over the usual changes of railroad
gradients by making it flexible vertically ; and (4) the adap-
tation of the ship-railway car for running round curves, and
through shunts, points, and crossings, by making the wheel
base flexible laterally.
The first of these principles obtained necessarily in any
attempt, however crude, at the development of a ship-
railway car. For a line that was perfectly straight and
horizontal this principle might be sufficient, with extraor-
dinary care of the vessel and smoothness of the ship-railway.
4.
But for practical and certain working the other three prin-
ciples, as developed by the author, are really essential. The
second is embodied in the contrivance of hydraulic cushions,
the third in making the cars in sectional lengths connected
by hinges, and the fourth in the contrivance called the com-
pound bogie.
While exhibiting, in illustration of his lectures before the
Chambers of Commerce and other bodies in Britain, a set
of working models of a ship-railway with curves and grades,
over which a model vessel and car were run, the small scale
on which these were necessarily constructed induced the
author to promise a demonstration upon a working scale by
laying down a ship-railway in the grounds of Edinburgh
Exhibition. - -
The site was obtained, and the line set out in February,
1890, three months before the opening of the exhibition.
This site was a triangular field on the south front of the
exhibition, separated from the rest of the exhibition grounds
by the Union Canal (Fig. 1). The canal frontage afforded
an opportunity for the launching and redocking of the vessels
run over the ship-railway, while the canal banks and the
undulations and shape of the field necessitated steep grades
with frequent changes of gradient and sharp curves in
opposite directions (Fig. 2).
The Edinburgh Exhibition Ship-railway consisted of two
parallel lines of ordinary railroad, each 20 inches gauge,
with 33 foot space between, giving an aggregate ship-railway
gauge of 7 feet. The rails were flat-bottomed bulb rails, 16
pounds per yard, laid on sleepers of timber, and fish-plated.
The undulations of the ground and the canal banks were
graded by means of timber trestles and one cutting averag-
ing 4 feet deep near the middle of the line.
A passing place for the cars was formed at the middle of
the line, I 50 feet long between the points, which showed the
working of points and crossings on the flexible car (or curved
and graded) ship-railway system. Platforms were erected
at this point, from which passengers embarked and debarked
while the boats lay on the hydraulic cushions in the cars
alongside (Fig. 3).
5
Two flexible ship-cars were run simultaneously in opposite
directions on the ship-railway, drawn by a stationery steam-
engine and wire rope, the engine being placed at the south-
west corner of the ground, near the canal bank. Two boats
and two gondolas were procured, each 38 feet long, and 7
feet 6 inches beam, drawing 2 feet of water when laden with
40 passengers. Two of the boats were passed in opposite
directions along the canal, while at the same time other two
were being carried along the ship-railway on the cars. Two
boats were sufficient to accommodate passengers during the
latter part of the exhibition season, owing to the defective
arrangements of the exhibition, and the unfavorable weather.
During the whole of the time from its commencement in
the beginning of July to the close of the Exhibition, the
ship-railway worked most successfully.
The ship-railway with engines, cars, and boats cost $20,-
OOO ; and the working expenses and ground rent amounted
to upwards of $5,000.
The passengers embarked from the station platform while
the vessel was lying afloat on the car. The additional
weight of the passengers only caused the boat to settle
down to the new flotation level on the hydraulic cushions,
the water within the cushions rising a few inches in the
vertical portion of each cushion between the fixed upright
side of the car and the boat. The boat did not move or
lurch in any way upon the cushions, being gripped firmly in
position by the frictional adhesion of the cushions to each
other and to the surfaces of the boat and the car. The
boats were always perfectly water-borne by the hydraulic
cushions while seated on the cars. The illustration, figure
4, shows a midship section of the boat laden, one of the
hydraulic cushions, and flexible car, and an end elevation of
a pair of compound bogies as seen from the mid-section of
the car (Fig. 4).
The hydraulic cushions were soft flexible tubes made of
thin waterproof cloth of uniform diameter from end to end,
one end being sealed up, while the other end was left open.
They were laid in a continuous row athwart the car, the
closed end of the cushion rising only to the bilge of the
6
boat, while the open end was carried up the fixed side of
the car to allow the water to rise to give whatever head of
pressure was required to float the boat under any circum-
stances. The bottom of the car formed a platform in four
segments, with one rigidly attached side rising to the height
of the boat. The other side of each segment rose no higher
than the bilge of the boat; and the two middle segments
had movable sides attached to the car at the bilge level,
by hinges, on which they folded down to let the ship float
on or off sidewise or endwise, and raised to retain the vessel
in position. The closed ends of the cushions lining the
folding sides were attached to the sides, so as to rise or fall
with them while retaining the water within them. The
illustration (Fig. 5) is a plan of the hydraulic cushions as
they appear on one-half of the car with the folding side up,
and on the other half with the folding side lowered for ship-
ping or launching the vessel.
The cars were each made in four sections, joined together
by hinges at the bottom, to make the car body flexible verti-
cally, in order to accommodate the car to the changes of
gradient, without straining the vessel lengthwise or lifting
any of the bogies off the line. The interposition of the
hydraulic cushions makes this flexibility perfect while the
vessel is on the car. Fig. 6 shows the body of the car in
four segments, hinged together at the points marked A.
The movement of the cars round the curves, which were
only 95 feet radius, and through the points and crossings
was provided for by making the wheel base flexible laterally
by means of an invention of the author's called compound
bogies. These consisted of two separate trains of four
trucks each, on each line of ordinary railroad; that is, each
car was supported on four trains, numbering altogether six-
teen small trucks. The distinctive feature of these com-
pound bogies is that, while each train of trucks is linked
together end to end, so as to allow free lateral movement,
guided only by the wheel flanges on the rails, the train has
only a single centre-pin connecting it, through the second
truck from the outer end, to the bottom or platform of the
car. The car thus covered four independent railway trains,
7
linking them together by the four centre-pins, while leaving
them free to bend laterally round the railway curves on
which they were guided by the wheel flanges. While the
car body rested and swivelled on the centre-pin trucks in
the usual way, on the other three trucks of each train rub-
bing plates slid sidewise on a slender iron rail as the car
passed round a curve. Fig. 7 is a plan of the four trains
of trucks in position on a curve to support the car body, the
platform of the car being shown in outline.
The two folding sides of the middle segments of the cars
were raised and lowered by means of a lever on the fixed
side, the motion being communicated by cranks and rods
carried across underneath the platform. One man standing
on a shelf on the top of one segment of the fixed side of the
car was able easily to work the folding sides simultaneously
by a single motion of the lever. Fig. 8 is made from a
photograph of a car containing a boat, and shows the fixed
side and the front of the car with the shelf and lever for
working the folding sides.
The boats were sailed regularly, one each way along the
Union Canal, shipped on the cars in a minute and a half,
hauled along the railway in seven minutes, including three
and a half minutes for debarking and embarking passengers
at the station, and were launched on the canal again without
even stopping their way. The boat, when shipped on the
car, was simply enclosed while still afloat within the folding
and fixed sides of the car, and settled automatically on to
the cushions while the car was being drawn up the incline
out of the canal, where it remained firmly seated without
any adjustment or vibration during the whole of its journey
over land.
The ship-railway was inspected by a special jury consist-
ing of Sir Edward Reed, K.C.B., etc., and Mr. W. R.
Kinipple, M. Inst. C. E., who subsequently reported inter
alia : —
“The boats in use at the exhibition are 38 feet long by 7
feet 6 inches beam. The operation of placing one on the
car on the incline in the canal takes about one and a half
minutes, and the car with the boat is then by rope traction
8
hauled up the incline and over the railway system till it
reaches the incline in the canal at the other end of the line,
where the boat is set free and afloat in the water in less
than a minute.
“The boat takes its bearing on the bags of water without
the slightest trouble, and remains firmly seated throughout
its journey over land. At the curved portion of the line the
bogies adjust themselves thereto, sliding laterally underneath
the car which is rigid horizontally. The car which is hinged
vertically adapts itself to all the changes of gradient, and
where such occur the water in the cushions under the keel
and floor of the vessel gets displaced to an extent corre-
sponding with the changes of gradient, the vessel remaining,
however, always water-borne, owing to the diameter of the
cushions being arranged to suit the maximum change of
gradient. In the line at the exhibition these cushions are
8 inches in diameter. For dealing with large vessels and
with gradients likely to be adopted in practice, 3 feet in
diameter may be taken as a maximum size.
“With regard to the bags it might at first sight be
thought that these would wear out so rapidly as to be unre-
liable or be a source of expense; but after seeing those at
Edinburgh, upon which boats have been shipped and un-
shipped several thousand times, and which, although of very
flimsy material, are still in good condition, any doubt in this
respect may be at once dismissed.
“In practice, the water-bags would be made of stout, seam-
less canvas, capable of sustaining safely, say, IOO pounds'
pressure per square inch, and the surface in contact with
the skin of the vessel would be protected by a covering of
ordinary canvas or rope-matting.
“Sir E. J. Reed and myself examined the system care-
fully, had the boat shipped on to the car, transported over
the railway, and unshipped at the other end. We paid espe-
cial attention to the action which took place at changes of
curvature and gradient; and we are both of opinion that the
system is a thoroughly practical one, and that by means
of it vessels of large tonnage can be safely transported over-
land.”
MECHANICAL AND HYDRAULIC PRINCIPLES.
The first principle observed in the design of a ship-rail-
way car is the distribution of the weight of the laden vessel
and the car over a sufficient number of wheels to keep the
weight per wheel well within the limit of the strength of
the wheel and axle. This condition is met by increasing
the number of railway lines, and also the number of wheels
and axles on each line. This provision is essential to any
system of ship-railway, and is the only new departure in
mechanical principle required upon the Chignecto Ship-rail-
way, where the lines are practically level and straight
throughout their whole length.
In order to adapt his cars to railway curves and gradients,
and especially to changes of gradient, the author treated the
horizontal and vertical flexibility of the ship-railway car sepa-
rately. His first departure was made with the invention of
the compound bogie (English patent No. 13298, 1886), in
adapting which to long grain cars for loads of 150 tons on
a single line of railway the idea of hydraulic or pneumatic
cushions was first introduced (English patent No. I I2O7,
1887) to meet changes of gradient on long cars.
The difficulty and costliness of making closed cushions to
withstand the enormous pressure to which they might be
subject, led the author to work out the problem of open hy-
draulic cushions made of a flexible waterproof material,
consisting of plain tubes of waterproofed canvas, with one
or both ends open, laid in a continuous row athwart between
the ship and car. The horizontal portions of the tubes con-
tain a little water, part of which is forced up the vertical
portions of the tubes till it reaches the flotation level of the
vessel. The vertical portions of the tubes form reservoirs
in which the water, rising and falling automatically as the
vessel passes over a change of gradient, adjusts its volume
to the varying spaces between the vessel's bottom and the
car, and at the same time compensates for any change of
pressure by a corresponding increase or diminution of head.
While the complete set of hydraulic cushions between a
IO
vessel and car represent a tank of water, inasmuch as the
vessel is completely water-borne, the tank represented by
the cushions is cut up into independent parallel strips
athwart the ship, which makes the water incapable of flowing
lengthwise of the car or ship. The cushion tank may thus
sit upon a steep gradient while the vessel is equally water.
borne from end to end, on the same thin film of water as on
the level.
Of course, as it is only the vertical pressures that support
the ship vertically, the cushions might be stopped at the
level of the bilges and the head of pressure equivalent to the
weight of the vessel obtained by carrying up small pipes to
a cistern. The incompressibility of water was found by
the author to make such cushions unworkable on a large
scale. On a series of practical trials of such cushions and
small upright pipes made at Aberdeen and at Loughborough
in the year 1891, the closed cushions became virtually hard
incompressible pads, when subjected on a car in motion on
the rails to sudden jolts or changes of gradient. On hydrau-
lic Cushions of uniform section, however, the car runs at a
high speed over a rough railroad and changes of grade with
perfect smoothness. Vessels are even less exposed to strains
of any kind while borne along on the hydraulic cushions on
a ship-railway car than on a calm day at sea.
Besides providing for the ascent or descent of grades and
for the prevention of shocks and the distribution of pressure
over the skin of the ship, the hydraulic cushions render it
unnecessary to make the car body rigid or water-tight. The
car body may therefore be made up of as many separate
lengths connected together by hinges working vertically as
are required for bending over changes of gradient.
While the vertical portions of the hydraulic cushions
serve to prevent the vessel's sides from bulging outwards,
they are also carried up the full diameter to contain a sup-
ply of water to compensate for the varying thickness of
cushion beneath the vessel on these vertical curves. Any
departure from this simple plan would be unworkable. The
plane parallel tube subserves all purposes perfectly.
The adaptation of the ship-railway cars to varying sizes
I I
and shapes of ships is accomplished partly by the hydraulic
cushions and partly by sliding one or both sides of the car
towards or from the heel line. The cars, being made up of
separate segments, each connected by a pair of hinges, may
be disconnected, and made up in longer or shorter lengths.
It may be convenient in practice, however, to provide a
variety of cars to suit various sizes and kinds of ships, just
as various kinds of wagons are adapted to their respective
descriptions of traffic on an ordinary railroad.
Perfect steadiness of fixture is obtained on the vessel by
the frictional adhesion of the cushions together and to the
car and the vessel. This is an important new principle,
brought into use by the cushions as compared with an
open tank, and indicates the advisability of adhering to
a series of comparatively small cushions instead of two or
three large ones.
An additional principle introduced in the hydraulic cush-
ions, preventing swaying or lateral oscillation of the vessel
on the car, is the friction of the water within the cushions.
The water flows up and down within the cushions, having
to expand or open up the vertical portion of the cushion in
rising. The cushion acts as a brake, preventing the water
from jerking or splashing upwards or flying out of the cush-
ion by sudden jolts of the car over inequalities of the line
or changes of gradient. The fluid friction and the enclos-
ure of the water by the soft folds of the cushion make all
movements, however free and sudden, perfectly smooth and
safe.
When the hydraulic cushions are not supporting a vessel,
only their horizontal portions are filled with water; and the
pressure outwards on the cloth does not exceed two or
three feet of head, or about one pound on the square inch.
On the ship settling on to the cushions, it compresses the
horizontal portion of the cushions, forcing the water up the
vertical portions until it attains to the flotation level of
the ship. The internal pressure of the water on the cush-
ions is then counterbalanced by the weight of the ship and
the resistance of the car and contiguous cushions. If we
consider a single cushion without these outside counter-
I 2
balancing pressures, the maximum pressure that can be
brought upon it is that due to the immersed depth of the
ship,-only 8 or 9 pounds per square inch by the largest
vessels. But, taking the car as a whole, the unbalanced
pressures on the cushions do not exceed two or three pounds
per square inch, so that there is no danger of the hydraulic
cushions bursting. If the cushions were closed and small
pipes carried up to reservoirs, the slowness of the flow of
the water from the closed cushions would introduce this
danger, which has thus been specially guarded against by
the author.
There is no danger of the cushions being cut or abraded
by the vessel nor by barnacles or any hard, sharp substance
getting in about them accidentally. It is essential to cut-
ting any substance that there should be sufficient resistance
to the cutting instrument. The water within the cushions
presents little or no resistance to cutting, so that the
hydraulic cushions are practically invulnerable.
The body of the car does not bend sidewise, its only
flexibility is vertical. It rests, however, upon the compound
bogies, two trains of trucks on each railway line with only
one centre pin to each train. The whole lateral movement
in going round curves or through points and crossings is on
the compound bogies under the car, and the rails form the
guide for the bogies.
The same principle applies to brake power to govern the
momentum of the ship-railway car as to the distribution of
the weight over a great number of wheels. The momentum
being a function of the weight, a continuous brake applied
to every wheel will possess exactly the same control over
the momentum of the ship-railway car as it would over a
railroad train in proportion to the weight per wheel.
The working of the Edinburgh Ship-railway also demon-
strated the superior ease and celerity with which the vessel
may be docked and launched on a flexible ship-railway car
lined with hydraulic cushions, and raised and lowered from
the water by means of an inclined ship-railway or slipway
rather than blocked up on a rigid car, and raised and lowered
by a vertical lift. On the author's system the ship-railway
I 3
simply terminates at a level under water deep enough to
float the vessel on or off the car.
The ship-railway station with its raised platforms was a
miniature production of the future ship-railway station at
inland towns en route, consisting of huge, many-storied
warehouses for platforms, as indicated by the cross section,
Fig. 9.
By means of curved and graded ship-railways the capabil-
ities of the system of maritime transport over land are
vastly extended. The crossing of isthmuses is the least
important function to be subserved by this system. Being
independent of locks, lifts, or turn-tables for changes of
direction or level, and capable of following any ordinary
undulations of country, a main trunk ship-railway line may
connect all the leading manufacturing and mining or agri-
cultural centres in a country with the ocean ; while branch
lines of less aggregate gauge for smaller vessels may con-
nect the lesser towns. The aggregate gauge may be eco-
nomically widened by laying additional lines to suit larger
vessels and accommodate increasing traffic, while all the
time the ordinary goods and passenger cars may be running
over the single lines composing in the aggregate, the ship-
railway. Ship-railways as a system of inland maritime
transport are impracticable upon any other basis than that
of the introduction of ordinary curves and grades with
flexible cars.
The Chignecto Ship-railway owes its inception to local
needs and conditions. While a railway line straight and
level was practicable right across the isthmus, the conditions
of the tides and the nature of the soil were such as to make
the formation of a ship-canal impracticable. The particular
schemes of Tehuantepec or Toronto were promoted to ac-
commodate the needs of their respective positions; but no
system of ship-railways, like a railroad or canal system, had
before this been advocated for general purposes of inland
maritime traffic to supersede and extend the functions of
canals. A lift at every change of level, a turn-table at each
change of direction, a huge traversing table at every passing
place for cars, and the frequent detention of vessels for
I4.
these operations would be a clumsy makeshift for the swift,
continuous journey by flexible car, over a curved and graded
ship-railway. It is impossible to make a system upon the
rigid car principle. It would be far too costly and slow in
construction and working.
Comparing the curved and graded ship-railway with a
ship-canal of equal vessel capacity,+the ship-railway claims,
Owing to greater speed, five times the traffic capacity,+ it
would cost but one-fourth of the price per mile for construc-
tion, the actual cost will vary little from the estimated cost,
the working expenses will be less per ton, and the rates
upon goods for transit would be little more than the ocean
freights. The mechanical advantages of the system were
thoroughly demonstrated by the Edinburgh Exhibition Ship-
railway, and the commercial advantages were so evident that
only the occurrence of the Baring crisis at the close of the
Exhibition year postponed its application to the inland navi-
gation of Britain.
In conclusion, the author may quote the following from
Mr. Kinipple's report : —
“The advantages of this system of transport are so obvious
that it seems almost unnecessary for me to refer to them.
Wherever an ordinary railway is feasible, a ship-railway can
also be constructed, and vessels conveyed overland from sea
to sea, or inland to any destined point. It has all the merits
of a ship-canal, with the great advantages of the cost per
mile being a mere fraction of that of a canal, whilst its traffic
capacity would be greater as the speed of transport would
be higher. -
“As is well known, there are many places where ship-
canals would be most serviceable ; yet the elevation and
other features of the country to be traversed are such that,
although presenting no difficulty in regard to railway con-
struction, they are prohibitive for canals on account of the
great cost of locks or lifts, viaducts, embankments, etc.,
which would be required. For such places the ship-railway
is eminently suited, as there would practically be no extra
expense in construction on account of difference of level
along the route to be traversed.
I 5
“A further important advantage which the ship-railway
possesses is the simple manner in which it may be enlarged,
when desired, for the conveyance of vessels of increased
tonnage. Suppose that a ship-railway were constructed to
carry vessels of, say, 1,000 tons burthen. A railway for this
purpose would consist of three parallel tracks of permanent
way of 4 feet 8% inch gauge; and, should it be desired at a
future time to provide for vessels of larger tonnage, all that
would be required would be to widen the line, and lay down
one, two, or more extra tracks to suit the vessel to be dealt
with, and provide some cars of increased size.
“No existing works would be disturbed, nor would there
be any interference with the ordinary traffic along the line
during the progress of the widening; and as the bridges
spanning roads, streams, etc., would all be under bridges,
there would be no necessity to pull down or disturb any of
these, but merely to widen them.
“With canals the case is altogether different. To increase
their capacity by deepening or widening, nearly all structural
works, such as quay walls, locks, lifts, bridges, etc., would be
interfered with, and would require to be rebuilt.
“The ship-railway system is, in reality, most elastic in
regard to its adaptability to suit the requirements of an ex-
panding trade. Thus there may be a main line of railway
across a country consisting of a series of tracks along which
the vessels of all sizes of tonnage may be travelling on suit-
able cars, and utilizing two, three, four, five, six, or more
tracks, according to the tonnage of the vessels; whilst
branches from the main line need only to be constructed of
dimensions to suit the vessels utilizing such branches, and
increased, when required, to accommodate vessels of larger
tonnage.
“It must further be kept in view that the ship-railway,
being merely a series of tracks laid to the ordinary 4 feet
83-inch gauge, with ordinary locomotiwes used for the pur-
pose of traction, there is nothing to prevent ordinary rail-
way traffic, especially goods and minerals, being carried on
in addition to the ship traffic, and connections established
with the railway system of the country.
I6
“I need hardly point out that at any town or locality along
the route of a ship railway a basin or dock may be con-
structed in which vessels may lie afloat and receive or
discharge cargo and adjoining which ship-building may be
carried on, so that this latter industry, instead of being con-
fined as at present to certain suitable localities on our coasts
and rivers, may be carried on in the districts where the iron
is produced, and save the cost of carriage or freight of
material.”
FIRST SHIP RAILWAY.
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The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
v.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER IMPROVEMENT
BELOW CAIRO
BY
C. B. COMSTOCK
COLONEL OF ENGINEERS, BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@Ibe 49ſt. Torner ºochátore
283 Washington Street

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MISSISSIPPI RIVER IMPROVEMENT, BELOW
CAIRO.
I. In giving a brief account of the works of improvement
undertaken on the Mississippi River below its junction with
the Ohio River, by the United States, a description of this
part of the river is desirable.
2. The length of the lower Mississippi, from Cairo, Ill.,
where the Ohio River enters it, to its mouth, is 1,070 miles.
The average width which exceeds 5,000 feet for the upper
three hundred (300) miles, if all the channels are, included,
gradually diminishes in descending the stream, and at New
Orleans is but about 2,200 feet. The navigable depths at
low water sometimes become as small as 5 or 6 feet on
shoals between Cairo and a point 550 miles below. Below
Red River, which is 765 miles below Cairo, there is always a
navigable depth of Io feet or more. When the minimum
navigable depths become as small as 5 or 6 feet, commerce
suffers very serious delays and interruptions, and urgently
claims relief. The amount of this commerce is about three
millions of tons per annum. The maximum oscillation, or
the height of great floods above the lowest stages between
Cairo and Red River, a distance of 765 miles, varies between
53 and 36 feet. Below the mouth of the Red River (where
the oscillation is 48 feet) the influence of the Gulf of Mex-
ico is felt, and at New Orleans the oscillation is reduced to
17 feet. **
For a bank full stage the average water cross section of
the river, from Cairo to Red River, does not vary widely
from 200,000 square feet; and the river flow at this stage
4
does not vary widely from 1,000,000 cubic feet a second,
But in great floods the river is higher than its natural banks,
sometimes by several feet for hundreds of miles; and the
flow in the river proper may be much larger than at a
merely bank full stage. Thus in the great flood of 1882 a
discharge was observed at Columbus, 21 miles below Cairo,
of 1,600,000 cubic feet a second, as the maximum flow in the
river proper; and about 3OO,OOO cubic feet a second more
was flowing parallel to the river in the low swamps to its
west. In this same flood the maximum discharge in the
river proper was also measured at Hay's Landing, 55.3 miles
below Cairo, as 1,019,000 cubic feet a second. Here the flow
through the swamps, of water which had escaped from the
river above and which was independent of the river flow,
must have been about 1,000,000 cubic feet second. Several
important tributaries enter the Mississippi River below
Cairo. In great floods the flow across the latitude of Cairo
may be taken as 1,900,000 cubic feet a second, this amount
increasing at the latitude of Red River Landing, 765 miles
below measured along the river, to 2,2OO,OOO cubic feet a
second. In a right line this distance is about 430 miles.
At very low stages of the river the discharge at New
Orleans may sink to I2O,OOO cubic feet a second, and at Cairo
to IOO,OOO.
For 400 miles below Cairo the high water slopes vary be-
tween about O'.3 and O'.5 per mile: in the next 365 miles they
diminish to about O'.2 per mile at Red River Landing, and
to about o'. I 5 at New Orleans. Below Cairo the river flows
in an alluvial soil of its own formation, the width of the
valley lying below its floods varying from 20 to 75 miles;
and the overflow area is about 30,000 square miles. From
Cairo down, the bed of the river is sand, with sometimes a
little gravel. Below Red River the sand is fine, and the
banks have more clay in them. At a number of places on
one side or the other of its overflow valley the river comes -
in contact with bluffs of an older formation. As usual, the
great depths are found near concave banks. These depths
in the upper part of the river, at low stage, often reach 5o
and 60 feet. Near New Orleans these depths are sometimes
5
175 feet; and here for a hundred miles the average thalweg
depth at low stage is about 90 feet, which may be compared
with the 35 feet existing between 65 and 161 miles below
Cairo. -
The banks of the river above Red River are very unstable.
Concave banks often recede by erosion 300 or 400 feet in a
year, and sometimes as much as 800 feet.
In great floods the river may be higher than its banks for
80 days at Cairo, increasing to I2O days at Vicksburg, 600
miles below.
3. In 1879 a commission called the Mississippi River
Commission was organized by the United States Govern-
ment, and since that date has had charge of the expenditures
by the United States on the Mississippi River below Cairo.
Up to March 31, 1893, the Commission had expended about
19 millions of dollars, of which about 6% millions was directly
for the improvement of navigation, about 6 millions for
levees, and the balance for local works at various places.
Since in straight parts of the natural river, in which the width
does not exceed about 3,500 feet, there is habitually the
depth of water desired for navigation,-- namely, Io feet or
more at the lowest stages, some such width as 3,500 feet
is considered the limit of necessary contraction in those parts
of the river where navigation now sometimes becomes diffi-
cult.
In carrying on the improvement of the river, where at
places of bad navigation there are islands, the channels be-
hind them — which are sometimes 2,OOO feet wide — are closed
by closing dykes, or dams. If this does not give sufficient
contraction, spurs are built from one bank of the river of
sufficient length to produce the desired result. These spurs
in some cases are 4,000 feet in length. As the concave
banks are usually caving banks, such banks in the vicinity of,
or opposite to spurs must be protected from erosion. This
is effected by covering the portion of the bank below water
by a woven mattress of brush loaded with stone, and the part
of the bank above water, after it has been suitably sloped, by
a covering about Io inches thick of stone.
These mattresses are constructed on a barge, or on two
6
barges placed end to end, so that the combined length of the
barges may exceed the width proposed for the mattress, this
width sometimes reaching 3OO feet. The mattress barges
are at right angles to the shore: the mattress is afloat at its
upper end, and held by cables. As the mattress is woven on
the mattress barges, they are allowed to be carried down
stream by the current, dropping a part of the continuous
mattress upon the water service above them. In this way
mattresses 300 feet wide and 1,000 feet long have been woven
continuously, and still greater lengths of narrower mattress
have been made. When a sufficient length has been woven,
it is loaded with stone, and sunk to the bottom, its upper
end being sunk first. Usually the inner edge of the mattress,
when sunk, is near the low-water line, and the outer edge in
the deepest water of the river, the usual under water slope
of the bank ordinarily not exceeding #, the depth of the
water often being from 60 to IOO feet.
A common size of mattress is 800 by 250 feet. The mat-
tresses are constructed on the mattress barges by laying
parallel to the shore, and 8 or IO feet apart, a series of
poles, whose aggregate width equals nearly that of the pro-
posed mattress. These poles are small trees from 3 to 6 inches
in diameter at the butt, and 25 or 30 feet long. Smaller
poles are then placed at right angles to the larger series, so
as to pass alternately beneath and above the successive
larger poles, as in basket-work. These smaller poles, when
forced into close contact with each other and with the other
series, form a tolerably compact web, or mattress. When so
many of the small poles have been added that they approach
the ends of the larger series, whose poles are parallel to the
shore, these larger poles are each continued by having an-
other large pole spliced to it, and so on for the length of the
mattress. The brush in the mattress is fastened together
frequently with iron wire and cross poles. The whole mat-
tress is strengthened by wire cables about 20 feet apart, and
by § to # inches wire ropes running longitudinally the whole
length (1,000 feet) of the mattress. Transverse cables of
wire, about 16 feet apart, also strengthen the mattress; and
transverse wire ropes in addition are sometimes used.
7
For the protection of the bank above water a brush protec-
tion has been extensively used. But it soon decays; and, as
the cost of stone has fallen, the latter is now used almost ex-
clusively. The strength of the mattresses has been in-
creased from time to time, as experience has shown its
necessity; and for banks which are severely attacked by the
current, a still further increase is needed.
4. In Europe, spurs intended to contract river widths are
usually solid dykes of brush, stone, and gravel, in various
combinations, depending on the cost of the materials.
On the upper Mississippi River (that is, on the part above
the mouth of the Missouri) the river carries little sediment;
and its oscillations are small in comparison with those on the
lower Mississippi, while stone is abundant. These facts have
led to the use of essentially the same methods of river im-
provement there, as are used in Europe. Below Cairo, on
the other hand, the river is frequently charged with sedi-
ment, its average weight being about rºot, part of the weight
of the water, this ratio rising at times to gº or gāo part.
Below Cairo and as far as Red River the oscillations in
height vary between 35 and 52 feet : stone has to be brought
from great distances, and costs from $1.60 to $3 per cubic
yard. Long spurs of stone, or under-water stone revetments,
in deep water would therefore be costly.
These facts have led, in works of contraction, to a wide
deviation from the methods usually followed in Europe.
The deviation consists in constructing spurs of from one to
four parallel rows of piling, the piles in each row having in-
tervals of 8 or Io feet, while the rows have intervals of about
20 feet. The piles are strongly braced and tied to each
Other.
Their greatest enemy is the large amount of drifting trees,
derived from the wooded caving banks, which comes down
the river during floods. These are stopped by the piling,
and sometimes accumulate (especially when side channels
are closed), so as to cover areas of several acres, and in solid
masses sometimes reaching I 2 feet in thickness. These
enormous masses of drift-wood act injuriously in several
ways. First, they threaten to break off one or more rows of
8
piles by their direct pressure. Second, they tend to produce
scour of the bottom of the river between the piles, so as to
undermine them in spite of a wide mattress placed on the
bottom to prevent such scour. Third, when the river rises
above the tops of the piles, it drops heavy masses of drift-
wood on top of the piles and on their bracing, and breaks
down the bracing, especially when weakened by age. Cot-
tonwood (one of the willow family) timber is the timber most
easily obtained, and hence most largely used. When ex-
posed to the weather, it becomes very weak after three years.
Where spurs are used on European rivers, they usually pro-
duce a slow filling up of the river-bed lying between them,
in consequence of a diminished velocity of the water over a
part of this area.
A spur of several rows of piling by itself, and especially
when aided by drift, diminishes the velocity of the water
flowing between it and the next spur below, and thus also
tends to produce deposits. If the spur has brush woven
along one of its rows of piles, the effect in checking the ve-
locity of the water is still greater; and such a hurdle (as it is
called) is frequently, though not always, used to diminish the
velocity of the water, to cause deposits, and thus to build up.
a new bank.
By the use of such spurs, fills of an average depth of 8 or
IO feet have been obtained over many acres in a single flood.
When a shoal has thus been built up to about mid stage,
cottonwood brush begins to grow upon it, and strongly aids.
the building up process. At Baleshed, 540 miles below
Cairo, in a few years an area of about 700 acres was built up
by about 20 feet. The most satisfactory results as to build-
ing new banks have been obtained between Cairo and St.
Louis. A large proportion of the sediment in the Missis-
sippi comes from the Missouri River, and before it is diluted
by the Ohio River water is readily deposited. Below the
mouth of the Ohio the process of building up new banks
where the river is too wide is much slower. In closing side
channels, pile dykes have also been used frequently and suc-
cessfully. But as the process of closure is a slow one, and a
piled dyke is often seriously injured by drift and decay, it is
9
not improbable that a solid closing dam may under certain
conditions be better.
5. The methods of contraction and bank protection for the
purpose of improving navigation, which have been briefly
described, have been applied chiefly to two places; namely,
to a portion of the river 18 miles long, near Plum Point, 165
miles below Cairo, and to a portion 19 miles long, near Lake
Providence, 542 miles below Cairo. At the latter place, in
consequence of suspension of work under legislative action,
and from lack of funds,- at times even to make repairs to
preserve the works,— this part of the work does not yet ap-
proach completion.
The work at Plum Point is far toward completion. Before
the work was begun here in 1881, depths as small as 4% feet
were reported; and it was one of the worst parts of the river,
so far as navigation was concerned. There were numerous
islands and side channels, and at one point the width of the
main river exceeded I3 miles. Several of the side channels
have been completely closed ; those remaining are partially
closed; a large portion of the caving banks have been pro-
tected, and a considerable amount of spur dyke work has
been built to give contraction.
For several years prior to the fall of 1891 the low-water
navigable depths had ordinarily been IO feet or more, occa-
sionally going down to 8 feet for short periods. In Novem-
ber, 1891, the river was excessively low, its discharge becom-
ing as small as IO9,OOO cubic feet a second at Cairo. In the
portion of the Plum Point Reach controlled in part by the
works, the least navigable depth was 6% feet.
There had been spent up to March 31, 1893, on Plum
Point Reach $3,613,OOO and $3, IQ5,000 on the Lake Provi-
dence Reach.
6. As the Mississippi River Commission has spent about
$6,000,000 since 1880 on levees along the Mississippi River,
the local authorities having spent about $12,000,000 more, a
brief account of the levee system may be of interest.
Right Bank.- From Cairo to Helena, along the St. Fran-
cis bottom lands, the levees were never in a very perfect
state; and little has been done to them for many years. The
IO
distance from Cairo to Helena is 306 miles; and the aggre-
gate length of levees, there being many gaps, is II.5 miles.
If I 5 miles of levees above Cairo, which also cover the St.
Francis bottom, be added, it gives I3O miles of existing
levees. From Helena to Cypress Creek, or from 306 to 436
miles below Cairo, there are, with many gaps, 53 miles of
levees. From Cypress Creek to Bougéres, 738 miles below
Cairo, the levees are continuous. From Red River, 764
miles below Cairo, to Fort Jackson, I,039 miles below Cairo,
the levees are continuous, with the exception of a narrow
outlet, the Lafourche.
Ileft Bank.--Neglecting short pieces of levee covering
small areas and built by individuals, the levees are continu-
ous along the Yazoo bottom, from 245 to 575 miles below
Cairo, and from Baton Rouge, 833 miles below Cairo, to Fort
St. Philip, 1,039 miles below Cairo. The aggregate length
of main front levees on the Mississippi is 1,294 miles.
The cross section of the better recent levees has a top
width of 8 feet, about 3 feet above the highest known
water, side slopes of #, and where the levee is high it has a
banquette on the land side. The interval between the levees
is very irregular, varying from 3,OOO feet to several miles.
The aggregate volume of the existing Mississippi River levees
is about 80,000,000 cubic yards, and for hundreds of miles the
average height is 8 feet or more. At bank full stage above
the mouth of the Red River the flow of the Mississippi is
from I, OOO,OOO to 1,2OO,OOO cubic feet a second.
As has been previously stated, the flow down the valley is
about 1,900,000 cubic feet a second, in great floods at Cairo,
this flow being increased to about 2,OOO,OOO cubic feet a sec-
ond above the mouth of Red River. As, with levees badly
broken in the great flood of 1882, the flow in the river
proper varied between I, OOO,OOO cubic feet per second and
I,6OO,Ooo cubic feet, it is evident that the confinement
of the total flood flow by levees must largely increase the
flood heights. At Lake Providence, for instance, the flood -
flow has been increased by confinement by levees from about
I,057,OOO cubic feet a second in 1882 to about 1,433,000
cubic feet a second in 1892. The increase is 376,000 cubic
I I
feet a second; and the corresponding increase in gauge read-
ing is from 38.3 to 41.6, or 3.3 feet. As these levees will
ultimately have to confine not less than 2,OOO,OOO cubic feet
per second in great floods, it will be seen that they have yet
to be raised much higher to give security against such floods.
NEw York CITY, June 15, 1893.
PLUM Point REACH — As Port BEND, Mississippi River.
PLATE. I.
FASCINE MAT UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
Longitudinal poles over the mat not laid when the view was taken.
Diameter of fascines, 12 inches.
1,119 x 300 feet.

PLATE II.
Mississippi River IMPROVEMENT.
FASCINE MAT AT GREEN VILLE, MISSISSIPPI.

The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, 1893
THE PORT OF HAVRE
*.
BY
BARON QUINETTE DE ROCHEMONT
Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées
PARIS, FRANCE
B O S T O N
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
(Ibe ®ſù Corner %5noſiſitote
283 Washington Street

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THE PORT OF HAVRE.
GEOGRAPHICAL AND HYDROGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.
Havre is situated on the northern bank of the mouth of
the Seine. The city occupies the western extremity of a
plain, slightly elevated above the level of high tide.
Within a few years it has extended to Ingouville Heights,
which limit the valley of the Seine.
Very favorably situated for commerce, Havre is the
nearest seaport to Paris, its distance being only 228 kilo-
metres by rail. It communicates with this city and with
the network of navigable waterways of France by the
Seine and the Tancarville Canal.
Havre is the first large port which incoming ocean
steamers make. Nearer to the north and the east of
France and Switzerland and a part of Southern Germany
than Hamburg and Bremen are, it has especially to fear
the competition of Antwerp and Dunkirk.
In coming from the west, after passing the Cape of Bar-
fleur, the first land seen contains the mouth of the Seine.
Toward the left the chalk cliffs of Caux extend indefinitely,
assuming a dazzling whiteness when lighted by the rays of
the sun. On the right are seen the hills bordering on the
left bank of the Seine from Honfleur to Dives. Their
rounded contours, and especially their sombre tints, suffice
to distinguish them from those on the north bank of the
river.
The Cape de Hève forms the south-west point of the
cliffs of Caux. It is distinguishable at night by an elec-
4
tric flashing light, emitting flashes of white light every five
seconds, preceded and followed by total eclipses. Accom-
panying this light is a fixed light of the fifth order on a
neighboring tower.
The great roadstead is an anchorage at sea, exposed to
the violence of winds and waves from the north north-east
to the south-west, passing by the west. The small road-
stead is in the space enclosed between the banks called the
Roadstead Heights and the coast of Havre to the Cape de
Hève. The land shelters it perfectly against the winds
from the north north-east to the east south-east, passing
by the east; but it is open to all the other winds.
At different times the propriety of establishing a longi-
tudinal dyke has been discussed, but it has not been under-
taken on account of the silting up of the roadstead. The
shoals which are between the great and little roadsteads
are indicated by nine buoys, two of which are illuminated.
A tenth buoy, with a flashing light, indicates the depth
of o.40 metre, the eastern limit of the port channel. Be-
yond, an automatic whistling buoy (Courtenay System),
anchored in November, I877, indicates the entrance to
Havre in case of fog.
The large ships double the heights and enter the port at
the south-west. The draught of the ships entering Havre
is limited by the depth of water at high tide on the shoals
at the entrance of the port, extending seaward for about
a mile. The bottom of the pass is not absolutely fixed:
it is subject to more or less variation. From one survey to
another, the depth of each point changes from O. 50 to O.80.
On this shoal there are points often marked 2 metres
below the zero of the chart. We cannot, then, reckon at
high tide on a greater depth than 2 metres above the zero
of the charts. *
The entrance to the port is marked by beacons estab-
lished on each of the piers, and by a range light placed
on the grand quay, as well as by a fog-horn which sounds
during a fog.
CURRENTS AND TIDES.
The flood-tide begins to be noticeable at the meridian
of Hève and Trouville about four hours and a half before
the hour of high tide at Havre. It preserves its velocity so
that the water continues its movement toward the east.
But, on account of the convergence of all the currents
toward the bay, the Seine is filled before the hour of high
tide. A part of this water then fills the Seine dykes,
while the rest flows toward the north and the north-west
by crossing the bay.
The water which flows to the north of the mouth of the
Seine takes an inverse movement to that which it had
formerly. The reverse current has received the name of
Verhaule : it begins below. The Verhaule gains quite sud-
denly a great velocity, which it maintains for a long time.
At the extremity of the piers of Havre its intensity is
greatest about twenty minutes before the hour of high tide,
and it continues twenty minutes after. This current is
the last act of the flood-tide: it is this which fills the
port. But, by its perpendicular direction at the piers and
the coincidence of its maximum intensity with the moment
of high tide, it renders the entry of the port difficult, par-
ticularly when the winds shift from the south-east to the
south-west by the south. After high tide the current
diminishes little by little, and it has almost entirely
ceased when the ebb-tide begins. The entering ships
are then subjected to the action of a normal current at
the piers, which forces them to make the port by the
south-west; but, when they are once in the channel and
partly screened by the south jetée, the current then only
acts abaft, while the bow is acted upon by the reflected
current from the southern jetée.
The ships are then subjected to a rotating couple, which
turns them and throws them upon the works. The cap-
tains and pilots must take account of these circumstances
to steer properly in the channel between the jetées.
6
The levels of the tides with reference to the zero of
the charts are as follows: —
Metres. -
Low tide at equinoctial spring-tide, . . . . . . . . o.30
Low tide at ordinary spring-tide, . . . . . . . . . o.65
Low tide at ordinary neap-tide, . . . . . . . . . 2.65
Mean level of the sea, . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5o
High tide at ordinary neap-tide, . . . . . . . . . 6. I 5
High tide at ordinary spring-tide, . . . . . . . . 7.85
HIGH TIDE AT EQUINOCTIAL SPRING-TIDE.
The tidal curve is not symmetric. The ascending
branch is shorter than the descending, and the difference
increases as the height of the tide. The space of time
during which the height of the tide is maintained constant
is about eleven minutes; but, admitting a variation in
level of O.30 metre, the duration amounts to an hour.
This peculiarity of the tidal curve is very advantageous
for navigation: it allows the docks and basins to remain
open about three hours.
Within a few years, important modifications have taken
place in the régime of the currents and tides. The Ver-
/aule begins from twenty to thirty minutes earlier than
formerly, and its maximum velocity is considerably aug-
mented; that is, from I.8 metres to 2.5 metres for tides
having the coefficient of IOO.
These perturbations are due to the artificial dykes of
the Lower Seine, which have modified the form and the
relief of the estuary. They are of such a nature as to make
the entry into the port of Havre a source of considerable
danger. Consequently, the plan of making a new entrance
in a portion more sheltered from siltings has been for
some time under discussion.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PORT.
The port of Havre is composed of a channel enclosed
between two jetées, an outer harbor of nine docks, eleven
7
navigable locks, and six graving-docks. Three sluices, or
locks, connect certain basins.
CHANNEL, OUTER HARBOR.— The channel is directed
south-west, toward the mouth of the Orne. Its length is
452 metres, and its minimum width IOO metres. The
Calvados side is 18 miles away. Two breakwaters are
situated behind the northern jetée and a third is beyond
the southern jetée.
The outer harbor has an area of 2 I.85 hectares, and
comprises the Florida annex. Its width varies from 186
to 290 metres. The distance from the southern pierhead
to the lower end of the outer harbor is 760 metres. The
quay walls of the outer harbor are I,985 metres long. The
available area is 4 hectares.
Docks. – The total area of the nine docks is 74. I 8 hec-
tares; and their total length 12,265 metres, of which
II,42O is available. The storage area, deduction being
made for street service and tracks, is 43.49 hectares.
The arrangement of the different basins is as follows:

LENGTH of QUAYs.
AREA OF THE STORAGE
BASINs. WATER AREA on THE
SURFACE. H QUAYS.
ToTAL. AVAILABLE.
Royal, . I h. 20 a. 4IO m. 4OO m. o h. 39 a.
Barre, 5 h. Io a. I, I80 m. I, IOO m. 3 h. OO a.
Citadel, 6 h. OO a. I,320 m. I, I65 m. 4 h. Io a.
Eure, 2I h. 30 a. 2,050 m. I,940 m. 7 h. 33 a.
Commerce, 5 h. 40 a. I,260 m. I,235 m. 2 h. 70 a.
Vauban, 7 h. 77 a. I,940 m. I,830 m. 5 h. I3 a.
Dock, 4 h. 40 a. I,240 m. 1,180 m. 2 h. 40 a.
Bellot, . 21 h. 21 a. 2,655 m. 2,380 m. 17 h. 96 a.
Florida, I h. 80 a. 2 IO IIl. I90 m. o h. 48 a.
Totals, 74 h. I8 a. I2,265 m. II,420 m. 43 h. 49 a.
8
The Royal, the Barre, and the Eure basins communi-
cate directly with the outer harbor. The Citadel basin
communicates with it by means of a lock or half-tide basin.
The five other basins — namely, the Commercial, the Vau-
ban, the Dock, the Bellot, and the Florida — discharge
into the first by means of locks, or intermediate sluices.
The following table shows the lengths of the locks and
sluices, as well as the level of the mitre-sills: —

FLoor Level
Lock or SLUICE. CoNNECTING THE wº H WITH
THE COPING, º,”
Notre Dame, Outer harbor and the Royal basin, 16.oom. I. I5 ms.
De la Barre, . Outer harbor and the Barre basin, . 13.64 m. I. I5 m.
Aval du Sas, . Outer harbor and the Lock basin, . 16.16 m. — 1.65 m.
Amont du Sas, . Lock and the Citadel basin, . . . . 16.oo m. o.65 m.
Transatlantiques, Outer harbor and the Eure basin, . 30.50 m. — 2.85 m.
Lamblardie, . Royal Basin and the Commerce basin, 13.64 m. I. 55 m.
Angoulême, . Commerce and Barre basins, 13.64 m. I-35 Ins
Vauban, Barre and Vauban basins, . I2. OO IIla 1.60 m.
L'Eure, Vauban and Eure basins, . 16.oo m. O, OO IIl.
Dock, . Eure and Dock basins, . 16.oo m. —o.65 m.
Citadelle, . Citadel and Eure basins, 16. oom. o.65 m.
Bellot, . Eure and Bellot basins, . 30.00 m. — 2.65 m.
Chevalier, . The two darses in the Bellot basin, 3o.oO m. - 2.2O IIl.
St. Jean, . Eure and Florida basins, . 2 I. OO IIls o, I 5 m.
The object of the lock, or half-tide basin, of the Citadel
is to prolong the tide, which is limited in the other locks
to about three hours: it locks the ships which wish to
enter or go out at other times than that of high tide. The
locks are provided with only one pair of ebb-gates, with
the exception of the Transatlantic locks, which have two.
The Vauban lock is the only one which has both ebb and
flood gates. The gates of the Eure and Dock locks were
removed when their floorings were lowered, and they have
never been replaced. *
9 -
All these gates have two equal leaves, except those of
the Notre Dame lock: they are all of wood except the gates
of the Transatlantic, and Bellot locks, which are of iron.
The passage over the locks and sluiceways is effected by
bridges. Two-tracked, single-spanned swing bridges have
generally been substituted for the old and complicated
ones. These are economically constructed and easily ma-
noeuvred. The Transatlantic, Florida, Saint John, and
Dock bridges are double-spanned. The Saint John and
Florida bridges are the only ones which have only a
driveway.
The width of the quays is from 20 to 25 metres around
the old basins; it is from 50 to 60 metres for those
more recently constructed, and is 70 and I I 5 metres at
the Bellot basin. These dimensions comprise a driveway
of 8 to II metres in width. Three lumber wharves are
situated at the Barre, Vauban, and the Eure basins: they
are respectively 70 metres, IOO metres, and 45 metres
long. The bridges, gates, and sluices of the locks
debouching into the outer harbor and the Bellot lock, as
well as the bridge of the sluice uniting the two divisions
of the Bellot basin, are manoeuvred by hydraulic power.
The hydraulic capstans serve equally for hauling ships
crossing these different locks and sluices.
Since June 1, 1881, the channel, the outer port, as
well as the locks uniting the Royal, the Barre, the Cita-
del, and the Eure basins, have been lighted by electricity
for night tides. The service works very regularly, to the
great benefit of navigation; and this lighting was extended
to the Bellot lock in 1891.
GRAVING-DOCKS.— Six graving-docks have been con-
structed by the government for the inspection and repair
of ships, which are operated by contract; also a gridiron,
a floating dock, and three pontoons. The graving-docks
are situated in the Citadel basin: the three others lead to
the Eure basin. All these ways are closed by means of
floating ship-gates.
IO
The principal dimensions of these works are given in
the following table: —
*
CITADEL GRAviNG-Docks. EURE GRAving-pocks.
DESIGNATION.
No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6.
Length on keel blocks, . . . 45.oom. 61.50 m. || 76.oom. || 130.oo m. | 1.5o.oom. 115.oo m.
Maximum length of ships
admitted, . . . . . . . 48.5o m, 68.oom. 83.oom. | 155.oom. 171.oom. | 130.oom.
Lock.
Width of coping, . . . . II. oom. || 13.oo m. | 16.oo m, 3o. 12 m. 20, oom. | 16.oo m.
Width at the springing line
of the flooring, . 9.25 m. 11.12 m. 14.oom. 28.12 m. 17.96 m. | 1.4.18 m.
Level of the flooring, . . 2. I5 m. 1.65 m. 1.15 m. ||—o.85 m. | –o.85 m. o.oo m.
Height of water upon the
flooring at high tide of or-
dinary neap-tide, . . . 4. OO m. 4.5o Iſl. 5.oo m. 7.00 m. 7.oo m. 6.15 m.
Height of water upon the
flooring at high tide of or-
dinary spring-tide, . . . 5.70 m. 6.20 m. 6.70 m. 8.70 m. 8.70 m. 7.85 m.
GRAVING-DoCK.
Width of coping, . . . . . 15.oom. 17.00 m. | 20.oom. || 34.52 m. 27.44 m. 23.44 m.
Width at the springing of
the lock walls, . 9.25 m. | II. 15 m. 14.12 m. 28.12 m. | 18.oo m. | 1.4.18 m.
At the graving-docks Nos. 4 and 5 a second hollow
quoin for the floating gate has been placed 14.30 metres
beyond the first. The Transatlantic steamers are placed,
in graving-dock No. 4, with the floating gate in its usual
position. The graving-docks of the Citadel, at high tide,
debouch at low tide, the water running into the outer
harbor. At dead low water, there remains to be pumped
out a depth of water varying in height with the level of
the low tide. The graving-docks of the Eure basin can
be emptied only by means of pumps. This is done in
less than three hours.
The floating-dock placed in the Barre basin in 1884 is
a great rectangular wooden structure, 65 metres long,
I9.50 metres wide, and 7.40 metres high, closed at one
end by a gate turning round a horizontal axle. It can
raise a ship of 800 tons in four hours.
II
The gridiron is 47.60 metres long and I I metres wide.
The tops of the keel blocks are at the reference (3.65
metres); that is, I metre above the level of the lowest
neap-tides. It is therefore covered at high tide with 4.2O
metres of water and 2.50 metres water at neap-tide. The
pontoons accommodate vessels of 1,200 tons: they serve
also for repairing old wooden ships.
THE REMOVAL OF THE SILT FROM THE PORT.— Scour-
ing was for a long time employed to keep the channel
clear; but it had to be abandoned, as it was found
inefficient.
The maintenance of the depths in the outer harbor is
accomplished by dredging. Silting does not take place
regularly. In fine and calm weather it is slight, while
it is considerable during tempests, and particularly when
violent winds occur during a freshet of the Seine.
Beyond the northern pier, the siltings are almost noth-
ing. In the portion included between the extremities of
the two piers they produce an annual deposit of 20, Ooo
cubic metres, and form two points, starting from the south
poulier, and tend to close the channel.
In the outer harbor, the deposits are divided unequally,
— almost none at the foot of the quay walls, founded at a
high level, and in front of which a sloping berme is made;
they attain up to I.20 metres per year in the deeper por-
tions (we may estimate it on an average at O.35 per square
metre, counting the whole surface of the outer harbor).
The height of these annual deposits exceeds o.o.4
metres in the basins communicating directly with the
Outer harbor. It is about o.o.3 for the others, and amounts
to O. I7 in the lock chambers. These deposits appear to
have notably increased within a few years.
EQUIPMENT.— Railroads in direct communication with
the western system are laid down around the basins of
the Citadel, Eure, Dock, Vauban, and Bellot, upon the
South-east and north-east quays of the Barre basin, and on
the east quay of the outer harbor.
I 2
These roads connect with the warehouses and large
stores. A maritime station is situated at the east of the
Bellot basin, and side tracks are laid between the Barre
and Citadel basins. - --
The Chamber of Commerce has built sheds around the
basins of the Eure and the Citadel and the dock west of
the Bellot basin. These constructions, nineteen in num-
ber, have a total length of 2, 137 metres and a surface of
63,215 Square metres: their length varies from I 5 to 55
metres. Several of these sheds are let by the year to
navigation companies, the others being at the disposal of
the public.
The Chamber of Commerce has, besides, a complete
outfit for the handling of merchandise; namely, thirty-
four hydraulic cranes of from 4OO to I, 250 kilogrammes,
and twelve steam-cranes of from I, OOO to I, 5oo
kilogrammes.
The Dock Warehouse Company has the monopoly of the
warehouses: it controls the Dock basin and the South
Vauban quay for a length of 460 metres. The quays north
and south of the Dock basin, being each 555 metres in
1ength, and the South Vauban quay, 460 metres, are pro-
vided with sheds. The Warehouse dock has a total area
of 183,500 metres. It includes 37,300 metres of sheds,
37,400 metres of covered way, 39 storehouses, having an
area of 59,300 metres and a capacity of I 5 O,OOO tons of
merchandise, and six cellars for wines and spirits, – a
total area of 8,300 metres, or 8, OOO tons’ capacity.
Five other storehouses, not being on the edge of the
quays, are at the disposal of the public. They are called
the general and public warehouses, the Pont-Rouge docks,
the Paris, the Briquet, and the public and commercial
warehouses. Three masting-sheers and five fixed cranes
are for public use. The masting-sheers are erected on the
banks of the Commerce, Vauban, and Eure basins, and
raise respectively 50, 30, and IOO tons. The power of the
cranes varies from 6, OOO to I4, OOO kilogrammes.
I3
Besides this apparatus, which may be used by the pub-
lic and which has been the object of judicial concession,
there have been erected on the quays, by prefectorial
decree, a large number of sheds, tents, and cranes for the
use of navigation companies or private individuals who
have built them. The most important of these construc-
tions are the following: —
Those of the General Transatlantic Company, covering
an area of 4, 17O metres.
Those of the Hamburg-American Company, covering
an area of 945 metres.
Those of the Southampton Boats, covering an area of
34O metres.
The General Transatlantic Company has a floating
sheers capable of raising 30 tons. Seven weighing plat-
forms have been erected by the city of Havre for the
weighing of merchandise at different parts of the harbor:
their use is gratuitous.
WORKS IN PROGRESS OF EXECUTION OR PROJECTED.
The interior of the port of Havre now is in a satisfac-
tory condition. It is being further improved by the con-
struction of a tenth dock for the use of the petroleum
trade.
This dock is near completion. It has an area of I.5o
hectares and a perimeter of 575 metres. It is situated at
the east of the Bellot basin, with which it communicates
by a sluice 17 metres wide, of which the flooring is at the
reference (–2 metres). The depth of water in this basin is
8. I 5 metres at high neap-tide. Provisions are made to
allow the rapid carrying away of petroleum brought by
sea or for its warehousing close to the basin.
But the entrance of the harbor is not quite satisfactory.
It lacks in depth. Moreover, it is in danger of silting,
and large ships can enter the basins only during three
hours of each flood-tide. In order to remedy this diffi-
I4
culty and to prolong the Seine dykes, works demanded for
the benefit of the port of Rouen, it is indispensable to
make a new entrance to Havre.
A project for this is under consideration, and will soon
be submitted to Parliament. It consists of : —
I. The construction in front of the entrance of the pres-
ent harbor of a new outer harbor, accessible by two exte-
rior entrances, one directed toward the west and the other
toward the south-west, where the depths necessary for
navigation will be realized and sustained by means of
dredging.
2. The removal of the northern and southern jetées and
a part of the Florida bridges, to allow an easy and direct
access to the present outer harbor, or tidal port, notably
increased, and the construction of a quay in this new part
of the port, with foundations laid at great depth, where
the incoming ships may float at all times without having
to enter the docks.
3. The construction of a lock practicable for the large
ships during at least half of the tide, and giving access to
the basins from the outer harbor.
The new outer harbor is included between two converg-
ing dykes, directed seaward: the north dyke, 550 metres
long, starts from the spurs; while the southern dyke, 625
metres long, is joined by a temporary coffer-dam and by
the new tidal quay with the Saint John dyke, on a level
with the Florida bridges on the central basin.
The outer harbor is excavated to a depth of 4.5o below
the datum plane. The entrance pass, through the actual
shoals from 2.20 to 2.50, is to be dredged to the same
depth. It will be 200 metres wide between the pierheads.
The principal, or western, pass will be dredged to the
reference (-4.50), without this dredging necessitating a
deepening of more than O. 50 metre to I. 50 metres, except
at the immediate approaches of the port. This pass, as
well as the outer harbor, will have a depth of at least 9
metres during six hours of each tide, which will allow
I5
ships drawing 8 metres to enter the port for the same
interval of time. A draught of 7 metres sufficient for
ships of 6 metres draught will be assured during slack
Water.
The lock facing the entrance to the new outer harbor
takes the place of the Florida dock, and connects the
outer harbor with the Eure basin. The chamber is 225
metres long and 30 metres broad. An intermediate gate
divides it into two chambers, I2O and 75 metres long
respectively.
The reference of the upper flooring of the outer lock is
(–4 metres), which suffices for the lockage of all ships
which have gone over the pass. The reference of the
upper flooring of the inner lock is (-3 metres), thus
assuming a minimum draught of 8.50 metres, correspond-
ing to the lowest level maintained in the basins during
slack water.
COMMERCIAL AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION.
The following statement shows the increase for the last
twenty-three years, in number and tonnage of the vessels
entering the port of Havre: —
1870. Number foreign and colonial vessels, . . 2,849. Tonnage, 1,206,292
1870. Number coasting vessels, . . . . . . 2,890. Tonnage, 226,358
Total, . . . . . . . . . . 5,739. I,432,650
1892. Number foreign and colonial vessels, . . 2,374. Tonnage, 2,122,487
1892. Number coasting vessels, . . . . . . 3,638. Tonnage, 489,345
Total, . . . . . . . . . . 6,012. 2,611,832
These figures do not include the daily passenger boats
between Havre, Honfleur, and Trouville, having a ton-
nage of from I43 to 189.
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.— The following statement shows
the increase in the total weight in tons of the imports and
exports during an interval of twenty-two years: —
I6
1870. Foreign and colonial imports, . . . 972,954. Exports, 335,025
1870. Coasting trade, . . . . . . . . II2,379. Exports, 300,2OI
Total exports and imports, . . . . I,720,559
1891. Foreign and colonial imports, . . . 2,137,749. Exports, 621,561
1891. Coasting trade, . . . . . . . . 231,592. Exports, 392,157
Total exports and imports, . . . . . 3,383,059
The principal articles of importation are cotton, wool,
coffee, woods, tobacco, skins, oil, iron, grains, etc. The
exports consist especially of valuable merchandise of com-
paratively slight bulk, such as tissues, trimmings, ribbons,
silks, sugar, wines, pottery, glass, etc. t
PASSENGERS.— The regular lines of ships carry pas-
sengers. The steamers plying between Honfleur, Trou-
ville, Caen, Southampton, New York, and the Antilles
are arranged to accommodate travellers. The steamers of
the General Transatlantic and the American-Hamburg
Companies take a great number of emigrants.
In 1891 there were thus transported from Havre: —
Ist PASSENGERS.
Departures. Arrivals.
Transatlantic lines, . . . . . . . . . . 9,34I 21,876
English-French lines, . . . . . . . . . . 8,073 7,704
Coastwise, Continental lines, . . . . . . . I,813 1,896
Honfleur, Trouville, and Caen lines, . . . . 164,462 I62,263
Total, . . . . . . . . . . . I83,689 I93,739
2d EMIGRANTS.
North America (United States and Canada), .. 32,932
Central America (Columbia, Antilles), . . . . I2O
South America, . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,878
Total, . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,930
PARIS, April 29, 1893.
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The World's Columbian Water Commerce Congress
CHICAGO, I893
THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES
AS RELATED TO THAT OF OTHER
COUNTRIES
BY
WILLIAM W. BATES
EX U.S. COMMISSIONER OF NAVIGATION
B O S T ON
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@Ibe 49ſt. Torner ºuchâtore
283 Washington Street

THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES
AS RELATED TO THAT OF OTHER
COUNTRIES.
Once the commerce of the United States was carried on
by American merchants with shipping built at home.
Now, it is known the world over that our ships have al-
most quit the sea, and our merchants are few indeed in the
foreign trade.
Expressing the national pride in 1825, Daniel Webster
said, L
“We have a commerce which leaves no sea unexplored;
navies which take no law from superior force.”
In 1893, nautical enterprises have been given up, and our
naval weakness compels us to take our law from foreign
arbitrators.
Eighty-three years ago we had more tonnage in the for-
eign trade than last year. When Washington became our
President, American carriage in the foreign trade was double
the percentage of to-day. In the grain trade of California
only a single American ship, to IO9 foreign, has sailed to
Europe in the past seven months. Four years ago the
monthly proportion was 5 to 19, and ten years ago I4 to
I7.
Sixty-five years ago our percentage of carriage of our own
commerce was 92.5 ; when the war for the Union began, it
was 65.2 ; when it ended, 27.5; and last year 12.3. In the
course of this decadency whole classes of the best of citizens
have been discharged of work and ruined of fortune to give
employment and business to the owners, builders, mer-
chants, underwriters, and workmen of foreign countries.
4
A famous Englishman has left on record this conclusion : —
“Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade;
whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the
riches of the world, and consequently the world itself.”
The principle thus sharply set forth, and deemed essen-
tial to British prosperity, strange to say, presents no point
to the American mind, as it marvels to-day at British suc-
cess, and wonders why failure has followed dulness. A
different spirit illumed our way, in our fathers' time. Then
the British aphorism was understood. A wise and well-
timed policy caused and developed an active commerce in our
own vessels. We soon attained to commercial indepen-
dence, laid the foundation for naval power, and took rank
among the nations. Our commerce was American in root
and branch. It created the prosperity of early years. It
cemented the Union of the States. It made us a name, and
spread abroad a fame that yet forms part of our repute. It
enriched our cities, fought our battles, won our victories, and
advanced our civilization. The benefits which we then de-
rived from the trade of the world were many and positive.
Now all is altered, warped, or cut out. Our navigation
having perished, commerce has become a burden and a drag.
It has grown immense, but its former advantage has passed
away. It is as passive now as it was alert before. No
longer do we strike its balance or trim it to our require-
ment. But alien merchants of many nations, foreign ship-
ping built abroad, distant underwriters, and bankers who
are strangers conduct, transport, and control our commerce
with the world at the present time. Through the change
that has come, foreign influence has grown strong, and may
yet be gigantic. It seeks already to modify our monetary
system and to reform the revenue. For many years it has
opposed the restoration of our marine, and to-day it sees no
need for a navy or the fortification of our ports.
When we had what Mr. Jefferson called a “protuberant
navigation,” and our commerce was carried on by citizens,
our politics were free from foreign bias, patronage, or subser-
vience. Our commercial relations had no danger for the
State. The consequences of our trade and transportation
5
falling into foreign hands were known in the beginning. In
1791, Mr. Jefferson cautioned us that “the marketing of our
productions will be at the mercy of any nation which has
possessed itself exclusively of the means of carrying them,
and our politics may be influenced by those who command
our commerce.”
The average citizen is the unit of government in the
TJnited States. Our rivals want him to be a “farmer’’ and
plough the land, and let the sea go unfurrowed. They
argue it is cheaper to hire foreign vessels than to build and
sail our own; that, when it pays to send our ships to sea,
it will be time enough to think of voyages, and of shipping
and receiving cargoes. Till that time comes, we would
better give up building, cease sailing, stop merchandizing,
quit underwriting and all business connected with foreign
trade. They will serve us economically, humbly, and with
an eye single to our pleasure and content.
But the advice of history reads otherwise. Disinterested
counsel and unselfish service of one people to another is not
the habit of mankind. The commercial policy of a great
country must have independence for its basic principle. Of
foreign nations we should ask no favor; to them show no
preferences; and with them share no advantages that are
the birthright of our own people.
For politic reasons navigation is an essential interest of a
maritime nation. The question of a marine in active com-
merce includes many problems of public concern. That of
the almighty dollar for individual gain is worth considera-
tion; but greater and graver interests make it quite as im-
portant to carry our own commerce as to have a commerce
of our own to carry. We have a national defence that must
be made by sea. Ship-building and navigation are military
arts. Ability to build and sail is in itself a pillar of indepen-
dence. The use of ships provides a force, inspires a cour-
age, and gives an energy peculiar to navigating nations.
Communities who take and keep the sea develop largely
both civil and military power. Ship-building and navigation
have won from barbarism two-thirds of the globe. From
the ninth century down, England has been the most impor-
6
tant maritime State. For two hundred and forty years she
has led the way in nautical pursuits and national progress.
In extension of language, laws, and institutions, she has sur-
passed all modern nations. She now builds three-fourths
and owns more than half the shipping of the world. Her
commercial prominence and naval power are based firmly on
her mercantile marine. Great Britain thinks so much of
commercial rule, and values ascendency at sea so highly,
that she has given up thousands of lives and spent millions
of money to reach and to hold her present position of profit
and of power.
The utility and importance of navigation are not to be
measured by its failure in one country and success in an-
other. It has not decayed here because it has not paid our
ship-owners well, but for this reason: the national interest
has not been appreciated, cared for, and protected. When
this was the case, our shipping kept the sea, and the country
prospered.
President Grant said to Congress in 1870 : —
“Building ships and navigating them utilizes vast capital
at home; it creates a home market for the farm and the shop ;
it diminishes the balance of trade against us, precisely to the
extent of freights and passage money paid to American ves-
sels; and gives us a supremacy of the seas of inestimable
value in case of foreign war.”
So it is not personal profit and private gain, but public
good and national advantage, that compensate and overbal-
ance for being our own ship-builders, ship-owners, and mer-
chants.
The subject of proper relations for American commerce is
not of recent origination. It first came up with the ques-
tions of the Union and the Constitution. On the meeting
of the first Congress, an active commerce in our own vessels
became a leading object of legislation. Every patriot of dis-
tinction then favored the building and maintenance of an
ample marine. Two vital purposes ruled their action. The
first was to provide ships and seamen for the national de-
fence; the second, to secure safety in our foreign trade.
Painful experience had taught the need of a navigation pol-
7
icy, such as they established. After the war of the Revolu-
tion, British merchants, having the capital and the carriers,
soon engrossed our richest commerce. In a few years we
fell deeply into debt, about 30 per cent. of it for freightage,
payable in coin. Coin was also demanded largely in pay-
ment for imports. Our exports zwere neglected. Herein was
seen the disadvantage of alien merchants and foreign ship-
ping carrying on our trade. Clever rivals make unfit agents.
No man can serve two masters, and no marine can serve two
nations. The foreign merchant, acting for his country, ex-
ported much, but imported less, and took his freightage and
balance in money. This crushed our industries, and also
brought us into debt. Our fathers legislated to correct
these evils, by building vessels of our own, and raising up
merchants of our own, and committing to their hands the
trades of exporting, importing, freighting, and bringing
home the balances in coin. It was better understood then,
than it appears to be now, that an adverse balance that must
be paid in gold, whether created for imports or freights, is
equally distressing. The difference between the employ-
ment of a foreign, and a home marine is, practically, that of
paying the one in gold abroad and the other in bank-notes at
/home. $
Furthermore, it is the function of shipping to create and
discharge adverse balances of international trade. Freight-
age is a product of vessels. By ships of our own to foreign
countries it is an export ; from foreign countries it saves an
import. With more or less of foreign carriage in our traffic,
a balance of transportation, as well as a “balance of trade,”
results. To illustrate this fact, and to show, also, the extent
of our ill-fated dependence on foreign shipping, let us set out
the figures for 1892 : —
American Commerce. Per cent.
Foreign carriage of exports, . . . . . . . . . . 92
Our own carriage of exports, . . . . . . . . . 8
Adverse balance of carriage, . . . . . . . . 84
Foreign carriage of imports, . . . . . . . . . 83
Our own carriage of imports, . . . . . . . . . I7
Adverse balance of carriage, . . . . . . . . 66
8
The exports by foreign and American vessels were valued
at $997,056,676. Taking 15 per cent. of value for freight-
age, we have $125,629, 140 balance against us on export
carriage. The imports by foreign and American vessels
were valued at $787,675,867. At Io per cent, of value for
freightage, we have $51,986,607 as adverse import carriage;
and for the total against us, $177,615,747. Thus we see
that trade and transportation are complements of each other.
While one may balance the other, both must be combined in
balancing commerce with foreign countries. Such being the
case, let us find how great a figure the freightage of foreign
ships cuts in our present exports of gold. For the year
ended May 31, 1893, there is reported an adverse balance of
“trade” of $88,525,442. To this should be added about
$168,474,558 of adverse balance of transportation, making a
total debit of $257,OOO,OOO : against which we have sent
abroad of gold and silver coin and bullion, in excess of im-
ports, $1 I 8,808,764. Apparently, it will take $138,000,000
more of specie, produce, or securities, to discharge the bal-
ance yet due. If we had carried five-eighths of this com-
merce instead of one-eighth only, we would now be in debt
abroad — not one cent.
“An amount of money not less than $2,OOO,OOO,Ooo or an
average of $2OO,OOO,OOO annually, for ten years past, has
been earned by foreign ships in doing our ocean transporta-
tion, and is now represented in stocks and bonds held
abroad, that are liable to be returned for gold.”
To be our own merchants and carriers can alone insure
safety and success in foreign trade. Our early history
proves that wise legislation will bring into being every ele-
ment required for nautical advantage and commercial ascen-
dency. We now depend too much on Europe for good times
and bad, instead of being under obligations and in debt to
no people under the sun. There is too much “Stock-Ex-
change” and “Board-of-Trade" in our foreign commerce.
For the want of a proper shipping and commercial policy,
the citizens, who might otherwise be our merchants and our
ship-owners, waste their lives and their fortunes in specula-
tion, of no profit to the country.
9
In conclusion, we may briefly outline the story of the
American ship. Under colonial government, foreign trade
was British, principally. The Revolutionary War relaxed
their hold of it, but after the peace of I783, and until 1789,
the foreign merchant had it his own way again. American
merchants and Yankee vessels had much competition, but
little business. Congress speedily changed the situation.
A protective policy was applied, then American ships paid,
and American merchants prospered. Foreign shipping and
alien merchants soon disappeared. Before the passage of
our navigation laws, foreign vessels were doing 75 per cent.
of our transportation. In six years thereafter they did only
Io per cent. of it; and for seventeen years following, foreign
merchants and their vessels did not average over Io per
cent. of American trade. Then the War of 1812 was forced
upon us, to check our ascendency and break down the policy
of controlling our foreign traffic. Although our government
gave way to this unjust demand in the act of March 3 and
treaty of July 3, 1815, in five years' time we recovered, and
held for ten years thereafter a share of 90 per cent. of our
foreign trade and transportation. * *
For twenty-six years our primal policy had full force:
then, from 1815 to 1828, it exerted a diminishing power, in
consequence of limiting and restricting its operation, by acts
of Congress and treaties with foreign nations. It gave
place, finally, to “maritime reciprocity,” a free-trade device,
grandly styled “the reciprocal liberty of commerce.” It is
under this fruitless, bootless, and abortive scheme of foreign
traffic that we have lost its conduct and direction, wrecked
our marine, ruined our mercantile interest, wasted our
wealth, and disgraced our name.
The year 1830 is the point in history where, as carriers of
our own commerce, our rise ended and our fall began.
From this point onward dependence on foreign shipping
grows constantly, with now and then a lapse, to 1864; and
again from 1870 to the present time. While we had a spurt
of ship-building and gains of tonnage in the fifties, the
prospect of regaining our place, already partially lost, as
“our own merchants and carriers,” had only a seeming
IO
reality, which the war converted into romance. From 1830
to 1840, while our own tonnage gained but 40 per cent. in
all the ports of the world, British tonnage gained 400 per
cent, in American ports alone. In later periods similar
gains followed. As for proportionate carriage, from 1830 to
1840 we lost 7 per cent. ; from 1840 to 1850, II per cent. ;
from 1850 to 1861, 6 per cent., - making in all about 24 per
cent, before the war. In 1864 our carriage had fallen to
27.5, being a loss of 38 per cent. By 1870 we had regained
8 per cent., making the net loss 30 for the decade.
Of late years there is almost a foreign monopoly of our
export trade. In 1892 only 8. II per cent. of value was car-
ried by American vessels, and presumably shipped by Amer-
ican merchants. Much the greater proportion of our ex-
ports is foreign property before it is forwarded from interior
points to the cities of the coast. A considerable portion of
the staple crops are raised and marketed on loans of foreign
capital. Our principal markets are manipulated in the for-
eign interest. In this interest prices are constantly falling,
and are always lowest at harvest time. In this interest,
also, our gold is exported in payment of debts. The true
remedy for these and other evils is a sound sentiment and a
judicious policy that will restore our ships to the sea, our
merchants to their counting-rooms, our producers to their
rights, and all our people to their inheritance, their interest,
and independence. -
The World's Columbian Water Commerce CongreSS -
CHICAGO, 1893
THE STATUS AND INTERESTS OF
WATER TRANSPORTATION
BY
THOMAS J. VIVIAN
An Charge of Z%ansportation Statistics, United States Census
rº, *\º
B O ST ON KFºstººzcº
D A M R E L L & U P H A M
@the @ſt Tormer ºuchâtore
283 Washington Street


THE STATUS AND INTERESTS OF WATER
TRANSPORTATION.
Mr. Chairman,—It would simply be going behind the
records to minify the fact that what is generally called
our “carrying trade” is neither what it was nor what it
should be. The facts and figures of the case are too clear
and too overwhelming to admit of any such voluntary short-
sightedness. When we see that in 1856 the values of the
imports and exports coming into and leaving our ports on
foreign vessels amounted to $159,336, 576, while those
carried on American vessels reached the heavy figures of
$482,268,274, and then that in 1866 the value of the ex-
ports and imports carried on our vessels had shrunk to
$325,7 II,861, while those on foreign vessels had risen to
$685,226,691 ; that, when the next decade had been
rounded, the value of our exports and imports carried
under the stars and stripes had still further diminished to
$3 II, O76, 17 I, while those brought to and taken from our
ports under “the meteor flag of England ” and other for-
eign bunting had grown to $813,354,987; and that finally,
in 1886, the value of the export and import trade of our
ports on American vessels had still further dwindled to
$197,349, 503, while that of the export and import trade on
foreign vessels had swelled to $1,073, 9 I I, II 3, − when we
see these things, I say, it would be midsummer madness
to deny that we have fallen out of the race, and that our
flag now flutters feebly and seldom where once it was a
brave and frequent sight. Figures, I know, are not the
most exhilarating form of literature; yet in such argu-
ments as mine they must claim a place. A few examples
4.
of that concrete form known as percentages I shall ask
you to remember,- as, for example, that in 1856, out of
the total value of our exports and imports, American ves-
sels carried 75 per cent. ; that in 1866, out of a similarly
formed total, American vessels carried only 66 per cent. ;
that in 1876 we only carried 33 per cent. ; while in 1883
we carried but I 5 per cent., which, in the language of
vulgar fractions, means that in thirty years we fell from
the gallant height of a little over three-quarters of the
whole to the insignificance of something under one-sixth.
Unfortunately, this part of the story grows worse the
longer it grows; and we find that in the census year, which
is the period in which I am particularly interested, the
actual figures stood as follows: value of the exports and
imports of the United States carried in American vessels,
$202,451,086; value carried on foreign vessels, $1,371,-
I 16,744, while our percentage had shrunk to I2. The
complete returns would show you that in 1890 we were
actually carrying freight of less than half the value of that
carried in 1860 (the exact figures of the earlier year were
$507,247,557), and that in 1890 we carried over $50, OOO,-
Ooo worth of freight less than the foreign vessels did in
1860. Lastly, it will no doubt interest you sadly to learn
that the percentage of freight carried on American vessels
in 1890 was the lowest it had ever touched, up to that
date; that is, I 2.29, which means that in the topsiturvi-
ness of trade the foreign vessels carried 87.7 I per cent., a
greater proportion by 12 per cent. than we ever carried.
The figures I have just given you are of the sort which
are employed by pessimists when preaching of the deca-
dence of our merchant marine, and of course are incontro-
vertible. But it is not all Ichabod: there is a small
amount of glory left; there is quite a little commerce still
done under the American flag, and the ship-building yards
of the nation are not altogether deserted. During the
thirty years ending in 1890 our records show that we built
1,747 ships and barks, 575 barges, 12,423 schooners, and
5
17,359 sloops and other small craft, a total of 32, IO4 sail-
ing and unrigged craft, representing 5, I 59,605 tons of
tonnage, together with Io,652 steamers having a total ton-
nage of 2,864,066 tons,— a grand aggregate of 42,756
craft of all kinds having a tonnage of 8,023,671 tons, or
an average annual addition of 1,379 vessels of 258,828
tonnage to our fleet. Not so bad for a nation with a dead
“carrying trade.”
UNRIGGED CRAFT A LEGITIMATE PORTION OF OUR FLEET.
When, too, one quits the retrospective and comes to
look at the actual condition of affairs, things are not ex-
actly cheerless. Divided according to their mode of pro-
pulsion, we place the United States steam and sailing fleet
for the census year as follows: —
Sailing vessels, . . . . . 8,917 craft of 1,791,071 tons
Steam vessels, . . . . . 6,067 “ “ 1,818,386 “
Total, . . . . . . I4,984 “ “ 3,609,457 “
'But our contention is that these figures do not accurately
represent the water transportation equipment of the United
States, and that, because of certain exigencies, – local, top-
ographical, and commercial,— we require a large, unrigged
fleet, which is as essentially a part of that equipment as
the freight cars are essentially a part of a railroad's equip-
ment. These unrigged do not include canal boats, nor
must it be supposed that they are small and inexpensive
vessels. Their aggregate number, according to the census
reports, is IO, 561, with a carrying capacity of 4, OO8,847
tons, or an average tonnage per craft of 380. In the Mis-
sissippi Valley, where we show that at least 6,339 of these
unrigged craft find employment, the average tonnage is 502
tons; while on the Great Lakes it is 453 tons. Both on
the lake and river barges steel is being largely used as a
material of construction, and the tendency in each locality
is to increase both the average capacity and value of this
6
kind of craft. Putting all these classes together, we find
that our entire fleet numbers 25, 545 craft, with a tonnage
of 7,624, 304 tons. You will not find all these figures in
the reports of the Commissioner of Navigation, because,
since 1884, the registration of unrigged (except in certain.
branches of trade) has been both optional and limited. It
amounted in 1890, for instance, to but I, 240 craft, with
an aggregate tonnage of 34 I, O42 tons, with an average
tonnage of but 275 tons. $
When it comes to a question of values, the figures are
no less weighty; nor do they any the less plainly show that
our shipping industry is not so near the moribund gasp as
many good people seem to imagine. What was asked for
by our schedules and agents was “the estimated commer-
cial value" of the craft; and, while this phrase was under-
stood variously, it may be taken for granted that the
figures which I shall give represent a conservative appraise-
ment of the constructions as they float. The value of the
8,917 sailing vessels is thus figured up to be $57,275,727,
an average of $6,423 per craft; that of the 6,067 steam
vessels at $140,813, 570, an average of $23, 2 IO per craft;
and that of the IO, 561 unrigged craft at $16,93 I, O39, an
average of $1,603 per craft; an aggregate value for the
entire fleet of 25,545 vessels of $2 I 5,020,336, an average
of $8,417 per craft. Add to these figures $25,000, Ooo for
shore property, and we have a total amount of $240,020,-
336; while the total amount invested has been estimated
at $275, OOO,OOO,- an amount that must mean quite ex-
tended interests.
One of the most popular of “interests * in any industry
is that which touches the number of people to whom it
gives employment and the money it pays out in wages.
The interest on investment is a very entertaining thing,
no doubt; but the financial topic never has the same pop-
ular interest that the industrial has. The figures collected
under this head of the inquiry show that the total of per-
sons employed to make up the ordinary crews of all operat-
7
ing vessels numbered Io9,861, while the men employed
wholly or partially during the year numbered 240,288.
The wages paid out to these people was $39,684,936.
This was not the only disbursement, however; and the
financial account of our floating institution is not one to
be kept in a petty cash-book. In the census year the gross
earnings of everything afloat and reporting amounted to
$144,800,954, out of which were paid $1 I4, 53 I,690 as
expenses, leaving $30,269,264 as net earnings, which, as
such of you gentlemen as are lightning calculators will
have figured out, is II per cent. of return on the estimated
capital investment of $275, Ooo, OOO, or 17 per cent. of
return on the present valuation of $240, Ooo, Ooo for the
floating property and its shore attachments. Into the
other details of the expense account I cannot at present go,
although I promise you they contain some very interesting
figures. I must not refrain, however, from making one
other exception in regard to the item of fuel. The totals
of this account show that in the year in question our
steamers burned for fuel — fuel applied to steam-making
only — no less than 4,585, O3 I tons of coal and 4 I 5,242
cords of wood, representing a total fuel expense of
$15,668,459. Nor must I overlook the fact of much sig-
nificance that, outside of wages and fuel, the expense
account is largely made up of such items as provisions and
repairs, classes of expenditure which mean the free and
wide distribution of millions among millions; and this I
take to be the diapason of the great economic anthem.
Not all the fleet that I have been speaking of is en-
gaged in traffic operations; that is, in the transportation
of freight and passengers. The list includes also pilot
boats, fishing vessels, and yachts, – craft whose tonnage is
registered and which in themselves offer means of employ-
ment, but which neither carry nor are given to carriage.
These no-traffic vessels are not, however, very many,
amounting in number to 966, in tonnage to 39,398, and in
value to $7,281,720, which sums being deducted from the
8
original figures give the equipment statistics of those
craft which are either directly or indirectly engaged in
transportation at 24, 579 in number, with a tonnage of
7, 584,906, and at $207,738,616 in value. * *
Coming down to the actual traffic records of the census,
we find that it received reports of operation from 22, o/9
craft conducting transportation. Of these 2,282 were
steamers and 6,837 were sailing vessels engaged in carry-
ing freight and passengers, their united tonnage being
2,912,693; 455 were ferry steamers, with a tonnage of
146,099; 1,944 were steamboats engaged in towing freight-
laden barges, with a tonnage of 145,805; while the barges
so towed numbered Io, 561, with a tonnage of 4,008,847.
The total tonnage of this reporting traffic fleet of 22,079
craft was 7,213,434, and its value $1.84, I26, O53, which
shows that the census received reports on nearly 90 per
cent. Of the entire traffic fleet.
The report of operations made by these traffic craft is in
some respects a remarkable one, the freight moved having
been no less than 168,078, 32O tons, and the passengers
carried having been I 99,079,577, in the pursuit of which
business, by the by, these vessels travelled IO7,456, 164
miles.
compeNSATING STATISTICS OF OUR DOMESTIC CARRYING -
- TRADE.
Unless I have been speaking to no purpose, you will by
this time be ready to inquire how the undeniable statistics
of the decline of our “carrying trade * given in the first
part of this paper can be reconciled with what it is pre-
sumed are the equally undeniable statistics just given to
illustrate the present excellent condition of transportation
by water; and I should be paying you a very poor com-
pliment if I did not say that I was sure you had arrived at
the true method of reconciliation. There is plenty of
progress and activity in the business of our transportation
9
by water, but it is not upon the high seas that we must
look for it. When the uncomprehensive statistician talks
of the decline and death of our “carrying trade,” he for-
gets, or does not choose to specify, that it is that branch
only of the “carrying trade" which is conducted on the
great ocean highway between the ports of this country and
the ports of other countries; and he omits to point out the
compensatory fact that our salvation is found in the statis-
tics of that part of our carrying trade which is conducted
from domestic port to domestic port along our seashores,
and in that which is conducted upon our inland waters.
Let us look at a few of the figures embraced in this com-
pensatory fact: —
You may perhaps remember my saying just now that our
ship-building records for the years 1860 to 1890, inclusive,
showed an added tonnage during that period of 8,023,671 ;
and we now find that out of that aggregate I, I 72,416
tons were built on the Mississippi River and its tribu-
taries, and 1,508, IOI tons on the Great Lakes, a total of
2,680, 5 I 7 tons built on these inland waters as against
5,343, I 54 tons built on the entire seaboard of the United
States. Looking at these figures somewhat more in detail,
we find that in I 860, out of a total of 2 I4,798 tons, 44,962
tons were built on inland waters and 169,836 tons on the
seaboard; that in 1870, out of a total of 276,953 tons,
94, II 7 tons were built on inland waters and I 82,836 tons
on the seaboard; that in 1880, out of a total of I 57,410
tons, 55,690 tons were built on inland waters, and IO I,720
tons on the seaboard; while in 1890, out of a total of
294, I 23 tons, 225,032 tons were built on inland waters
and I69, O91 tons on the seaboard. Put in the percentage
form, these figures indicate that in 1860 the ship-building
yards on the inland waters turned out 2 I per cent. of all
the tonnage built in the United States, that in 1870 they
turned out 34 per cent., that in 1880 their percentage was
35, and that in 1890 it had risen to 43 per cent.
One peculiar fact about these figures is that the tonnage
IO
built on the seaboard in 1890 was just the same as it was
in 1860, 169, OOO tons in each year. Another peculiar
fact is that ship-building on the Mississippi River and its
tributaries has apparently suffered a decline. In explana-
tion it should be stated that the figures of construction
which I have been giving you are confined to the United
States Treasury records of registered craft. It is, as I
have shown, from the Mississippi Valley that the largest
accession of unrigged craft is made to the United States
fleet; and, as the registration of these unrigged — it will
be remembered — is now optional and very limited, the
figures of registered construction fail to do justice to the
industry of vessel-building in the Mississippi Valley.
The third peculiar fact in connection with these figures is
the wonderful development of ship-building on the Great
Lakes. In 1860 the tonnage built in the yards of these
inland seas was but I 1,992, — indeed, in the preceding
year it was only just over 6, OOO tons,— and from these fig-
ures it went gallantly up year after year, 23, OOO tons,
39,000 tons, 56,000 tons, 73,000 tons, and so on, until
in 1890 it reached Io8,526 tons, or within 60, OOO tons of
the tonnage built round-about the United States seaboard
from Machias, in Northern Maine, to Puget Sound, in
Washington.
Returning next to the entire floating equipment of the
census year, we find that, of the total tonnage of 7,624, 3O4,
4, 319, 735 tons belonged to the Great Lakes and Missis-
sippi Valley. In the matter of financial accounts we
find that, out of the $144,800,954 of gross earnings, the
lake fleet reported for $35,636, 163 and the Mississippi
fleet for $7,65 I, 248,- a total for these two localities of
$43,287,41 I ; that, out of the $1 I4, 53 I,690 which were
paid for expenses, $28,033,65 I were paid by the lake fleet
and $6,580,356 paid by the Mississippi fleet,_ a total
for these two localities of $34,614, OO7; and that, out of
the total of $30,269,264 of net earnings, the lake fleet
secured $7,602, 5 I 2 and the Mississippi fleet $1,070,892,
— a total for these two localities of $8,673,404.
I I
INTERESTING FIGURES OF LOCALIZATION, AND NOTEWORTHY
FACTS OF COMPARISON.
If we take up the two details of fuel and wages which
were specified when considering the expense account of all
the operating steamers, we find that, out of the 4,585, O3 I
tons of coal burned for the steam-making, 1,541,907 tons
were used by the lake steamers and 372,729 tons by those
of the Mississippi Valley, and that, out of the $15,668,459
which this fuel cost, #4, II 3,278 was paid by the lake
steamers and $1,335,812 by the steamers of the Mississippi
Valley. The number of men, you will remember, to whom
employment was given by all operating craft during the
census year was 240,288, to whom was paid as wages
$39,684,936. Out of this number of men 42, 150 were
employed on the Great Lakes, and out of this amount there
were paid $8, 140,430 as wages to the lakemen; while
32,792 persons received employment on the Mississippi
Valley fleet, to whom was paid $5,338,862.
The figures of localization respecting those craft distinc-
tively engaged in traffic operations are equally interesting,
an investigation of the records showing that, out of the
22,079 steamers, sailing vessels, and unrigged engaged in
the transportation of freight and passengers, 9,708 were
employed on the Great Lakes and the rivers of the Mis-
sissippi Valley. The account of sailing vessels and un-
rigged craft on the respective waters is nearly equally bal-
anced by the offsets springing from the exigencies of locale
to which I have already referred, but the steamer account
presents a very plain showing of the relative importance
of the inland water traffic. The figures collected by the
Census Office give the Atlantic Coast, Gulf of Mexico,
and Pacific Coast 2,581 traffic steamers (that is, freighters,
towing and ferry boats), and to the Great Lakes and Mis-
sissippi Valley 2, 100. The tonnage of the sea steamers is
given at 807,702, and that of the fresh-water steamers at
756,981 ; while the value of the sea steamers is quoted
I2
at $69,861, I65, and that of the steamers on inland waters
at $48,205, 332. Calculations will show these figures to
indicate that the inland waters owned 45 per cent. of the
total number of United States freight steamers, 48 per
ce.ht. of their tonnage, and 41 per cent. of their value. In
view of these figures, it will not surprise you to be told
that, out of the 168,078,320 tons of freight moved by the
traffic fleet of the United States, 82,829,478 tons (or a
trifle over 49 per cent.) were moved by the freighting craft
of the inland waters, the Mississippi River boats moving
29,405, O46 tons and the lake fleet moving no less than
53,424,432 tons. The legitimate importance of the un-
rigged craft in our mercantile fleet can be appropriately
shown here by the fact that of the river freight the amount
actually transported on steamers was IO,345, 504 tons,
while that carried on the barges and towed by the steam-
ers was I 9, O59, 542 tons.
Although a large bulk of our inland water commerce is
that of the Great Lakes and the rivers of the Mississippi
Valley, the fact must not be overlooked that this country
in its enormous territorial area includes other rivers and
closed seas on which there is conducted bulky commerce
on craft that never heel over to a sea breeze. On the Hud-
son River, on the Delaware, on the Georgian streams and
those of Alabama, on the Texas reaches of the Rio Grande,
on the great Bay of San Francisco and its tributary rivers,
far up on the Snake and Willamette, on the mighty Colum-
bia, and on thes unplumbed waters of Puget Sound a big
water trade is carried on that is as distinctively inland as
that on the shifting Missouri or on these Brethren of the
Sea that lie about us, and that amounted in the census
year to the movement of nearly 12, OOO,OOO tons of freight.
Nor do these figures set the limit of our domestic water
commerce, for as yet we have taken no notice of that por-
tion of it which is engaged in what is known as the coast-
ing trade; that is, as I have said, in trading from domestic
port to domestic port along our seashores. In these occu-
I3
pations the traffic craft registered at the Atlantic Coast
ports carried 72,705,973 tons of freight, while those simi-
larly engaged on the Pacific Coast carried 8, I I I, 278 tons
of freight, — a total of 80,817,251 tons. If now we gather
up the various figures of our domestic commerce, the result
will line out somewhat, as follows: —
Freight movement of the Great Lakes, wholly do-
mestic, & e º e º 'º e º 'o e ºs
Freight movement on the rivers of the Mississippi
Valley, wholly domestic, . . . . . . . .
Domestic commerce on the Atlantic Coast and Gulf
53,424,432 tons
29,405,046 “
of Mexico, . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,705,973 “
Domestic commerce on the Pacific Coast, . . . . 8, 11 1,278 “
Making a total of . . . . . . . . . . 164,646,729 “
Add to these figures the canal traffic, . . . . . . 20,747,932 “
And we have a total freight movement on our inland
waters of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185,394,661 “
When one reads or hears these figures, so close to the
2OO,OOO,OOO mark, figures which give the best indication
that I can imagine of what our domestic commerce on
water really is, one becomes comparatively reconciled to
the fact that our foreign commerce amounted in the census
year to the movement of but 4,431,591 tons of freight;
that is, freight brought into and carried from United
States ports on United States vessels flying the United
States flag.
It was not without some foreboding that I ventured upon
any comparative statistics; but I was soon delighted to
find that we were not going to suffer even in the odious
process of comparison. I resolved to take for basis the
greatest maritime country of the world, that country
which is nearly all water and somebody’s else land, Great
Britain; and especially Great Britain, as it is the country
that does seven-tenths of our foreign carrying trade for us.
The chief difficulty in instituting the comparison was to
find a standard of classification; and the following, while
measurably correct, cannot be regarded as strictly accurate.
I4.
Dealing only with those vessels engaged in traffic, we see
that, while in the census year Great Britain had 5,968
vessels engaged exclusively in the foreign trade, with a
tonnage of 6,595,445 tons, we only listed 686, with a ton-
nage of 636,691 tons. Of vessels engaged in mixed for-
eign and domestic trade, Great Britain had 760, with a
tonnage of 185,026; while we had 60 I, with a tonnage of
237,694 tons. Of vessels engaged exclusively in domestic
trade Great Britain's account was IO,826, with a tonnage
of 860,683 tons; while ours was 12,73 I, with a tonnage
of 2,701,674 tons. But so far I have dealt only with the
steamers and sailing vessels of both nations; and here,
again, my contention is that our unrigged craft should cer-
tainly be added to our domestic mercantile fleet. With
this addition, our contingent engaged in the home trade
rises to 23, 292 craft, with a tonnage of 6,7 IO, 52 I ; while
the totals of the two fleets stand as follows: Great Brit-
ain, 17,554 craft; the United States, 24,579. Great Brit-
ain’s tonnage, 7,64 I, I 54; the United States’ tonnage,
7, 584,916, - less than 40, OOO tons behind Great Britain
in the tonnage account and 7,025 craft ahead. So you
see the case does not look so very desperate, after all.
A reduction of these figures to averages shows that,
though Great Britain’s foreign fleet averaged I, IoS tons
per vessel, while the average of our foreign traders was
only 928 tons, yet the average tonnage of Great Britain’s
domestic fleet was only 80 tons per craft; while that of our
donaestic fleet was 2 I 2 tons without the unrigged, and 286
tons per vessel, including the unrigged.
15
DISTANCES onºur RIVERS AND LAKES COMPARED WITH
THOSE MADE BY ENGLISH VIESSELS ON FOREIGN
VOYAGES.
The success which attended this branch of comparative
statistics tempted me to pursue another, - this time into
the question of distances travelled by our domestic trading
craft as compared with many of the distances travelled by
Great Britain's foreign trading craft. The proposition
sounds rather presumptuous at first hearing, but a little in-
vestigation will show the idea to be anything but far-
fetched. Our tables of trips and mileage show the average
distance of the trading trips on the Great Lakes to be 566
miles; while the figures kindly furnished me by the Hy-
drographic Survey show the distance from Hull to Ham-
burg to be but 387 miles, from London to Helgoland to
be but 408 miles, from Plymouth to Bordeaux to be 468
miles, while even the apparently very foreign trip from
Plymouth in the west of England to Coruna in Spain is
but 530 miles. *
The average distance of trading trips on the Mississippi
River is 759 miles; while the trip from Sunderland to
Copenhagen is 586 miles, and that to Drontheim in Nor-
way is 695 miles; from Liverpool away down to Vigo is
735 miles, and from Plymouth to Lisbon is 75.5 miles.
But the figures just given for our domestic trips are only
those of average routes; and it will be found that, when
one comes to consider the foreign places lying within the
ratio of miles from British ports which can be covered by
the extreme routes on the rivers and lakes, the list becomes
a very much longer one, geographically speaking. It can
be said, for example, and with truth, that, while the aver-
age distance on the Great Lakes is 566 miles, the lake
routes include that from Ogdensburg to Duluth, which is
I, 285 miles, and that, while the average distance on the
Mississippi is 759 miles, the river routes include that from
St. Paul to the head of the Passes, a distance of 1,78o
I6
miles. By comparing the extreme lak distance with
those between British and other foreign ports, we find that
from Shields away over to Riga in the Baltic is but I, O53
miles, and that from Sunderland clear up to the northern-
most point of Norway — that is, the Island of Mageror —
is as miles less than from our New York to our Minnesota
lake ports. -
By comparing the extreme river distance with those
between British and other foreign ports, we find that from
London to Kronstadt is but 1,383 miles, that from Sunder-
land out over the Atlantic to the Azores is but I, 740
miles, and that from Glasgow in bonny Scotland to Al-
giers in burning Africa falls 5 miles within the limit of
extreme distances on the Father of Waters.
When we come to coast distances, we cover a very much
more extensive field of Great Britain’s foreign commerce.
The average distance made by our coasting craft on the
Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico is 377 miles; but
these coast routes also include that from Calais in Maine
to Point Isabel in Texas, which is 2,597 miles. Looking . .
at Great Britain’s ventures over foreign seas, we find that
the trader from London to Genoa makes a trip of but 2,219
miles, that the ship bringing currants from Corfu to Liver-
pool travels but 2,500 miles, and that the collier carrying
coal from Cardiff in Wales to Patras, in Greece, makes but
2,455 miles. It would perhaps be scarcely straining a
point to say that our coast routes include traffic between
New York and San Francisco, which is I 3,61 o miles, or
even between New Bedford on the Maine Gulf and Olym-
pia on Puget Sound, which is a trifle over I 5, Ooo miles.
On the other hand, it is only 2,685 miles from London
to Halifax, Nova Scotia; only 3,OOO miles from London
to Sierra Leone, in Africa; only 6, O65 miles from Lon-
don to the Cape of Good Hope; only 8,745 miles from
London to Adelaide, in Australia; only I I,755 miles from
London to Nagasaki, in Japan; and only 12, I2O miles
from London to the bottom of the world at Aukland,
New Zealand.
17
The domestic commerce of the United States is indeed
an incomparable industry: there is no country in the world
which has anything or can have anything approaching it.
The United States has a coast line of IO,455 miles.
It contains within its borders the largest lacustrine
system on the globe, the combined area of the Great Lakes
being 95, O60 square miles, or more than half the world’s
area of fresh water. The Mississippi and its tributaries
offer 7,898 miles of navigable river, the Missouri and its
tributaries add 3, IO6 miles to that length, and the Ohio
and its tributaries embrace 4,406 miles of navigation, — a
total for the great valley of 15,4IO miles. The rivers
emptying into the Pacific Ocean give us 2,351 miles of
navigable stream; those flowing into the Gulf of Mex-
ico, other than the Mississippi, give us 2,870 miles; and
those flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, 2,874 miles, – an
enormous total of 22,705 miles of free internal highway.
There is nothing retrograde in clinging to our streams
and waters. It was the Hudson that gave to New York its
first importance, and it is by her position looking out on
the Atlantic that she maintains that importance. It was
by the great central rivers that the way was opened to the
Western lands and that the Mississippi States were
created. It is the lake fleet that has founded the northern
cities along the Superior, and that has made the granite
lock of St. Mary’s Falls the busiest traffic spot in the
world. It is the clearing out of the tangled streams and
bayous that has given the new South its thousands of
square miles of hitherto unutilized land, and that is bring-
ing back the old days of the river trade. On the shining
streams of Maine, between the hundred ports of Long
Island Sound, along the steaming glades of the southern
watercourses, across the drab waves of San Francisco Bay,
in Puget’s waters, where the pines stand thick around
Vancouver, and far up in Behring’s closed sea, there is a
commerce carried on that grows each year in value and
extent, and that is full of pay and power and promise.
I8
But it is a commerce that needs fostering care. The value
of that grand fluvial system which stretches across from
Pennsylvania to Nebraska, and which runs from Dakota to
the Gulf, must never be underestimated, the effect for
wealth and civilization that lies in our Great Lakes must
never be undervalued, and the heritage of our myriad har-
bors must never be bartered or lost.

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