OTHER GREAT CANALS
While the Panama Canal seems destined to endure for all time as the
greatest artificial shipway in the world, there are other waterways,
while small in comparison, that are in themselves wonderful works of
engineering. In point of traffic the greatest canal in the world is
the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, popularly called the "Soo." In point of
economy of distance and world-affecting consequence the Suez Canal
ranks with, or next to, Panama.
The Suez Canal was built while the Civil War was raging in the United
States, and was opened for the passage of vessels on November 17,
1869. It is about twice as long as the Panama Canal, the distance from
Port Said, at the Mediterranean terminus, to Suez at the Red Sea end,
being approximately 100 miles. When constructed its depth was 26 feet,
3 inches, and its bottom width 72 feet. The maximum vessel draft
permitted was 24 feet 7 inches. The canal was in operation for 11
years before vessels of this draft presented themselves for passage.
During the first dozen years of its operation various curves were
straightened, the turning-out places where vessels passed one another
were enlarged, and their number increased to 13. This work of
straightening curves and widening the canal has continued from that
time until the present, and to-day vessels may pass one another
through a large part of its length. The policy increasing the general
dimensions of the canal was begun in 1887. By 1890 its depth had been
increased to 29-1/2 feet, so that it could accommodate ships having a
draft of 26 feet 3 inches. The work of deepening continued, and when
the United States began to build the Panama Canal this work was
speeded up, so that by 1908 a depth of 32-3/4 feet was attained and
vessels of 28 feet draft could be accommodated. In 1909 it was decided
that it would be necessary to make the canal still deeper, and a
project, which will not be completed until 1915, was then undertaken,
calling for a depth of 36 feet 1 inch. By 1898 the width of the canal
had been increased from 72 feet to 98-1/2 feet. This is now being
still further increased to 134-1/2 feet. Even when this project is
completed in 1915, the Panama Canal still can accommodate ships of 5
feet greater draft than the Suez Canal.
The maximum draft of ships permitted to use the Suez Canal is demanded
in comparatively few instances. A recent report showed that 94 per
cent of the ships using the canal had a draft of less than 26-1/4
feet, and that only 1 per cent had a draft of 28 feet. The increase in
the depth of the canal, therefore, was made largely in anticipation of
future shipping requirements.
When the canal was completed it required 49 hours for a ship to pass
through it. The growth in its dimensions, together with the increase
in the number and size of passing stations, the straightening of
curves, and the improvement of facilities, have brought down to 17
hours the average length of time required for the transit. Ships not
equipped with electric searchlights are not permitted to pass through
at night. The improvements being made on the canal are being paid for
mainly from the revenues derived from tolls.
The Suez Canal was constructed, and has been enlarged and managed, by
a private corporation which has invested from the beginning of the
construction up to the present time about $127,000,000 of which
approximately two-thirds has been secured from the sale of securities,
and one-third from the earnings. The original capital of the Suez
Canal Company, issued in 1859, was 400,000 shares of $100 each. These
shares partake of the nature of both bonds and stock, for they are
entitled to interest of 5 per cent as well as to participation in the
company's profits. Provision is made for their redemption, but when
redeemed they continue to share in the profits and merely lose the
interest-bearing feature. On December 31, 1911, 378,231 of these
shares were in circulation.
In 1875 the British Government, through Lord Beaconsfield, purchased
the 176,602 shares held by the Khedive of Egypt, paying some
$20,000,000 for them. The British Government does not own a majority
of the shares, and the Suez Canal is controlled and operated by a
French company. The annual dividends have increased from 4.7 per cent
to 33 per cent. The shares are closely held and trading in them is
light. The stock sells at a premium of over 1,000 per cent. When the
work of building the canal was undertaken, 100,000 shares were given
to the founders. These shares are not stock, but are, rather,
certificates of obligation, requiring the company to pay 10 per cent
of its profits to the promoters and founders of the original company
and their heirs and assigns. The net profits of the canal amount to
about $17,000,000 a year. Of this the stockholders get $12,000,000,
the Egyptian Government $2,500,000, the founders of the company
$1,500,000 and the administrative officers and the employees divide
$100,000 among them.
The traffic of the Suez Canal during the first two years was
relatively small, for the reason that the canal is not a practicable
one for sailing vessels, and steam vessels had to be built. These,
being much less efficient than freight steamers are to-day, were slow
in securing the trade that had been enjoyed by the sailing vessels.
The rate of tolls charged by the Suez Canal Company has declined
steadily since the canal went into operation. On January 1, 1912, they
approximated $1.30 a ton, with a reduction of nearly a third for
vessels in ballast. On January 1, 1913, the rate was made
approximately $1.20 a ton, the fraction of a cent higher than the rate
at Panama. The passenger tolls are $2 for passengers above 12 years
and $1 for children from 3 to 12 years of age; children below 3 years
are carried free. The highest toll charged on the Suez Canal was in
1874 when it was $2.51 a ton.
The Suez Canal has proved highly profitable to its owners. No one
believes that the Panama Canal will yield as great a return on the
capital invested. The cost of the Panama Canal will be four times the
cost of Suez, and it is doubted by traffic authorities whether the
Panama Canal will ever handle as much business.
The Manchester Ship Canal, which connects Manchester with Liverpool,
was constructed only after years of preliminary agitation. There was
opposition by the railways, and from the industrial and commercial
centers with which Manchester competes. Over 300 petitions were
presented to Parliament before its consent was obtained for the
construction of the canal. Work was begun in November, 1887, at which
time it was estimated that the canal would cost $42,000,000. It was
opened for traffic January 1, 1894, after $75,000,000 had been spent
in building it. Of this about $60,000,000 went into actual
construction work. The Manchester Canal is 35-1/2 miles long. It
extends from Eastham, about 6 miles from Liverpool, to Manchester. Its
original depth was 26 feet, but this has been increased to 28 feet.
Ships with a length of 550 feet, a beam of 61 feet, a height of 70
feet, and a draft of 27 feet can use the canal. There is a difference
of 58 feet 6 inches in level between Eastham and Manchester, and this
is overcome by five sets of locks. The highest lift is 16 feet.
The Manchester Canal Company owns the Bridgewater Canal and makes
connections with 13 other barge canals. It handles about 6,000,000
tons of freight a year, of which the bulk is sea-borne. Although it
connects with 13 barge canals, the amount of barge traffic handled is
less to-day than it was a decade ago. From the beginning the
Manchester Canal has had to compete with the railroads, and they cut
their rates to such a basis that they get the business and force the
canal company to operate as a losing venture to its stockholders.
In spite of the competition of the railroads, the canal has managed to
increase its business at about the same rate that traffic through the
Suez Canal has increased, and a little more rapidly than it has been
estimated that traffic through the Panama Canal will grow. The
shareholders have not yet received any dividends, but it seems
probable that in the course of a few years all of the securities will
earn an annual income. Many shareholders have been more than
compensated for their subscriptions by the collateral benefits they
have received from the canal.
The Government of Germany constructed a canal connecting its Baltic
and North Sea ports, and named it the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal. The
natural route from the Baltic to the North Sea around Denmark is
circuitous, dangerous because of storms, and is guarded by foreign
powers. The canal was begun in 1887 and completed in 1895, and was
constructed primarily for military and naval purposes, although it has
proved to be of great value to the commerce of Germany. It connects
Brunsbuttel Harbor on the Elbe with Holtenau on Kiel Bay. It passes
through low lands and lakes and along river valleys. It is 61 miles
long and, as it was first constructed, had a width of 72 feet and a
depth of 29-1/2 feet. The total cost of the canal was approximately
$37,000,000. It was in operation only 12 years until it was found
necessary to enlarge it. The reconstruction of the canal was
authorized by the German Government in 1907, and the work, which is
expected to be completed in 1914, was started in 1909. When this work
is completed the canal will be 144 feet wide and 36 feet deep. At 10
places it will be widened so as to permit ships to pass. New twin
locks, built for the regulation of the tides--for the canal itself is
at sea level--will be 82 feet longer and 37 feet wider than the Panama
locks. The maximum depth of these locks will be 45 feet, although at
low tide they will be a little less than 40 feet.
During a recent year commercial vessels with an aggregate net register
of over 7,000,000 tons used the Kiel Canal. The increase of business
during the first decade of the present century amounted to 70 per
cent, or a little more than the estimated increase for each decade at
Panama. The net receipts from the operation of the canal are not
sufficient to pay interest on the investment. No effort is made to
levy tolls that will provide for interest charges, or for the
amortization of the principal. The canal does not connect regions of
enormous traffic, nor does it greatly shorten ocean routes. The
longest route is cut down only 429 miles. The German Empire was so
well pleased with the success of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal that the
enlargement it is now making represents an expenditure one and a half
times the original cost.
The Amsterdam Canal was built to connect Amsterdam with the sea.
Formerly, ocean-going vessels were small and the Zuider Zee River was
then a stream of considerable depth. Gradually, however, the Zuider
Zee became shallower and the size of ocean vessels larger, so that
the commercial supremacy of Amsterdam was threatened by the
competition of Rotterdam and Antwerp and north German ports. In 1818 a
corporation constructed what was known as the "North Holland Canal,"
which was large enough to accommodate ships employed in the East India
trade. It had a minimum depth of 20 feet and a minimum width of 100
feet. This canal, however, had numerous curves and it was constructed
by a roundabout route of 52 miles from Amsterdam northward to the
North Sea, while Amsterdam is less than 17 miles from the sea by
direct route.
In 1863 a concession for the construction of the North Sea Canal was
granted and two years later active work began. It was finished in
1876. There were no serious engineering difficulties to be met, there
being no rivers to be crossed, no towns to block the way, and only
three bridges to be built. The work consisted mainly of building
embankments, draining and reclaiming land, and dredging the channel.
The canal was not completed according to the original plan. Extensive
enlargements and improvements were decided on, and a larger additional
lock was undertaken in 1889 and completed in 1896. At that time it was
the largest canal lock in the world. Plans are now being considered
for building another new lock, which will be larger than those at
Panama. The bottom width of the canal is now 164 feet. It can
accommodate vessels 721 feet long, with a 79-foot beam and of 30 feet
draft. The construction of the canal cost $16,000,000. Improvements
have brought the total amount up to about $24,000,000. Since 1893 all
toll charges have been eliminated, and the canal has been operated at
the expense of the State. The annual average cost of operation and
maintenance is about $200,000. This canal bears about the same
relation to the city of Amsterdam that the Delaware River Channel
bears to the city of Philadelphia, or the improvements on the lower
Mississippi to the city of New Orleans.
The Cronstadt and St. Petersburg Canal is 16 miles long and gives St.
Petersburg an outlet to the Gulf of Finland. It was built at a total
cost of about $10,000,000. It has a minimum width of 220 feet and a
navigable depth of about 20-1/2 feet. It was built primarily as a
military undertaking, but has proved of great service to Russian
commerce.
Another important European canal is that extending from the Gulf of
Corinth to the Gulf of Aegina in southern Greece. Its length is about
4 miles, a part of which was cut through soft granite rock and the
remainder through soil. It has no locks. The bottom width is 72 feet
and the depth 26-1/4 feet. The average tolls are 18 cents per ton and
20 cents for passengers.
No other canal in the world can rival the one at Sault Ste. Marie,
Mich., which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron, in the enormous
volume of its shipping. There are really two canals--one owned by the
Canadian Government, and one by the United States Government. The
canal belonging to the United States was begun in 1853 by the State of
Michigan, and opened in 1855. It had a length of about a mile and was
provided with twin locks 350 feet long, allowing the passage of
vessels drawing 12 feet of water. The United States Government, by
consent of the State of Michigan, began in 1870 to enlarge the canal,
and, by 1881, had increased its length to 1.6 miles, its width to an
average of 160 feet and its depth to 16 feet. A lock 515 feet long, 80
feet wide, and 17 feet deep was located south of the locks which were
built by the State.
In 1882 the United States Government took over the entire control of
the canal. Five years later the locks that had been built by the State
were torn down, and a new one 800 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 22
feet deep was put into commission in 1896. The Canadian Canal, 1-1/8
miles long, 150 feet wide, and 22 feet deep, was built on the north
side of the river during the years 1888 to 1895. Its locks are 900
feet long, 60 feet wide, and 22 feet deep.
The traffic through the Sault Ste. Marie Canals averages around
60,000,000 tons a year. This is as much as the Panama Canal can expect
to get 40 years after its opening. The tonnage of the American Soo
Canal passed the million mark in 1873, reached the 20,000,000 mark in
1899, and amounted to 46,000,000 net tons in 1909. It now ranges
around 50,000,000 tons. It will be seen from this that the American
Canal, built on the south side of St. Mary's River, gets about ten
times as much traffic as the Canadian Canal, built on the north side
of the river. This gives the American Soo Canal more than twice as
much traffic as the Suez Canal, and about four times as much as the
Panama Canal expects to begin with.
A canal which was built primarily for drainage purposes, but which
seems destined to fill an important place as a traffic-carrying
waterway, is the Chicago Drainage Canal connecting Lake Michigan at
Chicago with the Illinois River at Lockport--a distance of 34 miles.
It was built for the purpose of reversing the movement of water in the
Chicago River and preventing the pollution of Lake Michigan. The
sewage of the city now goes to the faraway Mississippi instead of the
Lakes. The minimum depth of the canal is 22 feet, and its bottom width
160 feet. To complete the project the excavation of nearly 44,000,000
yards of material was required--enough, if deposited in Lake Michigan
in 40 feet of water, to form an island a mile square with a surface 12
feet above the water. The city of Chicago and the State of Illinois
have agreed to turn this canal over to the United States Government,
if it will deepen the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to 14 feet
between Lockport and St. Louis. This would give a complete water
connection from upper Mississippi River points to Lake Michigan, and
open up a highway to the Gulf of Mexico. The estimated cost of this
project is $25,000,000.
The completion of the Panama Canal will probably result in an
unprecedented activity in the development of inland waterways in the
United States. The new markets which it will open up to American
products and the old markets it will stimulate and extend, will demand
large additional facilities for getting the products of the American
farm and factory to the seaboard. Already preparations for
capitalizing the commercial opportunities which the opening of the
canal will afford, are being made in various parts of the country.
The Erie Canal, connecting Buffalo and Albany and giving the Great
Lakes a water outlet at New York, is being widened and deepened at an
expense of $101,000,000. The propaganda of the American Rivers and
Harbors Congress, looking to the appropriation of $500,000,000 to be
spent in a systematic program of inland waterway development, is
meeting with encouragement in every part of the country, and it is the
expectation of those who believe that the Government should commit
itself to such a program, that within 25 years the stimulus to
waterway development given by the opening of the Panama Canal, will
give to the United States one of the finest systems of inland
waterways in the world.