﻿766 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  The 
  Deep 
  Waterways 
  Commission 
  of 
  1895. 
  In 
  February, 
  

   1895, 
  Congress 
  by 
  a 
  joint 
  resolution 
  authorized 
  a 
  preliminary 
  

   inquiry 
  concerning 
  deep 
  waterways 
  between 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  

   and 
  the 
  ocean, 
  and 
  provided 
  that 
  the 
  President 
  should 
  appoint 
  

   three 
  commissioners 
  to 
  make 
  such 
  inquiry. 
  The 
  President, 
  

   under 
  this 
  resolution, 
  appointed 
  Prof. 
  James 
  B. 
  Angell, 
  of 
  Ann 
  

   Arbor, 
  Michigan; 
  John 
  E. 
  Russell, 
  of 
  Leicester, 
  Massachusetts, 
  

   -and 
  Lyman 
  E. 
  Cooley, 
  of 
  Chicago, 
  Illinois. 
  The 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  

   commission, 
  published 
  in 
  1897, 
  includes 
  a 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  valu- 
  

   able 
  information 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  a 
  deep 
  waterway 
  from 
  the 
  upper 
  

   Great 
  Lakes 
  to 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  seaboard. 
  In 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  State 
  

   of 
  New 
  York, 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  pointed 
  out 
  by 
  Mr 
  Cooley 
  that 
  nature 
  

   has 
  indicated 
  two 
  feasible 
  routes 
  for 
  such 
  a 
  canal. 
  The 
  first 
  

   of 
  these 
  is 
  the 
  Oswego-Mohawk-Hudson 
  route, 
  extending 
  from 
  

   Oswego 
  through 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Oswego 
  and 
  Oneida 
  rivers, 
  and 
  

   thence 
  across 
  the 
  divide 
  to 
  the 
  Mohawk, 
  thence 
  through 
  the 
  

   Mohawk 
  valley 
  to 
  a 
  point 
  on 
  the 
  Hudson 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Troy, 
  

   and 
  so 
  on 
  through 
  the 
  Hudson 
  river 
  to 
  tidewater 
  at 
  New 
  York. 
  

   One 
  objection 
  to 
  this 
  route 
  is 
  the 
  lockage 
  over 
  the 
  summit 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  Lake 
  Ontario 
  and 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  valley. 
  Another 
  objection 
  

   is 
  the 
  absorption 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  quantity 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  central 
  New 
  

   York 
  for 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  the 
  isummit 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  canal, 
  and 
  which 
  

   probably 
  can 
  be 
  more 
  effectively 
  used 
  in 
  manufacturing; 
  that 
  

   is 
  to 
  say, 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  by 
  developing 
  its 
  manufactur- 
  

   ing 
  resources 
  to 
  their 
  fullest 
  extent, 
  can 
  realize 
  more 
  return 
  

   from 
  manufacturing 
  than 
  from 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  its 
  inland 
  waters 
  

   for 
  purposes 
  of 
  internal 
  navigation 
  of 
  any 
  kind 
  what- 
  

   ever. 
  The 
  Oswego-Mohawk-Hudson 
  route 
  would 
  utilize 
  the 
  

   great 
  natural 
  highway 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  an 
  easy 
  passage 
  to 
  com- 
  

   merce 
  from 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  settlement 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  natural 
  route 
  through 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  

   is 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  river 
  to 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  Coteau 
  rapids, 
  

   where 
  the 
  low- 
  water 
  level 
  of 
  Lake 
  St 
  Francis 
  is 
  153.5 
  feet 
  above 
  

   tide, 
  or 
  68 
  . 
  5 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  low-water 
  level 
  of 
  Lake 
  Champlain. 
  

   On 
  this 
  plan 
  a 
  canal 
  would 
  be 
  constructed 
  from 
  Coteau 
  Land- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  Lake 
  Champlain, 
  near 
  Rouses 
  Point, 
  this 
  

   section 
  requiring 
  cutting 
  through 
  a 
  summit 
  about 
  50 
  feet 
  in 
  

   hight. 
  Lake 
  Champlain 
  would 
  then 
  be 
  utilized 
  to 
  Whitehall, 
  

   from 
  which 
  point 
  a 
  canal 
  would 
  be 
  cut 
  through 
  the 
  valley 
  lead- 
  

  

  