deep, and from there to the Mississippi, 14 ft. deep.
That such a work would vastly enhance the commerce, not only of
Chicago, but of the whole section of the country through which the
canal would pass, admits of but little doubt, and probably the outlay
would be justified by results similar to those achieved with other
great canal works and rectified rivers in the United States.
The following figures, showing the tonnage carried in 1888-89, give
some idea of the volumes of water-borne traffic in America:
Tons.
Detroit River 19,099,060
Erie Canal 5,370,369
Sault Ste. Marie 7,516,022
Welland Canal 828,271
St. Lawrence Canal 1,500,096
Mississippi to New Orleans 3,177,000
" below St. Louis 845,000
Ohio 2,236,917
Chicago Canal and lake 11,029,575
Except on the Mississippi, it may be reckoned that navigation is
closed by ice during five months a year. It may be mentioned, by way
of comparison, that the traffic on the Suez Canal during the year
1888-89 was 6,640,834 tons.
One very interesting point in connection with this work is the effect
that the diversion of so large a body of water from the lakes will
have upon their _regime_. At least 10,000 cubic feet a second would be
taken from Lake Michigan and find its way into the Mississippi; this
is approximately 41/2 per cent.
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