﻿776 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  barking 
  in 
  the 
  enterprise. 
  If, 
  however, 
  after 
  full 
  investigation 
  

   it 
  appears 
  that 
  the 
  canal 
  water 
  supply 
  can 
  be 
  obtained 
  and 
  the 
  

   manufacturing 
  interests 
  protected, 
  no 
  reasonable 
  objection 
  can 
  

   be 
  urged. 
  

  

  The 
  foregoing 
  was 
  written 
  in 
  1897. 
  In 
  1898-99 
  the 
  writer 
  

   investigated 
  this 
  question 
  for 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Board 
  of 
  En- 
  

   gineers 
  on 
  Deep 
  Waterways, 
  arriving 
  at 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  

   water 
  enough 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  deep 
  waterways 
  could 
  be 
  obtained 
  

   without 
  interfering 
  with 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  manufacturing. 
  

   How 
  this 
  may 
  be 
  accomplished 
  is 
  detailed 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  report. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  justify 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  the 
  ship 
  canal 
  as 
  a 
  com- 
  

   mercial 
  proposition, 
  the 
  saving 
  on 
  the 
  transportation 
  of 
  an 
  esti- 
  

   mated 
  annual 
  tonnage 
  of 
  24,000,000 
  tons 
  over 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  its 
  trans- 
  

   portation 
  by 
  existing 
  means 
  and 
  methods 
  must 
  at 
  least, 
  equal 
  the 
  

   interest 
  on 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  canal 
  plus 
  the 
  annual 
  cost 
  of 
  mainte- 
  

   nance 
  and 
  operation. 
  The 
  first 
  cost 
  is 
  taken 
  at 
  $200,000,000, 
  with 
  

   the 
  maintenance 
  at 
  $2,000,000 
  per 
  year. 
  Assuming 
  an 
  interest 
  

   charge 
  of 
  3 
  per 
  cent, 
  the 
  annual 
  interest 
  plus 
  the 
  maintenance 
  

   becomes 
  $8,000,000, 
  which 
  sum 
  represents 
  the 
  annual 
  expense 
  

   of 
  the 
  proposed 
  ship 
  canal 
  connecting 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  with 
  the 
  

   Atlantic 
  seaboard. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  there 
  

   should 
  be 
  added 
  to 
  this 
  amount 
  a 
  sum 
  representing 
  the 
  decrease 
  

   in 
  wealth 
  in 
  central 
  New 
  York 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  absorption 
  of 
  the 
  

   inland 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  away 
  from 
  manufacturing 
  interests 
  

   in 
  favor 
  of 
  navigation 
  interests. 
  As 
  a 
  rough 
  estimate 
  the 
  writer 
  

   places 
  such 
  decrease 
  at 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  $5,000,000 
  per 
  year, 
  al- 
  

   though 
  the 
  decrease 
  would 
  probably 
  be 
  much 
  greater 
  than 
  this, 
  

   but 
  in 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  data 
  for 
  full 
  discussion 
  he 
  places 
  it 
  at 
  a 
  

   conservative 
  figure, 
  which 
  can 
  not 
  well 
  be 
  gainsaid. 
  On 
  the 
  

   other 
  hand, 
  if 
  the 
  International 
  St 
  Lawrence-Champlain-Hudson 
  

   route 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  constructed, 
  not 
  only 
  would 
  this 
  source 
  of 
  

   loss 
  be 
  entirely 
  eliminated, 
  but 
  since 
  that 
  plan 
  proposes 
  to 
  

   deliver 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  river 
  into 
  Lake 
  Champlain, 
  

   and 
  thence 
  by 
  a 
  through 
  cut 
  from 
  Lake 
  Champlain 
  to> 
  the 
  Hud- 
  

   son 
  river, 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  delivered 
  into 
  the 
  Hudson 
  river 
  a 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  quantity 
  of 
  water 
  which 
  "would 
  be 
  available 
  for 
  power 
  

   at 
  Saratoga 
  dam, 
  Mechanicville 
  and 
  Troy. 
  This 
  ship-canal 
  pro- 
  

   ject 
  thus 
  increases 
  rather 
  than 
  decreases 
  the 
  productive 
  capacity 
  

   of 
  the 
  State. 
  

  

  