The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1908. CUTTING A NATION INTO HALVES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2032, 5 March 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1908. CUTTING A NATION INTO HALVES.

It is a difficult matter for New Zealanders who have never visited the United States to realiso the immensity of the Great Republic. It k not till one gets into a railway carriage at- Sail Francisco to commence the long journey across the States that the sizo of the area owned by Uncle Sam begins to dawn upon the understanding. Night follows day and the dawn of the next day finds the journey only commenced, and even with continuous travelling day and night, the best part of a week is consumed before the traveller can join the Atlantic steamers at New York. Apart from the tremendous size of a country containing 45 States many of which arc larger than New Zealand ,a feature that will strike a visitor is the great use to which the Americans put the waterways provided by their enormous lakes and big rivers. This is necessary for the transference of the immense quantities of products which are raised in the country districts of the various (States ,and which have to be transported to the chief cities for local consumption or for export to supply America’s vast export trade. There arc thousands of miles of railway and they are being added to every year, but despite this fact, so great is tlio demand for transport that- railways are quite inadequate for the purpose, and the waterways have to be utilised more than over. It is this fact which is responsible for a project to construct a 14ft canal from the great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, Tlio total appropriations by Congress for river and harbor work from 1820 to 1906 have amounted to 1294,000,000, but hall that amount will scarcely suffice for building a 14-foot waterway from Chicago to New Orleans, cutting the United States into halves. Such a continuous navigable c anal, 1625 miles in length, and falling 579 ft., would mean the harnessing of the Aiississippi river and an expenditure of £40,000,000 at least. But, once completed, the canal would revolutionise the- course of traffic, it would save hundreds of millions of dollars •annually to shippers, and it would give a great impetus to the growth of the Western States. Tlio course of tbo proposed waterway starts at the mouth of the Chicago River in Lake Alichigan, and runs thence to Lake Joliot. Now, up to this point the waterway is built. The course is that which the municipality of Chicago followed in constructing its drainage canal (22ft. in depth) which was finished in 1960. The city’s immediate object was to divert its sewage from Lake Alicliigau, where it threatened to contaminate the water supply, to the Aiississippi bv way of the Illinois river. But with admirable national spirit the municipality foresaw the day of ‘l4ft. through the Valley,’ and made its drainage canal 22fb in depth, so as to be capable of accommodating vessels drawing 20ft. Though the city bore the entire cost —£10,000,000—the nation will be allowed to assume control over the waterway for commercial purposes when the time arrives. From Lake Joliet the great canal must run to the Aiississippi at Grafton, above St. Louis, a distance of 281 miles. Plans have already been made for this stretch, and the cost, is found to work out at about £6,400,00J. Onco in the broad Aiississippi tlio magnitude of the 11-foot waterway becomes apparent. For the first thirty-nine miles —from Grafton to St. Louis —United States army engineers have surveyed the ground and declared the project possible. But between St Louis and Cairo, 186 miles, the difficulties miy> enormous. How is the ‘Father of AA’atcrs’ to be tamed when the slope along this stretch averages seven inches per mile, when in normal flood the river increases its volume ten times, while in low-water season, usually about 120 days of the year, it is frequently less than 12ft. deep? Onco at the Red River, however, the rest of the distance to the mouth of the Aiississippi is easy, for the 300-mile stretch is level with the Gulf. The aim of the supporters of : the scheme embraces, besides the lift 1 channel from Chicago to New Or- ! leans, a nine-loot channel up the Ohio to Pittsburg and a six-foot channel up the Missouri to Sioux City. Such feeders to the main lino of traffic, the Aiississippi, would tap the great wheat States, converging a t St.. Lo uis. Hundreds of millions j of dollars worth of materials, it is declared, now go to waste in the Afiddle AA'est because the railways are unable to provide transportation. During the last decade the internal commerce of the United States has increased more than 100 per cent., while the railway transportation facilities have increased only 25 per cent.

BATII ING COSTUME. Tlio correspondent who writes to us this morning on the subject ol fin tiling apparel touches a topic flint should certainly be veil Minted. No one wishes to intoriero with the pleasure and convenience of those who desire to liatlio either at the bench or in the river, but this method of enjoyment should certainly be curried cm without permitting annoyance to the rest of the community. At present it must be admitted that the ethics of good taste, to snv nothing of decency, are to a considerable extent violated, and for the reputation of the town it is necessary that proper regulations shall he adhered to. In this connection it may be mentioned that one ol tlio Borough by-laws reads as follows: “It shall not be lawful for any penson above seven years of age to bathe within the Borough boundary unless provided with u- proper bathing dress, such bathing costume to extend from the shoulder to the knees.” This is a thoroughly reasonable regulation, the enforcement of which would inflict no hardship on bathers, and it is to bo hoped the local authorities will take .steps to see that for the future it is something more than a dead letter.