52d Congress,) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. J Ex. Doc. 1st Session. j { No. t>'3. HUDSON EIYEE. LETTER FROM THE ACTING SECRETARY OF WAR, TRANSMITTING, With a letter from tlie Chief of Engineers, a copy of the report of the Board of Engineer Officers in relation to improvement of the navigation of the Hudson River. January 5, 1892. — Referred to the Committee on River and Harbors and ordered to be printed. War Department, Washington, December 8, 1891. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineer^ dated November 20, 1891, together with a copy of report of a Board of Engineer Officers, dated October 1, 1891, appointed in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act of Sep- tember 19, 1890, to— thoroughly examine the obstructions to navigation in the Hudson River, between New York City and the State dam at Troy, New York, and report a project and esti- mate of the cost of widening and deepening said river between New York City and the city of Albany, and also between New York City and the State dam at the city of Troy, for the navigation of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water, and also a separate estimate of the expense of improving the river between Coxsaekie and the State dam at Troy, to such an extent as to secure a navigable channel 12 feet deep at mean low water. The views expressed in the report of the Board are concurred in by the Chief of Engineers and by this Department. Very respectfully, L. A. Grant, Acting Secretary of War. The Speaker of the House of Eepresem atives. H. Ex. 29 34 2 HUDSON RIVER. / ^2e^ Office of the Chief of Engineer s, ivn^Ojr United States Army, Washington, D. C 7 ., November 20, 1891. Sir : The river and harbor act approved September 19, 1890, provides as follows : That the Secretary of War is authorized and directed to appoint a board of three officers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, whose duty it will be to thor- oughly examine the obstructions to navigation in the Hudson River, between New York City and the State dam at Troy, New York, and report a project and estimate of the cost of widening and deepening said river between New York City and the city of Albany, and also between New York City and the State dam at the city of Troy for the navigation of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water, and also a separate estimate of the expense of improving the river between Coxsackie and the State dam at Troy, to such an extent as to secure a navigable channel 12 feet deep at mean low water. Said Board shall accompany their report with a statement as to the use- fulness of such improvements and of their relations and value to commerce, and of the advisability of entering upon the same at this time; and the Secretary of War shall transmit said reports to Congress with his own views and those of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, thereon, and the expenses of said Board shall be paid out of the appropriation made in this act for the improvement of the Hudson River, not to exceed $10,000. The Board of Engineers authorized and directed by the above law has completed the duty assigned it, and I have now the honor to sub- mit the accompanying copy of its report dated October 1, 1891. Three propositions looking to improvement of the navigation of the river were by the terms of the act to be considered by the Board and projects with estimates of cost required to be submitted. 1. Between New York City and the city of Albany, for the naviga- tion of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water. 2. Between New York City and the State dam at Troy, for the navi- gation of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water. 3. Between Coxsackie and the State dam at Troy, for navigable chan- nel 12 feet deep at mean low water. Upon these three several propositions, the Board, after full and care- ful consideration, remarks as follows : Concerning the first two — deep channels between New York City and Albany and between New York City and Troy — The Board is of the opinion that the possible benefits to commerce to be derived from the proposed improvement for vessels drawing 20 feet are not, under existing conditions, sufficient to justify at this time the expenditure necessary to make such improvement. *#**##* The estimates of cost of carrying out the two projects contained in the said act, which provide for widening and deepening the channels between New York City and the city of Albany and between New York City and the city of Troy, for the navigation of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water, are $5,934,847.60 and $19,507,832.74, respectively. Concerning the third — channel 12 feet deep between Coxsackie and the State dam at Troy — After carefully studying the wants of commerce, the Board is of the opinion that the third project contained in the act of September 19, 1890, which provides for im- proving the Hudson River "between Coxsackie and the State dam at Troy to such an extent as to secure a navigable channel 12 feet deep at mean low water," is a worthy and useful one, and accordingly recommends it for adoption. In view of the necessities of the commerce incident to the river proper and its tributary country, the Board is of the opinion that the project for improvement adopted in 1S(!7 should be extended so as to provide for a channel depth of at least 12 feet at mean low water, and that such an extension is well worth the expenditure re- quired foi its execution. HUDSON RIVER. 3 The estimate submitted by the Board for a channel 12 feet deep and 400 feet wide from Coxsackie to the foot of Broadway, Troy, and thence 12 feet deep and 300 feet wide to the State dam at Troy is $2,447,900.56. I concur in the views of the Board. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Thos. Lincoln Casey, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers. Hon. Bedfield Proctor, Secretary of War. REPORT OF BOARD OF ENGINEERS ON IMPROVEMENT OF HUDSON RIVER, NEW YORK, IN COMPLIANCE WITH ACT APPROVED SEP- TEMBER 19, 1890. United States Engineer Office, New Yorh N". Y., October 1, 1891. General : The Board of Engineers constituted by Special Orders No- 66, Headquarters, Corps of Engineers, September 30, 1890, has the honor to submit the following report upon the improvement of the Hudson Eiver, New York, to comply with the requirements of the river and harbor act of September 19, 1890. The special duty required of the Board, in the language of the act, was: To thoroughly examine the obstructions to navigation in the Hudson River, be- tween New York City and the State Dam at Troy, N. Y., and report a project and estimate of the cost of widening and deepening said river between New York City and the city of Albany, and also between New York City and the State Dam at the city of Troy for the navigation of sea-going vessels drawing 20 feet of water, and also a separate estimate of the expense of improving the river between Coxsackie and the State Dam at Troy, to such an extent as to secure a navigable channel 12 feet deep at m#an low water. Said Board shall accompany their report with a state- ment as to the usefulness of such improvements, and of their relations and value to commerce, and of the advisability of entering upon the same at this time; and the Secretary of War shall transmit said reports to Congress with his own views and those of the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, thereon; and the expenses of said Board shall be paid out of the appropriation made in this act for the improvement of the Hudson River, not to exceed $10,000. As all the obstructions to the navigation of the river above the plane of 20 feet mean low water are situated between Hudson and Troy, the duties of the Board were confined to the consideration of the improve- ment of that reach. The river between those points was accordingly examined thoroughly by the Board in person, and a careful study has been made of all accessible charts which have been published. To enable the Board to confer with all persons whose interests might be affected by the enlarged improvement of the river, a public meeting was held at Albany, N. Y., January 6, 1891, at which the attendance was very large. A second meeting was held in New York, May 15, 1891, to enable the commercial bodies in that city not previously represented to present their views. The information gathered at these meetings in regard to " the useful- ness of the improvements and of their relations and value to commerce and of the advisability of entering upon the same at this time " was all reduced to writing, and copies are appended hereto. The improvement of the Hudson Kiver by the State authorities ante- 4 HUDSON RIVER. dates the present century, but the part which the General Government has taken in it dates only from 1834, at which time the first appropria- tion, amounting to $70,000, was made. A Board of United States Engineers, convened in that year, prepared a project for improvement which contemplated the construction of lines of longitudinal dikes from Troy to New Baltimore, supplemented by the use of the dredge. The State of New York had previously followed plans of improve- ment which provided for the application of groins or jetties for contract- ing channel to induce scour. Under the general system adopted by the United States operations for the construction of longitudinal dikes and for occasional dredging were carried on during the years 1835, 1836, 1837, and 1838. A sus- pension of work then occurred, and active operations on an extensive scale were not resumed until 1867, when work under the project pre- pared by the officer then in local charge was begun. In the meanwhile the State of New York, in 1863, had taken up the improvement on the general plan adopted by the United States in 1834, and between 1863 and 1867 six longitudinal dikes were built on the left bank, extending from Houghtailing Island to Albany. The Annual Eeports of the Chief of Engineers during the past few years show that the improvement by the construction of dikes has been left almost ex- clusively to the General Government, and that by dredging to the State of New York. The existing plans of improvement, adopted in 1867, provide for se- curing a navigable channel 11 feet deep at mean low water from New Baltimore to Albany, and 9 feet deep at mean low water from Albany to Troy, at an estimated cost of $862,297.75. This estimate was revised and increased several times at later periods to take account of expendi- tures for repairs and for work done not included in previous estimates, and the estimate of final cost, according to the revision of 1889, is $1,424,435. The dikes as built are in general pile dikes, single or double, and are revetted or filled with broken stone. The total amount appropriated since 1864 is $1,279,330.57, and the amount expended to June 30, 1891, is $1,162,011.70. The estimated amount required to be appropriated to complete the ex- isting project is $145,000. It therefore appears that new estimates are essential at this time, in order that the improvement of the river may continue without interruption. The following is a description of the plan now in process of execution : First. — A system of longitudinal dikes to confine the current suffi- ciently to allow the ebb and flow of the tidal current to keep the channel clear; these dikes to be gradually brought nearer together from New Baltimore towards Troy, so as to assist the entrance of the flood cur- rent and increase its height, their height to be kept approximately at the level of the tidal high water, so as not to confine the freshets, the exact level, however, being left to be determined by experience as the work progresses. Second. — That the dredge be used, so far as necessary, to open the channels above described, which the current should not be allowed to do, except very gradually, lest accumulations dangerous to navigation be formed below. Third. — Keeping, as far as practicable, the side reservoirs open to the passage of tidal currents by gaps at their lower extremities, in order to increase the tidal flow. HUDSON RIVER. 5 Fourth. — Dumping all dredged material in secure places, where it can not be moved back again into the channel by the current. Fifth. — Constructing the dikes of timber and stone, in a manner to secure their permanency, at a minimum cost, the details varying with the locality, to be left to the discretion of the local engineer, to be so designed as to admit of having an increased height given to the dikes if necessary. Sixth. — To protect, when necessary, the banks and islands against the abrading action of the currents by revetments. Seventh. — That limits, beyond which no encroachments upon the chan- nels should be made, be prescribed, and that any such encroachments be reported to the engineer in charge. The width between the projected dikes built to revet the banks as well as to contract the waterway varies from the minimum of 575 feet at Troy to the maximum of 1,200 feet at New Baltimore. The average width between Albany and New Baltimore is 800 feet, approximately. During the time the improvement has been in progress certain facts in regard to the physics of the river have been gathered by the officers in local charge, which have been reported from time to time in annual reports to the Chief of Engineers, and in special reports by the assistants to the officer in charge, which form part of the files of the main office. So far as practicable, the records have been carefully searched for this important information, and supplementary examinations have been made upon the river itself since the passage of the river and harbor act of September 19, 1890, especially by borings to determine the nature of the river bottom from the city of Hudson to the State Dam at Troy. The general features of the river basins, and the special character- istics of the main river obtained from these sources, will now be stated before submitting the projects and estimates required of the Board to comply with the first part of its instructions. PHYSICS OF THE HUDSON RIVER. Drainage areas. — The Hudson Eiver has its source in fourteen small lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York, near New- comb, Essex County, which are 200 feet above tide water and have an aggregate water area of 6,000 acres. The length of the river from the sources to Fort Edward is 109 miles, and the drainage area to that point is 2,300 square miles. The distance from Fort Edward to the State Dam at Troy is 40 miles, and the difference of level between them is 108J feet. The height of the dam being 9J feet, the total difference of level between Fort Edward and tide water is 118 feet. There is no river slope in the upper section corresponding to the actual fall, for the river is crossed by frequent dams, and is made up of a suc- cession of reaches of different levels. The drainage area of the lower section, below Fort Edward, is 2,075 square miles, making the total drainage area of the river above the State Dam at Troy, exclusive of the Mohawk Yalley, 4,375 square miles, or 2,800,000 acres. The Mohawk rises in the northwestern part of the State, and after flowing eastward for a distance of 150 miles joins the Hudson at Troy by several mouths. It drains an area of 2,800 square miles, or 1,814.000 acres, so that the total drainage area of the Hudson Biver to Troy is 7,200 square miles, or 4,614,000 acres. The greater part of the material carried in suspension in the Hudson Biver above Albany is believed to come from the Mohawk River and its G HUDSON RIVER. tributary, tlie .Schoharie River, while the sands and gravel that form the heavy and obstinate bars near Albany, and chiefly between Albany and Troy, have come from the Upper Hudson, Since the construction of the State Dam at Troy it is probable that the shoal bars above Albany are derived principally from the degradation of the banks of the river at all points, due to current action during freshets and to wash of waves created by passing steamers. Rainfall and water supply. — The average rainfall during the past sixty-three years, from observations recorded in the report of the water commissioner at Troy for 1889, is 36.55 inches. The greatest rainfall in any year was in 1878, when the record was 49.23 inches; and the least rainfall in 1839, when the record was 18.32 inches. The greatest rainfall in any one month was 13.8 inches, recorded in October, 18G9, and the least rainfall, 0.2 inch, recorded m May, 1840. Generally speaking, the effects of rain storms are shown by a rise in the river within twenty-four hours after the first rainfall. At times during the dry season of nearly every year no .water flows over the State Dam at Troy for a month at least, and, excepting the lockage water of the canals and the leakage through gates, there is during that period little apparent fresh- water supply from the upper river to the flow of the river below. From this, and from the fact that the tide has a range of 1 foot, ap- proximately, at the State Dam^ it is evident that the navigation of the Hudson River below the dam is dependent in a large degree, at the low stage, upon tidal flow. Freshets. — Freshets in the Mohawk River are severe, but of short du- ration, and are more frequent than in the Hudson. The height of the greatest known freshet in the Hudson River, due to rainfall alone, above the plane of mean low water at Albany, where the width between banks is 850 to 1,000 feet, occurred in October, 1869, when the rise was 19 feet, due to a rainfall in that month of 13.8 inches. The highest known rise, of 22 feet, at Albany, occurring in February, 1857, was due to an ice gorge at Van Wies Point, and it is to be re- marked that during the same month the rise at Fort Edward was 18 feet, at Waterford 15 feet, and at the State Dam, Troy, 13 feet. At Albany the heights of the spring freshets generally range from 6 feet to 8 feet above ordinary water level, but occasionally the waters rise 5 to 6 feet higher when the river opens rapidly, or when ice jams have been formed in front of or immediately below the city. If the change from winter to spring is rapid, the freshets are violent but of short duration ; but if the change is gradual, the river swells slowly, and slowly subsides, and the waters remain high through the spring and well into the summer. In midwinter there is usually a period of mild weather called the " January thaw," during which there frequently occurs a partial rise in the river, soon checked by a return of cold weather. It is then that ice dams are usually formed, which last until the spring opens. The greatest rises may be expected after severe rains in the spring, when the ground is frozen and the drainage free, or in the autumn. The effect of the freshets is to produce unusual scour in contracted channels and on soft bottoms, and to deposit the abraded materials at the points where the cross section becomes enlarged. The project of 1834 proposed to utilize the agency of freshets in open- ing a channel across the bars for the maintenance of the navigable water way by making the dikes high, but later projects for the improve- ment of the river are based upon the principle that freshets are detri- HUDSON RIVER. 7 mental as well as beneficial to the river, for the reason tfeat they create irregularities in the regimen and bring about irregular scours and de- posits, and in accordance with this principle the dikes provided for in the project for improvement adopted in 1867 do not rise above the plane of tidal high water. The greatest velocity of flow corresponds to the highest rise of water only when the river is unobstructed. Tides and discharges. — The tidal information in possession of the Board comes from observations made prior to 1890. The tidal observations made in the upper river in 1876, corrected in 1884, are represented in the following table: The mean rise and fall of tides at — Feet. State Dam, Troy, N. Y 0. 80 Nail Works, Trov, N. Y 1. 94 Albany, N. Y .... 2.32 Castleton, 36ST, Y 2. 53 New Baltimore, N. Y 3. 42 New York, Governors Island, from Coast Survey 4. 40 The mean duration of rise of tides at Albany is five hours, and the mean duration of fall seven hours and twenty-five minutes. The plane of mean low water at ]Sew York below that at — Feet. New Baltimore 3.55 Castleton 4.35 Albany 4.78 Troy Nail Works 5.32 Trov State Dam 6.88 The State Dam at Troy is tlie dividing line between the tidal and nontidal compartments of the river system. When there is little or no water passing over the dam at or near low stage, the lower river be- comes largely tidal for a period not exceeding six weeks, and the alter- nating flood and ebb currents there are well defined in their proper direction. When the upper rivers discharge their average supply, the ebb current is well defined, but the flood currents can scarcely be noticed. In times of freshets tides are still to be observed, but there is no appreciable flood current in the upper river. The times of high and low water stands, corresponding to two successive tidal waves, are coincident at Governors Island and at the State Dam. Troy, X. Y. At Tivoli, the tidal phases are the converse of those at Governors Island and at the dam. The tidal area from the dam to Albany measures 47,600,000 square feet, and the corresponding tidal prism for a mean rise of 1.08 feet over the whole area measures 79,968,000 cubic feet. The area of the cross section at Albany, where the width between protected banks is 850 feet, approximately, is 10,000 square feet at mean low water, and the mean discharge at that time is 2,9!),") cubic feet, approximately, per second. Gaugings of the Mohawk and Upper Hudson rivers above the dam were made in October, 1874, and the mean fresh-water discharge for the combined rivers for that month was found to be 4,853 cubic feet per second. The calculated mean discharge above the dam for that month, based on the monthly rainfall of 1.77 inches (one-half the average monthly fall for the year), and an assumed drainage of 0.48 inch, was 3,001.6 cubic feet per second. It is probable that the gaugings were made shortly after a rainfall when the river was slightly in freshet, and the resulting mean discharge for that month is somewhat large. But assuming the gaugings to be correct, the error will be slight if the mean fresh-water 8 HUDSON RIVER. discharge for that month at Albany be taken at 5,000 cnbic feet per second. The calculated mean discharge of fresh water in 1874, at the Albany cross-sectionj based on the mean monthly rainfall for the entire year of 3.10 inches, and the assumed drainage of 1.G7 inches, is found to be 10,703 cubic feet per second. The information in regard to velocities at different stages is not con- clusive, but observations show that moderate rises of 1 foot or more at Albany give surface velocities varying, during ebb, from 1 foot per sec- ond in the first quarter, to 2 feet in the last quarter. A freshet rise of 7 feet gives a velocity of 3 feet per second, and an 8-fqot rise gives a velocity of 3J feet per second. It is reported also that the maximum rise does not give a velocity exceeding 6 feet per second. The discharge of the Hudson between Troy and Albany at its lowest stage may be taken without great error at about 3,000 cubic feet per second. The river supply therefore during that stage is inadequate in the upper part of the river for scouring or for navigation, independent of tidal flow. BARS. The accompanying chart of the Hudson Eiver, prepared from the latest surveys, shows in detail the location of all the obstructive bars from Troy to Hudson. The channel from Broadway, Troy, north to the State dam, is con- tracted by numerous islands, and is very narrow and shoal. The water here flows over a rocky bed, restricting commerce principally to the wharves which lie south of Broadway. From Troy to Albany, while the maximum depth of 14 feet, mean low water, is noted in many placed; the navigable depth is reduced to 7J feet to 8 feet, mean low water, by six obstructing bars composed of coarse and fine gravel and coarse and fine sand. Several of the deep pools, between the bars, particularly at Troy, and opposite Breakers Island, have groups of large bowlders covering the bed. The navigable depth in this reach before improvements were made was about 4 feet, mean low water. At Albany the average depth is 11 feet to 12J feet, mean low water, but the maximum depth is 16 feet, approximately. From Albany to New Baltimore the depths are very variable, the prevailing depth being 10 feet and over, with pools of greater depth separated by long cross-over bars, over which the greatest depth does not exceed 9 to 10 feet. These bars are eight in number and are com- posed chiefly of fine sand. In this reach rock outcrops above the plane of 22 feet, mean low water, at the Overslaugh, Van Wies Point, and at Mulls, and before improvement the approximate navigable depth was only 7 feet, mean low water. New Baltimore is the highest point on the river at which the depth of 20 feet, mean low water, is found, and from that place south to Hud- son two points are observed where there is a less depth than 15 feet; one point is at Stonehouse Bar, where the least depth is 13 feet, mean low water, and the other at Four Mile Point, where the least depth is 14 feet, mean low water. These are bars of fine sand, and their forma- tion has been the result of long action, though it is to be remarked that the shoaling at Stonehouse Bar has been more rapid of late years than formerly, owing possibly to the fact that the construction of contracting dikes above New Baltimore has induced an increased downstream mo\ e ment of detritus to form bars in the spaces below New Baltimore, where the stream has not been confined by artificial works. HUDSON RIVER. 9 BORINGS. To ascertain the character of the formation underlying the bed of the river essential to the preparation of estimates for excavations extend- ing to a plane 22 feet below mean low water, borings were taken along cross sections 1,000 feet apart from Troy to Xew Baltimore, and also at different points in the vicinity of Hudson, the results of which are shown upon the accompanying chart. It suffices to say in regard to these results that rock was developed at a depth of from 7 feet to 17 feet below mean low water from the State dam at Troy to Breakers Island, a distance of 3J miles. Thence for a distance of 8 miles to the Overslaugh Bock no rock was found above the depth of 22 feet. From the Overslaugh Bock to Staats, a distance of 1J miles, rock outcrops in a few places above the plane of 22 feet, mean low water. From Staats to Mulls, a distance of 5 miles, no rock occurs excej^t in small quantity at Cedar Hill Bar, lying west of the channel. Between Mulls Cross-Over and Hudson no rock was found except at Matthews Point, just below New Baltimore, where a narrow reef running from bank to bank and rising to 13. G feet below low water was developed. ADDITIONAL REGULATION OF THE RIVER. It has already been stated that existing artificial works for regulat- ing the river terminate at New Baltimore. These works, in part, have been in operation now for nearly twenty-five years, and while the depths in the channel embraced between the revetted banks have gradually "and continuously increased to the advantage of the navigation of the river, there are evidences that at at least one bar below New Baltimore, viz, Stonehouse Bar, some deterioration by shoaling is going on, which must be provided for by the downward extension of the artificial works, even if no enlargement of present projects for improvement is author- ized. The Board has studied the reach of the river from New Baltimore to Coxsackie with some degree of care, and has estimated approximately lor a system of ne w works on both banks designed to regulate this reach as well as to protect the banks of the river and of intervening islands against degradation by currents and wave action. The precise character of the proposed works, their extent, and their true location, are left to the determination of the local officer when the new project for improve- ment is adopted, and when funds for construction become available by future appropriations. The Board will state generally that the main channel should be carried over Stonehouse Bar. and the secondary channel behind Bronks island should be closed, by building a dike from a convenient point in South New Baltimore along the eastern margin of the shoal at the head of Bronks Island, and continued along that island as far as may be decided necessary; that the unprotected and exposed heads and shores of Bronks. Light House, and Coxsackie islands should be revetted so as to protect them against abrasion, leaving the channels behind the two latter islands open for commercial uses, and that the eastern shore of the river from Stuyvesant Light to Xutten Hook should be revetted in a suitable way for the better maintenance of the channel. The Board also thinks that the shoal forming at the lower end of Coxsackie Island should be removed and that the river should be given a cross section at that point not less in area than that at Coxsackie Landing, imme- diately below. 10 HUDSON RIVER. The aggregate length of shore line for which protection is recom- mended is about 40,000 linear feet, and the estimated cost of the pro* posed works is $350,000, approximately. The estimated cost of these constructions, which are included in the estimates required of the Board, are necessarily only approximate, as the absolute cost can only be determined after more detailed studies have been given to the subject by the local officer. The Board further thinks that increased depths where needed below Ooxsackie can be more quickly and economically obtained by the usual method of dredging than by a resort to permanent works of improve- ment. ESTIMATES OF COST. The act of September 19, 1890, under which this report is submitted, calls for three distinct projects of improvement, two of which provide for a channel navigable for vessels drawing 20 feet, and one for a depth of 12 feet at mean low stage of the river. The Board now presents separate estimates for these projects: 1. Estimate of cost of widening and deepening the Hudson river be- tween NEW YORK AND ALBANY, FOR THE NAVIGATION OF SEAGOING VESSELS DRAWING 20 FEET OF WATER, AFFORDING A CHANNEL 400 FEET WIDE AND 22 FEET DEEP, MEAN LOW WATER, WITH SIDE SLOPES OF ONE ON ONE IN ROCK, ONE ON THREE IN SAND. a. From Hudson City to Netv Baltimore \ Hudson Channel). 1. Priming Hook Slioal, dredging cubic yards.. 399,925 2. Four Mile Point Shoal, dredging do ... . 1, 583, 452 3. Coxsackie Shoal, dredging do 855,861 4. Bronks Island Shoal, dredging do 535,287 5. Stone House Bar, dredging do 983, 903 Total dredging do ... . 4, 358, 428 Amounting, at 20 cents per cubic yard, to $871, 685. 60 6. Reef at Matthews Point, removing 17,482 cubic yards rock, at $10 per cubic yard 174, 820. 00 1, 046, 505. 60 b. From New Baltimore to Albany. 1. Willow Island Shoal, dredging cubic yards.. 1, 636, 616 2. Coeymans Shoal, dredging do 1.006,231 3. Mulls Cross-Over, dredging do 2, 969, 119 4. Cedar Hill Bar, dredging do.... 1, 610, 615 5. Winnies Bar, dredging do 956,207 6. Van Wies Shoal, dredging do ... . 1, 554, 592 7. Bogart Light Shoal, dredging do ... . 1, 794, 398 8. Cuylers Bar, dredging do 1, 859, 874 Total dredging do ... . 13, 387, 652 Amounting, at 20 cents pet cubic yard, to 2, 677, 530. 40 9. Mulls Cross-Over, rock removal cubic yards.. 46, 570 10. Cedar Hill Bar, rock removal \&o ... . 9, 216 11. Overslaugh, rock removal do 76, 342 Total rock removal do ... . 132, 128 Amounting, at $10 per cubic yard, to 1, 321, 280. 00 Additional regulation work 350,000.00 5. 395. 316.00 Contingencies, 10 per cent 539, 531. 00 Total 5, 934, 847. 60 HUDSON RIVER. 11 2. Estimate of cost of widkxixg and deepening the hxjbsgn rtveb betw i i n new york city and the state dam at tltoy, for the navigation of sea- going vessels drawing 20 feet of water, affording a channel 400 feet wide and 22 feet deep, mean low water, to the foot op broadway, troy, and thence to the dam at troy, 200 feet wide and 22 feet deep, mean low water, including the formation of a 15 a sen below the dam. a. From Hudson City to Albany. Same as in lirst estimate, above $5, 395, 316. 00 b. From Albany to State Dam at Troy. 1. Kellogg Shoal, dredging cubic yards.. 1,909,285 2. Fish House Shoal, dredging do 1,421,498 3. Round Shoal and Covills Folly, dredging do 1,866,965 4. Van Burens Bar, dredging do 971,808 5. Washington Bar, dredging do 745,208 6. Washington Bar to foot of Broadway, dredging, .do 494, 158 7. From foot of Broadway to State Dam, dredging .do.. .. 531, 465 Total dredging do .... 7, 940, 387 Amounting, at 20 cents per cubic yard, to 1, 588, 077. 40 8. Breakers Island, rock removal cubic yards. . 140, 924 9. Arsenal, rock removal do 510,092 10. Troy to State Dam, rock removal do 424, 084 Total rock removal do 1, 075, 100 Amounting, at $10 per cubic yard, to 10, 751, 000. 00 17, 734, 393. 40 Contingencies, 10 per cent 1, 773, 439. 34 Total 19,507,832.74 3., Estimate of cost of improving the Hudson river between coxsackie and the state dam at troy to such an extent as to secure a navi- gable channel 12 feet deep at mean low water, the channel to be 400 feet wide from coxsackie to foot of broadway, troy, and 300 feet wide from foot of broadway to state dam at troy, the side slopes in rock to be one on one, and in sand one on three. * a. From Coxsackie to Albany. 1. Coxsackie Shoal, dredging cubic yards.. 106,072 2. Stone House Bar, dredging do 58,323 3. Willow Island Bar, dredging do ... . 275, 089 4. Coevmans Shoal, dredging do 60,842 5. Mulls Cross-Over, dredging do ... . 367, 104 6. Cedar Hill Bar, dredging do.... 112,800 7. Winnies Bar, dredging do 85,938 8. Van Wies Shoal, dredging do.... 223,362 9. Bogart Light Shoal, dredging do.... 342,048 10. Cuylers Bar, dredging do.... 271,669 Total dredging do.... 1,903,247 Amounting, at 20 cents per cubic yard, to $380, 649. 40 11. Overslaugh, removing 1,495 cubic yards rock, at $10 per cubic yard 14, 950. 00 395, 599. 40 b. From Albany to State Dam. 1. Kellogg Shoal, dredging cubic vards . . 387, 688 2. Fish House Shoal, dredging Ido 484, 126 ) 9' 3. Round shoal and Covills Polly, dredging do 605 4. Van Burens Bar. dredging. " do 288, 829 5. Washington Bar. dredging do 356,350 6. Washington Bar to foot of Broadway, dredging. . do 87,988 7. Foot of Broadway to State Dam, dredging do 509,542 Total dredging do 2,716,801 Amounting, at 20 cents per cubic yard, to 543, 360. 20 12 HUDSON RIVER. 8. Breakers Island, rock removal .cubic yards.. 8,942 9. Arsenal, rock removal do 2,824 10. Foot of Broadway to State Dam, rock removal .. .do 81, 875 Total rock removal do 93, 641 Amounting, at $10 per cubic yard, to $936, 410. 00 Additional regulation work 350, 000. 00 2, 225, 369. 60 Contingencies, 10 per cent 222, 536. 96 Total 2,447,906.56 RECAPITULATION. No. 1. For channel 22 feet deep and 400 feet wide from New York City to Albany. From Hudson City to Albany : Dredging 17,746,080 cubic yards, at 20 cents $3, 549, 216. 00 Removing 149,610 cubic yards rock, at $10 1, 496, 100. 00 Additional regulation work 350, 000. 00 5, 395, 316. 00 Contingencies, 10 per cent 539, 531. 60 Total 5, 934, 847. 60 No. 2. For channel 22 feet deep and 400 feet wide from New, York City to foot of Broad- way, Troy, and thence 22 feet deep and 200 feet wide to State Dam at Troy. From Hudson to State Dam at Troy : Dredging 25,686,467 cubic yards, at 20 cents $5, 137. 293. 40 Removing 1,224,710 cubic yards rock, at $10 12, 247, 100.00 Additional regulation work 350, 000. 00 17, 73'., 393.40 Contingencies, 10 per cent 1, 773, 439. 34 Total 19,507,832.74 No. 3. For channel 12 feet deep and 400 feet wide from CoxsacMe to foot of Broadway, Troy, and thence 12 feet deep and 300 feet wide to State Dam at Troy. From Coxsackie to State Dam: Dredging 4,620,048 cubic yards, at 20 cents $924, 009. 60 Removing 95,136 cubic yards rock, at $10 951, 360. 00 Additional regulation work 350, 000. 00 2, 225, 369. 60 Contingencies, 10 per cent 222, 536. 96 Total 2,447,906.56 Having presented the projects and estimates of cost for widening and deepening the river, as required by the act under the provisions of which this report is submitted, the Board now passes to the consider- ation of the second part of its instructions, which requires a statement as to the usefulness of such improvements and of their relations and value to commerce, and of the advisability of enteringupon tin 1 same at tin's time. This subdivision of the subject relates directly to the char- acter and extent of the present commerce of the river and the means by which it is transported, to possible modifications of that commerce in the future, and to the expediency of now enlarging the widths and depths of the existing channels to facilitate and maintain the present commerce and to encourage and provide for its future development. HUDSON RIVER. 13 The Hudson Eiver is an arm of the sea extending inland for 150 miles. For 100 miles from its mouth the channel is adequately wide and deep for the largest vessels, but beyond to the head of navigation it is nar- row, crooked, and obstructed by shoals and rocks. The present relations of the river to commerce are of a twofold char- acter. First, it carries a very huge local traffic, larger indeed than that of any other river in the United States; and secondly, it forms an important part of a great system of waterways extending through the northern lakes to the sea. It is impossible to divide the commerce of the river into classes corresponding with any degree of accuracy to these two relations ; but it will be sufficient for the purposes of this re- port to consider as local traffic the movement of all materials which do not come to the river through the State canals, and as through traffic the movement of all materials which come through the canals and are principally carried down the river to the sea, where they are in part shipped to foreign ports. Considering simply the tonnage transported, the local traffic of the river is by far the more important, and accordingly attention is first in- vited to this branch of the subject. The latest reliable information concerning the commerce of the Hud- son River is contained in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1890, the statistics of which were collected and tabulated with great care and thoroughness. It appears from this report that some of the principal sources of the local commerce of the Hudson are as follows: The Delaware and Hudson Canal, which enters the river at Rondout, N. Y., connects the Hudson with the anthracite coal region at Hones- ville and the Delaware Eiver. The principal items of tonnage on this canal are coal, bluestone, and cement. The Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany has a large tide-watei; coal depot at Newburg, where also the Erie Railroad transfers large quantities of freight by boat across the river. The Erie Railroad has a coal depot at Piermont, 20 miles above New York, where a large supply is to be handled. The two principal industries of the river which materially increase the total tonnage are ice and brick. The amount of ice annually har- vested generally exceeds 3,500,000 tons and the number of bricks man- ufactured 850,000,000. The total tonnage of all shipping points on the river during 1890, exclusive of the tonnage transported through the State canals — that is, the tonnage corresponding to the local traffic — was 15,033,309 tons. It was nearly three times the tonnage of the through traffic. In addition to this enormous commerce, the passenger traffic should be mentioned. In 1890 there were thirty Transportation companies for passengers or freight, not including individual steamboats or pleasure boats. The total number of passengers carried was about 5,000,000. But although the volume of the local traffic so greatly exceeds that of the through traffic, the commercial relations of the river considered as a part of the great system of northern and western water transporta- tion are, from a national point of view, by far the more interesting and important. The commerce derived from remote sources through connecting arti- ficial water ways, or which may be so derived by future works, is a branch of the subject which A\ as strongly emphasized by the unex- pected direction which the discussions took at the public hearings, and the Board desires to give it as liberal consideration as its instructions permit. The Northwest is now, and will continue to be in the future, the great 14 HUDSON RIVER. food-producing region for the States along the coast and for a part of Europe. The map shows at a glance the vast extent of the territory tributary to the Great Lakes, the products of which can be delivered at the lake ports and thence shipped to Lake Erie or Lake Ontario, whence they can be carried by various land and water routes to the sea. From the head of Lake Superior at Duluth, the line of water transportation extends through Lake Superior and the St. Marys Falls Canal into Lake Huron, where it joins the lines from Chicago and Milwaukee through Lake Michigan ; it passes through Lake Huron, the St. Clair Flats Canal, and the Detroit River into Lake Erie and through the Welland Canal into Lake Ontario. The capacity of this route for navigation is deter- mined by the minimum depths along it, which are at the lake ports, the St. Marys Falls Canal, the St. Clair Flats Canal and Detroit Eiver, and the Welland Canal. The lake ports, St. Marys Falls Canal, St. Clair Flats Canal, and Detroit River carry at present a minimum depth of 16 feet; but the projects for improvement now in progress contemplate in all these localities a depth of 20 feet, which will doubtless be secured in the near future. The Welland Canal, which is in foreign territory, carries a depth of 14 feet. In addition to the enormous volume of transportation along this route large quantities of grain, lumber, and ore are shipped from territory in the vicinity of Lakes Ontario and Champlain. The importance of the Hudson River in its relations to these great routes of water transportation lies in the fact that it forms a part of all but one of the lines connecting Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain with the sea; and the location and character of these connecting lines, as well as the relative volumes of the commerce passing over them, must be briefly considered in order to obtain a definite idea of the value of the river to commerce. The routes referred to are as follows : 1. The Erie Canal route. — The Erie Canal connects Lake Erie at Buffalo with the Hudson River at Troy and Albany, a distance of about 352 miles. It has 71 lift and 2 guard locks. It has a depth of 7 feet over miter sills. The capacity of the locks is now being enlarged, but the depth is not being increased. The total distance from Lake Erie to the sea by this route is about 482 miles, and to Liverpool about 3,022 miles. 2. The St. La wrence route. — This route connects Lake Erie with tide water at Montreal, on the St. Lawrence, as follows : From Lake Brie to Lake Ontario by the Welland Canal, thence through Lake Ontario to the head of the St. Lawrence River, and thence by the river and the five canals around its shallows to Montreal. This route has 53 locks, and the distance from Lake Erie to Montreal is about 375 miles. The dis- tance from Lake Erie to Liverpool is about 3,220 miles. The minimum depth is now 9 feet in the St. Lawrence canals, but an increase to 14 feet depth is in progress. 3. The Osiccf/o Canal route. — This route connects Lake Ontario at Oswego with the Hudson River at Troy and Albany as foHowa : By the Oswego Canal from Oswego to the Oneida River; thence by the canal to Syracuse and also by the Oneida River, lake, and canal to Durham- ville, and from Syracuse or Durhaniville by the Brie Canal to Troy and Albany. The length of the route is about 208 miles. It has 07 locks and a depth of about 7 feet. 4. Z7w Champlain Carnal route. — This route connects Montreal with the Hudson Riveras follows: From the St. Lawrence River, 45 miles below Montreal, to Lake Champlain by the Chambly Canal; thence through the Champlain Canal to Waterford, 3 miles above the State HUDSON RIVER. 15 dam, and thence by lock to tide water on the Hudson at Troy, or by Erie Canal to Albany. This route has 30 locks. The minimum dept h is 7 feet, and the distance from Montreal to Albany 311 miles. The Board has not attempted a complete analysis of the commerce transported over these routes to the sea, the information available not being sufficient for this purpose, but the followrag statistics, compiled from the reports of the Census Bureau, the Canadian Department of Railways and Canals, and the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, and from other authentic sources, will give a general idea of the volumes of traffic over the different lines : During the year ending June 30, 1890, the total quantity of freight passing through the Detroit River was nearly 20,000,000 tons. The amount passing through the New York State canals was 5,24#,102 tons, of which the Oswego Canal carried 225,930 tons, the Champlain Canal 1,520,757 tons, and the Erie Canal 3,499,409 tons. The amount passing through the Welland Canal during the season of navigation in 1890 was 978,092 tons, of which 263,697 tons were transported by water to and from Montreal, and 533,957 tons were moved between the ports of the United States. The total quantity of freight coming to and leaving the Hudson Biver through the State canals was 3.502,437 tons. A great portion of the material thus transported find's a market in our own country and would not, under any circumstances, be carried in seagoing ships. A study of the statistics of the eastward movement of grain along the different routes may perhaps serve to indicate more clearly their relative importance in connection with the export com- merce of the country. During the season of 1890 the quantity of grain carried to tide water by the Sew York State canals was 1,131,298 tons, and by the New York State railways, 3,045,302 tons. The quantity carried to Montreal through the St. Lawrence canals was 242,571 tons, and by rail, 119,208 tons. The total quantity transported over these routes was 4,583,390 tons. It thus appears that about seven-tenths of the whole quantity moved was carried over the railways and about three-tenths over the water ways. Less than one-tenth was moved over Canadian routes. The figures given in the above statements will serve to indicate in a general way the great extent and value of the commerce of the Hudson Biver. There is no river in the United States, except the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, comparable with the Hudson Biver for the extent, variety, and value of its commerce, the number of its transportation companies, the number and variety of its steam and sailing vessels and barges, and the number of passengers transported 5 and the relations of the river to the lake navigation are peculiarly interesting and signifi- cant. In this connection attention is invited to the able papers in the appendix read before the Board by Hon. James H. Manning, mayor of Albany; Mr. S. A. Thompson, secretary of the Duluth Chamber of Com- merce; Hon. Yreeland H. Youngman, Albanv Chamber of Commerce; Hon. H. C. Burleigh, of Whitehall; Hon. Martin I. Townsend, of Troy, and others, to all of which the Board has given the most careful con- sideration. In discussing the question of the expediency of now enlarging the widths and depths of the existing channels, it appears desirable for the sake of clearness to examine the subject in two parts; first, in relation to existing commercial conditions, and secondly, with reference to the probable future development of commerce. Under these heads, there- fore, the Board proposes to investigate, first, the usefulness ot iinprov- 16 HUDSON RIVER. ing the channel to a depth of 12 feet at mean low water, and secondly, the expediency of its enlargement to greater depths. This arrangement, although it does not conform to the order indi- cated in the act, seems the more satisfactory; for, as will appear in the sequel, the enlargement of the channel to a depth ol 12 feet need not necessarily be considered as the full completion of the improvement, but may be regarded as merely the commencement of a more extended project to be executed when found desirable in the future. The Board now proceeds to consider the usefulness of improving the channel of the river to a depth of 12 feet at mean low water, between Coxsackie and the State Dam at Troy, under the conditions of commerce existing at the present time. Such an improvement would evidently be of no benefit to the through traffic, for none of the water lines connect- ing the Hudson with the lakes have a greater depth than 7 feet. The present river depths are ample for vessels passing over these connect- ing lines, and the increase of river depth proposed would not be suffi- cient for the navigation of ocean-going freight vessels. As regards the local traffic, however, the conditions are entirely dif- ferent. The study of the commercial history of the river for a number of years past impresses the Board with the conviction that the existing project for improvement, adopted in 1867, which provides for a naviga- ble depth of 11 feet, mean low water, only to Albany, and of 9 feet to Troy, does not give adequate facilities for the large commerce trans- ported upon the river. These depths barely exceed the draft of the largest vessels which navigate the river to the points named, and when from any cause new bars are formed, or old ones are enlarged or ex- tended, the injuries suffered by commerce at extreme low stages through detentions in various ways at the shoal obstructions are serious and op- pressive. In view of the necessities of the commerce incident to the river proper and its tributary country, the Board is of the opinion that the project for improvement adopted in 1807 should be extended so as to provide for a channel depth of at least 12 feet at mean low water, and that such an extension is well worth the expenditure required for its execution. The proposed projects for the improvement of the river channel up to Albany, and also up to the State Dam at Troy, for the navigation of seagoing vessels drawing 20 feet of water (that is, to a depth of at least 22 feet), bear relations to existing commercial conditions very different from the 12-foot project above considered. As regards the local traffic it is probable that it will not under any circumstances be conducted in vessels of 20 feet draft, and a channel of 22 feet depth would be of but little more practical benefit to that traffic than the 12-foot channel above referred to. It is therefore with reference to the through traffic alone that the Board thinks this project for a channel of 22 feet depth worthy of careful investigation. The arguments in favor of such an improve- ment were fully and ably presented to the Board at its two public meet- ings held at Albany and at New York. These arguments, so far as they relate to existing commercial conditions, may be briefly summarized as follows : By the construction of a deep-water channel to Albany and Troy the ocean will be directly joined to the canals. Vessels navigating the canals can then discharge their cargoes at Albany and Troy, avoiding the expense and delay of going down the river to New York, and thus the carrying capacity of the canals will be increased. The difference in cost of transportation to New York would be saved. It is argued that, owing to the expense and delay arising from the lack of terminal HUDSON RIVER. 17 facilities at New York, seagoing vessels would prefer to take tlieir car- goes at Troy and Albany were tfheehannels of stCfficient dimensions for their navigation. A large quantity of lumber, now generally shipped in bond by rail from Ottawa, Canada, to Boston for export, could, if the channels were deepened, be sent by rail to Albany and thence shipped direct to South American and other foreign ports with ;i considerable reduction in expense. Finally, attention was invited to the importance of a deep-water channel in case of war, so that our vessels could go directly to the Watervliet Arsenal tor military supplies. The Board has given these arguments careful consideration, and begs to submit the following remarks in relation thereto: While it is doubt- less true that the traffic of the Hudson River would be materially in- creased if seagoing vessels could and would go to Albany or Troy to take their cargoes, it is believed that such increase would be principally if not wholly derived from materials brought to the shipping points by rail, such as the lumber from Canada referred to above. The carrying capacities of the canals are determined principally by the number of boats which can be passed daily through their locks, and these capaci- ties can be increased only by improvements in their lockage facilities. Such improvements are now in progress on the Erie and Oswego canals, but they do not provide for any increase of depths. The Board is of the opinion that the volume of through traffic on the canals can not be sensibly increased by the construction of a deep-water river channel so long as the navigable depths of the canals remain unimproved. But the Board considers it doubtful if any considerable number of seagoing vessels would go to Albany or Troy to receive cargoes even if a deep water channel existed. If, as has been stated, the terminal facilities at New York are inadequate and unsatisfactory, they can and doubtless will be improved at points nearer than Albany and Troy, for there is no lack of natural advantages in the harbor and its immediate vicinity. New York is the center of a vast population, and the point from which by far the greater proportion of incoming commerce is and must always be distributed. Seagoing vessels receiving their cargoes at Troy or Albany would, therefore, generally have to go to these points in ballast. Considering the delay, cost of pilotage, and other incidental expenses, the Board doubts whether any material saving in the cost of transportation would result. Wheat has been carried this summer from Chicago to New York for 5 cents per bushel, and the Board is not convinced that, under existing conditions, a sufficient reduction in cost of transportation would result from the deepening of the Hudson to produce an effect upon the relative quantities transported over the dif- ferent routes which would justify the large expenditure involved. If the extension of the deep-water channel is desirable, why, it may be asked, is not the Hudson now navigated by seagoing vessels to the exist- ing head of the deep-water channel at Athens or Hudson, 100 miles from New York? This question has been answered by the statement that at these points there are no facilities for distribution and no adequate connections with the great lines of through transportation. But it seems probable that such facilities and connections would soon be pro- vided if they were urgently demanded by the necessities of commerce. In this connection attention is invited to a communication from the committee on harbor and shipping of the New York Chamber of Com- merce, submitted to the Board at its request, wherein the portion of commerce which may possibly be aflfected by the proposed improvement is presented. This paper will be found in the appendix. II. Ex. 29 35 18 HUDSON RIVER. The committee concludes that the improvement can not be of benefit to sailing vessels or steamers of the regular lines, and that advantage can be derived therefrom only by transient freight-seeking steamers with a loaded draft of 20 feet or less, during the brief period between harvest and the closing of the canals, and in spring from the opening of the canals until the movement of the crops ceases. The figures sub- mitted by the committee indicate that the total exports from Sew York in 1890 were 6,258,222 tons, of which 4,829,775 tons were shipped by steamer. The tonnage brought to tide water from the canal system, much of which was distributed in the United States, was 3,024,765 tons. The exports derived from the canals, carried by the regular steamer lines, are estimated by the committee at 1,503,161 tons, and by the transient steamers 278,831 tons. The amount carried by transient steamers of a draft of 20 feet or less, which the committee considers could alone be benefited by the proposed improvement, is estimated at 75,390 tons. If these statements be accepted it is reasonable to suppose, however, that in case improvements in depth are effected, a larger number of steamers conforming to the modified conditions would be provided, if these were made sufficient to invite them. The Board does not feel called upon to express an opinion as regards the necessity of this improvement for military purposes, this branch of the subject not having been included in its instructions. The authori- ties in charge of matters relating to the national defense will doubtless determine whether it is desirable to locate our military establishments where adequate water communications now exist or improve the lines of water transportation to other points. In view of the facts and reasons above set forth, the Board is of the opinion that the possible benefits to commerce to be derived from the proposed improvement for vessels drawing 20 feet are not under exist- ing conditions sufficient to justify at this time the expenditure neces- sary to make such improvement. But a very important branch of the subject still remains to be con- sidered, viz, the relations of these improvements to the future develop- ment of commerce. It can not be doubted that this development will continue as rapidly as in the past, for the grain-producing area is con- tinually extending towards the Northwest. The Board is fully im- pressed with the importance of these lines of water transportation in their relations to the large and rapidly increasing traffic from the lakes to the sea. The relative volumes carried by water and by rail have already been indicated; but even if improvements in the water routes should not increase the relative quantities transported over them, the Board is of the opinion that such improvements will be of the greatest benefit to commerce. The influence of these routes in the reduction and control of railway rates has a commercial value far greater than is indicated by the mere tonnage carried. It is also evident that as pop- ulation increases and the development of the railway system ap- proaches its profitable limit the relative importance of the lines of wiitcr transportation will be augmented, and the necessity for improv- ing them to their utmost capacities will finally become in perative. A large portion of these lines is not under the control of the General Gov- ernment, but the Board is of the opinion that the part whieh is under such control should always be fully developed to keep pace with the improvements made along the interior and connecting lines. The attention of the Board has been invited to the foci that the Ca- nadian Government is now engaged in the improvement of its water HUDSON RIVER. 19 route from the lakes to the sea, and soon will have established a route trom Lake Erie through Lake Ontario and down the St. Lawrence River with a minimum depth of 14 feet. When this route is completed it is feared by the advocates of the improvement now under consideration that a considerable part of the commerce now traversing- our own water ways will be diverted through a foreign country, unless the change is met by corresponding improvements in our own water routes. In this connection, however, it should be remarked that only about 8 per cent of the products of the Northwest finds its way to the sea for export. The grain product of the United States and Canada for 1S90 is esti- mated at about 2,650,000,000 bushels, while the quantity of grain ex- ported, including flour, during the same year was about 211,000,000 bushels, or less than one-twelfth (8 per cent of the total production). The market for by far the greater part of these products lies in our own country, south of the lakes and the St. Lawrence, and no improvement of water ways in Canada or elsewhere can greatly influence the general direction of its movement. But although this danger of losing a part of our carrying trade has, perhaps, been somewhat magnified, it is still a real one; and accord- ingly various projects for the improvement of our water routes have been proposed and discussed. The most important of these — indeed, the only one which need be considered in connection with the proposed improvement of the Hudson — is the radical enlargement of the Erie Canal, so as to permit its navigation by the largest vessels now carry- ing the commerce of the Great Lakes. This project requires an increase of depth to at least IS feet, a corresponding widening, and reconstruc- tion of the entire lock system on a grand scale. The cost of the work involved has been variously estimated at from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty millions of dollars. The Board begs to refer to a \ paper by Mr. E. Sweet, and the accompanying discussion by other dis- tinguished engineers, published in the transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, February, 1885, in which this project is fully and most ably considered. Should this proposed enlargement of the Erie Canal be effected, the Board is of the opinion that the full deepening of the Hudson Eiver to 22 feet would become a necessity, but for reasons very different from those considered iu connection with the conditions of commerce as they now exist. The object of the improvement would no longer be to bring seagoing vessels to Albany and Troy to receive their cargoes, but to en- able vessels navigating the lakes to carry their cargoes clear through, not only to the coast but also to foreign ports, without rehandling them at any intermediate points. In view of the vast commercial interests involved, such an improve- ment in the future can not be considered as beyond the limits of possi- bility; but the Board believes its commencement, or even its serious contemplation at the present time, to be highly improbable. The res- ponsibility of the large expenditure required will not be assumed until it is settled beyond a doubt that commensurate benefits will be obtained ; and this is a question with reference to which the views of experts are still at variance. The plans now in process of execution by the State of Xew York to increase the capacity of the canals do not contemplate the ultimate forma tion of channels for ships, but involve large expendi- tures which will be completely useless should a deep-water project be finally adopted. The improvement of the several water routes from the lakes to New York City, on a much less extensive scale than that proposed at the 20 HUDSON RIVER. public hearing, received the consideration of Congress in 1874, and for information of the details of the improvement then proposed and the estimated cost, the Board invites attention to the report on the " Third Subdivision of the Northern Transportation Route," through northern and central New York, made to comply with the act of Congress ap- proved June 24, 1874, and contained in the Annual Eeport of the Chief of Engineers for 1875, Part II, page 534. Finally the Board invites attention to the interesting experiment now under trial of carrying unbroken cargoes through from Duluth to Liverpool in vessels of only 14 feet draft. On June 11, 1891, the Charles W. Wetmore, a steel vessel of the new " whaleback" type, left Duluth for Liverpool with a cargo of 70,418 bushels of wheat, this being the first clearance from Lake Superior for a foreign port. She passed through the lakes and Welland Canal, lightering a part of her cargo at Kingston and taking it on again with an additional load at Montreal, proceeded down the St. Lawrence to the sea, and finally arrived at Liverpool with 87,503 bushels of wheat on July 21, 1891. When the improvements now in progress on the Canadian canals are completed, it is said that such a vessel will be able to carry an unkroken cargo of nearly 3,000 tons from Lake Superior to a foreign port and return. The successful introduction of such vessels may possibly revolutionize the carrying trade of the Great Lakes, and render unnecessary the forma- tion of channel depths so great as are now considered desirable in the lines of water transportation. In view of the above considerations the Board is of the opinion that the present demands of commerce, and its probable development in the near future, do not now justify the expenditure of the amount of money necessary for the formation of the proposed channel for seagoing ves- sels drawing 20 feet of water from New York to Albany or to the State Dam at Troy. CONCLUSIONS OF THE BOARD. The Board, after thoroughly analyzing the duties imposed upon it by the act of September 19, 1890, now presents its conclusions with some degree of confidence that every legitimate interest submitted to its judg- ment has had its full share of consideration. First. — The estimates of cost of carrying out the two projects con- tained in the said act, which provide for widening and deepening the channels between New York City and the city of Albany, and between New York City and the city of Troy, for the navigation of seagoing ves- sels drawing 20 feet of water, are $5,934,847.60 and $19,507,832.74, re- spectively. The improvements to be effected by this large expenditure will, in the opinion of the Board, confer no important practical benefit upon com- merce until the suggested artificial water connection, 350 miles long and of adequate depth, is made between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through the State of New York, at an additional cost estimated as high as $150,000,000 to $250,000,000. In view of the excessive cost of these several projects, singly or com- bined; of the improbability that either the State or the General Gov- ernment will assume, at an early day, the responsibility of making such an artificial deep-water connection; and of the long period of time which must necessarily elapse before such a connection can be made between river and lake, even if such an undertaking were in progress to-day, the Board is of the opinion that it is not advisable at this time to enter upon the projects for deepening the Hudson River from the HUDSON RIVER. 21 mouth to Albany, or to Troy, Y., for the navigation of sea-going ves- sels drawing 20 feet of water. What is practically the commencement of such a project with a view to its ultimate complete execution in the future, when the needs of commerce require it, is, however, considered desirable; but the Board is of the opinion that the improvement should not be carried to the full depth of 22 feet at the present time. Second. — After carefully studying the wants of commerce, the Board is of the opinion that the third project contained in the act of Septem- ber 19, 1890, which provides for improving the Hudson River " bet ween Coxsaekie and the State Dam at Troy to such an extent as to secure a navigable channel 12 feet deep at mean low water," is a worthy and use- ful one, and accordingly recommends it for adoption. In the estimates submitted for this project, the Board has adopted a channel 400 feet wide to Troy, and thence 300 feet wide to State Dam at Troy. The Board recommends that the regulating works between Troy and New Baltimore, provided for in the existing project, be maintained and that supplementary regulating works of a permanent character be pro- vided between New Baltimore and Coxsaekie. The Board describes in a general way only the supplementary works required to be built, as it is expected that further study and investiga- tion as the work of improvement progresses may lead the local officer to recommend a modification of such works both as regards their loca- tion and extent, as well as the exact dimensions which shall be given to them. In conclusion, in order that the good results which may be expected to follow upon the comj)letion of the recommended project may be realized at the earliest practicable moment, the Board further recom- mends that liberal appropriations, commensurate with the importance of the work, be made annually, so that the desired improvement may be completed within a period not exceeding five years. The papers enumerated below accompany this report as appendices: (1) Report of Mr. Oharles G. Weir, assistant engineer, dated July 21, 1891, on bor- ings made along the bed of the Hudson by direction of the Board of Engi- neers. (2) Stenographer's report of the public meeting held in Albany January 6, 1891. (3) Stenographer's report of the public meeting held in New York May 15, 1891. (4) Communication from the committee on harbor and shipping of the New York Chamber of Commerce. (5) Letters and resolutions filed with the Board of Engineers by the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y. G. L. Gillespie, Lieut. Col. of Engineers. Amos Stickney, Major of Engineers, C. W. Raymond, Major of Engineers. Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Casey, Chief of Engineers, TJ. S. A. 22 • HUDSON RIVER. APPENDIXES. Appendix 1. report op mr. charles g. weir, assistant engineer, on borings along hudson river. United States Engineer Office, Albany, N. Y., July 21, 1891. COLONEL : I have the honor to submit the following report on the examina- tions and borings in the Hudson River, between the State dam at Troy and the city of Hudson, made to determine the character and depth of deposits that would be encountered in excavating a channel for vessels drawing 20 feet of water, to comply with the river and harbor act of Congress of September 19, 1890. This work was begun October 28, 1890, and continued until December 2, when, on account of the cold weather and ice, work was suspended for the season. On April 24, 1891, the work of making the borings and examinations was again resumed, and completed July 10, 1891. That portion of the river from Troy to Hudson, a distance of 36i miles, was thoroughly examined. Where there was no indication of rock cross sections were taken every 1,000 feet apart; where rock was encountered the distance between cross sections was from 250 to 500 feet. Three borings were taken to each cross section, so as to cover a channel width of 400 feet, and all borings carried to a depth of 22 feet below the plane of mean low water where practicable, and samples taken of the material of all the principal bars. The manner of making the borings and securing the samples of deposit varied according to the exigencies of the case. Where no hard material was encoun- tered and the depth of the water only necessitated a few feet boring, a boring- rod with a steel point 10 feet long was used and pushed down through the de- posit by manual labor. In all other cases a 3-inch pipe, in lengths of 3, 5, and 10 feet, connected together by couplings, was used. A drill platform was con- structed on the principle of a float, the platform resting on four oil barrels and being supported and steadied by 10-inch by 12-inch hemlock timbers on its sides. Four 3-inch iron pipes were used as spuds, one on each corner, passing through holes in the square timber; these, when let down to the bottom, served to hold the platform in position. An aperture 3 feet by 2 feet was left in the center of the float, and on this a tripod hoist was built, with a block and tackle, to hoist and lower the boring pipe through the aperture. After the 3-inch pipe was driven 2 to 3 feet in the bottom a f-inch gas pipe was inserted, through which a jet of water was forced from a donkey engine on board the tugboat, which was used for this purpose, for towing the float and boarding the men. This pipe was jumped up and down on the material in the 3-inch pipe, and the jet constantly playing, the material was forced up through the 3-inch pipe, and by a Y into a bucket, and the material of each deposit thus collected. Doubtful borings were tested with a dredge. The borings were located by the sextant and platted on the maps. The total number of borings taken was 694, and the total linear feet of material passed through, 6,839 feet, at a cost for plant and labor of $2,365, making an average cost of $3.40 for each boring, or about 34 cents per linear foot boring. Rock was encountered at a depth of from 7 to 17 feet below mean low water from the State dam to Breakers Island, a distance of 3i miles. Then for a stretch of 8 miles down to the Overslaugh Rock no rock was found at a depth of 22 feet. From that point for a distance of li miles, to Staats, rock outcrops in places above the 22-foot plane. From that point for a distance of 5 miles, to Mulls, no rock oc- curs, excepting a little at Cedar Hill Bar, which is west of the channel. At Mulls the rocky formation is well to the westward of the channel. Between Mulls Cross-Over and the city of Hudson there is only one point where rock was encountered, and that is just "below New Baltimore, otf Matthews Point, and is evidently only a reef running across the river. Of the samples collected, 24 were selected as representing the character of the deposits of the bars between Troy and Hudson. The material constituting these HUDSON RIVER. 23 bars, it will be noted, consists of coarse gravel near the State dam at Troy, and coarse sand at Fish House Shoal, which becomes finer the farther down stream. In places also will be noted the stratification, where fine sand is encountered, then coarse sand and gravel, and underneath fine sand again. As the transport- ing power of water varies as the sixth power of the velocity, a current running 3 feet per second, or about 2 miles per hour, will move fragments the size of a hen's egg, from 2 to 3 ounces. There being considerable slope in the first 4 miles of the river from the dam south, it is readily seen that the velocity of the current must be greater, and consequently the material of the bars in this portion of the river is much coarser. If the velocity of a current bearing sedi- ment be checked the sediment is deposited. In running water, with a variable current, coarser material will be carried and deposited where finer was previ- ously deposited if the velocity increases, and also finer material will be deposited on coarser material if the velocity decreases, producing perfect stratification. Thus the strata of the material of the several bars can be readily understood. In a river erosion takes place on the outer side of a current, because the cur- rent is swiftest, and deposition is taking place on the inner side, because there the current is slowest. This applies to and explains all the shoals on the river, which are located at such points where there is a deflection of the direction of the current and the velocity on one side is greater than on the other. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Charles G. Weir, Assistant Engineer. Lieut. Col. G. L. Gillespie, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. Appendix 2. stenographer's report of a public meeting held in the city hall, albany, n. y., on the 6th day of january, 1891, and called by the board of officers of the corps of engineers, consisting of lieu- tenant-colonel george l. gillespie, major amos stickney, major charles w. raymond. constituted by paragraph 1, special orders no. 66, headquarters. corps of engineers. september 30. 1890, to con- sider and report upon the obstructions to navigation in the hud- son river, under the provisions of section 17 of the river and harbor act # of september 19, 1890. Col. Gillespie. The meeting will come to order. It is taken for granted that the object of this meeting is well known to the gentlemen present, but whether this be so or not I deem it essential as a member of the Board of Engineers pres- ent to-day to make the official statement that we have met for the purpose of procuring information supposed to repose in the people who are assembled here. The river and harbor act of September 19, 1890, made provision for the Secretary of War to organize a Board of Engineers composed of three officers of the Corps of Engineers, whose duty it should be to examine the Hudson River as it now exists, and report a project and estimate of the cost of widening and deepening it so as to provide a means of communication from the city of New York to Al- bany for vessels drawing 20 feet of water ; and also a separate estimate for ex- tending this communication to Troy. There is also to be a third estimate for providing a mean low-water channel of 12 feet from Coxsackie to Troy. The Board so authorized is present here to-day. The existing navigation of the Hudson River gives 11 feet at low water from New York City to Albany and 9 feet to Troy. I give these as approximate depths. The last project for the improvement of the Hudson River by the General Gov- ernment, adopted in 1806, was formulated by the Engineer officer at that time in local charge. Gen. Newton, who is, I believe, known to you. It provided for 11 feet to Albany and 9 feet to Troy. The desired results have been accomplished by the joint efforts of the State of New York and the General Government, both authorities having worked harmoniously towards the general good. You will understand that the improvement which is now foreshadowed by the late act of Congress requires a very considerable deepening of the river, and if that act had limited the matter simply to the question of estimates the duties of this Board would have been very much curtailed. It would have been only pro- 24 HUDSON RIVER. fessioniJ work, and we should probably have made the estimates and submitted our report without conferring with those who live along the banks of the river or are directly interested in its improvement. But, coupled with the requirements for a report and estimates, the river and harbor act contains provisions for the expression of opinions on the part of the Board, which the Board does not regard in every way as professional. They are partly, but not entirely so. These pro- visions embody three thoughts: First, the usefulness of this new work; second, the value and relations of the new work to commerce; and third and lastly, and which the Board regards as a very important thought, is the expediency of un- dertaking this work at this time. With a little consideration you will readily understand that these last require- ments are very comprehensive, and the Board has been unwilling to submit an expression of opinion upon them without having first fully conferred with you, in order to ascertain your views, so that when the time arrives for the prepara- tion of the final report we may feel that we had considered every interest, and that the people may feel that the Board had made every possible effort to reach, for conference, those whose interests were involved. Such, gentlemen, is the case as it now comes before you, and we wish to hear every one who has anything to* say in regard to this improvement, its useful- ness, its value m relation to commerce, however remote, and as to the expe- diency of this work. We desire you to submit your views fully, either orally or in writing. A stenographer is present to report the proceedings. • In conclusion, the Board desires to express its thanks to the Albany Chamber of Commerce for the interest it has taken in regard to this meeting, and also to its honored secretary, Mr. Wheeler,- for his energetic cooperation, which has done so much to lighten the labors of the Board. J. Howard King, President of the Albany Chamber of Commerce : Gentlemen : I have great pleasure in presenting his honor James H. Man ning, mayor of the city of Albany, wno will welcome the Commission to the city, and will open the addresses in behalf of the cities of Albany and Troy in regard to this project. JAMES H. MANNING. [Mayor of Albany.] Gentlemen of the Engineering Corps of the U. S. Army, delegates of the various cities near to or far from Albany, members of the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Albany, as the chief magistrate of a city of a ripe old age and glorious history, and one which has not a blemish on its fair name, it affords me a great deal of pleasure to welcome you, one and all, to our hospitable shores. The subject which we have to consider to-day is one of great importance, not merely to the city of Albany, but to the State at large. Therefore I do not come before you to satisfy any selfish interest so far as Albany itself is concerned, but I appear here as a citizen of the State of New York to ask that this great proj- ect, the deepening of the Hudson River from Coxsackie to the Troy State dam, shall be taken in hand by the Federal Government. The State of New York has done its full share to benefit the commerce of the country, and the object of this meeting has been to enlist people from New York State away out to the Lakes in what we believe should be the great water way from the West to the Atlantic. We are met in behalf of the commercial and business interests. It is not my place to take up your valuable time by any discussion of this project, and I do not intend to do so. The argument will be presented, after I have finished, by a gen- tleman who is thoroughly capable to give you all the details regarding the deepen- ing of the Hudson River and the work that has been accomplished both by the government of the State of New York and the National Government. I am somewhat disappointed in not seeing the State engineer, Mr. Bogart, or the ex- State engineer, Mr. Sweet, here, but they may come in later. I feel it to be a duty, as a representative of the State rather than as a mere representative here at the present time of the city of Albany, to call your attention to the fact that in the last two reports of the State engineer consideration was given to this vital subject. With your kind permission, gentlemen, I will read you one section of the report of the State engineer on canals for the year 1888, in which he says: "Under the provisions of the act to improve the Hudson River between Troy and Coxsackie a large amount of work has been done by the superintendent of public works, amounting to 195,414.1 cubic yards of material dredged and re- moved from the channel of the river. The engineering connected with this work has been in charge of a small corps, under the direction of the State engineer and HUDSON RIVER. 25 surveyor. The report of Mr. Martin Schenck, the assistant engineer in charge, gives the details of this work. The dikes erected a number of years ago by the United States Government are in many places in need of immediate repair. The expenditure by the General Government of a comparatively moderate amount in the repair of these dikes would prevent the necessity for their entire renewal, which will certainly otherwise become necessary very soon, and would also greatly lessen the formation of the bars, on the removal of which the State annually has to expend a large amount of money." In his report for 1889, which is the last one we have from the printer, the State engineer says : " In the last report of the State engineer, in the report of the assistant en- gineer in charge of the Hudson River work accompanying it. and also in the re- port made by the finance committee of the senate on February 5, 1889, atten- tion has been called to the condition of the works undertaken years ago by the United States Government on this river. These works are in very bad repair; they certainly should be put in good repair, and it would seem that, considering the enormous commerce passing through this river, the United States Govern- ment ought to prosecute the works requisite for the maintenance and improve- ment of its navigation. Large sums of money are spent annually for the improve- ment of navigation On rivers in other States, while on this great channel of com- munication nothing worthy of mention has been done for years. Unless Congress should direct vigorous action immediately it certainly will be necessary for the State of New York to continue to do more or less work during the next season in' order to insure free navigation in that part of the river bstween Troy and Cox- sackie. which is now liable to be obstructed by the formation of bars in the spring. Should the United States Government inaugurate measures for improvement of the channel of the river it will be advisable that the State should arrange for a sufficient expenditure to remove such bars next spring, as there is no probability that the work undertaken for apermanent improvement by the General Govern- ment will then be effective." Now, as I understand it, this work has not gone on but nevertheless we find in the report of the assistant State engineer that the State of New York has contributed liberally to the improvement of the Hudson from the year 1797. with a few exceptions, up to 1890, an amount averaging between $20. ()()() and $30,000 per year, and the total amount so contributed has been $1,471,429.20. As a citi- zen of the State of New York I feel that New York State has done its share, and a great deal more, and that the Federal Government should now step in. As a further evidence that the Hudson River is entitled to the greatest consid- eration from the National Government, I will present a brief statement furnished me by Mr. Bogart, and which, I believe, was sent to him at his request by the Chief of Engineers of the U. S. Army. The statement is brief, is full of meat, and is very interesting. I will give you the figures of the amount of money spent on river improvement by the Federal Government. Mississippi River, amount appropriated from date of first ap- propriation, July 4, 1836, to last appropriation, September 19, 1890 (amount for jetties and Mississippi River Commission not included), is $35, 461, 980. 53 Missouri River, amount appropriated from date of first appro- priation, August 30, 1852, to last appropriation, September 19, 1890, is . 5,551,100.00 Ohio River, amount appropriated from date of first appropria- tion, March 3, 1827. to last appropriation. September 19, 1890, is . 4,986,479.25 Hudson River, amount appropriated from date of first appropria- tion, June 30, 1834, to last appropriation, September 19, 1890, is 1,516,438.00 Now, gentlemen, observe the tonnage upon these rivers for the year 1890. On the Missouri River the tonnage was about 865.493; on the Mississippi River, in all, 13,000,000; on the Ohio River, 6,000,000, and on the Hudson River, over 18.500,000. In the spirit of fair play and justice I feel that the Hudson River is entitled to the greatest amount of consideration on the part of the United States Govern- ment, and I also feel that this excellent Commission which has the matter in charge will give the subject the consideration which we as enthusiastic citizens of the State of New York honestly and sincerely believe it is entitled to. Now, gentlemen, I will not take up more of your time. I did not intend to say quite so much, but I felt that this bit of inside information which I had would perhaps be of some service to you ; certainly that it would be interesting. 26 HUDSON RIVER. In concluding my remarks permit me to say that the mayors of many cities are unable to be present here to-day, but many of them have sent their regrets, and have expressed their entire approval of this plan of deepening- the Hudson. I have also, as mayor of this city, received regrets from four or five governors whose States border or touch the Empire State, and I am just in receipt of a communi- cation from a gentleman who is always interested in public improvements, the chief executive of the State of New York. He says, under date of January 6, 1891 : My Dear Sir : I had expected until this morning to be able to accept your kind invitation to attend the public hearing at the city hall to-day before the commission of Army officers with reference to the feasibility of deepening the channel of the upper Hudson River, but I find now that my official duties during the day and my expected departure for New York this afternoon will prevent my attendance. I send this communication hurriedly, merely to express my interest in the movement which has been initiated for the improvement of navigation in the Hudson River, and to assure you of rny hearty cooperation in any feasible plans which may be agreed upon. Very truly, yours, David B. Hill. Hon. James H. Manning, Mayor's Office, Albany, N, Y. HON. VREELAND H. YOUNGMAN. [Representing the Albany Chamber of Commerce.] Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention: This matter of the naviga- tion of the Hudson River is one that has been of the deepest importance, not only to the citizens of the State of New York, but the merchants, the farmers, the mechanics, and other citizens of States far beyond us, north and west, for many years. Much has been done to improve this navigation, going back to the early times when vessels were navigating this river for the accommodation of the inhabitants along its shores. The depth of water was not a matter of much con- sideration, because the vessels at that time did not need it. But as freights be- came heavier and greater quantities of it needed to be transported, it seemed necessary, from time to time, that additional depth should be given to the waters of the river. I will read, in better words than I can put it in myself, something of an historical kind of what has been done toward deepening this channel. It is taken from senate document of this State (No. 38, Febuary 5, 1889), relative to the improvement of the Hudson River, which was prepared by some of our ablest statesmen. " In the annual report of the State engineer for 1886, Charles G. Witbeck, as- sistant engineer in charge of improvements in the navigation of the Hudson River, comments as follows upon the subject: " ' The deep water of the Hudson River extends from Governors Island to about midway between Stuy vesant and New Baltimore, from which point northerly to the State dam at Troy the water is comparatively shallow, and navigation has always been attended with more or less difficulty on this part of the river. The problem of improving this portion of the Hudson River, by reason of its tortuous course, extreme breadth, and the peculiar actions of its tides and heavy freshets, is one that has called forth the best energies of both national and State engineers of the present century. The importance of this water way being conceded by all as being of vital character, as it is the outlet of the entire canal system of the State of New York, which has in the past carried the greater portion of the products, not only of this State but adjoining country, and in the future will al- ways be an important factor to the welfare of this State. " 'The first record of any permanent improvement contemplated was in 1797, when the depth of water between the above-named points was only 4 feet at mean low tide, which stage of water continued until about 1819. From 1797 to 1863 the amount of $225,707.25 was expended by the State authorities, for which an increased depth of 3£ feet was secured, making a total depth at this period of 7£ feet at mean low tide.' " In sixty-six years this depth of water was increased 3i feet only, and then we had but Ti feet at mean low tide. So that the statement of the president of the Commission that 11 feet of water was secured from New York to Albany shows that much has been done for the improvement of the navigation of tho Hudson HUDSON RIVER. 27 River. Now, in connection with that subject, I will quote a few words from the committee itself as it exists in the report : "This link in the chain of facilities for water transportation affords the cheap- est means of forwarding- property between the West and the East. Its uninter- rupted navigation, therefore, during- the season when transit is unimpeded by the elements, becomes a matter of vital importance to various interests and to large numbers of people." It seems to me that the use of this word " link," in that sense, is very applica- ble. Truly, as we consider this subject, this Hudson River from Troy or Albany to New York is but a connecting- link to the great Northwest and the ocean. Now, as I understand the project that we are considering to-day, it is to take that link out and trench a clear way from the ocean to the canal. Make it all one. Give this canal an opportunity of having vessels discharge their cargoes at once upon arrival here or at Troy and then return, and so increase the carrying capac- ity upon the canal, and in every way give advantage to the canals as a transport- ing medium. Now, this matter of water transportation is one which, of course, has been considered by the greatest minds of our legislative bodies. We have had reports upon it at different times, and almost invariably those reports have favored the encouragement of water transportation, so as to reduce the cost of carrying the products of our farmers and mechanics, and other products, to the destined points. In this same document this same committee has very wisely in- cluded some extracts from a speech delivered by our present Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Windom, when in the United States Senate, upon a measure then being considered before that body. Mr. Windom says: "The chief instrumentalities by means of which those (competitive) forces will exert their power are the Mississippi River on the one side, and the northern water routes on the other. * * * Both routes consti- tute indispensable parts of one grand system. * * * Each is needed to regu- late the other, and both as regulators of railway charges. Each has some ad- vantage which the other lacks, and some impediment which the other has not ; but on the whole, their trade forces commercial facilities, and economic capacity for cheap transportation will be so evenly balanced as to insure a healthy, active, and permanent competition. u* * * But the competitive power and influence of the two great contest- ants (the water and railroad lines) will not be limited to any one locality, but will extend to nearly every State in the Union." Allow me to call your special attention to what follows, as it relates particu- larly to what is before us : "The wide sweep of competitive influence exerted by the Erie Caryal is not generally understood or appreciated. You would doubtless be surprised, Mr. President, if I told you that the 4 little ditch 1 which runs through your State holds in check and regulates nearly every leading railroad east of the Missis- sippi River, and that it exerts a marked influence on the cost of transportation over all the country, extending from the interior of the Gulf States to the St. Lawrence River, and from the great plains of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. And yet such is the fact." In this same document the committee state further: " Looking, therefore, at the beneficial results of the system of water ways which reach the entire length of the State, free to all who choose to navigate them, and of which the Hudson River is a part, results by no means confined to the State of New York, but participated in, directly and indirectly, by the citizens of every State of the Union, and noting the established policy of the General Govern- ment to promote the interests of commerce upon all of its lakes and rivers, ap- propriating many millions of dollars annually for that purpose, there can be no good reason why the Hudson River should not be the recipient of Federal bene- factions to the full extent of its needs." Can anything that I can say add to the force of those words given before the highest legislative body of the United States, and, I think, of the world ? I won't attempt it. It seems as if this was an undisputed fact — that this question of water transportation is one that we must foster and encourage. Not to harm the railroads. I would not say one word in any way to deteriorate the respect which we all feel for those men who place their money in railroads, and who manage them so successfully. Not at all. It is simply one other avenue of communica- tion. It is no worse than two railroads running in competition. We have in New York no less than seven. As this country increases we want more methods of transportation. Here is a chance to add to the present facilities for trans- portation. 28 HUDSON RIVER. Another point in this matter is this : The canals of this State belong to the State. They can never enter into combination with the railroad companies. They are controlled by the State absolutely. There can be no combination. But look what we may save to the people who are shipping. The difference in the carrying expense of transporting grain or lumber, or whatever products of the machine or hand we may desire to ship to foreign lands, by transferring it at Al- bany or Troy rather than at New York, would be saved, and from what experi- ence I have had, I believe that there would be no extra charge from Albany or Troy to foreign lands than from New York for the sake of getting the cargo and vessels if they were actually coming to Albany or Troy. I don't believe the charge would be one cent more than it would be from the harbor of New York. When we consider the immense amount of transferring that is going on in the harbor of New York, and the expense and delay that is caused to vessels by the lack there of dock facilities, I believe that they would much rather take ten or twelve hours to Albany and ten or twelve hours to return than to put up in the harbor of New York. Now, as to the quantity carried by canals during the time of canal navigation. Taking the report of our superintendent of public works, I find that from May 1 to December 1, 1889, the canal carried 43.31 per cent of all the cereals that ar- rived in New York, largely for export. I am told by gentlemen in the business in New York that the preference is for exporters to take canal boats and their cargoes, and I have not the least doubt that if Albany and Troy were made ocean- shipping points, that the whole of the exports or at least that of the grain com- ing in from the canal would be used for export. So that I think it is safe to cal- culate that the amount of grain that would, be exported would be all that came through the canal. Doubtless the business would be done by the merchants now in New York. It would not change their business, but the loading would be done here. The commission merchant would naturally want to save every dollar he can in the transportation of that grain or lumber, or whatever it might be, and they would contract for those boats to discharge here and take on cargo here, instead of at New York, and save the additional expense. When we come to this question of expense, it is generally understood that any additional ex- pense in the way of transportation generally, and, I suppose, invariably, comes out of the producer. Whether he be a farmer or a lumberman, whatever article he produces is worth a certain price at a certain destination. All that can be saved in transporting that article to the point of destination would inure ^o his benefit at an enhanced value at the point of shipment. So that all that can be saved in the way of transportation would inure to the benefit of those who ship, or the producer. Now, to encourage shipments by the way of the canal, the State of New York in 1882 made the canals free of tolls. Not one cent has been charged since then for tolls for any property carried through the canals. They have been main- tained wholly at the expense of the State of New York, and that expense is very considerable, amounting to nearly three-fourths of a million annually. I think last year it was seven hundred and odd thousand dollars, but the annual expense will run about three-quarters of a million. The State will be contributing to- ward this commerce about three-quarters of a million annually in the improve- ment, and betterment, and encouragement of the canal by doubling the locks. In doing this they propose to double the capacity of the canal. The capacity is limited principally, and I don't know but wholly, by the amount of work that can be done at the locks. No matter how many boats may be on the canal, only so many can pass through in twenty-four hours. This lengthening of the locks, so that'two boats may pass through, will consequently just about double the capac- ity. This will be completed within two or three years ; sooner than this ship canal can be completed. This canal was built by the State of New York. Not only this Erie Canal, but several of the others by the State, without assistance from any other State, and without a dollar of assistance from the United States. It was a risky question as to whether it was a success or not, but it at once proved the greatest boon to the Northwest. It opened up a line of transportation where they could raise grain, lumber, etc., and send it to market; place it in the hands of the people who wanted to use it at a comparatively little expense. The canal has been finally enlarged by the State at large expense and now they are going through with this enlargement at great expense with all of them. The State of New York is deeply interested in this canal transportation, and they appropriate annually a large sum of money for maintenance, and its real benefit goes to the people of the West, who are given free transportation to the ocean. We now ask that we may have this improvement of deepening. Look at HUDSON RIVER. 29 what the Canadians have been doing-. Look at what they have done with the St. Lawrence River. See how materially they have improved it. Shall we meet them in these great works of improving the means of water communi- cation, or shall we lie still and let them run away with us in this matter? The St. Lawrence River, years ago, was only navigable as far as Quebec for any ves- sels requiring any depth of water, but they have deepened that channel so that they can go 159 miles farther up the river to Montreal. Their canal, of course, is much deeper and wider than ours. Vessels that go there draw 10 feet of water, while ours draw only 6. But they have increased their capacity for carrying- grain and lumber from the Northwest. There are large amounts of lumber sent through the Canadian canals and shipped to foreign ports. To send this through by our routes would increase the expense very materially, so it goes through the Canadian canals; but give us sufficient depth of water, and the result in the in- creased traffic everywhere would be a great benefit to all. When you place in the hands of the people increased facilities for reaching markets, you add to the prosperity of the country. If we had the Canadian's facilities of transportation, I do not think we would harm them, but would benefit ourselves by adding to the volume of business done through our canals. The St. Lawrence River was deep- ened to 25 feet years ago. and now since it has been completed. I think they have added 2i feet, making it 2~i feet. Now, we are not asking for that depth at pres- ent, and we may never ask it; but the largest draft steamers go to Montreal. What we do ask is that the largest freighting steamers may be brought to our port. Then again, the question of terminal facilities in New York is, I think, a very important matter. Any of us, w T ho are familiar with New York shipping matters, knows very well that the terminal facilities are not sufficient for the present needs of business. They are not being added to as the business increases. There is great delay, expense, and trouble at present for facilities whereby vessels may be loaded or discharged. The room is limited, but the needed additional room is here, and would be utilized if it was found to their advantage; and I feel quite sure that I make no mistake when I say it would be found to be largely to their advantage. The mayor has stated very clearly and very succinctly the appro- priations which had been made, and I am very glad that he gave them to you. I want to emphasize the fact, however, whichhe gave you in that compilation of figures. It is, that the Hudson River, with a tonnage of 18.500.000, has received from the United States Government $1,516,438 for the betterment of its naviga- tion, and that these other rivers, the Ohio, the Mississippi and Missouri, men- tioned by the mayor as having but two-thirds the tonnage of the Hudson, have received $45,999,559. Now, the combined tonnage of these three rivers is but one-third of that of the Hudson, and yet they have received thirty-three times as much money for the betterment of navigation. I do not mention this as desir- ing to make any complaint or any unfavorable comparison. Not at all. I have not the least doubt that those appropriations were wisely made, greatly needed, and wisely expended, but it does seem as though we were entitled to a fair con- sideration of our needs and our wants for a plan which will enable us to carry vessels of good draft to our inland water ways. The Hudson River is of so much importance that it should have proper consideration, and. although I am glad that what has been done with others has been done, we simply ask that we should receive consideration with those others in that we should have the same amount of money, and we hope we shall be given that which we feel we need. All the money which the United States has appropriated and spent on this river since there has been canal communication, would not have given us canal communica- tion. It would not have given us 6 or 7 feet of water. Speaking of this as a public matter, I do not think it would be in the right way of things to bring in the question whether private investments are made in the same line as public investments. By statistics we lind that about 6.000 miles of railways are built annually — sometimes more and sometimes less, but that is the average amount. This, of course, is built with private funds. Well, you may say to me that this is done for the sake of investment for making money. We all of us. particularly those who live inland, know very well that when a railway is projected to a far country the towns and villages on its line, and the individuals belonging there will subscribe quite liberally to the stock. Not for the sake of remuneration but to open up the country, and many do this with no idea for a return other than that it will open communication, whereby the products of their mills and farms and factories will be taken to a seaboard town, and from there on to some great consuming quarter. Now this money is invested in this way: and the statistics which I glean from the last annual report of the Interstate Commerce Commission show that on June 30, 1889, the 30 HUDSON RIVER. amount of railroad stock in this country was $2,621,431,792. That is a great amount. Now 61.67 per cent of all that immense amount of money was pay- ing- no dividends whatever; and actually we would say that all that money was not put there voluntarily with the idea that they would not get any re- turn for it. I do not claim that for it. I claim that is the result, and men in cities with money know very well that the chances are about one to one as to whether they do make anything or not, but the money is placed there with a view to opening- up the country and placing the different places so opened up in communication with other places, and by doing so, it is one more link toward making us a community of interests. Now what bearing has all that in this business here? A great deal. We ought to encourage people to invest their money in this way. How? By giving them every facility in our power for putting these tracks in the ground to carry these products, and by bringing the seaboard as near the farmhouse door as pos- sible, and we do that when we carry this ocean channel up to the head of navi- gation on the Hudson River. Then again, the United States have a very important plant only 16 miles above Albany — the Watervliet Arsenal, a place which will in a very short time become a most important point to the Government. Give them a chance to bring their war vessels to this point. In case of a war, any one or two nations might prob- ably blockade the lower end of the Hudson River. There is no doubt but that, at the present time, they might do so. Foreign vessels would not come away up here, and our vessels could receive stores, arms, and supplies here. The dis- tance they could come up the river would simply be a hiding place for them. I have kept you longer than I have intended to to-day, because I know that many are present who desire to speak, and who can take up this subject and discuss it in a much more able manner than I can; but we do ask from yourself and your colleagues that, in making your report, you will consider the needs and the requirements, as expressed to you, for the deepening of this river, so that in the future, and I trust in the immediate future, the producers of the West and the Northwest may go direct by water to the seaboard of New York and other points. Albany is interested in this, but it has no selfish motive which prompts it in asking you to grant the requests of the representative gentlemen who are assembled here before you. The generous responses made from all parts of this State and from other States show the deep interest that has been awakened throughout the country. It is a very important matter, and it reaches to a great distance. Albany comes in here with its greeting to you all, and with its wel- come to all its friends who are assembled here this morning, and with the pledge that if you will join with us in asking that this work be done, we will join hands with you and will hold tight fast, until we have accomplished our object. E. P. DURANT. [Representing the Albany Board of Trade.] The Board of Engineers and Delegates, I have the honor to represent the Board of Trade of the city of Albany. This Board of Trade is. I believe, the oldest organization of the kind in the country, and especially the oldest which ex- ists under a State charter. Perhaps it is that age does not count for anything, but there is a reason for alluding to it which leads up to this matter which is now in hand. There are men now living in this city who did business as merchants long before the Erie Canal was built — when the channel of commerce was by wagon road, and this wagon road with its traffic suggested the great water way which followed. Now, Mr. Chairman, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains there is a body of arable land the greatest in extent and fertility of any on the globe, and very much of this is tributary, commercially, to the Great Lakes, and it is a fact that the only water way that is feasible at all from the Great Lakes to the American tide water is through the State of New York — is down this Erie Canal and down this Hudson River. The mountains on the other hand preclude for- ever the idea of a water way. Allusion has already been made to the vast influence and the vast power that this water way has exerted in the development of the whole country. The Middle States, the West, and the great Northwest could never have developed as they have but for this water way. If I am rightly in- formed the commerce of the lakes exceeds the commerce of Great Britain. The tonnage through the Sault St. Marys Canal exceeds the tonnage of the Suez Canal, and I think that very few understand the vast import of that lake traffic and, as I have already said, that traffic annually finds its way to the American tide water through the State of New York and down the Hudson River. HUDSON RIVER. 31 Now, as it is within so short a time that this great work has been done and that this channel has been developed, does it not argue the importance of this water way '? Does it not argue the interest for its deepening and the development of all that is connected therewith ? I do not propose to traverse the ground that has been so ably traversed by my friend, Mr. Youngman, and it belongs to others to present statistics and reasons why this work should be undertaken and why it is feasible. I only want to em- phasize one point that was made by Mr. Youngman. It is with reference to handling property in the port of New York destined for foreign shipment. Now, if those restrictions or the additional expenses of transfer existed in the harbors or the commercial cities of the Great Lakes it would, I should almost say. ruin their commerce, or at least greatly retard it and greatly diminish the progress of development. Now, as you know, in the cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo large vessels can go alongside the warehouses and receive their cargoes direct and move off with them in a few hours to their destination, whereas in the harbor of New York there is wharfage and storage and delay by reason of lack of dock facilities and all those things which hinder commerce. As Mr. Youngman has said, you will bring the ocean vessel to Albany, where she can receive her cargo direct in same manner as the vessels receive their cargoes at all of the Great Lake ports. The railways and the docks and the warehouses there are all constructed with a view to the accommodation of such vessels. If this work is accomplished the ocean vessel may come to Albany and receive its cargo direct from the warehouse, and by that the expenses of transportation would be vastly diminished, and those are the expenses which finally have to be distributed according to the laws of commerce, and every interest feels it. This work will assist in the development of the whole country, and the farmer, the mechanic, all interests — those who live at the most extreme western point will share in this development, and it should meet with your favor. The force of circumstances, the force of the development of commerce as induced by the State of New York at the expense of millions so as to provide this great water way call for favorable action upon this projected improvement. I say that the interests for the development of the country have forced this matter upon the State of New York, and the State of New York has not been still but has taken up the burden and has borne it, and now it seems to me that it is time for the United States Government to weigh all these considerations, and make a great effort to develop this great water way upon which the prosperity of the whole country, especially of the West and the great Northwest, depends. 9 HON MARTIN I. TOWNSEND. [Representing the Troy Citizens' Association.! Gentlemen of the Corps of United States Engineers, so much has been said this morning, and so much has been well said, that I am very much at a loss as as to where to begin in the remarks that I am to make and in the track which I am to pursue. But there is one branch of discussion which it is important that I should not neglect, and that is the shape of this law authorizing this survey. The conclusion is that by it the little Hudson River is very much like a snake with his back broke in the middle. There is a breaking of the back at Albany, and therefore, while we are all friends and pursuing the same object — no rivalry about it — yet it is meet that we should consider whether there will be any use of extending this work beyond Albany. And about that I propose at first to direct my attention. I have consulted a few statistics from the report of our superintendent of pub- lic works, and those statistics I deem to be of very great importance, and I beg leave to hand up to the committee a small pamphlet on the subject. It is not original with me. They are taken from the report of the superintendent of pub- lic works for the year 1889, and I present it for the purpose of showing that there is a vast amount of business done on the Hudson River in connection with the northern and western canals, above the city of Albany. In the first place, we have directed our attention very strongly to the Erie Canal. But there is another canal that it is necessary to consider. The tonnage in 1889 upon the Erie Canal was 3,673,554 tons. Upon the Cham- plain Canal the tonnrge was 1,187,038 tons. So that here is a very large business indeed done upon the northern canal and passing this point. Now, realize the business that this northern canal has brought into the Hudson River. If you will have the kindness to look below you will find that the number of tons carried on the northern canal (at page 236 of the Report of the Superintendent of Public 32 HUDSON RIVER. Works in 1889) to be 9,928 tons: from West Troy. 6 miles above here, 171,220 tons; from Waterford. 502.229 tons; from Whitehall, 503,661 tons. For this pur- pose, I suppose that the tonnage at Whitehall need not be considered, but it will be seen that there is about 700,000 tons from the northern canal that comes in at West Troy and at Waterford. Now Waterford is 9 miles above here and West Troy 6, and the whole tonnage almost of the northern canal, all. I believe, except its lumber, which is taken very largely at Albany, goes into the Hudson River at Waterford, and the State in its early works erected there what is called the State dam for the purpose of raising water enough above that dam to enable the boats from the Champlain Canal to come to Waterford. We have a State lock which secures those boats there. This shows the importance of the northern canal, which carries 1,187,000 tons. It shows the importance of that canal by the extension by the State of this navigation up to the State dam. Now, in regard to the western canal. The tonnage carried east and west on the Erie Canal in 1889 was, from Albany, 182,819 tons, and from West Troy. 728,- 173; about four times as much. The property which was left at tide water from canals was, from Albany, 1,022,901 tons; from West Troy, 1,618,756 tons; from Waterford, 137,772 tons — carried clear through from Waterford for way purposes. So that the business above here as done by the canals here is, you see, vastly in ex- cess — certainly four times — above Albany, than at Albany. I might say with great propriety that a considerable proportion of this work is done by Albany men and Albany shippers at West Troy, but there is the place from which these canal boats have got to be carried on the Hudson River when you go into that river. It was well said— the quotation by Mr. Youngman was of great impor- tance — that of what the Erie Canal in 1889 carried to the State of New York, the corn, wheat, oats, peas, and barley, 47.13 per cent of it arrived at your city. Now I propose to look for a moment at that western country. The western country north of the Ohio is a grain-producing country, and the State of Kentucky is largely in the same condition. Missouri is a grain-producing country, and so with Kansas and the whole country to the north. The grain from all these States don't go South, with the exception perhaps of a minute quantity of corn for con- sumption of farmers, or planters, as they are called at the South. The grain is either consumed at home, or seeks the great ocean through the Northern States, and some through the Middle States, but it does not go South, and the building of railroads has prevented the general commerce of the Northwest from going down the Mississippi to anything like the extent it formerly went. Indeed the Mississippi is, as the newspapers here are fond of saying, almost "a back num- ber," so far as commerce is concerned. The tonnage of the Mississippi is not two- thirds of the tonnage of the Hudson River alone, and it is because the facilities for moving the products north of the Ohio River and north of the south border of the Missouri River have been increased until they are so great that nobody thinks of carrying them around by way of New Orleans. With the exception of the productions of the West Indies, St. Louis now almost wholly depends upon her communications from the East. Every year there is less and less done on the Mississippi, and the Mississippi steamboats that were so numerous, and their whistles which were so often heard, are now things of the past. I say this in no disparagement of the Mississippi. In the late struggle for the common union of the whole country we got the Mississippi into the Union, and there we will have it, but I speak of it now in comparison with our own river — the Hudson. Now, that river has had about thirty times the appropriations for its improvemen t that this Hudson River has had. Not that those appropriations were not useful. God speed the appropriations, and if the Commission which represents the whole United States here will allow me to say a word, I will say that I have sat and heard discussions about the Mississippi River in the National Congress for about four years, and I thought there was more propriety in benefiting their farmers than their commerce. Every bayou has to be Headed off. The Mississippi has to be banked up and levees made all the way, and for what? But we are one people. Let them give us our share and they may have theirs. The West has waked up in regard to this matter. I went before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors in the last year, and I found as ready a body of men, with as ready lips in the good cause, especially those who lived north of the Ohio and the southern border of the Missouri, as we could have found in the State of New York. And it is a great world — the world that is inhabited by the men whose products are carried through the State of New York to other homes. And it is a world of our people to a great degree. They went from here. Don't be afraid of the recom- mendation with a view that Congress will frown upon it. . They went from here, and they sympathize with us. They sympathize with the men who. when the HUDSON RIVER. 33 country was poor, constructed the Erie Canal — to-day the honor and pride of the country. The man who lives in the State of New York has the right to step an inch higher. Here is the State that furnishes an avenue of commerce for the Northwest and West with the great outside world such as has not been done by any other people in this country. The canals of Pennsylvania and some other States have been a failure, but our canal here is one of the great water ways of the world, worth a hundredfold what the Dardanelles and the Bosphorusare, and if we go in the proper spirit to the National Congress, they will not say us nay. Now, I have said a little about my own neighborhood up the river. Albany claims 103,000 people, and she has got it, and I hope she will have as many more. God bless her in her prosperity and keep her from adversity. We claim that clustered about Troy, and at Troy and within the roads four or five miles east and west, we are over 125,000 people, not to count in West Troy nor Green Island nor Cohoes nor other places up there where there are so many factories. They live on and eat iron, largely, up there. Mr. Tefft. The brass is in Waterford. Mr. Townsend. My friend is mistaken. The brass is to be found elsewhere. All these places, however, are prosperous, and adding to the happiness of the whole people. Not that we are trying to run Albany. She has to take up apart of our own count to make up her population. Grecnbush is part of Albany's estimate, and she is entitled to it, for they work here. If Albany prospers they prosper. We will all prosper together if this enlargement of the river is carried, to the State dam, where it should come if it is undertaken, and where I think it will have to come, or it will stop in the National Congress. We have got a Ver- mont up there, and we have a New Hampshire up there in certain regions. If that be done, Albany is benefited, we are benefited, the nation is benefited, the world is benefited, and we are all happy. Just one word to the commissioners : If the Government should undertake to legislate for the improvement of this river, there will have to be some laws which we do not now possess for the pres- ervation of the work that is to be done. Having held the position of United States attorney for this district for about seven years, I found that the Government was practically powerless to preserve the works placed in the river. There should be some legislation to this effect, and I suggest it, as it may be desirable to recom- mend it. F. H. HOLBROOK. [Secretary of the Board of Trade of Muskegon, Mich.] Gentlemen of^the Board, under a resolution of Congress the Secretary of War has appointed aboard of three United States engineers whose specific duties are: First. To determine and report a plan, and estimate the cost for the deepening of the Hudson River from Coxsackie to Troy (a distance of about 30 miles), so as to admit the passage of vessels of 3,000 tons burden. Second. To report a statement as to the usefulness of such improvements and of the relation and value to commerce. In the line of the performance of the second duty, namely, as to the usefulness of such improvements and of their relative value to commerce, an expression is invited from the various commercial interests of the country. To receive such expressions the board is now met. If the late statistics of this country are given the proper consideration, no trouble will be had in arriving at a proper conclusion that the projected improve- ment is a step in the right direction. To understand the far-reaching effect of this contemplated improvement, it is necessary to understand the commercial battle-ground of the nation. Of the five great natural divisions of the country, three, namely, the Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Mississippi drainage basins, transact nearly nine-tenths of all the business of the United States. These three are located as follows: The At- lantic basin on the east, the Great Lakes basin in the center, and the Mississippi basin on the west. At the bottom of each of these basins (so to speak), or at the lowest water level of each, is found a constellation of cities, which are the dis- tributing centers for their respective basins. The bulk of the tonnage of the country moves in an east and west direction. These three great commercial dis- tricts are joined together, east and west, in two ways, namely, by railroads, and by water ways. The system of railways is the greatest of any in existence in the world. The system of water ways is grand, so far as nature's work is concerned, for it has given to each basin a system natural to itself, but practically uncon- II. Ex. 29 3(5 34 HUDSON RIVER. nected with the others. To supply these connections, these mining links, man steps in and builds canals or artificial water ways. The Erie on the east .- con- necting- the Great Lakes and Atlantic basins; the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and others of similar character, on the west, connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi basins. It will be seen clearly, then, that the only great east-and-west waterways in the United States are in two parts — natural and artificial. The artificial part is under State control, and it is not urged or claimed that its improvements should be a Federal charge. The natural water ways of these three great drainage ba- sins, of which the Hudson River is a part, are under the Federal control, and its improvement is properly the duty of, and should be at the cost of, the General Goverment. When the volume of tonnage moving and its trend is considered; when it is seen that these artificial links, joining the three waterways, are the only check upon the railway systems, then their importance becomes more apparent, and any improvement to bring these three water ways more closely together and shorten or improve, so as to render the artificial links more effective, is a matter of national importance. We are a nation of sixty-two million people, and we pay to the railways for trans- portation over $1,000,000,000 annually. This is $10 each for every man. woman, and child, or $80 for each head of a family of five persons. It is a disbursement nearly equivalent to paying off the national debt each year. A small percentage of this yearly tax upon the productions of the country applied to the water ways would afford a vast relief, for we have it from the best authority in the country on transportation — Poor's Manual — ''that products can always be carried by water at about one-third the cost by rail." If a sum equivalent to sixty days' receipts of the railways was expended in making proper connections between these three great water ways, it would afford a yearly saving to the people of many times the cost. That there is serious need of improvement of the water ways requires no better proof than can be found in a contemplation of the condition which the lack of them has helped largely to bring about. The great grain-raising portion of the United States is the Mississippi Valley or Basin. If we are to judge of the pros- perity in this industry by the Government tables, a dissection of those tables is in order, and will show a condition far from inviting. In 1880 the total cereal crop was, 2,718,193,501 bushels; average since 1880, 2,759.337,073 bushels. Num- ber of acres tilled in 1880, 120,926,280; average since 1880. 133.738.585. Value of all cereals in 1880, $1,361,497,704: value of average since 1880, $1,288,453,248. It appears from these tables that the farmer tills 12,812,299 more acres, raises on the average 41,143,572 more bushels, and has received on the average for his toil $73,044,456 less money than he did in 1880, notwithstanding the fact that there are twelve million more people in the United States to be fed. This condition is due to several causes, one of the principal ones being a lack of proper transportation facilities. This class would receive a better share of the fruits of their toil if the Hudson River and the Erie Canal were improved on the east by the Government and the State, respectively, and the great system of water ways of the Mississippi Basin was connected properly with the Great Lakes on the west, as the latter improvement would, in effect, change the great north- and-south river water way (which is comparatively useless now in transporting products bound east and west) into an east-and-west water way, making a large portion of it, at least, in accord with the principal movement of tonnage. 'Tis true that the farmer class have now an abundance of railway facilities. In fact, where he had 1 mile in 1880, he has nearly 2 miles in 1890, the mileage in the two periods being 93,000 and 167,000, respectively, in the whole country . His average cereal crop has increased less than 2 per cent in a decade, while his railway facilities have increased about 80 per cent in the same period ; for it is safe to say that in the general increase in mileage throughout the country his district has not lagged ; on the contrary, the iridescent dream of wonderful in- crease in crops has been a potent factor in floating bonds for increased facilities in his district, and since farms and outlying property bear peculiar relation- to railways," he finds that his products, with no considerable increase in volume, must pay the fixed charges on 2 miles of road where formerly they paid on one — for what but the productions of the country must pay these charges, if They are paid at all? If he looks with expectancy to increase of population to help him out, he meets these figures: 50,000,000 population in 1880 to 93,000 miles of railway, or 537 to 1 mile; 62,500,000 population in 1S90 to 107.<>oo miles of railway, or 375 to 1 mile. In other words, he finds that there are 162 less people to support a HUDSON RIVER. 35 mile of railway in 1890 than there were in 1880. He evidently has need of more water in the canals and rivers or less in railway stocks, or both. We have endeavored to show the situation with respect to a large percentage of those who till over 13^,000.000 acres of soil, a class who represent by the Fed- eral census of 1880 over 7,000.000 out of a total of 17.000,000 workers who earn their bread in the sweat of their faces. The same condition obtains with respect to other industries, fhough in less degree, as they are more accessible to water ways. In considering this question, it is well to weigh the following facts: That the en- tire exports and imports of the country, considered on a standard of their money value, amount to less than $1,800,000,000 per annum, while the yearly products of the interior amount to live times that sum, and are principally moved in one direction or another within the limits of the three great districts named. That since the removal of tolls from the Erie Canal in 1882 the district along the great east-and-west water way has shown a remarkable development. An index of this fact is seen in the steam-vessel building. In 1888 it was, by the Govern- ment reports. 68,208 tons on the Great Lakes as against 19,572 tons on the Atlan- tic and Gulf coasts combined. The new census for 1890 shows that about 40 per cent of the gain in population occurs in the eight States lying along the Great Lakes, and a late census bulle- tin shows that over 96 per cent of all the steel output for 1890 occurred in six of these, and that this 96 per cent exceeded in volume the output of Great Britain for 1889 by nearly 100.000 tons and our own output for 1880 by 290 per cent. A statement of these facts carries with it a suggestion that there is no impro- priety in the Government lending its aid to any part of a system which makes such a meritorious showing. In conclusion: We have made our argument on the waterways, considering them only in the light of an entirety. If we have shown the necessity of their improvement as a whole, the necessity of this particular improvement under consideration must be apparent, as it is a part of that whole. It is an improve- ment that should receive encouragement from every part of the land, as it will lead to greater prosperity, and under the showing is it not clearly the duty of the Government to lend its aid in lightening the burdens of the people? COL. C. L. Mo ARTHUR. >• [Representing the Troy Citizens' Association,"! Mr. Chairman ^nd gentlemen of this body, I did not come here to-day loaded with statistics or anything of that sort to urge the necessity of the improve- ment for which you have met here for the purpose of promoting. Whatever I say I shall say from the shoulder, as they fire in the Army, and say it as thoughts come to me. This idea of the improvement of the Hudson River does not owe its origin to the city of Troy. It does not owe its origin to the city of Albany. It does not owe its origin to the great West. The National Government, as long ago as 1797, adopted and took action in Congress looking to the promotion of navigation on the Hudson River and of slackwater navigation up to the Champlain Canal, more than a quarter of a century before the State of New York had a single canal. They did that for defensive purposes, and if you will look for an instant at the history of the country you will see that in all the great wars which we have had, except the last war and" the war with Mexico, that it was on our northern border here and which was menaced by invasion, and the great problem of Government was to protect our frontiers : and while 1 do not desire to commit this body or these gentlemen to my own thoughts in this matter, yet as we are here to discuss this I think it ought to be discussed in its length and breadth. The National Government undertook this thing for defensive purposes. You w r ill remember that the great battles were on this frontier. You will remember that the backbone of the Revolution was broken at Saratoga, at Bennington, at White Plains, at Ticonderoga, and at other points on our northern frontier bat- tles were fought, and that the objective point was the city of Albany. Now, sir, whatever may be true of this work as a commercial project, I leave for others to discuss : but this question has a wider and broader sense than any commercial one. The main and ultimate end of this thing is to make a water way from the Hudson River to the great chain of lakes — that chain of takes larger than the Mediterranean and the other seas, and, as has been well said here, the great wheat and grain and beef and produce producing regions of the coun- 36 HUDSON RIVER. try. The first want of man is to take care about his food, and these people are furnishing- food not only for themselves, but they are furnishing food to the ex- tent that commerce and the laws of trade will permit. They are furnishing- food for the world, and it is through our connections with the great chain of lakes that this thing is to be done. The State of New York is proud to be in advance of the General Government in all works of this character. Why, we spent in the single year 1889 within a fraction of one hundred thousand dollars as much for the canal system of this State of New York as the whole United States in all its existence has put upon the Hudson River. And .but a small proportion of this was for the benefit directly of the people of the State of New York. It was to more extent for the arms of the sea and the water ways to that great and fertile West, so that produce might be cheapened, and that rail roads might be checked in their exorbitant demands; that we should bring cheaper food to the mouths of the people of the eastern side of the continent, and from there across the waters. I think this should be preached as in the nature of a defensive measure of the country. Sir, the existence of the honored branch of the National Gov- ernment to which you belong means the defense of the Government and the country in its hour of peril. When you come to look at what Great Britain and Canada have done in this matter, it is astounding that this Government has not waked up to the necessity of protecting our western as well as our eastern bor- ders. Why, sir, the Canadian and British Government have expended on her water ways, and largely with a view to defensive purposes, $200,000,000. They have deepened the Welland Canal to the depth of 14 feet, and it is the policy of the British Government to-day to protect and aid her shipping, and to build that class of steam vessels of such burden that they may be employed in com- merce in the Canadian and other canals of the country, and be converted speedily into cruisers when the time for defensive operations comes. The British Gov- ernment in its navy have one hundred and twenty-five ships of good size that may be taken through this Welland Canal, and which might devastate every State that borders this great chain of lakes before it would be possible for the National Government to come in and protect them. Now, this may be extravagant, but you may remember that from here north are her possessions; that she owns the mouth of the St. Lawrence. You may remember that she has on the Pacific Ocean a vast fleet of commercial ships. You may remember that she has in India millions of as good troops as ever faced an enemy in the field of battle. And you may remember that vast area of ship- ping that she can plant in six weeks on the western shores of this continent , and that in her own possessions she could plant at least one hundred ships to defend her Welland Canal. With her fourteen feet of water and her possession of the mouth of the St. Lawrence, through the Welland Canal to the great chain of lakes, she might devastate every city on those lakes before it could be possible, with our weak means of defense, to stop it. Nations, like men, do not live altogether for their own time. They live for the generations that are to come. Sir. this nation is yet in its infancy. It is to go on, I believe, in the glory and providence of God, until it is one of the most wonderful nations, as it is to-day. on the face of the earth, and the time shall come when this National Government shall have her Army and her Navy that shall be as great in her defensive as well as her commercial glory, until she is irresistible. Now, while all this may not be germane to this matter now before us, I do in- sist that the National Government has a material interest in this thing. She has planted in the region of Troy a national arsenal and gun factory. She has planted a gun foundry there which is to furnish the guns for the Army, while the other branch of the service is provided for by a national foundry at Wash- ington. In doing this the National Government very likely had the thought of protecting these plants when they take care of the improvements of it> rivers. The Watervliet Arsenal alone has rendered such incalculable service to the country that it is worth ten times more to it than it would cost to make this con- templated improvement of the Hudson River. That arsenal is planted on the west side of the Hudson River, on the opposite side of Troy, and it is of the Hist importance that the country itself should have the means of communicating with it by large ships for the purpose of taking away to the forts on the Atlantic coast and to other quarters the material which is there produced for the defense of the United States. You may not know, sir, that in one single discovery at this arsenal here the small arms of the whole world were revolutionized, because it was there that the percussion cap, which served so very well through a series of wars, was invented. During the time of the Mexican war that arsenal furnished vast supplies for that struggle. During our last war with the South it is incal- HUDSON RIYER. 37 culable the amount of material and war material that was produced for the Na- tional Government. Now, sir, this National Government can not Jump in a minute into the giant proportions which it is to assume as a defensive force in the future. It must go step by step, and it is one of the things which the Govern- ment must come to consider, whether in the ultimate future — it may be twenty-five or fifty years — the waterways of the Hudson River must not be extended for ves- sels of war to connect with the great chain of lakes. The Government itself lias al- ready entered upon this work of connecting the Mississippi with the chain of lakes through its appropriations already made, and the work is now in progress. But now we are simply confronted with the question of building for commercial purposes. The commercial flag always precedes the efforts which the Govern- ment makes for resistance and defense. 1 did not intend to occupy the time of this body so long, but I do say that any report made by this honored Board which does not look to the entire future of the country and the necessity of a free communication that shall extend from the Hudson River to the chain of lakes will be incomplete in its suggestive features, and will fail to impress the whole country, which is looking to the needs of the future as well as those of to-day. Sir, I beg you to consider the needs of this Watervliet Arsenal and the neces- sity of enabling products to come direct from the chain of lakes to the Atlantic seaboard. I beg you will consider this question in all its breadth and in all its depth. I think that all who are assembled here to-day from whatever parts of the country, and especially the instigators, will see that whenever the National Gov- ernment chooses to enter upon this large work the State of New York will not be behindhand. She has already made these canals free, but she holds possession of it. She pays in a single year as much money as the National Government has ever appropriated for the whole care of the Hudson River, and when this ques- tion comes to be reached, as come it will in the future, I think you will find the State of New York prepared to pay its full share; possibly to build everywhere so as to connect with the lakes, and haveaship canal around the Falls of Niagara. These things are coming. These things are being built for the future. We are building for the future, for we do not expect to live to see all these things. Whatever of money, whatever of intiuence. whatever of power is gathered here is not for ourselves, but for those who are to succeed us, and I assure you, sir, that nations should look prudently to the future and build on that basis. S. A. THOMPSON. [Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Duluth, Minn.l Mr. Chairman'and gentlemen, I am here to speak directly for the Cham- ber of Commerce of Duluth. and indirectly also as the representative of the people of a large portion of the West and Northwest whose interests are bound up with ours, and I have come to speak in favor of this proposed improvement of the Hud- son River, because we are fully convinced that the cheap transportation furnished by the waterway, of which this noble river is a part is the chief corner stone of our present prosperity, and the only sure foundation on which to base our hope and belief that that prosperity is to endure and be increased. The Hudson being an integral portion of the waterway which connects the Great Lakes and the sea through United States territory, any improvement therein whereby navigation is made easier or safer, or the cost of transportation is les- sened on account of the greater draft of the vessels which can use it, is, there- fore, no longer a matter of merely local concern. An improvement of the Hudson which will allow ocean vessels to come to Albany will no doubt be greatly to the advantage of Albany, but the beneficial effects of that improvement will not be confined by any means to this city, nor to the State of New York, nor even to the ports on the Great Lakes from Oswego and Buffalo to Chicago and Duluth. Di- rectly or indirectly, in greater or less degree, the proposed improvement, and every improvement made at any point in this waterway, as has been so well said by Secretary Windom. affects the business and the prosperity of every commu- nity and every individual from New York City to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and from the Great Lakes and the Canadian boundary to the Gulf States on the south. The time which can be allowed to each person at this hearing is necessarily too short to allow any extended argument, and I will, therefore, confine myself, in the few minutes at my disposal, to as brief a statement as possible of some tacts 38 HUDSON RIVER. which seem to me to have a bearing on the question under consideration, and some conclusions which seem to be warranted by those facts. Some ten or twelve years ago two gentlemen, both of them railway presidents, one of an Eastern, the other of a Western road, sat talking together, and the con- versation turned upon the continually increasing efficiency and decreasing cost of railway transportation, owing to the reduction of grades, the lessening of curves, and the building of more powerful engines and of cars which carried a much greater amount of paying freight in proportion to dead weight than for- merly. The Eastern man stated that canal boats were about played out. and that river steamers were about ready to follow the canal boats into permanent retire- ment, and expressed the opinion that it was only a question of time when the steamships would also be driven from the Great Lakes, leaving to the railways an undisputed monopoly of the carrying trade of the continent. It is exceedingly interesting to note the successive reductions which have been made in railway freight rates, for, according to Poor's Manual, the average rate per ton per mile received by all the railways in the United States, which in 1882 was 1.236 cents, had fallen in 1889 to 0.976 cent, a reduction of 22 per cent in eight years. Standing alone these figures would seem to justify the prediction of the railway president, but he forgot that it was possible to increase the efficiency of steamships as well as of railways. I have here a table compiled from the reports of the Chicago Board of Trade, showing the average charges for carrying a bushel of wheat from Chicago to New York for each year from 1868 to 1885, and by each of the three possible methods, viz, all rail, lake and rail, and lake, canal, and Hudson River : Calendar years. Lake and canal.* .Lake and rail. All rail. Calendar years. Lake and canal.* Lake and rail. All rail. 1868 25.3 29.0 42.6 1877 7.5 15.8 20.3 1869 24.1 25.0 35.1 1878 10.1 11.4 17.7 1870 17.5 22.0 33.3 1879 13.0 13.3 17.3 1871 21.6 25.0 31.0 1880 13.2 15.7 19.7 1872... 26.6 28.0 33.5 1881 8.6 10.4 14.4 1873 19.2 26.9 33.2 1882 8.7 10.9 14.6 1874 14.2 16.9 28 7 1883 8.40 6.59 11.5 16.5 1875 11.4 14.3 24.1 1884 9.9 13.2 1876 9.7 11.8 16.5 1885 4. 55 9.06 14.0 ♦Including Buffalo charges and tolls. From this table it appears that the all-rail rate has fallen in that time from 42.6 cents to 14 cents per bushel, while the all-water rate has dropped from 25.3 cents to 4.55 cents per bushel. That is to say, freight rates by rail have been reduced in the period covered by the table until the last price named is only one-third that first mentioned, but during the same time the all-water rate has been re- duced to less than one-fifth of the rate first named. And more than that, the water rate has always been below the rail rate by a percentage ranging from 25 to 67.5. From the careful records kept at the St. Marys Falls Canal it appears that the average price per ton per mile received by the vessels engaged in the carrying trade of Lake Superior was, in 1889, 0.15 cent ; the total amount moved was 7,516,022 tons, and it was carried an average distance of 790.4 miles. The average rate on all the railways in the United States in the same year was 0.976 cent, or more than six times as much. In other words, to move the same amount of freight the same distance by rail would have cost in round numbers $50,000,000 more than it did cost to move it by water. Wheat has been carried from ( Jhicago to Buffalo for 1 cent per bushel, or 0.04 cent per ton per mile, and thousands of tons of coal have been carried from Buffalo to Duluth at 25 cents per ton, or 0.025 cent per ton per mile. These are prices charged. If we investigate the actual cost of freight move- ment by rail and by water we shall find some figures which are almost startling. Careful experiments conducted for a long period on the Grand Trunk Railway showed the actual cost of moving freight, exclusive of fixed charges, to be 0.5 cent per ton per mile. The average cost on all the roads reporting to the Intel - state Commerce Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890. was nearly 20 per cent greater, being 0.593 cent per ton per mile, while the iowesl cost T have been able to find on record is in the case of the Lake Shore and Michigan South- ern, which has been able in exceptionally favorable years to report a cost as low as 0.4 cent per ton per mile. HUDSON RIVER. 39 The Western railway president above mentioned related sometime ago the in- cident of his conversation with the president of the eastern railway and added: " I might have continued to share his belief in the ultimate triumph of the rail- way over the steamship if I had not had occasion to build and operate a line of steamships myself. These boats carry 2.700 tons of freight on the present depth of water at the Sault, and make the run from Duluth to Buffalo in three days and a half, and cost an average of $120 per day." Calling the distance from Duluth to Buffalo 1,000 miles, and we find these figures are equivalent to .015 cent per ton mile, only one- twenty-sixth the cost on the Lake Shore road. Or to express the same fact in terms which will be more readily understood by the average busi- ness man, it cost $26 on the most favorably situated railroad in the United States to do what is done on the Great Lakes for $1. These apparently disconnected figures are, in reality, very closely related, and I have set them in array as a support to my first conclusion, viz: That under existing conditions it is utterly impossible for railways to carry freight as cheaply as it can be carried by water. The Erie Canal was at first built to accommodate boats of about 80 tons. Its en- largement to accommodate boats of 210 tons effected a reduction of 50 per cent in freights. A study of the reports of the New York canal board shows that the actual cost of freight movement on the Erie Canal at present is about .2 cent per ton mile, only half as much as the lowest rail rate, while, as we have seen above, the cost- in lake steamships is but one-twenty-sixth of that rate. Ocean freights are still less; hence my second conclusion is, that the cost of water transportation de- creases as the size of the carrier increases. On roads subject to water competition freight rates invaribly go up when navi- gation closes in the fall and go down again when navigation reopens in the spring. A study of the statistics in Poor's Manual or the report of the Interstate Commerce Commission shows that the lowest rates are found on roads most sub- ject to water competition. Take, for instance, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern with its average rate of .653 cent and the Michigan Central with .726 cent per ton mile and compare these rates with those on the Chicago, Milwau- kee and St. Paul, and Chicago and Northwestern roads, which were 1.06 and 1 .03. respectively. My third conclusion, therefore, is that water ways are the most potent possible regulators of railway rates It should be noted, also, that the influence of water competition extends far be- yond the roads which lie nearest to the water way. The Lake Shore and New York Central, for instance, considered as one, are compelled to make rates under the intluence of a water way which extends all the way from Chicago to New York. The Pennsylvania CentraL away to the south, can not charge more than the New York Central, or the latter road would get the business ; and so it goes. Nor is the influence o^ the water way confined entirely to the season of navigation. Mr. Albert Fink testified before the Senate Select Committee on Interstate Commerce that, so far as grain was concerned, this influence extended throughout the winter, for if the rates were made too high the grain was simply stored to await the drop in rates which was certain to come when navigation was again opened. Supposing, then, for the moment, that other things are to remain as they are, the Duluth Chamber of Commerce favors the proposed improvement because it will make the city of Albany an ocean port and will increase the prosperity of her manufacturers, her mechanics, her wholesalers, her merchants, and citizens generally, thus adding to the prosperity of our common country. We favor it because established lines of communication, both rail and water, so radiate from this city that a large territory tributary thereto will share in the benefits mentioned. We favor it because it strengthens the great through line of water transporta- tion on which depends the prosperity of our own city and of all the great region of which Duluth is the nearest lake port. We favor it because it will be. in con- nection with things as they now are, a direct, positive, appreciable benefit to us. But most of all, we favor it because we do not want things to remain as they are, and we believe that this improvement when made will help to change them. The figures I have given as the net cost of water transportation on the Great Lakes are the results which have been attained on a draft of 15 feet. The ap- propriation is made, and the work is now in progress which will give a depth Of 20 feet through the St. Marys River instead of 15. Twenty feet of water at the Sault necessarily implies a corresponding improvement of the channel through the St. Clair flats. Speaking to a convention called in the interest of the water ways, Mr. Jas. J . Hill, of the Great Northern road, the Western railway president 4.0 HUDSON RIVER. to whom I have before referred, said: "The Government engineers propose to give us 20 feet of water. We shall accept the 20 feet, and use it \vhen we get it, but I promise you that whenever they will guarantee me 18 feet, I will build a line of boats that will carry 6,000 tons instead of 3,000, which is now the limit, and cut the present cost of lake transportation square in two." If he can build vessels of 6,000 tons burden on 18 feet of water, I should suppose that 20 feet would make possible boats that would carry 8,000, perhaps even 10.000 tons by the use of very full lines and twin screws. But no matter about that. Vessels carrying 5,000 or 6,000 tons will do well enough, and judging from the figures we have found for vessels carrying 2,700 tons, one will need some kind of a financial microscope in order to be able to see the ton mile rate for vessels twice the size. These are not wild dreams, but certainties of the near future, and do you suppose, gentlemen, when vessels of that class can come up the Hudson as far as Albany, and come east on the lakes as far as Buifalo, that we shall long rest content with a 6-foot ditch between? I tell you no. One of the first things we shall probably call for is the building of the ship canal around Niagara Falls, not because we love Buffalo less, nor Oswego more, but because we love ourselves so much. We want to shorten the distance that separates the steamship on the Great Lakes from the steamship that comes up the Hudson from the sea, and we do not intend to stop shortening that distance until we have shortened it clean out of existence, and our steamships of 5,000 tons can sail unhindered from any port on the Great Lakes to any part of the world. If you begin to count the cost and say "impossible," we answer, "it is a necessity, and necessities are never impossible." When I say "we," I speak no longer for Duluth alone, but as a representative of the mighty commerce of the lakes. And I use that word " mighty " advisedly. I have not the figures at hand for the tonnage passing through the Suez Canal in 1890, but in 1889 the tonnage passing through the Sault Canal, away in the center of the continent, exceeded that passing through the Suez by nearly three-quarters of a million tons, a fact that every American ought to know, and which I for one am proud of. And the Sault was only open two hundred and thirty -four days, while the Suez was open the entire year. The tonnage through the Sault in 1890 increased to 9,041,213 tons, which is al- most exactly the same as the combined tonnage entries of New York, Philadel- phia, and Boston for the fiscal year 1889-'90 (9,073,690). These figures, however, great as they are, represent only the business of Lake Superior. The tonnage passing through the Detriot River in 1889 amounted to 36,203.606, nearly 10,000,000 tons more than the combined entries and clearances of all the seaports of the United States, from Quoddy Head around to Puget Sound, and 3.000,000 tons greater than the combined coastwise and foreign shipping of Liverpool and London. All United States seaports 26, 983, 315 London _._ 19,245,417 Liverpool _ 14, 175, 200 Such a commerce as that, Mr. Chairman, has a right to speak, and when it speaks, it is entitled to be heard. Speaking, then, as a representative of this mighty commerce, I say that a direct outlet to the sea is a necessity, and that we shall have it, sooner or later, by one route or another, is a certainty. All possible routes through United States territory converge at Albany, and the nature of the report which you gentlemen shall make, will have an important bearing on the question whether that route shall lie entirely in our own territory, available alike in peace or war, adding in the one case to our prosperity, and mak- ing certain our protection in the other, or whether it shall lie through Canadian waters. As for the people of Duluth, whether considered in relation to the pres- ent benefits, or the prospective changes which it will help to bring, we are un- reservedly in favor of the deepening of the Hudson River. Sault Suez . 7, 516, 022 6, 783, 187 732, 835 Both 33, 420, 617 HUDSON RIVER. 41 GEO. S COLEMAN. [Assistant to the counsel to the corporation of the city of New York.] Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I appear to-day as the representative of the mayor of the city of New York, who is unable to attend personally, and through the" mayor as the representative of the people of the city of New York. I do not mean by this, the corporations alone, or the Chamber of Commerce, or the Boards of Trade, or the men of wealth, but I mean the people as a whole — the people whom the chief magistrate of the city of New York represents. I understand the question under consideration here to be a Federal one — one involving the greatest good of the greatest number. If for a time the contem- plated improvement of this great Hudson River should injure th'e interests of cer- tain people in the city of New York, it can not be questioned that it will ulti- mately be a benefit to the people of the city. The State has for some years past been endeavoring to protect the sources of this noble river by taking measures to preserve the Adirondack forests from destruction. If it is worth while for the State to appoint a commission for this purpose so as to enable the river to live, there is but one step further, and that step the Federal Government can take by widening and deepening the channel of that river. The United States Govern- ment is at present engaged in widening the Harlem River channel. Improved facilities for navigation we can not get too much of. The city of New York has been spoken of as a place where it is difficult for a vessel to enter and be accom- modated. That may be true to a certain extent. The city's rights with respect to the water front have been, and still are, involved in litigation ; but when those rights shall have been finally determined, you may depend upon it, that every part of Manhattan Island (which, unfortunately, is limited in its extent), every possible foot of water front, will be made available for the commerce of the Em- pire State ; for it can not be denied that New York is the Empire State, or that the city of New York is the empress of American cities. We are in favor of this movement, for anything that tends to improve the commerce of the United States and the State of New York will be reflected in the increased prosperity of the people of New York City. You cheapen the food products and the building materials that ceme into that city, and you can not help but advance the interests of the population as a whole. If there is anything in this improvement which may conflict with the interests of corporations, they will undoubtedly have an opportunity of speaking to the Congress of the country. The State of Pennsyl- vania has recently adopted plans which will improve the roads of that great State, and our own governor has tried in many ways in recent years to encourage the improvement o^ the roads in the State of New York. That is but another step in this same direction. We can not do too much to improve our means of com- munication or facilities for transportation. While not attempting in any way to represent the great bodies in the city of New York, whose interests would be most likely to be affected by this project, but speaking for the people as a community, I say that whatever will help this State and the people of the West must in every way result in the ultimate ad- vancement of the city of New York, and can not help but be of great advantage to all the people who live in the towns and cities that surround it. There is one point which has not been touched upon by other speakers. By res- olution of Congress you are called upon to report when this improvement should begin. The facts that are given by gentlemen who come here with statistics show that this work would be useful, and the figures demonstrate the relative values of water ways, but the third point on which you are called upon to report is the advisability of beginning the improvement at the present time. The res- olution speaks of " obstructions to navigation." It implies that there is some- thing in the way. And I say in behalf of the city of New York that the sooner the obstacle is removed, the better for all the interests concerned. T. A. JOHNSON. [Of Glens Falls, New York.] Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Commission, in common with the citizens of Glens Falls with whom I am visting here to-day, I am unwilling to take up your time by the presentation of any argument, or by attempting to add to the facts and figures which have been so ably presented." Our object in accepting the invitation to come here is to add, by our presence, to the local interest 42 HUDSON EIVER. which is felt in this proposed national improvement, for it emphatically will be a national improvement. We come from that section of this great State that has a great deal to do, in its locality, with furnishing the water for this river, and without the water it would not be worth much for any purpose. We are at the gateway of the Ticonderogas, to which the gentleman who has just taken his seat has made reference in his remarks about the preservation of the forests and the preservation of the water supply. I think I am warranted in saying for all the gentlemen who surround me from our own village, some 50 or 60 miles north of here, that I only speak the sentiment of the entire business part of our village when I say that we are, from first to last, emphatically in favor of this proposed improvement. It seems to me that as an humble citizen of this State and nation, that the benefits to acrue from such an improvement as this can hardly be over- estimated cr overstated. I am glad that*I came here, for a great many reasons; particularly, that I am able to look at such a representation from such a large portion of this State. I am very glad that I have been able to hear so many able letters and papers read and very glad that I am able to look upon and hear from the grand old man from Troy. I have heard a great deal about Troy all my life. I was born on the Hud- son River and have always lived there, and I have always said, that no matter what was got up, good, bad. or indifferent, that was claimed for anything, Troy put in the first claim afterward. I once heard about a man who died and was transported to Paradise. After being around a good deal, he felt rather gloomy, and said he felt homesick and wanted to get back to Troy. It seems to me that every business interest of every man from every section, not even confined to this State, is to be favorably affected by this proposed im- provement of the Hudson River, which is at once our pride and our boast. It should command the heartiest support of every citizen of this great and free Re- public, and I believe, as was said by the gentleman from Troy, that if this thing is presented as it ought to be, and I believe it will be no trouble in getting a fa- vorable report from the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Rep- resentatives, and I look forward to the time — perhaps not in my day — when this waterway is deepened as proposed, and when these ocean vessels can come up this magnificent highway of commerce and shall here receive their loads of grain and everything else that is brought from the great West and the North, with Troy and Albany combined, sitting here at the head of navigation as the queen of the feast: and I may add. I wish that Mr. Townsend may be spared to be the presiding officer and magistrate of the combined cities. Col. Gillespie. The meeting will now (1:20 p. m.) take an adjournment for one hour. JOHN F. LAPE. [Representing the citizens of Greenbush, N. Y.l Gentlemen, for over nineteen months I have worked almost incessantly for the Hudson River' ship canal. I have prepared a paper which I will have my colleague, Mr. Chauncey, read: The address is as follows: Gentlemen, the Hudson River is the nation's great highway between the sea- board and the extensive and productive lake region of the West, Northwest, and central Canada, and with the Erie Canal, it regulates freight rates as far as the Dakotas. As early as 1768 a passageway for boats was built between the Mohawk and Lake Ontario, through Wood Creek and Oneida Lake, and at that time Sir Henry Moore, colonial governor of New York, recommended the Gen- eral Assembly to build a canal around the rapids of the Mohawk at Little Falls. In 1791--92 the canal was built with five locks at Little Falls, another at Ger- man Flats, and another at Wood Creek, making a canal 7 miles long, and for which the sum of $400,000 was paid. Nothing further was done until 1807, when ihe canal question was revived by the Hon. Albert Gallatin. Secretary of the United States Treasury, who prepared an able state paper on the subject for the United States Senate. Secretary Gallatin advocated the joining of the Hudson River and Lake Ontario with a second canal. In 1809 De Witt Clinton was choeet) one of a commission to survey a route from the Hudson to the Great Lakes of the West, and Buffalo was selected as the western terminus ; but one delay followed another, and the war of 1812 postponed the measure until 1817, when a bill au- thorizing the construction of the Erie Canal was passed, and work on the great waterway to the West commenced. With the election of Clinton as governor, work was progressed, and the Erie Canal was declared finished on the 26th day HUDSON RIYER. 43 of October. 1825 ; but no sooner was it declared finished and ready for traffic than its enlargement was found necessary, and at an enormous expense this was ac- complished in 1862. Up to the present time the State of New York has expended something- over $135,000,000 for construction, maintenance, and operation of the Erie and other canals throughout the State, and $1,431,429 for dredging, building- dikes, and improving navigation on the upper Hudson, and the General Government has also expended up to 1879, a grand total of $1,350,000, for dikes and improvements, but since that time all work of any importance on the upper Hudson has been done by the State government. In 1882 the people of New York State voted to throw its great water ways open, free to the commerce of the world, and the present average tonnage is 5,106,401 tons per annum j valued at $150,000,000. The total tonnage of the Hudson River between Troy and New York is not far from 18.500,000 tons per annum, a consid- erable more than twice as much as the great Mississippi, and seven or eight times as much as the Missouri and Ohio rivers. With the development of the North- west, the commerce of the Great Lakes has grown to wonderful proportions, but what has been is as nothing compared with what the next score of years will show. More tons of freight pass through the Detroit River each year than the total exports and imports of the United States. In 1887 the ore output from the Superior regions amounted to 4.700,000 tons : this year the total will be about 8.500,000 tons. In 1889. Chicago. Milwaukee, West Superior, and Duluth shipped to Buffalo more than 34.887,000 bushels of wheat, and this year the grain fleet on its first trip brought down 110,000 tons of wheat, corn, oats, rye, and flaxseed. The trade of ore and grain forms only a portion of the great traffic of the lakes. The Canadian commerce adjoining the western lakes is only in the first stage of development. A competent American authority has stated that Canada posesses two-thirds of the wheat-producing area of this continent. An examination of a section between the Rocky Mountains and Hudson Bay, covering 1,260.000 square miles, shows that 860,000 square miles are fit for settlement and adapted to the raising of potatoes, barley, and wheat. This immense territory also contains inexhaustible deposits of silver, iron, graphite, ocher, brick and pottery clay, mica, gypsum, lime, and sandstone, while the petroleum area is so extensive as to justify the belief that eventually it will supply not only the larger part of North America, but many foreign countries. Less than 10 per cent of the Great Lake traffic is in Canadian vessels, or in other words, on all the lakes the stars and stripes float supreme, and here in winter can fre- quently be seen larger fleets under the American flag than in any ocean port. The nearer a steamship can be brought to the Great Lakes, the better it will be for the surrounding country for hundreds of miles. In this ageibf competition, every enlightened country is holding fast to its in- dustries and commerce, and with the deepening of the Hudson, we simply propose to bring Buffalo and the great western country 150 miles closer to the seaboard. With a ship channel to Troy, the western shipper would not only effect a saving of 300 miles of towing to and from New York, but would be able to make at least six or eight additional trips from Buffalo to West Troy every season . At present it takes ten steam canal boats to transport 2,400 tons of grain from West Troy to New York City, and each of these canal boats will consume forty hours to make the passage, which gives us a grand total of seventeen days less eight hours, and seven or eight of these boats will return to Buffalo without earning one dollar, consequently the home-bound passage will consume all the profits made with the cargo. A steamship would come from New York to West Troy in ten hours, receive a cargo in ten hours, return to New York in ten hours, and be 150 miles at sea before the steam canal boats had covered the distance from West Troy to New York and made fast to the dock at the latter place with its 240 tons of wheat. The Hudson River is and will always remain an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, and no matter how deep it may be dredged its present level can never be lowered. No locks or artificial supply of water will be needed to keep the channel free from sand bars and other obstructions — the deeper the channel, thebetter — as sand bars form only in shallow places. With a great body of deep water passing through a channel, all sediment and mud at the bottom is scoured away, and a uniform depth is maintained. When the St. Lawrence ship channel was excavated through Lake St. Peter, a few miles below Montreal, the most experienced pilots of that day said it would be immediately filled with the shifting sand at the sides and bottom, but investi- gation and sounding after the expiration of seven years proved that it had actually 44 HUDSON RIVER. grown deeper. The project met with no further opposition, and the great work was successfully completed, which made Montreal, though situated 1.000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, a grand commercial city. If the commerce of the Great Lakes and the Hudson is not to be considered, "then there is another good and substantial reason why the river should have a ship channel . The Government has just establshed a gun foundry at West Troy on the grounds of the Watervliet Arsenal, and to equip war vessels with the heavy carriages and guns which it is intended to construct at that plant it will be necessary for the war vessels and battle ship to reach the docks of the Government works. No ordinary railway bridge would sustain the weight of the largest gun. and besides, the expense of transporting them by rail, unloading, and placing them on board the war ships would soon exhaust more funds than is required to con- struct the proposed ship channel from Hudson to the State dam at Troy. But with the enormous commerce of the Great Lakes, and with the entire Northern, Western, and Northwestern country asking for more rapid and cheaper trans- portation to the seaboard, it becomes the duty of the Federal Government to make the Hudson River what nature intended it should be — the chief and natural water route to the great and growing West. HON. H. G. BURLEIGH. [Of Whitehall, N. Y.] Gentlemen, it is a well-known fact in my Congressional district that it is usual to speak of Mr. Townsend and Col. McArthur, notwithstanding that w r e live in a modern age, as the " Heroes of Troy." The only difficulty in the way of improving the waterways of this State and the transportation facilities of "the West is the State of New York itself. Mr. Youngman referred to Mr. Windom's report. I believe that in the year 1873 the United States Senate appointed a committee on the best transportation routes from the West to the sea. Senator Conkling and Senator Sherman were on that committee, and they brought the attention of this country to the fast growing commerce of the West. There is no doubt, if Great Britain owned the State of New York, that we would have water ways to the West. Millions of money have been spent for the commerce of the Argentine Republic alone, which is so much less than the commerce of the West. The gentleman from Duluth who sp^ke so ably here, said he had been told by one of the prominent men of the West, Mr. Hill, that the wheat-growing section of the Northwest was something fabulous, and that they were going to have an outlet. The vast improvements in steam- boats and the present methods of transportation are equal to the improvements of the railroad system. The metropolitan press, in speaking of our canal sys- tem, have created the impression adverse to it, and they have done so per sist- ently for the last year, and the New York Tribune spoke of a deficit in the canal system of several millions. Now. what is that deficit? $4,000,000 were loaned to the Erie road : $3,000,000 to the salt works, and to the State prisons of this State $200,000, and that to-day stands for the canal system of this State. They were not got to pay the expenses of the Government, nor the debt of the Erie road. When I was chairman of the canals committee in 1875 I investigated the matter thoroughly, and the expense of maintaining the water ways of the State to-day is not one-half what it is to maintain the capitol on the hill. All that you have got to do to-day to get this matter through is to goto Wash- ington, and the Northwest represented there will meet you. The very able chairman of the River and Harbor Committee is willing to improve the facilities that exist in the water ways of the West, and most every one. even the Southern members, appreciate the value of the transportation routes by way of the West- ern lakes and the Hudson River. The gentlemen that come down from Lake Champlain and are here to-day illustrate how every man in the Lake Champlain valley is in favor of this great movement, and if the city of Albany will meet this question there is no doubt but what it will be accomplished, The gentleman from Troy, Mr. Townsend, omitted to speak of the Hudson River further up. Do we realize the extent of the Canadian rivers tributary to this great Cham" plain valley ? There are only two great valleys— the Champlain region and the Oswego valley, and it is fully time that the State of New York moved up to the importance of the question. The water ways have not received the attention they are entitled to. One hundred thousand men of this State are employed on the Great Lakes, and millions of dollars are invested in canal boats. One mil- HUDSON RIVER. 45 lion, four hundred thousand tons come down the Champlain Canal. Nearly 1,600,000 tons are put upon canal boats that have a draft of 4 feet of water. Now, if the Hudson River were improved to Fort Edward this canal would vastly improve the great trade which now exists in the North, and I wish to call the attention of this board in making their report that I think there should be a survey through to Port Edward on the Hudson River. Let me call your attention to another fact. Ten million tons of iron ore are produced in the United States. Lake Champlain produces one-tenth of it. It is capable of producing one-third of the entire ore of this country. I tell you that the northern part of this State is ready and willing to help you in this matter. Talk about the expense of maintenance. What is the expense ? It is about 18 cents on the $100. It is a mere nothing. No other country on this earth would permit \ts water ways, especially such a one as this magniiicent Hudson River, to remain unimproved. Even Spain or Mexico, if they had these vast water ways, would feel themselves disgraced at the care and protection that is given to them. |H. B. SILLIMAN. [Of Cohoes, N. Y.] Mr. Chairman, after what has been said, and so well said, as to this measure, what I have to say with reference to the peculiar locality which I have been called upon to represent I have sometimes thought might be unsaid. I come from a city 3 miles above Troy. Both the southern boundary of the city of Cohoes and the northern boundary line of the city of Troy, if extended, would nearly coincide. It is a manufacturing place entirely. The facilities which it possesses for this purpose we consider almost unequaled. The topography of the place is, allow me briefly to state, as follows: We lie for a mile and a half on the Hudson River which is above Troy. On the northern boundary of the city is the Mohawk River, having within the boundaries of the city or within its lines about 140 feet flow, over half of which is available for hydraulic purposes for manufac- turing. The formation of the space is such that this power can be used to the greatest advantage to the series of parallel canals arising from one into the other, giving, as now proposed, a possibility of enlargement — a series of canals each one about 22 feet head and fall. In other words, we have there at the lowest stage of the water at the Mohawk 10,000 horse power, which, being supplemented by steam, can be extended many fold. In speaking of the capacities of this place, I am not doing it for the purpose of advertising Cohoes, but as an illustration of a principle which I bhall presently speak of. # We have one cotton mill there which uses 30,000 bales of cotton per year, mak- ing 80,000.000 yards of cloth, using 4,000 tons of coal per year, and making a ton- nage in a year of 20,000 tons. We have about thirty knitting mills, having, as will be understood by persons who are acquainted with that style of manufacture, 240 sets, producing 1,300 dozen of underwear of shirts and drawers per year, or 15,600 of these garments. The tonnage from this is equal to 25,600 tons. This is germane to the subject under consideration to some extent. I will not present the claims of Cohoes and its interest in this project in the same line as was offered in the case of Troy to-day, by including the cities and villages within 5 miles of us. This with the 25,000 people that live within our limits would give us 125,000, who are all more or less interested in manufacturing. That would have very little interest for this committee: but I present the subject as a new phase of thought, it seems to me, because I am surprised that neither from Troy or Albany has there been any presentation of the local industries of the place, and yet in this valley from Albany to Cohoes there are scores of thousands of people engaged in manufacturing — active producers of value, who give value to raw products, the greater part of which consists in the labor that is given to them. They are the people who take a pound of cotton and from it make 4 yards of cot- ton cloth that are sent to the markets of the world, and which represents not only the raw cotton that has gone through there, but the toil and labor of a great many men. Such an industry is a well-recognized part of commerce. Perhaps I may be charged with being selfish when speaking of the industries of Cohoes, but that is a feature that is not ignored in the passage of other bills — the river and harbor bills, for instance, where the benefit to localities is always taken into consideration. Why not here? Why not, if you find in Troy one establish- ment employing 135 men, not women and children, but stalwart men. engaged in turning out the products of iron. And there are thousands and thousands 46 HUDSON RIVER. of others. Although Cohoes may be a small thing, I say that it serves as an illustration of the manufacturing - interests in this part of the State of New York, in regard to this proposed improvement. It is well that we should look with enlarged view upon the demands that are made of us as citizens of the State of New York, and above all. as citizens of the United States, by furnishing a water way that shall extend from the harbor of New York to the great chain of lakes on the West, and that we should be able to see vessels coming up in one grand procession that shall lead the world. But we don't want to sit idly by on the banks of that stream and look at those overflowing products. While these streams of wheat and corn are running by us, what are we going to do with our water power, where the water goes on and flows forever, containing the elements of prosperity. It will not do for us to neglect these thing! — industries that: are such an important part of this country. Cohoes is a little place in comparison with other places, but remember that around it and its 25.000 people the armies of Washington, Rensselaer, and Saratoga are bringing in, not corn and wheat, but other things that are very important to the country. That is something that is worthy of being considered. Not only the commercial interests are to be regarded, but the manufacturing interests as well. I wish that I had ths statistics to present to you of the manufacturing inter- est of our locality — not only in the tonnage that it gives to the Hudson River, but in regard to the market which it affords and the benefit which accrues to the surrounding country, reaching I do not know how far. God hasten the time when we shall see ocean steamers anchored in front of the streets of Troy and the streets of Cohoes also. I should ask the committee to go 3 or 4 miles further and reach Cohoes and Waterford, at an insignificant additional expense, but I sup- pose that that is not within the resolution. I tell you, there is something com- ing into that stream besides ocean steamers. They are the small steamers and barges of these various means of transportation that are coming alongside of the ocean steamers. And not only in number but in value will they outweigh the ocean steamers. We can not tell the farmers of this State to sit on the banks of the canal and see the wheat and the corn going by them to the New York market, and say to them, " What a glorious thing, this inland transportation is."' It has been wisely said that every facility that is added to transportation adds to pro- duction. And it is true. The gentleman from Duluth said that every inch that you added to the water in depth adds to the facilities, and in that way everything is cheapened. The farmer will feel it. If Cohoes shall be afforded facilities for bringing cheap coal and ore to its banks, 1£ miles long, then, I tell you, that 100,000 of her population will reach out their arms to gather in the varied prod- ucts of the farmers of New York. She has the natural facilities for all this. But. remember, this is only an illustration. On the other side of the river, 5 or 6 miles, there is Waterford, and further up are to be found Syracuse and Roches- ter and others. All of us are to see these vessels going past us. But are we to recsive our share ? Oh, no. It has been said that the introduction of machinery would enable one man to do what was formerly done by three. The farmers here don't have the fruits of their labor. On the" broad savannahs of the West they reap that advantage but what are we going to do, on the hills where this ma- chinery can't come into play ? It is an important market, that has got to be cre- ated to make up the wealth and prosperity of the State, and, therefore, I present this little city of Cohoes as an object lesson as to what is due to the farming and manufacturing interests; not only the factories around here, but those which reach into Vermont and New Hampshire, where they go into the mountains for the rich marble for the mansion and the statuary, which is to be taken to Lake Champlain and put into its vessels along this highway. Whose place is it to do all this ? I will not enlarge in this regard. The State has done much. The State is willing to do much, but to the United States Government belongs also this duty. Mr. Chairman, the rivers run toward the sea. but the sea is not yet full. Why? It is because the grand, glorious old sun, with his bright arms reaching down silently but powerfully, takes up that which the rivers and the streams have given and brings it back once more and disseminates it, giving peace and prosperity over the land, and so the eternal process from the Eternal God goes on, and will go on until the children of earth shall be no more. To me it seems that the Gen- eral Government stands in relation to that power. Stream after stream, little rivulet and mighty river, are pouring their abundance into our national coffers. L^t the National Government stand in the place of that grand power. Not with demonstration, not with force, but let it be like the sunlight — quiet, unfelt, un- s en, but with almighty power, taking up the benefits and bringing them back until they shall be an all-pervading blessing, and give prosperity to the whole country. HUDSON RIVER. 47 WILLIAM E. CLEARY. LPresident of the Canal-Boat Owners' Association of the State of New York.] Gentleman, this call upon me is unexpected. I just arrived here a moment ago j to see what was being done, and had no intention of saying anything to this committee. There are gentlemen here from all parts of the State who could abun- dantly lay the case before you a great deal better than I could, but having been called upon to represent the Canal-Boat Owners' Association, I suppose I can not do better than to agree in all that Mr. Burleigh of Whitehall has said. It seems that the water w r ays of this country are not developed entirely as they should be. Mr. Burleigh mentioned one mattter that I might call your attention to as a very pregnant point, that the State of New York seems to be to blame for this. We have held canal conventions for the improvement of the canals, and a great many of us have opposed United States governmental aid. believing that it would be too slow, and that the State itself would take hold of the thing quicker and cause the immediate improvement of the water ways. But it seems that there must be a spirit of false economy and parsimony pervading the whole State, and that they will not spend the money for that which is necessary for the State, but are willing to spend it in decorations and in useless things that are not capable of bringing the same prosperity to the State as the improvement of its water ways. I, for one, am ready to join with you and to join with the people of the North- west. That is where the grain comes from, and the people out there need this water way fully as much as the people of the State of New York do. They are probably willing to dig out and enlarge the water way. That seems to be the most natural course, in order that their commerce may reach tne seaboard as cheaply as possible, so that it may be laid down in other lands in competition with grain from other ports of the world. I think with the gentlemen, that the United States could be engaged in no better business for the prosperity of its whole people, regardless of State lines, than in digging out and increasing the water facilities of the whole country. Therefore I may say, as representing the canal-boat men, that I am in favor of anything, or any method that will increase the water ways, deepen them, and make them capable of carrying more goods. Now, to speak of the place where Mr. Burleigh came from — the Champlain Valley. I own some barges that were built in Lake Champlain because labor was cheaper there than in New York and the surrounding country. I had them brought down to New York. They brought 150 tons all the way through. In New York Harbor those same boats carry 400 tons of soft coal from docks and de- liver it alongside of ocean steamers. That is a good, fair illustration of what deep water will do. These boats can only carry 150 tons through this little water way, but that is owing to the lack of public spirit of the people, and to that false argument that originates with people who desire to be considered champions of the farmers, but who are simply foolish advocates and injurious to the State. That is a good illustration of what may be done by deepening other streams. Nature gave us the water way ; man built the railroads. W T herever water comes in competition with railroads for heavy freight, for unmanufactured articles, it can hold its own, and it is just as beneficial and more so than the railroads. If there were such corporations" as the New York Central or the Pennsylvania Kail- road in direct competition with the Erie and the Champlain canals, does any one suppose that they would lie there neglected ? Many efforts have been made by men in our business to induce the legislature to help matters. Men have come here to Albany to beg for appropriations to improve the water ways. What would the cost amount to ? As was said here, it would be about 18 cents on $100. Each farm would have to pay about a dozen of eggs as its share of the money re- quired. All the prosperity of New York and Brooklyn and all the other cities means lf»ss taxation to the individual. I only call your attention to these facts to show you that we are worthy of re- ceiving this improvement from the Government, and hope that you gentlemen will recommend. HON. WM. F. TEFFT. [Of Whitehall, N. Y.] May it please the gentlemen of the Commission and gentlemen of this conven- tion, I almost feel in attempting to prolong this discussion, that I should justify the retort that was made to me in suggesting that the diet of the people of White- wall was brass. 48 HUDSON RIVER. So much has been said in this discussion that it seems almost superfluous to attempt to say anything- more or to touch upon any lines of argument or discus- sion that has not already been thoroughly exhausted. There are two things, however, which I address to this Commission which have not been touched upon by any of the able gentlemen who have addressed it. As I understood the work of this Commission as stated by the chairman, it was to ascertain and determine whether the aid of the United States Government should be invoked in the completion and working of this improvement of the navigation of the Hudson River. The point, therefore, which is to be argued before this committee probably is the consideration of whether this great work, which is conceded by all to be so important and so beneficial, should be under- taken at the expense of the United States Government instead of at the expense of the State; for the Hudson River, notwithstanding the burden of commerce which it bears to the sea, lies wholly, entirely, and exclusively within the State of New York. It would seem, therefore, at first sight, that whatever is to be done in the improvement of the navigation of the river, to increase its capacity, should be the work of the people of our own State, and that this improvement is a matter of unconcern and indifference to the people of other States in the great commonwealth of States which makes us a nation. Now, the point we urge is that we are to justify this Commission in its report on this improvement in recommending to the General Government and to Con- gress an appropriation of money by the United States to improve the navigation of the channel of this river which is entirely within the borders of one State. I will say right here that the importance of the improvement which is projected is so great, that were it only to be done by the State government, and only by the State in whose borders it lies, that the people of that Commonwealth would be justified in expending all that would be necessary to complete the work pro- jected. The question, therefore, presents itself from a double aspect on this point alone. It is important to the State and it is important to the nation. Were this a con- vention composed entirely of citizens of the State of New York, and we were considering whether the finances of this State should be expended toward the perfection of this improvement, I could make an argument that would at least satisfy myself as to the sufficiency of its importance to justify the expenditure, by the State alone, of the large sum of money that would be necessary to perfect it. But we are considering the question of United States aid, and therefore we are to consider the question not as to its importance to the State alone, not as to its importance to localities alone, not for its benefits to the people of Albany and the people of Troy and the people of Cohoes, or to the people of the State all the way from Albany to Buffalo, but we are to consider whether it is of sufficient benefit and importance to the people of the entire nation to justify the expendi- ture by the Federal Government. It has been suggested here very properly that, in view of the expenditures of the Federal Government, it was at first contemplated and understood that the commerce of the West to the East would be by the way of the Ohio and Missis- sippi rivers. And therefore the attention of the Federal Government to the im- provement of navigation was directed to the improvement of those streams mainly. So great was the importance of the Mississippi River deemed to the people of the Northwest that it was used as a lever by the people of the South by which they would be enabled to compel the Northwest to join with them in their attempt to separate themselves from the United States Government. " For," they said, "the Mississippi River is the great avenue and the great outlet for your commerce, and therefore, as we hold the mouth of it, you must go with us so that your commerce can flow unvexed to the sea." The people of the Northwest said : "We can see all that you say in regard to the importance to us of the Mis- sissippi River, and therefore we will force our way with bayonets to the mouth of the Mississippi River, and no power of Government, foreign or domestic, shall inferfere with the flow of the commerce of the Northwest to the Gulf." And so they kept their word, and the regiments of the great Northwest forced their way from the West to the Gulf with their lines of bayonets. The Mississippi River was indeed closed, but did it stop the flow of traffic and commerce from the West to the East because navigation was obstructed ? No. It found another outlet, and then the importance of the canal system of the State of New York and this Hudson River, on whose banks we live, was demonstrated and revealed to the people of the Northwest, and they saw that their avenue of commerce was not the Ohio River, not the Mississippi River, but the system which terminates at New York City through the State of New York. HUDSON RIVER. 49 That was the beginning of the realization of the importance of the canal system of the State of New York and the Hudson River to the people and the commerce of the Northwest. Now, then, what has been the result ? Why, the result was that the transpor- tation of cereals from the United States to Europe was then developed. Do you realize within how comparatively a short time this great commerce which is so extensive and for which the figures have been given here has found its way through the State of New York and down the river to the harbor of New York and from there to the rest of the globe? It is all within thirty years — since 1860. Now, then, what? The State of New York is brought into relations with the Northwest, as New Orleans was brought into relations with it previous to the war. And it is found that the commerce of the cereals of the West must find its outlets to the markets of the world through New York. These are the reasons, gentlemen of the Commission and gentlemen of the convention, why this improve- ment is a national concern. It does not affect the people of the State of New York alone. The commerce that flows through the Erie Canal and flows through the Hudson River, that comes from the Champlain Canal, and from every infini- tesimal part of it, is through the State of New York. It is the products of the West and the Northwest that comes through our water ways which enables us to say to-day that the commerce which flows through the Hudson River is one-half greater than that of all the other rivers of the common country. That is why this improvement is an international, an interstate, affair. That is why this Commission will be warranted in saying to the United States Govern- ment that this thing does not concern the State of New York alone. It concerns all the States of the West — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and all the States which have recently come into the Union. It is to benefit them as well. It is to benefit every State through which and on whose borders this commerce is carried, and it is that which makes it of such national moment and concern. Now, that is my first point. Understand me. It is because it develops and furnishes an outlet for the products of the great States of the West and of the Northwest. Now, then, the affair goes beyond even the United States. It now becomes a matter of international importance. I said that it was within only thirty years, comparatively, that the cereals of the West and the Northwest have found a European market. Gentlemen, what is the problem of the whole civilized world to-day ? It is one which interests gentlemen of your profession. The whole engineering profession of the world is taxed to the uttermost to find new ways of communication, new means of transportation, to cheapen the products which feed mankind. It is for this that the Suez Canal was put through the Isthmus of Suez. It is the reason that the Nicaragua Canal is to be put in to connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean. The object is to shorten the time of transportation and to cheapen transportation. Let us see how that affects this question. First, we have natural water ways. We have the rivers and we have the little barges. There was a time when the communication between Staten Island and New York City was by the ferry boat ^ Commodore Vanderbilt . We have these natural water ways, and barges and boats and vessels that were propelled by hand. Then we had the canal and the small canal boat. Then we had the railway age. As has been stated to-day, the an- nual railroad mileage built all over the globe at the present time is in the neigh- borhood of 50,000 miles, and more than half of it is within the United States. We have, then, this mode of communication. Now what? We have to dimin- ish the railroad communication if it is not cheap enough. Then, what is there to do ? Transporting bulk. That was the argument in the statistics which were so ably and clearly presented by the gentleman from Duluth. When it was found that the transportation by the large lake craft, as compared with the railroad, was as one to twenty-six ; that is to say, if you move the same bulk of traffic by the railroad it calls for twenty-six times as much as to move it by the large lake craft. That is where the problem is coming now. It is to have large water crafts, and that is why it is proposed to make the Hudson River an arm of the sea. so that these large crafts can come up from the city of New York to the city of Albany, or the city of Troy, or to whatever point it shall be deemed advis- able by this Board to recommend to the Government. Mr Welles states, in his series of articles in the Popular Science Monthly, that, when they first built the Suez Canal, they built in steamers of 1,000 tons II- Ex. 29 37 50 HUDSON RIVER. burden. In two years they put in vessels of 2,000 tons, and then vessels of 3,000 tons, and those are the vessels which to-day navigate the Suez Canal. That is the problem. It is to extend these water ways out as far as possible, and to have as many as possible of these large water craft as can be navigated, to carry the products. One gentleman said here: "What would Great Britain do if it owned this State?" What is Great Britain, or a portion of that island, doing now? It is building a ship canal from Liverpool to Manchester : spending millions of dol- lars to make a ship canal between those two cities that were already connected by water, and already, it would seem, sufficiently connected by rail. Why? To make that 30 miles of navigation navigable by ocean-going vessels. They thought they should not stop at Liverpool, but should go to Manchester. How does that matter bear on the question before us? Here, again, comes in the figures of the gentleman from Duluth, or perhaps it was another gentleman who submitted a paper showing statements of facts as represented by the census at the present time. In what direction was the growth of the country to-day ? He stated that it was in the neighborhood of the lakes. There we have it. What, then, is the problem ? It is to make your water communication where this growth of population is, and increase the production by making a continu- ous water way from the tail end of the lakes to the sea. This improvement is one step in that direction. Seventeen or eighteen years ago this winter, standing in my place in the as- sembly of this State, I asserted the prediction that the time would come when Duluth would be a larger point of grain distribution than Chicago. I have lived to see it. The statistics of the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Duluth show that more grain was, in the year of our Lord 1890, sent from Duluth than was sent from the city of Chicago. Where is that grain-producing area going ? Where is it developing ? It is continually going to the northwest. It has gone out of Ohio, gone out of Illi- nois, gone out of Wisconsin, largely going out of Minnesota, and is going into the Dakotas. and into Wyoming; going, as one gentleman stated to-day, up to the Valley of the North, and up the Saskatchewan. Therefore, in any statements which may be made as to the grain-producing area of the United States, refer- ence must be made to these facts. It is continually going to the northwest ; go- ing down the lakes; and the problem now is, to find the shortest way to get the grain from the lakes to the seaboard. If you look at the map you can find that you can go through the lakes and go down the Oswego Canal, and so to Albany. It is a great step to bring the ocean up to Albany; your shortening your line of communication 150 miles and in- creasing the capacity of your craft. By and by the question will be. supposing this improvement to be consummated, whether you will go from Lake Ontario down to Albany with a ship canal, or whether you will go down the St. Law- rence, and come across the Lake Champlain, and so down the Champlain Valley. But whatever system is devised by which the grain-producing area of this coun- try is to be connected with the Atlantic Ocean, it must be with some system that connects with the lakes. The engineering capacity of this country will speedily determine the easiest and cheapest, the most economical way of making that navigation; and when that time shall come, I, as a resident of the Champlain Valley, have no doubt where the line will be laid. The first step, however, is this subject of improving the navigation of the Hudson River as far as Troy. And I now come to the second point which will be embraced in the report of this Commission — whether you should extend this proposed improvement to the city of Troy? I say by all means recommend that. The local commerce has already been explained, but it is necessary for the com- merce of the Erie Canal to go to Troy in view of the further extension and de- velopment of this work in connection with the work which I have already sug- gested from the northern lakes. There is still another consideration . I have said that the grain-exporting com- merce of this country has developed within the last thirty years. That is true. And it has had such an effect on the growth of the West and the Northwest that it has excited the envy of all the nations of the earth. Not only that, but also the cheapness of our products, and of our transportation. The comparatively low cost at which a cargo of grain or flour can be transported from the Dakotas to England has led men to inquire whether it can be produced even cheaper in other places. What is the effect? Three men, as stated by Mr. Welles, can produce and lay down in Liverpool for less than the rental of the ground in England necessary to produce that amount of wheat. Other milieus have seen HUDSON RIVER. 51 this, and they are moving heaven and earth to compete with this country to supply the grain market of Europe. Even Egypt is coming- up out of the cen- turies of degradation to compete with our market. England has extended her rail- ways into India to see if they can not produce wheat at a trifle less than can he done in the United States. Reference has been made to the Argentine Republic. Capitalists of England have embarrassed themselves in loading up with the securities of that Republic, to see if they can not compete with the United States, and lessen the supply of wheat that is obtained from this country. And so it is all over the globe. A difference of a quarter of a cent a bushel de- cides the source of supply of the food of the nations of Europe. Now, having this thing in view, everything that diminishes the cost of trans- portation and of production, even to the most infinitesimal degree, is a matter of national importance, and it should be talren into account. I need not refer the distinguished gentlemen of this Board to the engineering problems that are asked to be solved to shorten communication through the lakes. Reference has been made to the commerce of the Detroit River and the St. Clair Falls. There is now, and you gentlemen are more familiar with the fact than I am. and can tell me of it, rather than that I should suggest it to you, a system of ship railways whereby a large corner in the system of the Great Lakes is to be cut off. Everything is being done. I need not refer you to the ship railway that is being built in Nova Scotia so as to shorten the route and cheapen the cost of production. I only mention it so as to suggest to this convention how the minds of statesmen and engineers and the commercial men and the men of business of the whole world have been turned to the question of producing and transporting the products of the earth at the very minimum of cost. Having these views in my mind, and having these facts and conclusions here, it seems to me criminal that this development should not be undertaken. I can not conceive of the tendency of the people of this country to antagonize works of internal improvement. I look at other nations and see them expending millions of money, tunneling the Alps and cutting down mountains and excavating isth- muses at narrow intervals to connect seas, and doing everything to hasten com- munication and cheapen production, and I see the people of this Empire State, a State of 5,000,000 inhabitants, sit supinely and view their water ways with in- difference. Their advantages of situation are such that the stream of commerce can not go around them if they only develop it, and I tell you that in this age of engineering ability, nothing is impossible. The streams of commerce which flow to our borders from the remote corners of the West, which has so greatly enlarged, and which has made us so wealthy, can greatly be increased. From St. Johns in Nova Scotia, ip Newport News, and to Savannah, every nerve is strained to get control of the magnificent commerce of the Northwest. Busy brains are plot- ting, and busy hands are engaged in the work of bringing the communication of the Northwest within their reach so as to control the production. New York has hitherto been the Empire State, because it has been able to con- trol its commerce. New York City has been the metropolis of this country, be- cause of her harbor, and of her nearness to the sea. Do you realize, gentlemen, that there was a time in the history of this country when Newport was a larger city than New York? There was such a time, because Newport, on account of her harbor, and her communications, and her intercourse with the West Indies, and controlling a larger area than New York, was a larger city than New York, and bade fair to be a larger city than New York and Boston to-day. There was a time when Philadelphia was that. Now, if you take the commerce of the Northwest by the Erie Canal ; when you can take the commerce of Canada by the Champlain Canal : then you distribute the area of your rivals and become the metropolis of the western continent. If New York would be the Empire State of the western continent, it must be beeause she can reach out her hands across the lakes and across the prairies to the grain fields of Dakota, and Minnesota, and Wyoming, and the Red River Valley of the North, and flux them and bring them within her borders. As soon as she can do this, she will be the Empire State. When she ceases to do this, her decline will have begun. COL. FURMAN. [Of Schenectady, N. Y.l Mr. Chairman and gentleman of the Committee, I have just arrived here, and did not know that I would be called upon to speak, but the question be- fore the committee is, what benefit is to be derived to the State by deepening the 52 HUDSON RIVER. Hudson River? Now, we are only to judge the future by the pas 4 . In the early days our fathers went to work and built this Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River. Up to that time, the country was in its infancy. There was no West, and when we built that Erie Canal it took the tide of emigration from the old West and planted it on the prairies. Illinois. Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio owe their early existence to the Erie Canal. We opened then a direct trade with the West by way of the Erie Canal to the Hudson, and by the Hudson to New York City. New York City, as a gentleman remarked a few moments ago, was comparatively a village to what it is now — the great metropolis of a great country. Upon the opening of that trade it came to New York ; all the surplus cereals raised by the people on the prairies they sent it to New York, and received in return the merchandise of the New York merchants. In other words, they shipped their products here and were paid for them in merchandise. This in- creased trade did much to make the metropolis what she is to-day. At that time we were not a manufacturing locality, nor were we a wool-raising State. We now stand out as the Empire State. Where do we get our immense re- venue from ? Why, much of it comes from the beautiful harbor of New York City through its great trade with the West, and this trade must certainly be increased by this work. I do not confine myself to any particular locality, but to my mind, to deepen the Hudson River will bring this increase about. The Government has done nothing for our canal. New York is indebted somewhat to the Erie Rail- road and the New York Central Railroad coming down from the Pacific slope with its four pteel tracks and bringing that great commerce from the Northwest. These railroads are certainly entitled to some of the credit. But in order to take care of the farmers who are tilling the soil, you must look after cheap transporta- tion for them, if you want to protect them. A few years ago the farmers of the great West had to burn up their corn be- cause it did not pay to transport it, as transportation was so high. When, a long while ago, the Erie Canal was opened after much labor, matters were improved, but the facilities it now offers do not keep pace with what we need. By digging out this river and bringing your ocean vessels to the capital of your State, you will change all this, but you must also enlarge your Erie Canal to Buffalo. You make it a ship canal, and then cargoes can be placed direct on the vessels and sent right through to Liverpool. The other canals — the Champlain and the Oswego — should also be developed — so complete control of this Western commerce can be obtained. See what they are doing to the Welland Canal. Tuey are spending vast sums of money there. They are seeking to so improve it that if we do not meet them on this*question, they will divert all our commerce in that direction. The English people are trying to make that a great highway. We should look upon that with a jealous eye. Shall the Government come in and make this great enterprise a success ? I don't see why other States should not come in and contribute toward it. When Congress passed a law to dredge the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Missouri, New York willingly contributed her share into the Treasury of the nation for this purpose. A few years ago a few men succeeded in finding a way across the Rocky Mountains. To-day the entire con- tinent is connected by railroads. What did the United States do toward the building of that first road? It g*ave its bonds. The money borrowed to put that great enterprise through was guaranteed by the Government, and to this the State of New York contributed its share. What did the State of New York do? It said, aye. The Government gave the road lands to encourage it, and what did the State of New York say to this? It said, aye. What has the Govern- ment done for the State of New York? It has spent a few dollars to dredge out the Hudson River. They spent some money to dredge out Hell Gate, and put a few guns into Fort Lafayette. That is all that the Government has done for New York, but New York has always come to the front in developing the great West. I think we should make this ship canal and dig out the bottom of this river. You have got to command the great commerce of the West. When De Witt Clinton established the Erie Canal what was the West? It was almost a desert, and compare it with its wonderful condition to-day. Its influence is felt every- where, and New York receives great benefit from it. It is not the princely merchant that turns the crank by which the great stone palaces in New York are built. It is the West that has done it through the Erie Canal, and the canal stands there to-day and it has hardly been im- improved. The age of electricity is coming, and progress in every direction is made, but nothing is done to 'improve our water ways. Enlarge the Erie Canal and connect it with New York's beautiful harbor and the inland waters of the Great Lakes, and the mo^ey spent will not be in vain. It will bene- HUDSON RIVER. 53 fit those great prairies of the West, to which is attracted the emigrants from other shores. To my mind you should also enlarge and improve the Mississippi also, so as to open commerce from there to the city of New York. We are now only in our infancy. Just think of what has been done in the past one hundred years, and by that judge what we will be in the time to come. The time will come when you will hear the trip hammer in the Rockies — when the fertile lands of the West will send direct across the waters their corn and their wheat, and bring back the merchandise of foreign shores. I do not think that Chicago could have been the great city to-day had it not been for the commercial trade of the city of New York. I repeat, don't neglect our commerce and compel it to seek other channels through Canadian waters, and thus lose to the State of New Y r ork the trade which properly belongs to it. By opening this water way, we protect the peo- ple against high tariff and high freights. This is the least which ought to be done for the Erie Canal, which has done so much. Before its existence Buffalo and other western cities were nothing but bare prairies with their log cabins, and now civilization and progress stretch out to Washington Territory and Puget Sound, where even vessels from China touch with their cargoes that are brought from there by the railroad to New York. The time will come when all this com- merce will be brought to the city of New Y'ork by this Hudson and Erie water way, if you make it a great highway. Hennepin Canal should also be made a great highway. There is no doubt but it can be done, though it may look dim- cult. When the Erie Canal was projected, there was great doubt expressed about it. It was treated as chimerical, and it was said it would not benefit the State : and look at the result ! We have gone on with it until through these canals we have become the great Empire State of the Union. W. H. CROMBIE. [Mayor of Burlington, Vt.] Mr. President and gentlemen, the subject before us has been so ably and completely presented that it seems idle on my part to discuss it further, but I want to say to you that Vermont is deeply interested, and I am sure that when the proper time comes you will have our earnest and heartiest support. The firm with which I have been connected for a number of years have been large shippers of lumber to South America and other foreign countries. Lumber for the South American market we have generally shipped in bond, by cars, from Ottawa, Canada, to Mystic Wharf, Boston, and 'put it immediately aboard ship at that point, paying freight thereon at the rate of 13 cents per 100 in bond, or $39 per car of 30,000 pounds. This lumber can be shipped to Albany for $25 per car of 26.000 pounds, and if the Hudson River were deepened could be put on board barks and ships in Albany and transported to South America probably for about the same rate of freight as from Boston and New York. JOHN H. CHASE. [Representing the Rochester Chamber of Commerce.] Gentlemen, I intended to say a few words in the interest of commerce, but the matter has been so- thoroughly gone over that all I need say is that this en- terprise will have our support. S. Y. McCLINTOCK. [Secretary of the Rochester (N. Y.) Chamber of Commerce.] Mr. Chairman, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce took such an interest in this matter that they have sent a delegation here. Mr. John H. Chase, the leading miller of Rochester, is a member of that delegation, as is also Mr. Brew- ster, the cashier of the Traders' National Bank of Rochester. The latter will now address you. 54 HUDSON RIVER. HENRY C. BREWSTER. [Of Rochester (N. Y.) Chamber of Commeree.l Gentlemen, at a meeting- of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce a resolu- tion was passed favoring the project of improving- the Hudson River. We felt that it was of great importance to the entire State of New York and to the great West that this improvement should be made so that the harbor of New York should be extended up as far as Albany, bringing all the adjacent country 150 miles nearer to the sea. It has been said that the Hudson River belongs to the State of New York, that this is a local enterprise. We believe that the Hudson River is an arm of the sea, the same as Long Island Sound, and that it should be improved by the General Government the same as is Long Island Sound and the Mississippi River. Rochester is the fourth city in the State of New York, and is a large manufac- turing place. Our facilities for shipping by railroad are good, but we believe that the water ways should be improved. Everyone knows that the cost of transportation by water is much less than by rail. If we could ship our goods to Albany and put it on board a steamer there bound for Europe or South America — of course there would be a great saving in carrying it down the river by small boats as is done now, which makes a great loss of time and too much expense for the canal boatmen. They could probably make twice as many trips if they could stop at Albany, and of course the Erie Canal is a very important feature in the transportation from the West. It has been suggested that the Erie Canal should be improved as well as the Hudson River. To us it seems that if the General Government will put the Hudson River in such shape that ocean steamers could come to Albany the people of New York would come forward and bring the Erie Canal up to its fullest capacity; that if the Government would deepen the Hudson River that the people of the State would be encouraged to come forward and do their share. We feel that Rochester is as much interested in this improvement as is Albany or any of the cities along the Hudson, and that if Rochester is to be benefited by it, and ex- tend its commerce through the lakes, even as far as Duluth, not only ourselves but this whole section of country would be largely benefited. Our secretary, Mr. McClintock, is better prepared than I am to state this matter. J. Y. McCLINTOCK. [Secretary of the Rochester (N. Y.) Chamber of Commerce.! Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, we have been instructed by by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce to appear before you on behalf of the business interests of that city in favor of the improvement of the Hudson River by the United States Government. Rochester is the fourth city in size in the State of New York. Her population has increased during the past decade from under 90,000 to over 138,000. While the census of 1880 showed returns from seven hundred and thirty-five manufacturing establishments, over two thousand dis- tinct concerns engaged in productive industry have already been reported for the Eleventh Census. Her prosperity is on an enduring foundation and her people have confidence in her future. The apparent reasons for her success are the enterprising character of her people, a location in the center of as productive an agricultural region as there is on earth, her proximity to both the anthra- cite and bituminous coal beds, the cheap water-power supplied by the Genesee River, an extremely healthy and. bracing climate, and her unsurpassed trans- portation facilities. Rochester's importance began with the opening of the Erie Canal, and has increased with every enlargement of that canal and with the build- ing of every railroad near her. Her freight business is of enormous volume. It crowds and overtops continually the extensive facilities afforded by the railroads. It is said that what she gives to the New York Central and Hudson River Rail- road is more than one-quarter of the whole local freight business of that system. Our manufactures are so diversified that we do business with all of the country and all parts of the world. The deepening of the Hudson River so that ocean steamships and large ves- sels can come to Albany would mean placing Rochester 150 miles nearer to the Atlantic Ocean. Steamers would start from Albany not only for European ports and for the Atlantic ports of the United States both North and South, but for South America as well. We are greatly interested in the expansion of the HUDSON EIVEE. 55 trade with South America. Our manufacturers are already carefully studying the held. In a list of articles taken to Brazil by the Brazil Steamship Company are named one hundred and fifty-nine which are produced in Rochester or its immediate vicinity. We want their nitrates, tropical woods, hides, fruits, etc., delivered as near as possible to us before breaking bulk. We want the phos- phates, cotton, and fruits of the Southern States at the lowest cost. Rochester is at the foot of the hill from the great bituminous coal fields, with a short haul, and will load millions of tons in the future for distribution from Al- bany to all the Atlantic ports. The purest and probably the most cheaply mined deposits of salt in the "world are only 40 miles south of us, and that wonderful product of the earth, which is to be used in the future in untold quantities, not only in almost all industries, and in the manufacture of many chemicals in common use, but in the produc- tion of cold storage in all warm countries in place of ice, will be distributed from Albany by the million tons. The age of aluminum is opening up, and west- ern New York is destined to be the seat of its production. With the unlimited cheap water-power to be made available both at Niagara Falls and Rochester, combined with cheap coal and salt, no other district can compete with it. The only thing necessary to bring will be the aluminum ores, which will come in vast quantities from Greenland and other places on the ocean, through the Hud- son River : clays of different quality will be used in increasing quantity and will come, as they now do. by the Hudson, but at less cost. I may say right here that Rochester forty years ago had the largest flour industry in the world. To-day we make fully 5,000 barrels of flour a day. We stand third on the list now — Minneapolis first, St. Louis second, and then Roches- ter. There are eighteen mills in successful operation, and every one of them has been enlarged in the past two years. Water transportation has still a great advantage over the railroad. While the cost of hauling freight upon the rail has been greatly reduced, yet the cost by water has been correspondingly lowered. While the railroad has accomplished it by increasing the weight of train and so decreased the cost of labor, on the water it has been reached by enlarging the ship, increasing the depth and lengthening the locks, and the actual cost by the canal is still less than one-half of that by rail, and by ships for less still. We have dwelt upon the advantages to accrue to us locally, but they are also to all of the great West. The cost of transportation upon its'products will be re- duced by deepening the Hudson so that the ocean voyage for freight begins at Albany. The portion of the voyage of every canal boat from Albany to New York is the expensive portion. In the case of mule power they are doing worse than nothing from the time of leaving Albany until the return, because they are eating their heads off. and besides there is the loss of productive time, both as to capital invested and the pay of a useless crew. In the case of the steam canal boats it is fully as bad. They are constructed to work to the best advantage in the canal at very low speed , and when on the river they can not be run at a rate of speed great enough to be economical. We desire to see the great stream of commerce continue to flow through this Empire State, because while.it is of benefit to others it is of great benefit to us. We look forward to a further enlargement of the canal and a great increase of its business, and as a leading community of the State we expect to willingly bear our full portion of the cost of it to the State. While we say, far distant be the day when the Erie Canal shall be given over to the control of the General Government, we urge the United States Govern- ment to make an improvement worthy of this noble river and the vast interests dependent upon it. We ask it on the grounds of justice, equity, and sound pub- lic policy, and say that if this is done it will make it easy for us of this State, when the proper time comes, to make that enlargement of the canal which will be of the grandest benefit to the largest portion of the nation. The effect of the improvement asked for will not be to create a rival to New York, but will, in effect, extend New York's magnificent harbor to Albany. T. F. WHEELER. [Secretary of the Albany (N. Y.) Chamber of Commerce.] The Business Men's Association of Syracuse appointed a delegation of three, of which Senator Francis Hendricks is chairman. I do not think Mr. Hendricks has come in. Mr. Howard G. White, of the assembly, is also a member, but he does not appear to be here. The other delegate, Mr /John Lighton, is present. 56 HUDSON EIVEK. JOHN LIGHTON. [Of the Syracuse (N. Y.) Business Men's Association.] Gentlemen, I will simply say that we are here to swell the crowd. "We have always contributed our share in the improvements, especially with regard to the canal. We have the honor of having made the first lengthened lock on the Erie Canal in the State, and we want to shorten it and make it of the height of the canal at Troy. By deepening the Hudson River you will shorten our distance to New York 150 miles. At present we do not consider that we are at our journey's end until we reach the city of New York, and, as I understand it, the reason that we have to go to New York is that the channel is so narrow and there is so much less water at Troy and Albany that it is cheaper for them to go through than to reship their grain, whereas if they could deepen the basin at Troy and Albany they could reship their grain at a reasonable rate and thereby save 150 miles. We all hope that you will join us in getting the United States to improve this channel. I think it can be done with a very little money. We are trying now to lengthen all the locks, and by doing so, you double the capacity of the canal. At present only a limited number of boats can get into the lock, it being so nar- row, and the result is that many have to wait, causing delay and expense. I have always been in favor of the canals, and have done all I could for them, and have given the subject much attention. I have been called a " canal crank." I asked for $30,000, for the purpose of lengthening the canal locks at our place and got it, and the result was that we doubled our capacity. We earnestly desire the improvement of the Hudson River from Troy down, thereby shortening the distance to the canal 150 miles, and by the time you have the river cleaned out, that we may have all our locks lengthened, so we could have 8 feet of water there. There are some levels there that will carry 8 feet of water now, providing the sediment was cleaned out to the original depth. I will only say in conclusion to you, gentlemen, give us a helping hand and push this thing along, and we will all work together to accomplish this great improvement. Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Chairman, I have a series of letters and resolutions sent to us from commercial bodies of the West — from Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Burlington, Iowa, Mankato, and many other western places. What is your de- sire in relation to them ? Col. Gillespie. They will be noted as having been received by the Board to be considered in connection with the subject that has been under discussion to- day. Mr. Wheeler. I think, Mr. Chairman, that concludes, with one exception, all the speakers who have notified me of their desire to address your Commis- sion. I am aware that there were several other delegations that were expected here. If there are any others present who desire to be heard, now is the oppor- tunity. (After a pause.) ThSre seem to be no others, Mr. Chairman. Hon. D. Cady Herrick, of this city, has been requested to make the closing argu ment. D. CADY HERRICK. [Of the Albany Chamber of Commerce.] Gentlemen of the Commission, I was assigned to make the last address to you upon the assumption, I believe, that all the other speakers that were to be here would consume ail the time, or at least that, if they did not consume all the time, they would leave no ground for me to cover, and that, therefore, my remarks would be brief and well calculated to disperse any audience that might assemble. I do not know exactly what the province of this commission is, and just what subject will enter into your report or what snecial matters you will take into con- sideration in making your report to Congress as to what should be done here. But if, when this question was first broached to you, you apprehended that it was nothing but a local matter, it seems to me that, judging from the audience that you have seen gathered here before you to-day, not only from this State, but from other States who have signified their approval of the contemplated project, you must have been satisfied that this was much more than a mere local matter in the interest of Troy and Albany. I will say in addition, and in furtherance of that idea, that the Legislature of the State of New York in both its branches has to-day unanimously passed a res- HUDSON EIVER. 57 olution calling upon its representatives in the Senate and House of Represents tives in Congress to use their votes and influence to carry the object we are seek- ing to a successful issue. Even were this a mere local matter, it seems to me that there is enough in it to address itself to your favorable consideration, and induce you to make at least an impression upon the Federal Government. Your attention has been called to the very large population which centers around the head of navigation upon the Hudson River. Albany and Troy are but a part. There is a large and steadily growing population, and it bids fair in the not far distant future, to be the center of perhaps the largest population of any portion of the State excepting that around New York Harbor. That is something which should be taken into consideration in determining as to whether the chan- nel of the Hudson River should be deepened and broadened some twenty miles until it reaches the dam above Troy, even if it should go no further. The broader ground of larger interests which are involved, are the upper waters of the Hudson River. It has been well and properly illustrated here that the great problem of to-day is cheap transportation, and it requires no argu- ment, because those who have given special consideration to the subject are aware that water transportation is the cheapest transportation discovered up to this time, and the problem is how that transportation shall be made still cheaper. Your attention has also been called to what this particular channel means ; that it means not only an outlet for the State of New York, but an outlet to the ocean for the West and Northwest, and I can only recapitulate and sum up, if you please, those things which have already been presented to you. You are doubtless familiar with the fact that the trend of commerce tends to- ward the Great Lakes instead of being toward the South to the Gulf, and doubt- less it will tend more and more in the same direction as the years roll by. Now I think there are few of us who really appreciated the commerce of the Great Lakes until we heard the statement of the gentleman from Duluth, and that that commerce, great as it now is, has scarcely gone beyond its infancy. "When we consider what it will be in the next few years, it then becomes a ques- tion whether we shall hold that commerce, or whether it shall proceed through the Dominion of Canada, and that seems to be one of the great problems pre- sented to our people, whether we should control that commerce ourselves, or allow it to drift into foreign domination. Your attention has been called to the fact that the colonies of Great Britain have been spending enormous sums of money for the purpose of securing ocean navigation, for the purpose of securing a route from the Great Lakes in order that you can move from Duluth, or from the Lake of the Woods, if you please, with ocean-going vessels clear through, and from thence across to Europe. While they are expending these vast sums for maintaining deep navigation for only a short distance, we have been lying supine and idle. Not only has New York not done that which she ought to do, but the Federal Government has been absolutely doing nothing. While it has spent thousands of dollars, and spent it well, it has been in other directions where only small sections of the country are benefited, while this great water way, which* has done so much to build up the West and the great Northwest, which the State of New York has practically maintained solely and alone, has been neglected. The sum which has been spent by this Federal Government on this water way is not as much as the city of Montreal alone has expended to assist in extending its waterway. Now,. it seems to me that this cheap water transportation is something to be taken into consideration by you; whether the Hudson River is a factor in that question; whether we can gain cheaper transportation by broadening and deep- ening the Hudson River to its head; whether we cannot have the distance from the ocean lessened by 150 miles; that cheapens transportation, and this cheapen- ing is the problem of transportation. A difference of a few cents determines whether the grain of the Northwest is to come through our territory or is to be transported to Europe through foreign channels. It seems to me that the bringing of ocean steamers to Albany and Troy, and possibly sometime in the near future extending the route through to the Great Lakes, will do more to solve the prob- lem of cheap transportation, and increase the wealth of the West and Northwest than anything else that can be done. Now, gentlemen, I understand that the hours which you were to give to this discussion have nearly closed. The subject has been fully presented to you in all its phases. There was one thought which my friend from Troy, Mr. McArthur, presented 58 HUDSON RIVER. which occurs to me. If I am prevented from doing or saying muc^ . it perhaps may be ascribed to physical disabilities, yet there are one or two things which, in connec- tion with his remarks, may be rationally discussed. They are whether the deepen- ing of the Hudson River is not and should not be a part of the military system of the country, not only for defensive purposes, but for purposes of attack, if we are driven to it, because, if we thoroughly understand the situation, the towns along the Great Lakes are practically at the mercy of a foreign power. They have the means of placing armored vessels there almost at once, and we not only have not the means to repel them, but are prohibited from keeping armored vessels in that locality to protect ourselves, to repel attack, and to make attack. These matters, it seems to me. can properly be taken into consideration in making a favorable report to the Government to come to our assistance. We say that whether the Federal Government determines or whether you de- termine that it is wise to take into consideration the project of a ship canal or not, the time will surely come when the Federal Government has done for us that which it has done for similar tributaries in other States, the imperial State of New York will take care of its own canal sooner than have the commerce of this country driven away to other and foreign ports. The following is a list of the letters and resolutions presented at the meeting by Mr. F. F. Wheeler, secretary of the Albany Chamber of Commerce :* 1. Resolution adopted by "Friends of the State's Beneficent Canal System'' at New York, December 11, 1890, urging legislation to improve the State canals. 2. Letter from W. B. Mather, secretary Chicago Corn Exchange (of December 16, 1890), stating his belief that the improvement would benefit the Western country. 3. Letter of December 16, 1890, from C. D. Holmes, secretary of the Fargo (N. Dak.) Board of Trade, wishing success to the project. 4. Letter of December 19, 1890, from C. C. Sturtevant, secretary Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, saying that they will give hearty support and coopera- tion to the project, if it will have the effect of cheapening transportation from the Northwest to the seaboard. 5. Letter of December 22, 1890, from Charles A. Chapman, secretary Mankato (Minn.) Board of Trade, sympathizing with the movement to improve the internal navigation of the country. 6. Letter of December 23, 1890, from H. T. Denison, secretary Davenport (Iowa) Business Men's Association, accompanied by resolutions adopted by that body indorsing the project. 7. Resolutions of Detroit (Mich.) Board of Trade, favoring the deepening of Hudson River so as to admit the passage of ocean craft of 3,000 tons burden as far as Troy, N. Y. 8. Letter of December 27, 1890, from A. J. Begges, secretary Cleveland (Ohio) Board of Trade, favoring the project. 9. Letter of December 29, 1890, from P. M. Crapo. president of the Burlington (Iowa) Board of Trade, strongly in favor of the proposed improvement. 10. Letter of January 2, 1891, from D. R. Noyes, president St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, approving the movement. 11. Letter of January 2, 1891 , from the secretary of the Chicago Board of Trade, stating that its board of directors, by vote, approve the project to deepen the Hudson River from Coxsackie to Troy. 12. Letter of January 2, 1891, from Mayor Grant, of New York City, approv- ing this and other undertakings to improve the commerce of New York. 13. Letter of January 3, 1891. from Edward Mitchell, mayor of Oswego, N. Y. 14. Letter of January 5, 1891, from E. B. Judson, president of First National Bank, Syracuse, N. Y., expressing great interest in the work. 15. Letter of January 5, 1891, from Henry H. Truman, of Orange, N. J., ex- pressing approval of the project. 16. Letter of January 5, 1891, from George W. Gardner, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, favoring cooperation of the United States Government in the work. 17. Letter of January 5, 1891, from the Cleveland Vessel Owners' Association, recognizing the importance of deepening the Hudson River, and the great bervice to the Northwest of the canal and river system of New York State. ♦See Appendix 5. HUDSON RIVER. 59 APPENDIX 3. RECORD OF A PUBLIC MEETING HELD IN THE ARMY BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY. MAY 15, 1891, AND CALLED BY THE BOARD OF OFFICERS OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS, CONSISTING OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL G. L. GIL- LESPIE. MAJOR AMOS STICKNEY, AND MAJOR CHARLES W. RAYMOND, CONSTITUTED BY PARAGRAPH 1, SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 136, HEADQUARTERS, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. SEPTEMBER 30, 1890. TO CONSIDER AND REPORT UPON THE OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION IN THE HUDSON RIVER, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 17 OF THE RIVER AND HARBOR ACT OF SEP- TEMBER 19, 1890. New York, May 15, 1891. The meeting- was called to order at 11 a. m. All the members of the Board were present. Among- those in attendance, the following participated in the discussion: Messrs. Edward Hincken and A. Foster Higgins, of New York City; Hon. Martin I. Townsend and Mr. E. F. Murray, of Troy, N. Y.; Mr. Fred. F. Wheeler, of Albany, N. Y.; Mayor W. H. Crombie, of Burlington, Vt.; Mr. John F. Lape, Greenbush, N. Y., and Col. Furman. of Schenectady, N. Y. Col. Gillespie opened the proceedings with the following remarks: The meeting here to-day may be regarded, I think, as an adjourned meeting of the hearing in Albany on the 6th of January last. The original meeting was held in Albany for the reason that the Board was informed that the item con- tained in the river and harbor act referring to the deepening of the Hudson River originated with the member of Congress from that district, and therefore the Board went to Albany for the purpose of conferring- with those persons who presumably originated the item. At that meeting the Board was a little disappointed not to find representatives of the commercial bodies of the city of New York present, and it was deemed best, in order to reach these bodies, that a meeting- should be held here. The point to be determined is the expediency of deepening- the Hudson River so as to furnish a navigable depth of 20 feet from the city of New York to Albany or Troy, and we desire that anyone here — whether he resides in New York, Albany, or elsewhere — who has any information bearing- upon the subject, will present it to the Board at this meeting, as this will be the final hearing. I have a communication from the Maritime Association of the port of New York, which reads as follows : New York, May 8, 1S91. Dear Sir : I'have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- tion of the 5th instant, regarding the proposition to provide safe navigation for ocean-going vessels from the sea to Albany. I beg to say in response, that, in view of the importance of the subject to the commerce of the United States and of this port, I have referred it to a special committee representing various interests involved. After careful consideration of their report by our board of directors. I will take pleasure in communicating to you their views thereon. Meanwhile I remain. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Richd. Gurney, President. Col. G. L. Gillespie, U. S. A. I have also a communication from the Tugboat Owners' Association of Albany, as follows : Albany, N. Y., May 12, 1891. Dear Sir: "The Tugboat Owners' Association of Albany and Troy" desire to express their earnest approval of the effort which is being made to deepen the channel of the Hudson River so as to admit of the passage of heavy-draft vessels to Albany. The consummation of the scheme would be far reaching in its effects upon the commerce of our country and would most assuredly be a material benefit. We can not deny the fact that our interest in the proposed improvement of the Hud- son's channel is largely inspired by selfish motives, since it is apparent that the carrying out of the project must have a helpful influence upon all enterprises conducted on the Hudson and its connected water ways and railroad lines: yet beyond that it is evident to all who are not interested in the matter by reason of personal benefit expected, and who view the project unbiasedly and unselfishly, that the deepening of the Hudson as contemplated will be a grand achievement 60 HUDSON RIVER. in aid of the commercial interests of the United States, and on<- of the most im- portant and beneficial engineering accomplishments of the present decade. A voice or a hand raised against the project, it seems to us, is unwarranted op- position to a much-needed public improvement, and discloses a deplorable lack of sympathy with our national progress. We most earnestly hope the project may have successful issue. By order of " Tugboat Owners' Association." Yours, respectfully, DeWitt A. Fuller, Clinton Robinson, Charles Dubois, Executive Committee. Lieut. Col. G. L. Gillespie, Army Building, New York City. I wish to say, in addition, that a proper notification has been given to the New York Central, the Delaware and Lackawanna, and the Erie Railroad Companies, but that I have heard nothing from them. Mr. Edward Hincken, a member of the board of commissioners of pilots, New York City, who was the first speaker, commenced his remarks with the assertion that the Hudson River at Albany is closed to navigation for six months in the year, and declared that the proposed improvement appeared to be entirely in the interests of the western country, which, according to a comparison of rates for transportation of produce from Chicago to Liverpool, had nothing to complain of against present facilities. He produced a list of vessels drawing 20 feet of water, which, not being complete, he said he would furnish the Board when full infor- mation was received. (Exhibit A.) He further stated that by loading at New York vessels would not have to put in ballast, which would be required in going up the river to take on cargo. He concluded his remarks by stating that the Hudson River is closed for six months in the year, on an average : that there is not a boat up there yet at this date ; and that on the 15th of November they stopped. Mr. Edward F. Murray, of TVoy, engaged in transportation business on the Hudson River, stated that never, in his thirty years' experience on the Hudson, had he known the river to be closed for six months in the year, and that it had never been closed more than four months. Mr. Hincken. I have a document to prove my statement. Hon. Martin I. Townsend, of Troy. I have lived in that vicinity nearly all my life, and know that nothing of the kind has occurred in fifty-eight years. There is another thing. The gentleman says that they have not got a boat up there yet. The navigation has been going on for the past four weeks. Mr. Hincken. The canal is not open. Mr. Townsend. But traffic is handled there by the railways. Col. Gillespie. Is there a representative present from the Produce Exchange: a representative from the Maritime Exchange ; a representative from the Board of Trade, from any of the railroads, or from the Chamber of Commerce? Mr. A. F. Higgins said that, being called upon on short notice to represent the New York Chamber of Commerce, he had not had sufficient time to prepare sta- tistics to accompany the remarks he should make, but he considered that the main question is whether the proposed work has for its object the improvement of the commerce of the Union. While there is no disposition on the part of the New York Chamber of Commerce to try to limit the operations of the commerce of the world for the benefit of New York City alone, the proposition is based upon a condition of things to which he demurs. He is not aware that New York City does not have all the facilities which are needed for commerce. The rail- roads are doing all that is necessary for carrying on the traffic, and the harbor is ample for the requirements of commerce. Besides, the increase in the com- struction of iron steamers has been unwarranted by the actual traffic, and to-day there are at least one thousand, and perhaps three thousand, steamships afloat beyond the actual requirements of the world's commerce. This state of things arises principally from the fact that Great Britain has a large number of skilled workmen, to keep which it had resorted to the expedient of building vessels. This vast excess of steamships is kept at an enormous expense to owners, and often at a great loss. The whole question in this case is one of expediency, and the Government is asked to expend an enormous amount of money — anywhere from $10,000,000 to $40,000,000— to carry commerce farther up from the harbor. The most of this commerce is not managed by the railroads, which have at present great difficulty in making a decent earning upon their stock, and this HUDSON KIVER. 61 improvement is declared to be for the purpose of controlling the traffic, which, it is stated, is not now sufficiently accommodated, and coming in competition with the railroads. Now, which of the interests is the greater is the point tote decided. He further expressed the conviction that the traffic is not in the condi- tion stated, but that the port of New York is quite capable of furnishing- facili- ties as fast as the growth of the commerce requires. Maj. Raymond here inquired if Mr. Higgins could inform him— regarding an effort made some twenty-five years ago to utilize the deep water of the Hudson as far as it goes up now. and an attempt made to establish a harbor and induce vessels to come up there and handle cargoes, which attempt failed entirely and was abandoned — where such a port was located. Mr. Higgins stated that he could not tell. Maj. Raymond. I think it was at Athens. What is the head of deep- water navigation now ? jMjr. Higgins. Newburg is a port for steam vessels, but I think it handles mostly local traffic. .Maj. Raymond. This proposition seems to be to transfer the head of deep- water navigation from Athens to Albany, and I want to find out what would be the effect upon commerce, and whether, if we had communication by water at Albany, it would be more favorably situated than at Athens, from which point there is a railroad up to Albany. Mr. Higgins. I think, so far as the effect is concerned, there would be an in- creased traffic at Albany. Maj. Raymond. In these vessels that carry grain and lumber through the canals? .Mr. Higgins. All the western traffic— lake traffic. Maj. Raymond. And this traffic would be handled at Albany by tramp steam- ers principally ? Mr. Higgins. Very largely. Maj. Raymond. What is the draft of these vessels as a general thing? Mr. Higgins. They average about 20 feet. It would take a little more depth than that. Maj. Raymond. We realize that to have a channel to accommodate vessels of 20 feet there must be a depth of 22 feet or more. I wanted to find out how much of the carrying trade would be affected. Mr. Higgins. There is no trouble in getting a vessel of that draft which will carry a very large tonnage. Whatever depth should be established, vessels would be constructed to correspond with it in draft very rapidly, if found ex- pedient. Maj. Raymojitd. I had an idea that the tendency at the present time was to increase the draft, especially of those vessels that carry grain, lumber, and so on. Mr. Higgins. I think the most profitable vessels are those that carry about 2.000 tons. There is no particular necessity for vessels of 5,000 or 6,000 tons. Maj. Raymond. Are you familiar with the statistics of tonnage down the canal ? Mr. Higgins. No ; I can not say that I am. They can be readily obtained though. I think. Maj. Raymond. Do you think that if we had deep-water navigation, the material which is now brought from the West and Northwest by railway would be rehandled at Albany, or brought down on the cars? Mr. Higgins. There would only be one handling, and that at Albany. Maj. Raymond. Suppose a train of cars is loaded at Chicago, and arrives at Albany. Would it not cost more to bring that here on cars? Mr. Higgins. That would be a question of cost per ton per mile. Maj. Raymond. W T ould not the cost from Albany to New York — about 150 miles — be somewhat less by water than by rail ? Mr. Higgins. It probably would. On 150 miles there are a great many ex- penses, in different ways. Steamers going up there would have to take pilots, for instance. So you can hardly tell what the difference would be. Maj. Raymond. Would not the steamers go up the Hudson with their cargoes and distribute them from there ? Mr. HIGGINS. They would come from Liverpool. London, or Havre, straight to any port in the United States where there is sufficient channel. Col. Gillespie then inquired if there were any other commercial representa- tives from New York present who wished to make any remarks, to which no re- sponse was made. Mr. Townsend stated that he would like to hear from Mr. Murray. 62 HUDSON RIVER. Mr. Murray said that it appeared to him that the gentleman who had just spoken is afraid that if this improvement were made it would work great injury to the commercial interests of the city of New York. Referring to the questions asked the gentleman in regard to the head of deep-water navigation, he said he considered that to be an important matter. At the point mentioned there is but one railroad, while the railroad interests of Albany and Troy are very large — the Delaware and Hudson. Erie, Fitohburg, and Canadian Pacific railroads cen- ter there. The question arises, Can there be anything saved by enlarging this river and having foreign vessels come up to Troy and Albany ? At the present time freight can be taken from the cars at Troy or Albany and delivered along- side vessels at New York as cheap, if not cheaper, as at New York alone — the entire cost from Troy is no more than that of lightering from Thirtieth street, at New York City. That shows that something can be saved, even if it is only the cost of one handling. So far as local interests are concerned, the people of his section would be very glad to have foreign vessels load at Troy. Col. Gillespie. If the channel in the river were widened and deepened to 20 feet, would you use a larger class of vessels? Mr. Murray. We would have to. Col. Gillespie. Would it be advantageous to you? Mr. Murray. It would be advantageous to the business of the country. I am in favor of the improvement because I am satisfied, from my experience in the business, that it would be of increased advantage to shippers. Maj. Raymond. Why do you not just take your boats down to the head of deep-water navigation ? Mr. Murray. If we only come down to Hudson or Athens, there is no busi- ness to go back. If they had business there to take back to Troy it would be all right. It is more profitable to come all the way to New York, where we can get a return cargo. In answer to further questions Mr. Murray stated that, in his opinion, large manufacturing interests would be established if the river were deepened ; that rates for freight would probably be reduced 50 per cent or more : that the locks on. the canal are being enlarged, and, should the river be deepened, the State would see the necessity of enlarging the canal so that the business of the West could go through in bulk — maybe right through from Liverpool. In order to do this, they propose to get 20 feet of water through the canal. A representative from the Business Men's Association of Albany stated that his organization was not represented at the hearing at Albany, but he wished to say that it concurred in the views expressed by Mr. Murray. Hon. Martin I. Townsend spoke as follows: I desire to say a few words, in addition to what I said before, in regard to the fact that business is not done at the head of deep-water navigation. In order that there shall be a business done at any point, three or four ele- ments should be considered. It is necessary that there not only be deep water, but there must be somebody there to transact the business, and some facilities to bring the business overland to the place where the deep water is. Now, the business of the great West is brought to the locality represented by Albany and Troy — some say Albany and others Troy, according to their loca- tion, but we are practically one people. We are 6 miles apart, but practically our interests are one. The mode of life in one place is precisely what it is in the other. There are large manufacturing interests in both places. It is a com- munity of about 250,000 people, a large portion of whom are engaged in the trans- portation business; and most of those not engaged in the business of transporta- tion are occupied in a much more important 'business, that of getting something to transport. Now, we have there business brought to us that can be done on the river, and we have a people to do that business upon the river — men engaged in commerce. If we can have a third element — that is, the facilities for transact- ing this business with the outside world and with our own country outside of Sandy Hook — it will afford an outlet for our commerce. It is for these reasons that we, as a locality, are anxious to have this canal deeper. I call it a canal, for the river is not able to provide for the needs of nav- igation without aid from the Government. Up to Hudson certainly the transpor- tation can be accommodated without anything being asked of the State or of the General Government. But just above begins a region that needs to be looked after by somebody. Now. the region of the Mississippi is crying like the daugh- ter of the horse-leech, "Give ! " ** Give ! " "Give ! "—and what is the transporta- tion of the Mississippi compared with that of the Hudson ? Here the people of a locality of a little more than 20 miles in length ask of the General Government that their navigation be put in a condition to enable them to transact their busi- ness on a large scale. That is all we ask. HUDSON RIVER. 63 And the city of New York asks a great deal. New York is having - a back passage wrought for her at the expense of the Government — a little back passage that costs a great deal of money. But we are not hostile to New York. We will probably assist her. I want to say another thing, but I say it to the gentleman who spoke so intel- ligently, though he spoke with a little New York bias. I want to call his atten- tion to what this work up the river has done for New York. At the beginning of the century this city stood behind Philadelphia as a port of commerce and as a center of population, and what was it but the wisdom of one man that went building up the State from the Hudson River to Lake Erie that made New York what it is ? This mart of commerce would be unimportant to-day but for the wisdom of DeWitt Clinton and the building of the Erie Canal, which built up its commerce and was the means of putting New York at the head of any port on this continent. And what has done New York so much good in past times can not hurt it now. We, up in the central part of this State, have always been proud of New York. It has been my fortune to be connected with politics. I used to be a Democrat, and in modern times a Republican. I have always been afraid that New York would work against this thing, but there is a great enlightened body in New York that, I think, will be with us. At any rate, he that is'not against us is for us. I think the gentleman is practically for us. I believe that the State of New York, after I am lying in my grave, is going to construct a canal from New York to Lake Erie that will be out of cannon shot of Great Britain.. We are not going to be run over by the only nation able to cope with us. John Bull has got ship canals that carry the commerce of Canada through all his possessions, and he can run a fleet at any time right on the lakes. We can not do it, but the time is coming when we shall do it. I do not know- but that I will hear the sound of the work from my grave. Now is the time when we ought to fit our river for the coming canal. That is what we are look- ing to as well as our present business interests. Just think of the pressure that is being exerted at Washington by the Northwestern States and by our own State. Our river and harbor bills are the most beneficent appropriations that are made by the General Government. There is a great hue and cry about them. They have to get so many accommodated that not one-fifth of the members of the House of Representatives are left out. And as soon as the bill is passed it is denounced. Still, I say that the appropriations for rivers and harbors are the most beneficent appropriations made by the General Government. We are now a people numbering 64,000.000. and in twenty years we shall be at a hundred mil- lions, and can we not improve a little space in the Hudson River when the Missis- sippi, which, aitnough carrying an immense amountof water, does not do anything like the business done upon the Hudson, is so well provided for ? This measure is bound to come. It may not be in the next Congress, it may not be in the next but one, but it is one of the things that will knock at the doors of Congress until it is accomplished. Whatever has been done to the State of New York to improve the facilities of commerce so as to bring the products of the great West here instead of their go- ing to Philadelphia and Baltimore, has been done by the State. I do not know but that the State will construct this canal, but it ought to be done by the Gen- eral Government. At present we simply ask that the river be enlarged so as to accommodate the business of the West, and the business of the North, and the business from Canada, and the business from India that comes over the great lines that enter into this region of 250,000 people, so that freight can be placed upon the large vessels there to go outside of Sandy Hook, or come to us from any part of our immense country, or from the outside world. Mr. Higgins. speaking in regard to the appropriations made for the Mississippi River, said they were principally for the purpose of protecting life and property along its banks, and that therefore we have a right to make those appropriations. In the case of the Hudson River, the whole question is one of the merits or de- merits of the project. If found on investigation to be for the interests of the people, the city of New York would welcome the improvement. But as far as the Chamber of Commerce was concerned, it was believed that the resources of the country are now exhausted because of the number of projects on foot to draw from her her money, which is her life-blood, and the financial condition of the Treas- ury is threatened by the numberless drafts that have been made for similar pur- poses. This project should stand upon its own merits. It is not a question of whether it will benefit Albany or Troy, or any other place on the river. It is a question of whether it will benefit the commerce of the whole country. The water ways are no longer the great necessity they were in former times, now that 64 HUDSON RIVER. the railroads have lined their banks, and low rates of transportation have been effected. Mr. Townsend, replying to the allegation that the country is exhausted by river and harbor appropriations, said that when he entered Congress, in the fall of 1875, the Government indebtedness was a little over $2,100,000,000, and that since that time the Government has brought that debt down to a little over $700,000,000, a reduction of over $1,400,000,000, besides paying the annual inter- est — that is the "exhaustion of the country." Mr. Fred. F. Wheeler, secretary of the Albany Chamber of Commerce, stated that he wished to emphasize one point that had already been referred to, which was that the fact that New York State is the Empire State and New York City the Empire City is more largely attributed to the Erie Canal than to any other cause, and New York would probably lose nothing by the proposed improvement. We must not forget that the Government has not only expended an immense amount of money for the Mississippi River, but the Government does not confine itself in its appropriations for that river to measures for the protection of life and property. The Government has been making appropriations for the port of Galveston for the very purpose asked for here, that of assisting in lessening the cost of transportation. This is not a question of whether we shall protect the interests of the railroads or protect the shipping, but of protecting the interests of the greatest number of our citizens. The farmers are compelled to sell their produce at a price shipped to Liverpool, the market of the world. The price delivered at Liverpool is the amount they receive. Now, it follows that if the cost of transportation is reduced they will reap the benefit. It is an axiom also that the larger the draft of vessels the less the cost of transportation. This in- crease of depth in the channel will result in lessening very materially the cost of transportation of these products. The object of this improvement is not necessarily the promotion of the busi- ness interests of the city of Albany. Canada has expended millions in the im- provement of her canals, and is trying at several points to divert the transpor- tation of Western products in her direction, and if we content ourselves with present business and present facilities we shall certainly be left behind. We must meet their efforts by just such practices. In addition, he did not think that the question before the Board was one of appropriations. Congress has asked, "Is this improvement a wise one ? " It is very important that we should find out whether the proposed improvement will enable our Western pr jducers to ship their goods through our ports at lower rates. Albany and Troy will cooperate with New York in maintaining the commerce that comes to our ports from all the markets of the world, which commerce will deteriorate if we con- tent ourselves with present facilities. The cost of the proposed work has been stated anywhere from ten to forty million dollars, but that is a matter upon which the Board is much more competent to express an opinion than others. The distance to be covered is not great, being only about 20 miles, and in many places the depth is now 18 or 20 feet, and in those places the cost would not be much. He regretted that the gentleman from the Chamber of Commerce of New York had not had time to investigate the matter more thoroughly. The bene- fits might not, in the gentleman's opinion, justify the enormous expense, but it is believed by those who have given the subject more thorough investigation that the work is directly in line with the internal-improvement policy of the Government. Mayor W. H. Crombie, of Burlington, Vt., said that he. had been for many years connected with the wholesale lumber trade, and it w r as his opinion that, were the Hudson improved as proposed, a large amount of lumber that is now exported from Boston to South America would be shipped from Albany or Troy. The lumber at the present time is shipped in bond from Ottawa to Boston and New York. The cost from Ottawa to Albany or Troy is $25 per car, and to Bos- ton $39 per car, so if the Hudson is deepened as proposed the cost will be much reduced. Mr. JOHN F. Lape, of Greenbush, N. Y., read the following, which he said he had prepared for the consideration of the board : Gentlemen, the project to deepen the Hudson River provides for a ship chan- nel of uniform depth and width from Coxsackie to Albany and Troy, so that ocean- going vessels of 3,000 tons capacity can reach Troy and the dock of the Water- vliet gun foundry at West Troy. Throughout the world of commerce we find a cry has been raised for the im- provement of rivers and water ways. In Europe gigantic works are now in progress. France will expend $175,800,000 for harbors and canals, a sum larger than all that has been expended for rivers and harbors by the United States HUDSON EIVEE. 65 since its organization as a government. Even the Russians have been at work converting St. Petersburg into a seaport by digging a canal 20 miles in length. Manchester, England, is about 40 miles from Liverpool, with six lines of railway- connecting the two cities, yet a ship canal will soon connect the two cities which will require the removal of 47,000,000 cubic yards of earth, at an estimated cost of $40,000,000. The Germans are having surveys made for a ship canal across country to the Oder River and thence to the Baltic Sea. The Nicaragua Canal will unite the Atlantic and Pacific and soon become the world's great highway. Water ways furnish means for the transportation of heavy and bulky mer- chandise, such as coal, iron ore, scrap and pig iron, stone, and timber, which often will not pay the cost of transportation by rail. With railways penetrating every section of our fertile country, the Great Lakes of the West, and inland water ways, our home commerce has grown to enormous proportions, but is as nothing compared with what the next score of years will show. From Henry V. Poor's Railway Manual we learn that in 1889 the railroads of the United States carried 619,137,237 tons of freight. De- ducting from this amount 25 per cent for duplication, there is left a net tonnage of 468,352,928 tons, with an average value of $30 per ton, making a grand total of $14,050,587,840. A newspaper published at Duluth gives some figures of the tremendous com- merce of the Western lakes, and refers to the St. Mary Canal as follows: "Dur- 228 days of navigation in 1890 there passed the canal 9,041,213 net tons of freight, valued at $102,215,000 at an average ton value of $11.31. In 1881, when the Gen- eral Government assumed control of the canal, the value of the freight passed was $28,965,000, at an average tonnage value of $18.50." From late statistics, 1889, it is shown that wheat was carried on the lakes for 1 mill per ton per mile, while the average rail freight charged per ton per mile in 1889 was 5 mills. The commerce of the Hudson River from the State dam at Troy to New York City is not far from 18,500,000 tons per annum, and of the great Mississippi, "The Father of Waters," about 7,500,000 tons. By an act of the Forty -sixth Congress President Hayes was given power and authorized to create a commission to improve that majestic river, and up to the present time about $13,000,000 have been expended for dredging, building dikes and levees along the river, and the lowest estimate of the amount necessary to complete the work is $20,000,000. The General Government and State of New York have expended something over $2,780,000 on the Hudson River, while the State of New York alone has ex- pended over $1^5,000,000 for construction, maintenance, and operation of the free Erie and other canals throughout the State. The present average tonnage of the canals is 5,106,401 tons per annum, valued at $150,000,000. The commerce of the Western country and the great inland lakes has already reached such immense proportions that numerous trunk lines and water ways to the seaboard have become rivals for the export trade. The distance from Buffalo to New York City via the Erie Canal and Hudson River is 502 miles. From Port Colborne, Lake Erie, to Montreal, via the Welland Canal and St. Lawrence system, is 365i miles, and from Buffalo to West Troy, via the Erie Canal, 346 miles, or 19£ miles shorter than the Canadian route. To make Montreal a sea- port the St. Lawrence River was dredged through Lake St. Peter from 10£ to 28 feet, and the total amount expended was about $5,000,000. The city of Mont- real is busy expending $4,000,000 on its docks and wharves, and is determined to become one of the leading commercial cities on this continent. Henry K. Wicksteed, an engineer of the Province of Ontario, has a plan for the enlargement of the canals of Canada so as to provide a water way for ocean- going steamships from Montreal to Lakes Superior and Michigan. In a letter to a newspaper explaining his plan he says: " Ocean steamships moving at the rate of 10 miles per hour can carry and make money at one-twentieth of a cent or a little more per ton. Hence, it is a foregone conclusion that could we take an ocean steamer to Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, and Port Arthur they would carry nine-tenths of the grain trade." The cost of improving the Canadian canals would be $70,000,000, one-third more than the estimate for the Nicaragua Canal. Our Canadian neighbors should be commended for their enterprise, and they are entitled to all the Western trade they control. The development of the country surrounding the Great Lakes will soon need all the shipping facilities a dozen seaboard cities can fur- nish to export the increasing European grain and provision trade. Deepen the channel of the Upper Hudson and you bring Buffalo and the entire Western country 150 miles closer to the seaboard, save 300 miles towing, and ex- II. Ex. 29 .38 66 HUDSON RIVER. tend the harbor of commercial New York to West Troy and within 346 miles of Lake Erie. Col. Furman, of Schenectady, said that the General Government would re- ceive a large benefit from the proposed improvement. By widening and deep- ening- the channel the dredged material could be used to fill up the shallow parts of the river adjoining, making some 20 miles of ground that could be util- ized by the Government for navy-yards and wharves for sea-going vessels. The Hudson is an arm of the sea, and the Government has control over it, and is in duty bound to look after the welfare and safety of the people. By deepening the river the gun foundry at West Troy can be reached by war ships. New York city is crowded for wharves and docks. In the event of a war a foreign nation could send their iron-clads up this river and burn up the city of New York and all our cities. With this improvement the war ships of the Government can go up to Troy and be fitted out with supplies and steam out to sea. We can not tell what may take place, and it is very important that this river should be deepened. It is the natural outlet of the great West, as all its commerce goes down the Erie Canal, which has had a great deal to do in making New York the Empire State, and on which the General Government has hardly expended a dollar. Our fathers went to work and built this canal, and what was it along the line of the canal? A wilderness! Chicago was nothing but a village when the canal was built, and to-day it is the greatest city in the West. It is the duty of Congress, under the Constitution, to look after the commercial interests of the different States. By the present combinations of the railroads millions come out of the pockets of the people. The great commerce of the Northwest is con- trolled by the railroads, and it is the duty of Congress to look after it. If this improvement is not undertaken, freight from the West will go down the Wel- land Canal, and vessels will come direct to Chicago, take on a cargo, and go di- rect to Liverpool. Looking at it from a war point of view, it is practicable to- day to take war vessels drawing from 10 to 15 feet of water through the Welland Canal, while we have nothing to protect ourselves. When DeWitt Clinton went before Congress to urge the building of the Erie Canal he was told that he was a hundred years in advance of the age; so New York built the canal, and the General Government had nothing to do with it. The Hudson River is the out- let for the great grain business of the West, and this work ought to have been done years ago; it will be the opening wedge for a great ship canal, und if Illi- nois deepens the Hennepin Canal, a great highway to the Mississippi. Col. Gillespie. Is there any other gentleman who wishes to present his views to the Board ? The Board will be glad to receive any papers or memorials in writing that any persons wish to submit at this time, and any person who may desire later on to present a report may do so in writing. There will be no fur- ther public hearing of the Board. The examination, however, has not been com- pleted as yet and will not be for some weeks. In the meanwhile we shall be glad to receive further information from any source to assist us in our deliberations. Mr. MURRAY. We would like to ask that you report in favor of the improve- ment to Albany and up to the head of tide water at Troy. Col. Gillespie. There are three projects which the Board has to consider. To which do you refer? Mr. Murray. We favor the 20 feet of water. Mr. Wheeler. And also 12 feet to Troy. Col. Gillespie then announced that he had just received another communica- tion from the Maritime Association of the port of New York, which he would read for the information of those present. The communication was as follows : New York, If ay 13, 1891. At the meeting of the board of directors of this association held this day a special committee, consisting of Messrs. Alfred D. Snow, Charles P. Sumner, and W. Irving Comes, presented the following report on the proposed Hudson River improvement, viz: "The committee appointed to consider and to formulate views for adoption by the association, in compliance with the request of the U. S. Board of Engi- neers, as to the improvement of the Hudson River proposed in the river and harbor bill, looking to safe navigation for ocean-going vessels from the sea to Albany, respectfully submits the following report: 11 The subject is one that should be considered with broad views, having refer- ence to the effect not merely upon the city or the State of New York, but upon the United States ; not only the benefit to citizens engaged in commerce, foreign or domestic, but upon the people at large. "We believe that whatever will tend t widen and broaden channels of traffic within proper limits will be for the best terests of the whole country and pro- HUDSON RIVER. 67 mote its material prosperity. While by such improvements some trade may be diverted into unaccustomed channels, yet by stimulating sources of production they increase commercial and mercantile activity for the general good. " The Hudson River is one of the great arteries of the commerce of the United States. Through its connection by land and water it directly connects the chief seaport of the continent with the interior, bringing its products to the ocean and returning needed supplies. It seems obvious that for the common good such communication should be as unobstructed as possible. " We would therefore suggest the following resolution: "Besolved, That the board of directors of the Maritime Association of the port of New York recommend that, in conformity with the river and harbor bill en- acted by Congress at its last session, the navigation of the Hudson River be im- proved so as to permit the safe passage of ocean-going vessels to Albany." The board generally discussed the matter and the foregoing resolution was unanimously adopted. Messrs. Alfred D. Snow, Charles P. Sumner, and W. Irving Comes were des- ignated by the president to present these views to the U. S. Board of Engineers in the name of the association. Attest: A. C. Elliot, Secretary. New York, May 15, 1891. The undersigned committee, appointed by the Maritime Association of the port of New York to present the views of the association, respectfully submit the above. Alfred D. Snow. Charles P. Sumner.. W. Irving Comes. The meeting then adjourned sine die. A. STATEMENT OF MR. EDW. HINCKEN. Cargoes of grain by sailing vessels from New York. Tons register. Bushels. Feet draft. Tons register. Bushels. Feet draft. 468 29,105 17 897 49.386 20 m 376 23,707 17.9 897 50,300 23.3 460 27,128 17.9 987 54. 296 20.6 417 25,777 18 852 50, 425 23 642 36, 199 18 1,012 59, 871 24.3 698 40,887 19.6 846 48,000 20.6 650 37,147 18.6 941 55,122 20.6 776 45,000 20 1,061 50, 603 20.6 982 50, 903 20.6 1,450 86, 631 23 16,788 tons register carried 931,526 bushels of wheat — 55.48 bushels per ton register. 22,400 tons register carried 1,288,179 bushels of corn— 57.50 bushels per ton register. Draft of water on the following cargoes {grain). Bushels. Feet. Bushels. Feet. 54,700 21 53,183 21 45,540 20.6 51,103 20 44,593 19 54,957 21.6 68,607 22 24,081 16.6 50, 686 19.6 26.907 13.9 35,199 18 60,367 21.6 24,031 16.6 39, 216 18.6 60,367 21.6 46, 381 20 44. 862 20.9 40,000 19 42,442 18.6 . 77, 725 23 42, 100 19.6 60,563 21 The old steam tramps will carry 2.500 tons on 20 feet ; the modern from 2.60C to 2,650. Edwd. Hincken. Lieut. Col. Gillespie, U. S. Engineers. 68 HUDSON RIVER. Appendix 4. communication from the committee on harbor and shipping of the new york chamber of commerce. Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York. Gentlemen: The committee on harbor and shipping of the Chamber of Com- merce, having heretofore appeared before your honorable body in person, now, in accordance with your request, present to you the thoughts which have occurred to us in the consideration of the question before you. We rest with satisfaction upon the belief that before arriving at a conclusion your very able body will exhaust all available sources of information, and will only recommend the under- taking upon positive facts and results to be assured thereby. We are of opinion that not less than 20 miles of the river must be excavated from a present average of 9 feet to a further depth of 22, and that a width of not less than 300 feet should be provided, which would show that not less than 15,000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock are to be raised and taken away, of which a large proportion must be rock and of which the quantity is unknown; that large retaining walls or banks will probably be required, and other extras always attendant on all such work. The expense in rough figures will in all probability not be less than $10,000,000 and may amount to four times those figures. It is therefore a question of undertaking this gigantic outlay which is before us and you. In weighing it we immediately arrive at a conclusion that it can not in any sense or degree be regarded as a " work of necessity." The immense exports from New York Harbor in 1890, amounting to 6,258,222 tons, were brought here, handled, and carried away without any real or apparent obstruction or retardation, and these figures represent only the foreign exports, whilst the foreign imports alone equal this tonnage, and a vast additional ton- nage arrives here coastwise and from the interior, which is also handled and dis- tributed with equal, if not greater, facility. We respectfully submit that the free and general statements made to your hon- orable board by various speakers from the interior as to the lack of facilities, want of dockage, etc., are largely imaginary. Your honorable board is certainly aware that a large, unoccupied water front still exists in the waters of the har- bor, which, if any crying necessity called for, could and would soon be improved. The fact that it is not demonstrates either that the present supply fits the de- mand or that the charges are so low for its use as not to encourage further de- velopment. We would suggest that figures and precise statements be required of the advo- cates of this project, as to where the economy and saving in handling is to be ef- fected by changing the point of handling to Albany. We very much doubt the fact. Be that as it may, it needs no argument to sustain our conclusion that the whole project is to be deemed and considered solely as one of "expediency," and unless it can be shown to you beyond peradventure that a most positive advan- tage and gain to commerce is certain to flow from the improvement, we respect- fully submit it should not oe encouraged by your favorable report. This committee can not look upon the proposition as in any respect changed by its being a request for the General Government to undertake it, from the light in which we should regard it were it a request for the State of New York alone to incur the expense; nor does it properly affect its consideration that it will in- cidentally benefit the cities of Albany and Troy, or even the State at large. The United States Government should only be asked to undertake works of national value and importance. The first objection which occurred to us was that the part of commerce to be affected by the project is of a very limited character, and, briefly, embraces only one class of vessels, viz: the transient freight-seeking steamers, drawing 20 feet of water and less when loaded, and even of them only such a number as could avail themselves of the facility during the very brief period between harvest and the clos- ing of the canals, and again in spring after the opening of the canals until the movement of the crops ceases. It is self-evident that the steamers of the regular lines from New York to foreign countries have nothing to gain by the change, and having facilities and contracts arranged at great cost and trouble, will cer- tainly not abandon them for anything this project offers. We think we do not err, therefore, in saying that only the transient and freight-seeking steamers would avail themselves of the facility by any possibility. HUDSON RIVER. 69 Of the entire quantity of merchandise exported, there were shipped during 1890 from New York: Tons. By steamers 4,829,775 By sail 1,428,447 We think it may with equal reason be assumed that no sailing vessel would be induced to go to Albany to load, in preferance to the present practice. When it is considered that to-day wheat is carried from Chicago to New York for 5 cents per bushel, it will be obvious that no saving in transportation, by discharging the same at Albany, could possibly counterbalance the additional cost to a sailing vessel to be towed to Albany, and for the additional time of demmurrage to the vessel and pay and maintenance of crew during the voyage up and down. Now, of the entire tonnage brought to New York from all sources and by all conveyances, out of which this amount of 6,258,222 tons was taken for foreign ex- port, the entire tonnage derived from the canal system and brought to tide water was 3,024,765, a very considerable amount whereof was distributed within the United States and not exported. Taking that class of products which constitute the main traffic of the canal, which will be the most favorable to it (viz, the cereals) the percentage delivered at New York by canal was 24f per cent against 75i per cent by rail and other routes. Applying this percentage to the total ex- port, it would show a possible total of 1,548, 910. tons exported as having been the contribution of the canals. We have had a careful statement prepared of the • proportion of exports carried by the regular lines of steamers, all of whom have docks and facilities in New York Harbor not to be changed by any additional facilities of going to Albany, and the other proportion carried by tramps or out- side seeking freight steamers. The entire number of the latter is 163, to 821 of the former, and the tonnage carried respectively is, of the latter 278,831 tons, against 1,503,161 of the former. Applying this wholly to the tonnage brought down by the canals and estimated to have been exported, the total possible ton- nage is 278,831 tons. But it must also be borne in mind that of this number, say 163 of outside steamers, those drawing over 20 feet of water excludes 101, and there remain only 62 of a capacity of 75,390 aggregate tons which could have by any possibility availed themselves of the results of this project, against a total of 1,706,602 tons that must have sought the present available channel of export. This is certainly a very unimportant item of commerce to warrant such an out- lay. Second. We also deem that nature has created an insuperable objection to this proposed change. The canals remain entirely closed for two hundred and twenty-nine days (taking an average of sixty-six years) and that during the very important seasofi in which the crops are moved. The fall harvest ceases to be conveyed by this route in November, and begins again only on the first of the following May; during this very important period the railroads alone have to be depended on. That this factor is a very serious one is indicated by the gradual usurpation of the business of transportation in the State by the railroads. A few figures will sufficiently indicate this: 1853 : Tons. The aggregate tonnage conveyed by the canals was 4, 247, 853 Against an aggregate by Erie and Central railroads of - 991, 039 (Nearly five times by canal over that by rail.*) 1863 : The aggregate by canal was _ _ 5, 557, 692 Against Erie and Central railroads 3, 264, 700 1873: The aggregate by canal was 6,364,782 Against Erie and Central railroads _ 11, 835, 426 1883: The aggregate by canal was 5, 664, 056 Against Erie and Central 24, 503, 063 1890: By canal 5, 246, 102 By rail 32,378,097 The figures are now reversed. The railroads convey six times more than canal, and the aggregate is 37,500,- 000 tons against 5,000,000 in 1853. The tonnage by canal has hardly increased at all whilst that by rail is 3,200 per cent increase. Comment as to the respective value and merit of the two modes of transportation is superfluous. Considering, therefore, the very small proportion of the tonnage of the State really transported by canal, the still smaller proportion which would be affected by 70 HUDSON RIVER. this project, the insuperable objection that nature has closed th 's route for five months out of twelve, we respectfully submit that the enormous outlay required will not be justified by any possible beneficial results to be attained. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. Foster Higgins, Chairman of the Committee on Harbor and Shipping of the Chamber of Commerce, The Board of United States Engineers to whom is referred the project of deepening the Hudson River to Albany, so as to admit of the passage of vessels drawing 20 feet of water, Lieut. Col. O. L. Gillespie, chairman. Appendix 5. letters and resolutions filed with the board op engineers by the secretary of the chamber of commerce, albany, new york. letter from secretary of the chicago, illinois, coal exchange. Chicago Coal Exchange, Chicago, December 16, 1890. Dear Sir: Your favor of December 12, in reference to the Chicago Coal Ex- change sending- a delegate to the public hearing given by the Board of En- gineers at City Hall, Albany, January 6, 1891, duly received and noted. Our board of directors will hold their next meeting December 23, and I will then lay your letter before them, and will notify you of such action as they may take in the matter. There is no doubt in my mind that the improvement contemplated would be of vast benefit to the entire western country, and I will endeavor to present the matter to our board of directors in as favorable a light as possible. Yours truly, W. B. Mather, Secretary. Fred. F. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y. letter from secretary of the fargo, dakota, board of trade. Office of the Board of Trade of the City of Fargo, N. Dak., December 16, 1890. My Dear Sir: While thanking you on behalf of the board for the kind invita- tion in your letter of the 11th instant, I regret to state that the circumstances are such as to make it impracticable for any of the members to attend the pro- posed meeting. However, the board fully appreciates the desirability and impor- tance of the object in view, and wishes the project every success. Faithfully yours, C. D. Holmes. Fred. F. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y, letter from secretary of the minneapolis, minnesota, chamber of commerce. Secretary's Office, Chamber Commerce, Minneapolis, Minn., December 19, 1890. Dear Shi: Replying to your favor of the 12th instant, say: I am instructed by the directors of this association to notify you that they do not deem it advisable to send a delegation to the meeting referred to, as there will be parties present better qualified to present the case before the committee than any we could send. Our chamber will give hearty support to any measure that will shorten the dis- HUDSON RIVER. 71 tance. or reduce the freight charges "between the Northwest and the seaboard. If the proposed deepening the channel of the Hudson River will effect this ob- ject the enterprise will receive our support, and our association will cooperate with yours and others in securing so desirable an end. Yours truly, C. C. Sturtevant, Secretary. F. F. Wheeler, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y. letter from secretary of the mankato, minnesota, board of trade. Office of Mankato Board of Trade, Mankato, Minn., December 22, 1890. Dear Sir: This board acknowledges receipt of your invitation to attend the meeting of the Board of Engineers on January 6, and instructs me to say that while it will probably not be practicable for us to send a delegate to that meet- ing, yet we heartily sympathize with you, and with all others who are endeavor- ing to improve the internal navigation of this country, believing that commerce is one of the most important factors in promoting the wealth and importance of any nation, and also that justice requires that our interior towns should, so far as nature has made it possible, be granted the same commercial advantages as those enjoyed by the seaport cities. Yours very truly, Chas. A. Chapman, Secretary. Fred. F. Wheeler, Secretary. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE DAVENPORT, IOWA, BUSINESS MEN'S ASSO- CIATION. f The Davenport Business Men's Association, Davenport, Iowa, December 23, 1890. Dear Sir : At regular meeting of our association held last evening the follow- ing resolutions were adopted unanimously : ' ' Whereas efforts are being made to have deepened the channel of the Hudson River between the cities of New York and Albany, and a commission of Army officers is about to examine and report on the feasibility of the project; and ; ' Whereas the accomplishment of such work, if so done as to admit the passage on such portion of said river of vessels of 3,000 tons burden, would operate to the great advantage of the West : Therefore, "Resolved, That the Business Men's Association of Davenport, Iowa, most heartily indorses this project." Henry T. Denison, Secretary. Fred. F. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary, Chamber of Commerce Albany, N. T, resolutions of detroit, michigan, board of trade. Detroit Board of Trade, Detroit, Mich., December 28, 1S90. Whereas the Secretary of War has appointed a commission of three United States engineers to examine and to report a plan and estimates of the cost of deep- ening the channel of Hudson River between Coxsackie and Troy, a distance of about 20 miles; and 72 HUDSON RIVER. Whereas the Board of Trade of the city of Detroit regard existing waterways and all water communication between the West and the East as great regulators to the cost of transportation both ways, and that without doubt they insure cheap transportation rates on all products moving toward the seaboard : Therefore be it Besolved, That if the proposed improvement is found to be practicable and ex- pedient, this association heartily favors the deepening of the Hudson River chan- nel between the points named sufficient to admit the passage of ocean crafts of 3,000 tons tonnage as far as Troy, N. Y., the terminus of the Erie Canal. [seal.] Geo. M. Lane. Secretary. LETTER FROM PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OP CLEVELAND, OHIO, BOARD OP TRADE. Board op Trade Rooms, Atwater Block, Cleveland, Ohio, December 27, 1890. Dear Sir : Your favor of 12th instant has been received and carefully noted. While fully appreciating the importance to the great West of deepening the channel of the Hudson River, and favoring the project, as far as our influence may go, it is not possible for us to send a delegate to your " public hearing " on January 6, 1891. We are greatly obliged to you for advising us of your meeting. Wm. Edwards, President. A. J. Begges, Secretary. Fred. F. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary Chamber Commerce, Albany, N. Y. letter prom president op the burlington, iowa, board op trade. Board op Trade, Burlington, Iowa, December 29, 1890. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 11th instant to the secretary of the Burlington Board of Trade has been handed to me. The subject of the improvement of water transportation by the use of rivers, lakes, and canals is one which always enlists the earnest interest of the shippers of the great Northwest. We under- stand how greatly this section of the country is dependent upon the water routes for the reasonable rates of toll which we pay to the seaboard. As residents of a city upon the great Mississippi River, the Burlington Board of Trade fully ap- preciate the benefit of the improvement of our rivers. We recognize the fact that the cost of transportation on the lines of railroad which parallel our water courses are much less than on other lines of railroad, and that this result is pro- duced entirely by reason of the regulation which the water courses affect in the cost of transportation. Under these circumstances we heartily indorse any worthy effort for the improvement of our navigable streams. There certainly is no river in the United States which should receive greater consideration than the Hudson River, and the deepening of the channel proposed, so as to admit of the passage of larger vessels, is a matter which should enlist the earnest support of the producers and shippers of the entire Northwest. I have not been able to find a delegate who can spare the time to attend the public hearing to be given by the Board of Engineers at Albany on the 6th of January, but I have to report that the subject meets with the approval of all our people and I am sure that if we had a representative present he would give the matters words of hearty support and encouragement. Respectfully, Phtltp M. Crapo, President. Fred. F. Wheeler, Secretary Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y, HUDSON RIVER. 73 letter from president of the st. paul, minnesota, chamber of commerce. St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul, Minn., January 2, 1891. Dear Sir : Your kind invitation received. We shall hardly be able to be with you. in a body — or the body — only in spirit. Stick to water, deep water ; and receive the benediction of St. Paul in your efforts. Wishing you a good time, and good success, we remain, Yours truly, Daniel R. No yes, President (for the Chamber of Commerce of St. Paul). Secretary Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. Y. letter from secretary of the chicago, illinois, board of trade. Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Secretary's Office, Chicago, January 2, 1891. Dear Sir : Referring to your esteemed favor of the 11th instant, which was duly acknowledged and referred to the appropriate committee of this board. I am directed by vote of the board of directors to express approval of that body of the plan described in your communication to deepen the Hudson River from Coxsackie to Troy. This board appreciates the importance of the canal and river system of your State to the commerce of the West and Northwest, and its importance as a regulator to the cost of transportation. The board, however, regrets that, owing to the multiplicity of duties and in- terests which demand its attention, particularly at the beginning of the new year, it is not possible to accept your kind invitation and send a delegate to the public hearing in the City Hall, Albany, on January 6, next. Very respectfully, Geo. F. Stone, Secretary. Fred. F. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary Chamber Commerce, Albany , N. Y. letter from the mayor of the city of new york. Mayor's Office, New York, January 2, 1891. My Dear Sir : I regret exceedingly that the nature of my present engage- ments in this city precludes my acceptance of the courteous invitation extended to me by the Albany Club to be present at the reception to be tendered by it to the visiting delegates to the hearing before the United States Commission upon the Hudson River deepening. I am pleased, though, to have this opportunity of expressing my hearty ap- proval of this or any other undertaking which may tend to the improvement of our State commerce. Truly yours, Hugh J. Grant. J. Howard King, Esq., President, etc., Albany, N. Y. letter from the mayor of oswego, new york. Mayor's Office, Oswego, N. Y., January S, 1891. Gentlemen: Yours extending to me an invitation to attend the hearing before the United States Commission upon the deepening of Hudson River at hand, and contents noted. 74 HUDSON RIVER. Permit me to thank you for the invitation, and to express m^ regret at being unable to attend. Earnestly hoping that such success shall crown the effort made as will redound to the good of our great State, I am, Yours, Edward Mitchell, Mayor of Oswego, N. T. The Albany Chamber of Commerce. LETTER FROM PRESIDENT OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK, SYRACUSE, NEW YORK. First National Bank, Syracuse, N. Y., January 5, 1891. My Dear Sir: Your kind invitation for to-morrow evening is received. I regret that I can not be present, but desire to express great interest in the work you hope to accomplish. Respectfully, yours, E. B. JUDSON. Mr. J. Howard King. letter from the mayor of orange, new jersey. Mayor's Office, Orange, N. J., January 5, 1891. Dear Sir: Your kind invitation to be present at a reception to the visiting delegates to the hearing before the United States Commission upon the Hudson River deepening duly received. If I could be present with you it would be my pleasure to express my approval of any effort which has in view the furtherance of increased facilities for trans- portation between New York and Albany, or I might rather say New Jersey and Albany, for there is no doubt but that New Jersey is desirous of having an in- crease of its cordial intercourse with your city. Very truly yours, Henry H. Truman. J. Howard King, Esq., President Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. T. letter from the mayor of cleveland, ohio. City of Cleveland, Ohio, Executive Department, January 5, 1891. Dear Sir: I am in receipt of the courteous invitation to attend a reception to visiting delegates for Tuesday evening, 6th instant, for which please accept thanks. It will be impossible for me to be with you in person, but I can heartily express a wish that the efforts being made to secure the cooperation of the Federal Gov- ernment in providing a deep-water channel right up to the wharves of Albany may prove successful. The authorities should keep pace with the marvelous progress in commerce all over our wonderful country, by a liberal provision in water-way improvements especially, and no short-sighted niggardliness should prevail. Your friend, Geo. W. Gardner, Mayor. J. Howard King, Esq., President, Albany, N. T. letter from the secretary of the cleveland, ohio, vessel owners' association. The Cleveland Vessel Owners' Association. Ctevel&nd, Ohio. January 5, 1891. Sir: The Cleveland Vessel Owners' Association will hold its annual meeting on the 13th instant, and I regret very much that it is impossible to call a meet- HUDSON RIVER. 75 ing before that time, on account of the absence of members in different parts of the lakes looking after various interests. The importance of improvements in the shallow parts of the channel of the Hudson River is recognized here, and after a talk with the members of the board of directors I am satisfied that, had there been a possibility of a meeting in time, our association would certainly send a representative to the Albany conference. There was delivered from the North- west at Buffalo during the season ended last month 118,958,102 bushels of grain of all kinds, for shipment to the seaboard, principally by the way of the Erie Canal. From this it can readily be seen that the canal and river system of your State renders a great service to the Northwest as a regulator of transportation rates, and it is unfortunate that we can not have a representative at the confer- ence on the 6th instant to more fully discuss this matter. Yours, truly, Geo. P. McKay, Secretary and Treasurer. Fred. F. Wheeler, Secretary Chamber of Commerce, Albany, N. 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