﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  733 
  

  

  porta 
  tiou 
  report 
  of 
  1835 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  

   mistaken 
  policy 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  Nearly 
  every 
  year 
  

   since 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  railway 
  era 
  the 
  newspapers 
  of 
  the 
  

   State 
  have 
  teemed 
  with 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  the 
  State 
  must 
  neces- 
  

   sarily 
  maintain 
  the 
  canal 
  system 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  check 
  the 
  exorbitant 
  

   tariff 
  demands 
  of 
  competing 
  railways. 
  As 
  we 
  have 
  seen, 
  in 
  1830, 
  

   just 
  before 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  railway 
  era, 
  the 
  State 
  was 
  taxing 
  

   every 
  article 
  transported 
  upon 
  the 
  canals 
  all 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  stand, 
  

   and 
  the 
  system 
  of 
  excessive 
  State 
  tariffs 
  was 
  continued 
  until 
  a 
  few 
  

   years 
  later, 
  when 
  the 
  competition 
  of 
  the 
  railways 
  forced 
  a 
  reduc 
  

   tion 
  in 
  the 
  tariff 
  for 
  transportation 
  on 
  the 
  canal. 
  

  

  Growth 
  and 
  decline 
  of 
  canal 
  transportation. 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  re- 
  

   ports 
  bearing 
  on 
  transportation 
  questions 
  were 
  submitted 
  in 
  1835, 
  

   and 
  finally 
  the 
  fixed 
  policy 
  Avas 
  adopted 
  of 
  enlarging 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal, 
  

   the 
  act 
  authorizing 
  what 
  is 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  enlargement 
  

   being 
  passed 
  in 
  that 
  year. 
  The 
  law 
  authorizing 
  the 
  enlargement 
  

   directed 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  double 
  locks 
  and 
  a 
  prism 
  with 
  a 
  

   width 
  at 
  water 
  surface 
  of 
  70 
  feet, 
  and 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  7 
  feet, 
  the 
  locks 
  

   to 
  be 
  110 
  feet 
  long 
  and 
  18 
  feet 
  wide. 
  It 
  was 
  estimated 
  that 
  an 
  

   enlargement 
  to 
  this 
  extent 
  would 
  save 
  50 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  cost 
  of 
  

   transportation, 
  exclusive 
  of 
  tolls. 
  The 
  enlargement 
  to 
  this 
  

   standard 
  width 
  and 
  depth 
  was 
  begun 
  in 
  1836 
  and 
  continued 
  to 
  

   1842, 
  when 
  the 
  Legislature 
  directed 
  the 
  suspension 
  of 
  expenditures. 
  

   In 
  1847 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  enlargement 
  was 
  resumed, 
  and 
  substantially 
  

   completed 
  in 
  1862. 
  Since 
  that 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  work 
  done 
  under 
  

   authority 
  of 
  chapter 
  79 
  of 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  1895 
  there 
  had 
  been 
  

   no 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  standard 
  of 
  width 
  at 
  water 
  line 
  of 
  70 
  feet 
  

   and 
  depth 
  of 
  7 
  feet. 
  As 
  an 
  interesting 
  fact 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  pointed 
  

   out 
  that 
  while 
  the 
  enlargement 
  authorized 
  in 
  1835 
  led 
  to 
  a 
  vast 
  

   increase 
  in 
  the 
  transportation 
  business 
  on 
  the 
  State 
  canals, 
  the 
  

   cost 
  of 
  transportation 
  gradually 
  decreased, 
  one 
  chief 
  cause 
  of 
  

   such 
  decrease 
  being 
  the 
  competition 
  of 
  railways, 
  until 
  in 
  1883 
  the 
  

   competition 
  from 
  this 
  source 
  became 
  too 
  sharp 
  to 
  maintain 
  

   longer 
  transportation 
  on 
  the 
  canals 
  if 
  any 
  toll 
  at 
  all 
  were 
  charged. 
  

   The 
  canals 
  were 
  then 
  made 
  free 
  by 
  legislative 
  enactment. 
  

  

  The 
  popular 
  notion, 
  formerly 
  prevalent 
  in 
  New 
  York, 
  that 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  necessary 
  to 
  maintain 
  the 
  State 
  canals 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  regu- 
  

   late 
  the 
  railways, 
  is 
  seen 
  to 
  be 
  far 
  from 
  true. 
  The 
  railways 
  have 
  

  

  