THE NEW TRANSPORTATION 



'35 



the most part it is proposed to carry it along the valleys, 

 utilizing in so far as possible the rivers and lakes, thus re- 

 verting to the route of the pioneers, a plan rendered prac- 

 ticable by the wealth, the engineering skill and the facilities 

 of modern times. The number of locks will be reduced from 



CHAPTER IV., FIG. 33. THE MUD TAX. 



72 to 38, and no towpath will be provided, since the old method 

 of traction has given way to steam propulsion. It is by 

 far the greatest work ever undertaken by any state. It in- 

 volves an outlay of more than $100,000,000, and takes rank 

 in the very forefront of canal propositions. In many ways 

 its commercial importance promises to rival that of the Pan- 

 ama Canal. We do not know when the tonnage of the ocean 



