726 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



road ; and, being incapable of entering into combina- 

 tions, would no doubt serve as a very valuable regu- 

 lator of all existing railroads within the range of their 

 influence. 



Eleventh. The uniform testimony deduced from 

 practical results in this country, and throughout the 

 commercial world, is, that water-routes, when prop- 

 erly located, not only afford the cheapest and best 

 known means of transport for all heavy, bulky, and 

 cheap commodities, but that they are also the natural 

 competitors and most effective regulators of railway 

 transportation. 



Twelfth. The above facts and conclusions, together 

 with the remarkable physical adaptation of our coun- 

 try for cheap and ample water communications, point 

 unerringly to the improvement of our great natural 

 water-ways, and their connection by canals, or by 

 short freight-railway portages under control of the 

 Government, as the obvious and certain solution of 

 the problem of cheap transportation. 



Alter a most careful consideration of the merits of 

 various proposed improvements, taking into account 

 the cost, practicability, and probable advantages of 

 each, tlie committee have come to the unanimous con- 

 clusion, that the following are the most feasible and 

 advantageous channels of commerce to be created or 

 improved by the national Government, in case Con- 

 gress shall act ypon this subject, namely : 



First. The Mississippi Eiver. 



Second. A continuous water-line of adequate ca- 

 pacity from the Mississippi Eiver to the city of New 

 York, ma the northern lakes. 



Third. A route adequate to the wants of commerce ? 

 through the central tier of States, from the Mississippi 

 Eiver, via the Ohio and Kanawha Eivers, to a point in 

 West Virginia, and thence by canal and slack-water, 

 or by a freight railway, to tide-water. 



Fourth. A route from the Mississippi Eiver, via 

 the Ohio and Tennessee Eivers, to a point in Alaba- 

 ma or Tennessee, and thence by canal and slack- 

 water, or by a freight railway, to the ocean. 



In the discussion of these four existing and pro- 

 posed channels of commerce we shall, for the sake of 

 brevity, designate them respectively the " Mississippi 



route," " Northern rOUte, " f!Ant.ral rrmt.n " and 



" Southern route." 



Central route," and 



THE MISSISSIPPI BOUTE. 



The improvements necessary on the Mississippi 

 route are : 



First. The opening of the mouth of the river, so as 

 to permit the free passage of vessels drawing 28 feet. 

 Estimated cost, $10,000,000. 



Second. The construction of reservoirs at the sources 

 of the river (if upon a careful survey they shall be 

 deemed practicable). Estimated cost, $114,000. _ 



Third. Improvements upon a system to be provided 

 by the War Department at all intermediate points, so 

 as to give from 3 to 5 feet navigation above the Falls 

 of St. Anthony ; from 4i to 6 teet from that point to 

 St. Louis ; ana from 8 to 10 feet from St. Louis to 

 New Orleans, at the lowest stages of water. Esti- 

 mated cost, $-5,000,000. 



The total cost of the Mississippi improvements 

 may, we think, be safely estimated at $16,000,000. 



THE NOBTHEBN EOtTTE. 



The improvements suggested on this route are : 

 First. The Fox and Wisconsin Eiver improvement, 

 by which five feet of navigation will be secured, dur- 

 ing the entire season, from the Mississippi Eiver to 

 Green Bay, thereby affording the shortest and cheap- 

 est connection between the centres of wheat produc- 

 tion and the Eastern markets, and a continuous water- 

 channel from all points on the Mississippi Eiver and 

 its tributaries to the Atlantic Ocean. Estimated 

 cost, $3,000,000. 



Second, The construction of the Hennepin Canal 

 (65 miles long) from a point on the Mississippi Eiver, 

 near Eock Island, to the Illinois Eiver, at Hennepin, 

 thereby affording the shortest and cheapest route 



from the largest areas of corn production to the East, 

 and a connection by water between the river system 

 of the West, the Northern lakes, and the Atlantic 

 Ocean. Estimated cost, $4,000.000. 



Third. The enlargement and improvement, with 

 the concurrence of the State of New York, of one or 

 more of the three water-routes from the lakes to New 

 York City, namely : the Erie Canal from Buffalo to 

 Albany ; or the Erie Canal from Oswego to Albany ; 

 or the Champlain Canal from Lake Champlain to 

 deep water on the Hudson Eiver, including such con- 

 nection as may be effected with the cooperation of 

 the British Provinces between Lake Champlain and 

 the St. Lawrence Eiver. Estimated cost, $12,000,000. 



Total cost of Northern route from the Mississippi 

 Eiver to New York City, $19.000,000. 



The enlargement of the Welland Canal, now in 

 progress, with the construction of the Caughnawaga 

 Canal- and the proposed enlargement of the Cham- 

 plain Canal, will enable vessels of 1,000 tons to pass 

 from Western lake-ports to ports in Vermont and to 

 New York City. The Erie Canal, enlarged as pro- 

 posed, will pass vessels of about 700 tons. 



The necessary improvement of the connection be- 

 tween Lakes Superior and Huron, and between Lakes 

 Huron and Erie, should also be pressed to a speedy 

 completion. 



THE CENTRAL EOUTE. 



The plan of improvement for this route contem- 

 plates : 



First. The radical improvement of the Ohio Eiver 

 from Cairo to Pittsburg, so as to give 6 to 7 feet 

 of navigation at low water. Estimated cost, $22,- 

 000,000. 



Second. The improvement of the Kanawha Eiver 

 from its mouth to Great Falls, so as to give six feet 

 'of navigation at all seasons. Estimated cost, includ- 

 ing reservoirs, $3,000,000. 



Third. A connection by canal or by a freight rail- 

 way from the Ohio Eiver or Kanawha Eiver, near 

 Charleston, by the shortest and most practicable route 

 through "West Virginia, to tide-water in Virginia; 

 the question as between the canal and freight rail- 

 way to be decided after the completion of careful sur- 

 veys and estimates. If by canal and slack- water, the 

 estimated cost is $55,000,000 ; if by a freight railway, 

 the cost would probably not exceed $25,000,000. 



The total expenditure necessary for the improve- 

 ment of the Ohio and Kanawha Eivers is estimated 

 at $25,000,000. The amount necessary to complete 

 the connection of the Ohio with tide-water depends 

 upon the nature of the improvement, as above stated. 



THE SOUTHERN ROUTE. 



The plan suggested by the committee for the 

 Southern route contemplates : 



First. The improvement of the Tennessee Eiver 

 from its mouth to Knoxville, so as to give three feet 

 of navigation at lowest stages of water. Estimated 

 cost, $5,000,000. 



Second. A communication by canal, or freight rail- 

 way, from some convenient point on the Tennessee 

 Eiver in Alabama or Tennessee, by the shortest and 

 most practicable route, to the Atlantic Ocean. The 

 railway, if constructed, will be about 430 miles long ; 

 the question as between the canal and railway to bo 

 decided after a careful survey and estimate of both 

 shall have been completed. If by canal, the cost will 

 be about $35,000,000 ; if by railway, probably about 

 $30,000,000. All of these routes are considered at 

 length in the report of the committee, and the ad- 

 vantages, cost, and practicability of each, are fully dis- 

 cussed. 



SUEVETS RECOMMENDED. 



Large portions of all of the above routes have been 

 surveyed and careful estimates prepared by the War 

 Department. It is recommended that appropriations 

 be made at the present session of Congress for com- 

 pleting the surveys of the entire system of improve- 

 ments proposed, in order to determine accurately tho 



