,libraries47       ,illustration3       
,,william ,o4 ,,hudson ,president1      
,board of ,commissioners of ,port of    
,new ,orleans     ,,foreword4   ,oh the 
mind of man6 ,frail1 untrustworthy1     
perishable--yet able to stand unlimited 
agony1 cope with the greatest forces of 
,nature and build against a thousand    
years4 ,passion can blind it--yet it can
 read in infinity the difference between
 right and wrong4 ,alcohol can unsettle 
it--yet it can create a poem or a       
harmony or a philosophy that is         
immortal4 ,a flower pot falling out of a
 window can destroy it--yet it can move 
mountains4  ,if ,man had a tool that was
 as frail as his mind1 he would fear to 
use it4 ,he would not trust himself on a
 plank so liable to crack4 ,he would not
 venture into a boat so liable to go to 
pieces4 ,he would not drive a tack with 
a hammer1 the head of which is so liable
 to fly off4  ,but ,man knows that what 
the mind can conceive1 that can he      
execute4 ,so ,man sits in his room and  

plans the things the world thought      
impossible4 ,from the known he dares the
 unknown4 ,he covers paper with figures1
 conjures forth a blue print1 and sends 
an army of workmen against the forces of
 ,nature4 ,if his mind blundered1 he    
would waste millions in money and       
perhaps destroy thousands of lives4 ,but
 ,man can trust his mind2 fragile though
 it is1 he knows it can bear the strain 
of any task put upon it4  ,all over the 
world there is the proof3 in the heavens
 above1 and in the waters under the     
earth4 ,and nowhere has ,man won a      
greater triumph over unspeakable odds   
than in ,new ,orleans1 in the dredging  
of a canal through buried forests       
#ah1jjj years old1 the creation of an   
underground river1 and the building of a
 lock that was thought impossible4      
,the ,industrial ,canal and ,inner      
,harbor of ,new ,orleans   ,history1    
,description and ,economic ,aspects of  
,giant ,facility ,created to ,encourage 
,industrial ,expansion and ,develop     

,commerce    ,by ,thomas ,ewing ,dabney 
,published by ,board of ,commissioners  
of the ,port of ,new ,orleans ,second   
,port ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,may1 #aiba           
7,copyright1 #aiba1 by ,thomas ,ewing   
,dabney74     ,,contents   ,,foreword   
#b  ,,the ,,need ,,recognized ,,for ,a  
,,century                             #e
  ,,new ,,orleans ,,decides ,,to ,,build
 ,,canal                            #h  
,,small ,,canal ,,first ,,planned       
#ac  ,,the ,,dirt ,,begins ,,to ,,fly   
#ag  ,,canal ,,plans ,,expanded         
#bb  ,,digging ,,the ,,ditch            
#bg  ,,overwhelming ,,endorsement ,,by  
,,new ,,orleans                      #ca
  ,,siphon ,,and ,,bridges              
#cf  ,,the ,,remarkable ,,lock          
#dj  ,,new ,,channel ,,to ,,the ,,gulf  
#dh  ,,why ,,government ,,should        
,,operate ,,canal                       
#ed  ,,economic ,,aspect ,,of ,,canal   
#fj  ,,construction ,,costs ,,and       
,,contractors                           
#ff  ,,other ,,port ,,facilities        

#gj  ,,comparison ,,of ,,distances      
,,between ,,new ,,orleans ,,and ,,the   
,,principal ,,cities ,,and ,,ports ,,of 
,,the ,,world                      #gh  
,,the ,,need ,,recognized ,,for ,a      
,,century4   ,there is a map in the     
possession of ,t4 ,p4 ,thompson of ,new 
,orleans1 who has a notable collection  
of books and documents on the early     
history of this city1 dated ,march #a1  
#ahbg1 and drawn by ,captain ,w4 ,t4    
,poussin1 topographical engineer1       
showing the route of a proposed canal to
 connect the ,mississippi ,river and    
,lake ,pontchartrain1 curiously near the
 site finally chosen for that great     
enterprise nearly a hundred years later4
  ,new ,orleans then was a mere huddle  
of buildings around ,jackson ,square2   
but with the purchase of the ,louisiana 
territory from ,france1 and the great   
influx of ,american enterprise that     
characterized the first quarter of the  
last century1 development was working   
like yeast1 and it was foreseen that    

,new ,orleans' future depended largely  
upon connecting the two waterways       
mentioned--the river1 that drains the   
commerce of the ,mississippi ,valley1 at
 our front door1 and the lake1 with its 
short-cut to the sea and the commerce of
 the world1 at the back4  ,when the     
,carondelet canal1 now known as the ,old
 ,basin ,canal1 was begun in #agid1 the 
plan was to extend it to the river4 ,it 
was also planned to connect the ,new    
,basin ,canal1 begun in #ahcc1 with the 
,mississippi4 ,this was1 in fact1 one of
 the big questions of the period4 ,that 
the work was not put through was due    
more to the lack of machinery than of   
enterprise4  ,during the rest of the    
century1 the proposal bobbed up at      
frequent intervals1 and the small ,lake 
,borgne canal was finally shoved through
 from the ,mississippi to ,lake ,borgne1
 which is a bay of ,lake ,pontchartrain4
  ,the difference between these early   
proposals and the plan for the          
,industrial ,canal and ,inner ,harbor   

that was finally adopted1 is that the   
purpose in the former case was simply to
 develop a waterway for handling        
freight1 whereas the object of ,new     
,orleans' great facility1 now nearing   
completion1 is to create industrial     
development4  ,under the law of         
,louisiana1 inherited from the ,spanish 
and ,french regimes1 river frontage can 
not be sold or leased to private        
enterprise4 ,this law prevents port     
facilities being sewed up by selfish    
interests and insures a fair deal for   
all shipping lines1 new ones as well as 
old1 with a consequent development of   
foreign trade2 and port officials1 at   
harbors that are under private monopoly1
 would give a pretty if the ,louisiana  
system could be established there4  ,but
 there is no law1 however good1 that    
meets all conditions1 and a number of   
private enterprises--warehouses and     
factories--have undoubtedly been kept   
out of ,new ,orleans because they could 
not secure water frontage4  ,an         

artificial waterway1 capable of         
indefinite expansion1 on whose banks    
private enterprise could buy or lease1  
for a long period of time1 the land for 
erecting its buildings and plants1      
without putting in jeopardy the         
commercial development of the port2 a   
waterway that would co-ordinate river1  
rail and maritime facilities most       
economically1 and lend itself to the    
development of a free port when the     
,united ,states finally adopts that     
requisite to a world commerce--that was 
the recognized need of ,new ,orleans    
when the proposal for connecting the two
 waterways came to the fore in the      
opening years of the present century4   
,the ,progressive ,union1 later the     
,association of ,commerce1 took a       
leading part in the propaganda2 it was  
assisted by other public bodies1 and    
forward-looking men1 who gradually wore 
away the opposition with which is       
received every attempt to do something  
that grandfather didn't do4  ,and on    

,july #i1 #aiad1 the legislature of     
,louisiana passed ,act ,no4 #bdd1       
authorizing the ,commission ,council of 
,new ,orleans to determine the site1 and
 the ,board of ,port ,commissioners of  
,louisiana1 or ,dock ,board1 as it is   
more commonly called1 to build the      
,industrial ,canal4  ,the act gave the  
board a right to expropriate all        
property necessary for the purpose1 to  
build the necessary locks1 slips1       
laterals1 basins and appurtenances 99 99
 99 in aid of commerce1 and to issue an 
unlimited amount in bonds against the   
real estate and canal and locks and     
other improvements 99 99 99 to be paid  
out of the net receipts of said canal   
and appurtenances thereof1 after the    
payment of operating expenses 99 99 99  
7and7 to fix charges for tolls in said  
canal4  ,this was submitted to a vote of
 the people at the regular election in  
,november of that year1 and became part 
of the constitution4  ,to avoid the     
complication of a second mortgage on the

 property1 the ,dock ,board subsequently
 7ordinance of ,june #bi1 #aiah7 set a  
limit on the total bond issue4 ,to      
enable the development that was then    
seen to be dimly possible1 it set this  
limit high--at #be1jjj1jjj4     ,,new   
,,orleans ,,decides ,,to ,,build        
,,canal4   ,the canal for which the     
legislature made provision in #aiad     
bears about the relation to the one that
 was finally built as the acorn does to 
the oak4 ,it was to be a mere barge     
canal that might ultimately be enlarged 
to a ship canal4 ,its cost was estimated
 at #b1djj1jjj1 which was less than the 
cost of digging the ,new ,basin canal   
nearly a century before1 which was a    
great deal smaller and ran but half way 
between the lake and river4  ,the panic 
of the early days of the ,world ,war    
shoved even this modest plan to one     
side1 and it was not until the next year
 that enthusiasm caught its second wind4
 ,then the leading men and the press of 
the city put themselves behind the      

project once more4  ,as the ,new        
,orleans ,item said1 ,october #bb1      
#aiae1 the lack of that canal has       
already proven to have cost the city    
much in trade and developed industry4   
,commenting on the astonishing          
exhibition of intelligent public spirit 
in ,new ,orleans1 the ,chicago ,tribune 
said that no other city in or near the  
,mississippi ,valley1 including         
,chicago1 has shown such an awakening to
 the possibilities and rearrangements   
that are following the cutting of the   
,panama canal4 99 99 99 ,the awakening  
started with the talk of the new canal4 
,other papers throughout the country    
made similar expressions4  ,in #aiae the
 engineering firm of ,ford1 ,bacon      
,davis made a preliminary survey of     
conditions and how development would be 
affected by the canal4 ,at about the    
same time the ,illinois legislature     
voted to spend #e1jjj1jjj to construct a
 deep water canal1 giving ,chicago water
 connection with the ,mississippi       

,river2 and the ,new ,orleans ,item     
linked the two projects when it said1   
,january #af1 #aiaf1 the ,illinois-,lake
 ,michigan ,canal and the ,new ,orleans 
,industrial ,canal are complementary    
links in a new system of waterways      
connecting the upper ,valley through the
 ,mississippi ,river and ,new ,orleans  
with the ,gulf and the ,panama ,canal4  
,this system again gives the            
differential to the ,valley cities in   
trade with the markets of the ,orient1  
our own west coast1 and ,south ,america4
  ,commodore ,ernest ,lee ,jahncke1     
president of the ,association of        
,commerce1 issued a statement to the    
press ,january #af1 #aiaf1 declaring    
that the prospect of the canal          
brightened the whole business future of 
this city and the ,mississippi ,valley2 
the ,new ,orleans ,real ,estate ,board  
and the ,auction ,exchange1 in a joint  
meeting1 urged its speedy building2 and 
,governor ,luther ,e4 ,hall1 in a formal
 statement to the press ,january #af1   

#aiaf1 gave his endorsement to the      
construction of the canal long sought by
 many commercial interests of ,new      
,orleans1 and said that work would      
probably begin in three months4  ,in    
,august1 #aiaf1 the governor dismissed  
the ,dock ,board and appointed a new    
one4  ,in the confusion attending the   
reorganization the canal project was    
again dropped4 ,the ,new ,orleans       
,american1 on ,august #bh1 #aiaf1       
attempted to revive it1 but the effort  
fell flat1 and the plan laid on ice     
until #aiah4  ,america had in the       
meantime thrown its hat into the ring1  
and the cry was going up for ships1 more
 ships1 and still more ships4 ,national 
patriotism succeeded where civic effort 
had failed4 ,new ,orleans brought out   
its ,industrial ,canal project to help  
the country build the famous bridge of  
boats4  ,but this new phase of the plan 
was far from the canal that was finally 
built4 ,in fact1 the accomplishment of  
this project has shown a remarkable     

development with the passing years1     
reminding one of the growth of the      
trivial hopes of the boy into the mighty
 achievement of the man4  ,ships could  
not be built on the ,mississippi ,river4
 ,the twenty-foot range in the water    
level would require the ways to make a  
long slope into the current1 a work of  
prohibitive expense1 and as nearly      
impossible from an engineering          
standpoint as anything can be4  ,early  
in #aiah a committee of representative  
,orleanians began to study the          
situation4 ,this was known as the ,city 
,shipbuilding ,committee4 ,it comprised 
,mayor ,behrman1 ,o4 ,s4 ,morris1       
president of the ,association of        
,commerce2 ,walter ,parker1 manager of  
that body2 ,arthur ,mc,guirk1 special   
counsel of the ,dock ,board2 ,r4 ,s4    
,hecht1 president of the ,hibernia      
,bank2 ,dr4 ,paul ,h4 ,saunders1        
president of the ,canal-,commercial     
,bank2 ,j4 ,d4 ,o',keefe1 vice-president
 of the ,whitney-,central ,bank2 ,j4 ,k4

 ,newman1 financier2 ,g4 ,g4 ,earl1     
superintendent of the ,sewerage and     
,water ,board2 ,hampton ,reynolds1      
contractor2 ,d4 ,d4 ,moore1 ,james ,m4  
,thompson and ,j4 ,walker ,ross1 of the 
,times-,picayune1 ,item and ,states1    
respectively4  ,on ,february #aj1 #aiah1
 this committee laid the plans for an   
industrial basin1 connected with the    
river by a lock1 and ultimately to be   
connected with the lake by a small barge
 canal4 ,ships could be built on the    
banks of this basin1 the water in which 
would have a fixed level4  ,mr4 ,hecht1 
and ,arthur ,mc,guirk1 special counsel  
of the ,dock ,board1 devised the plan by
 which the project could be financed4   
,the ,dock ,board would issue long-term 
bonds1 and build the necessary levees   
with the material excavated from the    
canal4  ,the committee's formal         
statement summarized the public need of 
this facility as follows3  #a4 ,it will 
provide practical1 convenient and       
fixed-level water-front sites for ship  

and boat building and repair plants1 for
 industries and commercial enterprises  
requiring water frontage4  #b4 ,it will 
provide opportunities for all           
enterprises requiring particular        
facilities on water frontage to create  
such facilities4  #c4 ,it will permit   
the complete co-ordination1 in the ,city
 of ,new ,orleans1 of the traffic of the
 ,mississippi ,river and its            
tributaries1 of the ,intracoastal       
,canal1 the railroads and the sea1 under
 the most convenient and satisfactory   
conditions4  #d4 ,in connection with the
 publicly-owned facilities on the river 
front1 it will give ,new ,orleans all   
the port and harbor advantages enjoyed  
by ,amsterdam with its canal system1    
,rotterdam and ,antwerp with their joint
 river and ocean facilities2 ,hamburg   
with its free port1 and ,liverpool with 
its capacity as a market deposit4  #e4  
,it will give ,new ,orleans a           
fixed-level1 well protected harbor4  #f4
 ,it will serve the purposes of the     

,intracoastal ,canal and increase the   
benefits to accrue to ,new ,orleans from
 that canal4  #g4 ,in connection with   
revived commercial use of the inland    
waterways upon which the federal        
government is now determined1 it will   
open the way for an easy solution of the
 problem of handling1 housing and       
interchange of water-borne commerce1 and
 of the development of facilities for   
the storage of commodities between the  
period of production and consumption4   
#h4 ,it will prove an important facility
 in the equipment of ,new ,orleans to   
meet the new competition the enlarged   
,erie ,canal will create4 ,the original 
,erie ,canal harmed ,new ,orleans       
because ,mississippi ,river boat lines  
could not build their own terminal and  
housing facilities at ,new ,orleans4    
,illustration3 ,w4 ,a4 ,,kernaghan      
,vice-,president ,,ren ,,clerc          
,secretary ,,albert ,,mackie ,,hugh     
,mc,c,l,o,s,k,e,y ,,commissioners ,board
 of ,commissioners of the ,port of ,new 

,orleans  ,this meeting made industrial 
history in ,new ,orleans4 ,the ,hecht   
plan was studied by lawyers and         
financiers and declared feasible4 ,mr4  
,hecht summarized the confidence of the 
far-visioned men in the new ,new        
,orleans when he declared in a public   
interview3 ,i feel there is absolutely  
nothing to prevent the immediate        
realization of ,new ,orleans' long dream
 of becoming a great industrial and     
commercial center and having great      
shipbuilding plants located within the  
city limits4  ,and the ,item said1 in   
commenting on the undertaking 7,february
 #ag1 #aiah73 ,millions of dollars of   
capital will be ready to engage in      
shipbuilding in ,new ,orleans the moment
 that piledrivers and steam shovels are 
set to work on the shiplock and         
navigation canal4  ,it was a time of    
great industrial excitement4 ,victory   
was at last in the grasp of ,new        
,orleans4 ,the eyes of the country were 
on ,new ,orleans4 ,the cry was1 ,full   

,speed ,ahead6     ,,small ,,canal      
,,first ,,planned4   ,the plan1 at this 
time1 was to have a lock-sill only #af  
or #ah feet deep4 ,this would be        
sufficient to allow empty ships to enter
 or leave the canal1 but not loaded4    
,the mere building of ships was thus the
 principal thought1 despite the rhetoric
 on commercial and industrial           
possibilities4 ,perhaps the leaders who 
were beating the project into shape were
 themselves afraid to think in the      
millions necessary to do the work to    
which ,new ,orleans finally dedicated   
itself2 perhaps they realized that the  
figure would stagger the minds of the   
people and defeat the undertaking1 if   
they were not gradually educated up to  
the mark4  ,meeting on ,february #ae1   
#aiah1 the ,dock ,board resolved        
unanimously to put the plan through1 if 
it proved feasible4 ,w4 ,b4 ,thompson   
was president of the board2 the other   
members were ,dr4 ,e4 ,s4 ,kelly1       
,thomas ,j4 ,kelly1 ,b4 ,b4 ,hans and   

,o4 ,p4 ,geren4 ,later1 ,e4 ,e4 ,lafaye 
took ,mr4 ,kelly's place on the board4  
,the ,public ,belt ,railroad board had  
in the meantime 7,february #ac7 voted to
 pay the ,dock ,board #ej1jjj a year2   
and the ,levee ,board 7,february #ad7 to
 give #abe1jjj a year4 ,as the plans    
were increased1 the ,levee ,board later 
increased its bit to #ibe1jjj4  ,mayor  
,behrman1 ,arthur ,mc,guirk and ,r4 ,s4 
,hecht laid the proposition before both 
bodies4 ,action was unanimous4 ,colonel 
,j4 ,d4 ,hill1 speaking for the ,belt   
,railroad ,board1 said3 ,i am glad that 
at last there has been outlined a plan  
which seemingly makes it possible to    
construct the canal4 ,it will not only  
result in the eventual construction of a
 big fleet of ships1 but will prepare   
the way for a tremendous industrial     
activity in other lines4 ,the consensus 
has been that a navigation canal is     
needed to induce large manufacturers1   
importers and exporters to establish    
their factories and warehouses here4    

,this project will be the opening wedge4
  ,members of the ,public ,belt ,board  
voting1 besides ,colonel ,hill and      
,mayor ,behrman 7ex-officio7 were       
,ginder ,abbott1 ,arthur ,simpson1 ,john
 ,h4 ,murphy1 ,w4 ,b4 ,bloomfield1 ,adam
 ,lorch1 ,george ,p4 ,thompson1 ,thomas 
,f4 ,cunningham1 ,victor ,lambou1 ,edgar
 ,b4 ,stern and ,sam ,segari4  ,members 
of the ,levee ,board voting were3       
,william ,mc,l4 ,fayssoux1 president1   
,thomas ,killeen1 ,thomas ,smith1 ,john 
,f4 ,muller1 ,james ,p4 ,williams1 ,john
 ,p4 ,vezien4  ,w4 ,b4 ,thompson1       
president1 put the matter before the    
,dock ,board4 ,the idea he said1        
according to the minutes of the meeting 
of ,february #ae1 #aiah1 had always     
received his approval1 and he thought   
that the mayor would recall that in the 
preparation1 he with the city attorney1 
had a very considerable part in framing 
the same1 and he had taken an active    
interest in the matter2 he had always   
been in favor of the ,industrial ,canal1

 and he believed in the possibility of  
development of ,new ,orleans through    
this1 as a terminus2 and it was entirely
 logical that the ,dock ,board should do
 all that may lie within its power to   
bring about the successful consummation 
of this project2 the only doubt in his  
mind being as to the feasibility of the 
project from the financial standpoint4  
,it seems now1 however1 that a plan has 
been devised1 through efforts of the    
mayor and ,mr4 ,hecht1 which gives every
 promise of success4 ,the co-operation  
of the city on behalf of the ,public    
,belt ,railroad1 and of the ,levee      
,board1 apparently removed the          
difficulties in respect to the financial
 end4 ,the ,dock ,board welcomes the    
assistance and co-operation of the city 
and of the ,levee ,board1 but inasmuch  
as these boards are merely contributing 
certain amounts per year1 and whereas   
the ,dock ,board is the obligor in      
respect of the principal of the bond    
issue1 it devolves upon the ,dock ,board

 to use great caution before committing 
itself to any particular plan in a      
matter which so vitally affects the     
credit of the ,dock ,board1 the city of 
,new ,orleans and the ,levee ,board4    
,president ,thompson further stated that
 he unhesitatingly endorsed the project 
and that he was sure that every member  
of the board agreed1 and the board would
 be glad to give prompt consideration to
 the particular plan in question and    
reach some conclusion which will insure 
the realization of this great project4  
,to estimate the probable cost of the   
canal1 ,mayor ,behrman appointed the    
following committee of engineers3 ,w4   
,j4 ,hardee1 city engineer2 ,a4 ,f4     
,barclay1 engineer of the ,public ,belt 
,railroad2 ,george ,g4 ,earl1           
superintendent of the ,sewerage  ,water 
,board2 ,c4 ,t4 ,rayner1 ,jr41 engineer 
of the ,levee ,board and ,hampton       
,reynolds1 contractor4  ,on ,february   
#bb1 the committee reported that1 not   
counting real estate1 a canal could be  

built for #b1fbf1hgf4 ,this estimate    
called for a lock #fjj feet long1 #gj   
feet wide1 and #ah feet deep1 and a     
barge canal to the lake4 ,the cost of   
constructing the lock was put at        
#a1cgj1ffj1 and of digging the canal    
#a1bef1baf4  ,this report was first     
received by a special committee composed
 of ,mayor ,behrman1 ,w4 ,b4 ,thompson1 
,col4 ,j4 ,b4 ,hill1 ,r4 ,s4 ,hecht and 
,major ,w4 ,mc,l4 ,fayssoux4 ,this      
committee referred it to the ,dock      
,board1 which adopted it ,february #bb4 
,financial arrangements were completed  
at this same meeting4 ,in order to have 
sufficient to pay for the land which    
would have to be expropriated for the   
canal1 and to give some leeway1 it was  
decided to issue bonds for #c1ejj1jjj1  
with an option of floating #a1jjj1jjj   
more within #cj days4 ,a financial      
syndicate1 consisting of the ,hibernia1 
,interstate and ,whitney-,central banks 
of ,new ,orleans1 the ,william ,r4      
,compton ,investment ,company of ,st4   

,louis1 and the ,halsey1 ,stuart        
,company of ,chicago1 agreed to take the
 entire issue4 ,the bonds were to run   
#dj years and begin to mature serially  
after #aj years4 ,they were to bear #e  
per cent interest1 and to be sold at    
#ie4 ,they would be secured by a        
mortgage on the real estate of the canal
 site1 and by the taxing powers of the  
state1 for they were a recognized state 
obligation1 as ,arthur ,mc,guirk1       
special counsel of the ,dock ,board1    
pointed out in his opinion of ,july #aj1
 #aiah4  ,he added3 ,i am likewise of   
opinion that said bonds are unaffected  
by any limitations upon the state debt1 
or upon the rate of taxation for public 
purposes2 that the said bonds are       
entitled to be paid out of the general  
funds1 or by the exercise of the power  
of taxation insofar as the revenues1    
funds or property preferentially pledged
 or mortgaged to secure said issue may  
fail1 or be insufficient1 to pay the    
same4  ,the following sat with the ,dock

 ,board and its attorneys at the meeting
 of ,february #bb3 ,mayor ,behrman1 ,j4 
,d4 ,hill of the ,public ,belt          
,railroad1 ,r4 ,s4 ,hecht1 president of 
the ,hibernia ,bank1 ,j4 ,d4 ,o',keefe1 
vice-president of the ,whitney-,central 
,bank1 ,c4 ,g4 ,reeves1 vice-president  
of the ,interstate ,bank1 ,w4 ,r4       
,compton of the ,compton ,investment    
,company1 ,h4 ,l4 ,stuart of ,halsey1   
,stuart and ,company1 ,w4 ,j4 ,hardee1  
city engineer1 and ,hampton ,reynolds1  
contractor4  ,the selection of the site 
was left1 by the state law1 to the      
commission council4 ,there were a number
 of possible routes1 and the selection  
was made with the utmost secrecy to     
prevent real estate profiteering4 ,at   
first the area bounded by ,france and   
,reynes streets was chosen4 ,this was on
 ,february #bh4 ,on ,may #i1 however1   
the site was changed to the area bounded
 by ,france and ,lizardi streets1 north 
from the ,mississippi ,river to ,florida
 ,walk1 thence to ,lake ,pontchartrain4 

,this is a virtually uninhabited region 
in the ,third ,district1 through the old
 ,ursulines tract4 ,the site chosen for 
expropriation is five and a third miles 
long by #b1bjj feet wide1 #hig acres4   
,for this land the ,dock ,board paid    
#a1dic1ecb4bd1 which is at the rate of  
#a1ffe an acre4 ,the valuation was      
reached by expropriation proceedings4   
,in the meantime1 ,commodore ,ernest    
,lee ,jahncke had asked to be allotted  
the first site on the ,industrial       
,canal1 and ,doullut  ,williams for the 
second4 ,both were for shipyards4 ,the  
,foundation ,company1 which was         
operating a number of shipyards in      
various parts of the country1 sent an   
engineer here to see if it would be     
feasible for the concern to build a     
shipyard here4  ,even before the        
piledrivers and dredges were on the job1
 the millions were being counted for    
investment in the city whose remarkable 
enterprise had won the admiration of the
 country4     ,,the ,,dirt ,,begins ,,to

 ,,fly4   ,until the money for the bond 
issue should be available1 the ,hibernia
 ,bank authorized the ,dock ,board to   
draw against it on open account4 ,it    
only remained1 then1 to secure the      
authorization of the ,capital ,issues   
,committee of the ,federal ,reserve     
,board1 which controlled all bond issues
 during the ,world ,war1 to start the   
work4 ,the grounds on which the         
authorization was requested summarize   
conditions that make possible a great   
industrial development in ,new ,orleans1
 and will stand quoting4 ,they are3  7a7
 ,semi-tropical conditions1 which make  
it feasible to work every day and night 
in the year2  7b7 ,admirable housing    
conditions which render it feasible for 
labor to live under most sanitary       
conditions in houses closely proximate  
to both the plants and the city1 with   
sewerage and water connections1 and with
 street car transportation facilities to
 and from the plants and to and from the
 amusement centers of the city2  7c7    

,ample labor supply and satisfactory    
labor conditions2  7d7 ,proximity to    
timber1 steel and coal sources of supply
 with all water as well as rail         
transportation facilities thereon2  7e7 
,state control of the canal facilities  
and operation of the same1 not for      
profit1 but for the economical and      
expeditious development of shipbuilding4
  ,two shipyards were established on the
 canal4 ,they poured millions of dollars
 into ,new ,orleans4 ,the tremendous    
tonnage built in the ,united ,states    
during the war1 and the slump in foreign
 trade that followed the armistice1 due 
to financial conditions abroad1 have    
caused many shipyards throughout the    
,united ,states to close down1 among    
them one of these at ,new ,orleans4 ,the
 other one is now finishing its war     
contracts1 and will be more or less     
inactive until the demands of the       
,american ,merchant ,marine and business
 in general open up again4 ,if they are 
not used for shipbuilding1 they can be  

used for ship repairing or building     
barges4 ,and it is obvious that the same
 conditions that made ship building an  
economic possibility1 will encourage    
other industrial production1 especially 
production that requires the            
co-ordination of river1 rail and        
maritime facilities4 ,the ,canal means  
millions of new money to ,new ,orleans1 
as its proponents said it would4  ,on   
,march #ab1 the authorization of the    
,capital ,issues ,committee was given4  
,on ,march #ae1 the ,george ,w4         
,goethals ,company1 ,inc41 was retained 
as consulting engineers on the big job4 
,the services of this company were      
secured as much for its engineering     
skill1 proven by its work on the ,panama
 ,canal1 as for the prestige of its     
name4 ,the ,goethals ,company1          
co-operating with the engineers of the  
,dock ,board1 which did the work1       
designed the famous lock and directed   
the entire job4 ,george ,m4 ,wells1     
vice-president of the firm1 was put in  

active charge of the work4 ,general     
,goethals made occasional visits of     
supervision4  ,the dirt began to fly on 
,june #f1 #aiah4  ,before coming to ,new
 ,orleans to take up his work1 ,mr4     
,wells1 acting upon instructions of the 
,dock ,board1 called at the office of   
the ,foundation ,company in ,new ,york1 
whose engineer had already studied the  
possibilities of establishing a shipyard
 on the canal1 and guaranteed an outlet 
to the sea by the time its vessels      
should be finished4  ,the river end of  
the site chosen for the canal consisted 
of low and flat meadow land4 ,there were
 a few houses helter-skeltered about1   
like blocks in a nursery1 but the       
principal signs of human life were the  
cows that grazed where the grazing was  
good1 and sought refuge from the noonday
 beams of the sun under the occasional  
oaks that had strayed out into the open 
and didn't know how to get back4 ,the   
middle of the site--several miles in    
extent--was a gray cypress swamp1 with  

five or six hundred trees to the acre1  
and always awash4 ,the lake end was     
trembling prairie marsh land subject to 
tidal overflow and very soft4           
,illustration3 ,n4 ,o4 ,,army ,,supply  
,,base  ,illustration3 ,,building ,,lake
 ,,entrance  ,with dredges1 spades1     
mechanical excavators1 piledrivers and  
dynamite the work opened4  ,a great     
force of men began to throw up by hand1 
the levees that were to serve as banks  
for the turning basin1 the lock and     
other portions of the canal4 ,this levee
 would keep the liquid material1 dredged
 out1 from running back into the        
excavation4 ,the turning basin1 #iej    
feet by #a1aej feet1 was an expansion of
 the original industrial basin4         
,situated several hundred feet from the 
lock1 its purpose is to enable ships    
entering the canal from the river1 and  
passing through the lock1 to turn in1 as
 well as to furnish a site for the      
concentration of industries4 ,the       
,foundation ,company had in the meantime

 decided to establish a shipyard on this
 basin2 its engineers were on the       
ground1 and its material was rolling4   
,one dredge was sent around ,lake       
,pontchartrain to commence boring in    
from that end4 ,this could not be done  
on the river end4 ,the ,mississippi is  
too mighty a giant to risk such         
liberties4 ,the #b1jjj-;foot cut between
 the river and the lock would have to be
 done last of all1 when the rest of the 
canal and the lock were finished1 and   
the new levees that would protect the   
city against its overflow1 were solidly 
set4 ,but a few hundred feet from the   
turning basin1 was ,bayou ,bienvenu1    
which runs into ,lake ,borgne1 part of  
,lake ,pontchartrain1 and one of the    
refuges of ,lafitte in the brave days   
when smuggling was more a sport of the  
plain people than it is now with        
,european travel restricted to the      
wealthy4 ,so through ,bayou ,bienvenu a 
small excavator was sent to cut a       
passage into the turning basin1 to allow

 the mighty #bb-;inch dredges to get in 
and work outwards towards the lake and  
the lock site4  ,the problem was further
 complicated by the ,florida ,walk      
drainage system1 which emptied into     
,bayou ,bienvenu1 and by the railway    
lines that crossed the site of the      
,canal4  ,these railways were the       
,southern ,railway1 at the lake end1 the
 ,louisville  ,nashville1 at the middle1
 and the ,southern and ,public ,belt    
near the turning basin on ,florida      
,walk4 ,for them1 the ,dock ,board had  
to build run-around tracks1 to be used  
while their lines were cut to enable the
 dredging to be made and the bridges to 
be constructed4  ,for the drainage1 the 
plans called for the construction of an 
inverted siphon passing under the       
,canal1 a river under a river1 so to    
speak4 ,in the meantime1 however1 the   
drainage canal had to be blocked off    
with two cofferdams1 to cut off the     
water from the city and the bayou1 and  
enable the construction of the siphon   

between4  ,additional railroad tracks1  
too1 had to be built to handle the      
immense volume of material needed for   
the work2 roads had to be built for     
getting supplies on the job by truck2   
the trolley line had to be extended for 
the transportation of labor4  ,week by  
week the labor gangs grew1 as the men   
were able to find places in the         
attacking line of the industrial battle4
 ,great excavators stalked over the     
land1 pulling themselves along by their 
dippers which bit out chunks of earth as
 big as a cart when they took a-hold2   
the smack of pile drivers1 the thump of 
dynamite1 and the whistle of dredges    
filled the air4 ,buildings sprouted like
 mushrooms2 in the meadow1 half a mile  
from the nearest water1 the shipyard of 
the ,foundation ,company began to take  
form4 ,it was the plan to finish the    
,canal by ,january1 #aibj4     ,,canal  
,,plans ,,expanded4   ,work in the      
meantime had begun on the commodity     
warehouse and wharf1 another facility   

planned by the ,dock ,board to relieve  
the growing pains4 ,built on the ,canal1
 but opening on the river1 it was to    
perform the same service for general    
commodities as the ,public ,cotton      
,warehouse and the ,public ,grain       
,elevator did for those products4       
,though not a part of the canal plan1   
the construction of the warehouse at    
this point was part of the general      
scheme to concentrate industrial        
development on that waterway4  ,later1  
the ,federal ,government took over this 
work and gave ,new ,orleans a           
#ac1jjj1jjj terminal1 through which it  
handled army supplies4 ,it is still     
using the three warehouses for storage  
purposes1 but has leased the half-mile  
double-deck wharf to the ,dock ,board1  
which is devoting it to the general     
commerce of the port4 ,in time1 the     
,dock ,board hopes to get at least one  
of the buildings4  ,there can be no     
doubt but that the enterprise of ,new   
,orleans in building the ,industrial    

,canal had a great deal to do with the  
government's determination to establish 
a depot at ,new ,orleans4  ,on ,may #cj1
 the news came out of ,washington that  
the ,doullut  ,williams ,shipbuilding   
,company had been awarded a #ae1jjj1jjj 
contract by the ,emergency ,fleet       
,corporation to build eight ships of    
#i1fjj tons each4 ,this was the largest 
shipbuilding contract that had been     
given the ,south4 ,the ,industrial      
,canal rendered it possible4  ,the firm 
of ,doullut  ,williams had been engaged 
for fifteen years or so in the civil    
engineering and contracting business in 
,new ,orleans4 ,captain ,m4 ,p4 ,doullut
 had built launches with his own hands  
when a young man1 and dreamed of the    
time when he would have a yard capable  
of turning out ocean-going vessels4 ,the
 ,doullut  ,williams ,shipbuilding      
,company was organized ,april #be1      
#aiah1 with the following officers3 ,m4 
,p4 ,doullut1 president2 ,paul ,doullut1
 vice-president2 ,w4 ,horace ,williams1 

secretary-treasurer and general manager2
 ,l4 ,h4 ,guerin1 chief engineer2 and   
,james ,p4 ,ewin1 assistant chief       
engineer4  ,i feel that ,new ,orleans is
 on the eve of a very remarkable        
development said ,senator ,ransdell of  
,louisiana in a telegram of             
congratulation1 and earnestly hope our  
people will continue to work together   
with energy and hearty accord until we  
have gone way over the top in           
shipbuilding and many other lines4  ,the
 expression over the top had not become 
the pest that it and other war-time     
weeds of rhetoric have subsequently     
proven4 ,that was a time when one could 
still refer to a drive without causing a
 gnashing of teeth4  ,picking the site  
at the ,lake ,pontchartrain end of the  
canal1 ,doullut  ,williams ,shipbuilding
 ,company began to erect its shipyard4  
,the plant buildings were erected upon  
tall piling4 ,as the dredges excavated  
the material from the cut1 they         
deposited it on the site of the shipyard

 and raised the elevation several feet1 
so the buildings were only the usual    
height above the ground4 ,both sides of 
the ,canal1 it should be added1 have    
been similarly raised by excavation     
material4  ,it was planned that the     
ships from the ,doullut  ,williams yard 
should be sent out into the world       
through ,lake ,pontchartrain1 which     
empties into the ,gulf of ,mexico4      
,there was ample water in the lake1     
without dredging1 to accommodate        
unloaded ships of this size4  ,but the  
fact that ships #djj or so feet long and
 drawing1 when loaded to capacity1 #bg  
feet1 were to be built at ,new ,orleans1
 emphasized the belief of those         
directing the work of the ,industrial   
,canal that the plan on which they were 
working was too small4 ,an #ah-;foot    
canal would not meet the growing needs  
of ,new ,orleans4 ,accordingly the ,dock
 ,board instructed the engineering      
department to expand the plans4  ,by    
,june #aa1 #aiah1 the plans had been    

revised to give a #be-;foot channel4    
,this would accommodate all but the     
largest ships that come to ,new         
,orleans4 ,the cost of such a lock and  
canal1 ,george ,m4 ,wells estimated1    
would be #f1jjj1jjj1 or #b1ejj1jjj more 
than the estimate for the original      
canal4 ,the ,levee ,board promptly      
raised its ante to #bej1jjj to guarantee
 the interest4  ,when the ,dock ,board  
floated the first bond issue of         
#c1ejj1jjj in ,february1 at #ie1 it     
reserved the option to issue another    
#a1jjj1jjj of bonds within thirty days1 
at the same rate4  ,for #a1ejj1jjj of   
the new issue1 the same syndicate of    
banks offered #ig-a_/b1 or two and a    
half points higher than for the first2  
but for the other million1 they held the
 board to the original rate of #ie4     
,president ,thompson reported to the    
,dock ,board ,june #aa that he          
considered these very satisfactory      
terms4 ,he added3 ,we were able to      
secure these better prices and          

conditions because the bond market is in
 a somewhat better condition now than it
 was when we made the original contract4
  ,the contract was accepted on that    
date1 and application made to the       
,capital ,issues ,committee for the     
necessary permission4 ,this was given in
 due time1 though there was considerable
 opposition4  ,the opposition1 said     
,president ,thompson1 at the ,dock      
,board meeting of ,february #bf1 #aiai1 
reviewing the development of the canal  
plans1 was inspired by vicious and      
spectacular attacks of certain private  
interests hostile to the canal project  
and to the port of ,new ,orleans4       
,railroads1 whose right of way crossed  
the ,canal1 were the principal          
propagandists4 ,they realized that the  
,dock ,board could not be required to   
build their bridges over the waterway1  
and although the ,thompson board        
financed the work at the time1 they knew
 that sooner or later would come a day  
of reckoning4 ,the ,hudson ,board has   

since then taken steps to collect       
several million dollars from these      
roads4  ,but why build a canal almost   
large enough1 only8 ,why build a        
#be-;foot lock when ships drawing       
#cj-;feet of water come to ,new         
,orleans8 ,a lock cannot be enlarged1   
once it is completed--and the tendency  
of the times is towards larger ships4   
,why not make a capacity facility while 
they were about it8  ,illustration3     
,,lock ,,site     ,driving ,sheet       
,piling  ,illustration3 ,,lock ,,site   
,dredges ,entering  ,these were         
questions the ,dock ,board asked itself1
 and on ,june #bi1 #aiah1 it decided to 
build the lock with a #cj-;foot depth   
over the sill at extreme low water1 and 
make the canal #cjj feet wide at the    
top1 and #aej feet wide at the bottom4  
,to do this1 would cost about #a1jjj1jjj
 more1 it was estimated by ,george ,m4  
,wells of the ,goethals company--a sum  
which the ,dock ,board thought would be 
realized from the rental-revenues of    

,doullut  ,williams and the ,foundation 
,company1 without increasing the second 
bond issue4  ,this is the ,canal that   
was finally built--nearly #gj per cent  
larger than the one that was begun and  
about #ajj per cent larger than the one 
originally planned1 when the newspapers 
and forward-looking told the people that
 the lack of such a canal had cost ,new 
,orleans millions of dollars in         
development4     ,,digging ,,the        
,,ditch4   ,no rock-problem was         
encountered in dredging the canal4 ,the 
cost was below what the engineers       
estimated it would be--less than thirty 
cents a cubic yard4 ,but a novel        
situation did develop2 a condition that 
would have sent the cost sky-rocketing  
if an ,orleanian had not met the        
difficulty4  ,louisiana is what         
geologists call a region of subsidence4 
,the gulf of ,mexico formerly reached to
 where ,cairo1 ,ill41 now is4 ,washings 
from the land1 during the slow-moving   
centuries1 pushed the shoreline ever    

outward2 the humus of decaying          
vegetation raised the ground surface    
still higher4 ,this section of          
,louisiana1 built by the silt of the    
,mississippi1 was of course the most    
recent formation4  ,twenty thousand     
years ago1 say the geologists1 there    
were great forests where ,louisiana now 
is4 ,among these mighty trees roamed the
 glyptodont2 the #af-;foot armadillo    
with a tail like the morning-star of the
 old crusaders1 monstrously magnified2  
the giraffe camel2 the titanothere2 the 
,columbian elephant1 about the size of a
 trolley car and with #ae-;foot tusks2  
the giant sloth which could look into a 
second-story window2 here the           
saber-toothed tiger fought with the     
megatherium2 mighty rhinoceroses sloshed
 their clumsy way1 and huge and         
grotesque birds filled the air with     
their flappings4  ,as the subsoil packed
 more solidly1 this wilderness in time  
sunk beneath the waters4 ,the           
,mississippi built up its sandbars      

again1 storms shaped them above the     
waves1 marsh grass raised the surface   
with its humus1 and another forest grew4
 ,this1 in turn1 sunk4 ,and so the      
process was repeated1 time after time4  
,at different depths below the surface  
of the ground the remains of these      
forests are found today1 the wood       
perfectly preserved by the dampness4    
,and through this tangled mass the      
dredges had to fight their way4  ,it was
 a task too great for the ordinary type 
of #bj or #bb-;inch suction dredge1 even
 with the strength of #a1jjj horses     
behind it4 ,when they met these giant   
stumps and trunks they just stopped4    
,a4 ,b4 ,wood1 of the sewerage and water
 department1 had already designed and   
patented a centrifugal pump impeller    
adapted to the handling of sewerage     
containing trash4 ,learning of this1 ,w4
 ,j4 ,white1 superintendent of dredging 
on the ,canal1 asked him to design a    
special impeller1 along similar lines1  
for the dredge ,texas4  ,results from   

the invention were remarkable4 ,during  
the thirty days immediately preceding   
the installation the dredge had suffered
 delays from clogged suction which      
totalled #acj-c_/d hours4 ,during the   
thirty days immediately succeeding      
installation the total of delays for the
 same reason was cut down to #ga-a_/b   
hours4 ,the average yardage was1 for the
 earlier period1 #aeb an hour1 of actual
 excavation2 and for the later period1  
#dde an hour--an increase of almost #bjj
 per cent4 ,the situation had been met4 
,this was the period when the cost of   
labor and material began to jump4       
,employers were bidding against each    
other for men1 and the government's work
 practically fixed the price of         
supplies4  ,george ,m4 ,wells1          
consulting engineer1 in his report of   
,december #i1 #aiah1 to the ,dock       
,board1 summarized labor increases over 
the scale when the work was begun1 as   
follows3 ,unskilled labor1 #ed2 pile    
driver men1 #dj2 machinists1 #dj2       

blacksmiths1 #dj2 foremen and monthly1  
#ae to #dj--;an average increase of #dj4
 ,materials had advanced1 he went on to 
show1 as follows3 ,gravel1 #gb2 sand1   
#be2 cement1 #aj2 lumber 7form71 #gj2   
timber1 #dj2 piles1 untreated1 #dj2     
piles1 treated1 #be4 ,these increases1  
together with the expansion of the plans
 requiring a canal of maximum depth1    
instead of the pilot cut of fifteen     
feet1 as originally planned2 the        
insistence of the ,levee ,board that    
levees in the back areas must be raised 
to elevation #cj2 development of        
unforeseen and unforeseeable quicksand  
conditions in the various excavations2  
requirements of railroads for bridges of
 greater capacity and strength than     
needed2 building of a power line to the 
,foundation ,company's plant--not a     
,dock ,board job1 but one that the      
conditions required it should finance   
then2 and other expenses1 besides       
delaying the work1 made another bond    
issue necessary to finish the job4  ,at 

its meeting of ,february #bf1 #aiai1    
,president ,thompson laid the matter    
before the board4 ,it decided to issue  
#f1jjj1jjj of bonds1 for which the same 
syndicate of bankers that had taken the 
other two offered #if4 ,liberty bonds   
were then selling at a big discount1 and
 this seemed the best terms on which the
 money could be secured4  ,this gave a  
total issue of #ab1jjj1jjj to date1 the 
interest on which amounted to #fjj1jjj a
 year4 ,the ,levee ,board raised its    
share of the rental to #eej1jjj1 to     
guarantee the interest2 the ,public     
,belt ,railroad's #ej1jjj made the total
 complete4  ,in the meantime ships were 
beginning to bulk large on the ways of  
the ,foundation and the ,doullut        
,williams yards4 ,the ,foundation       
company launched its first1 the         
,gauchy--a #d1bjj-ton non-sinkable steel
 ship1 built for the ,french            
government--in ,september1 #aiai2 and   
the ,doullut  ,williams company launched
 its first1 the ,new ,orleans1 a steel  

vessel of #i1fjj tons1 the largest      
turned out south of ,newport ,news1     
built for the ,shipping ,board1 in      
,january1 #aibj4 ,these were followed by
 four sister vessels from the           
,foundation yard and seven from the     
,doullut  ,williams plant4 ,the former  
went to sea through ,bayou ,bienvenu and
 the latter through ,lake               
,pontchartrain4 ,the ,doullut  ,williams
 yard is a large one4 ,originally       
planning a mere assembling yard1 the    
,foundation ,company had subsequently   
developed the greatest steel fabricating
 plant in the ,south--so confident it   
was that ,new ,orleans would carry      
through the project4  ,and1 too1 the    
,new ,orleans ,army ,supply ,base that  
,uncle ,sam was building on the river   
end of the ,industrial ,canal was       
rapidly rising--the facility that was to
 double the port storage capacity of    
,new ,orleans when it was finally       
completed in ,june1 #aiai4  ,the canal  
is #e-a_/c miles long4 ,between river   

and lock the canal prism will be #abe   
feet wide at the bottom and #bge feet at
 the top2 between the lock and the lake1
 #aej feet wide at the bottom and #cjj  
feet wide at the top4 ,it is an         
excavation job of #aj1jjj1jjj cubic     
yards4 ,five hundred thousand flat cars 
would be required to carry that dirt--a 
train more than #d1jjj miles long4  ,by 
,september1 #aiai1 the canal had been   
entirely dredged1 except for the        
#b1jjj-;foot channel between the lock   
and river1 which must be left until the 
last1 to a width of about #aej feet and 
a depth of #bf feet4 ,since then1 the   
labor has been concentrated upon the    
lock4 ,but twenty-six feet will float a 
vessel carrying #f1jjj bales of cotton4 
,full dimensions1 however1 will be      
developed1 and the ,canal1 with a system
 of laterals and basins such as are     
found in ,europe1 will be an ,inner     
,harbor capable of indefinite expansion4
     ,,overwhelming ,,endorsement ,,by  
,,new ,,orleans4   ,when the ,canal was 

about half finished it received the most
 tremendous endorsement by every        
interest of ,new ,orleans in its        
history4 ,the question was put squarely 
before the people3 ,do you think it is a
 good thing1 and you are willing to be  
taxed to put it across1 and1 if so1 how 
much8 ,and the answer came without      
hesitation3 ,it is absolutely necessary 
to the industrial progress of the city4 
,we must have the ,canal at all costs1  
and are willing to be taxed any amount  
for it4  ,on ,september #bd1 #aiai1     
,george ,m4 ,wells1 consulting engineer1
 made a report to the ,dock ,board1     
showing that the last bond issue of     
#f1jjj1jjj had been exhausted1 and about
 #e1jjj1jjj more was needed to finish   
the ,canal4  ,this was in the last days 
of the ,thompson ,board1 and it took no 
action4 ,the ,hudson board entered upon 
its duties ,october #b4 ,it comprised   
,william ,o4 ,hudson1 president2        
,william ,a4 ,kernaghan1 ,ren ,f4       
,clerc1 ,albert ,mackie1 ,thomas ,h4    

,roberts4 ,later1 ,mr4 ,roberts resigned
 and ,hugh ,mc,closkey took his place4  
,all are sound business men1 with the   
interests of the port at heart4  ,they  
found1 in the bank1 only #b1jfg1hde4cg  
to the ,industrial ,canal ,account4     
,after deducting the obligations already
 made there was left only #aab1jfd4dc to
 continue the work4 ,without a public   
expression from ,new ,orleans they were 
unwilling to incur the responsibility of
 issuing #e1jjj1jjj more bonds4         
,president ,hudson called a series of   
meetings of the representative interests
 of the city to decide what was to be   
done4 ,as the people of ,new ,orleans   
had decided to begin the ,canal in the  
first place1 it was only right that they
 should determine whether the           
undertaking1 costing five times as much 
as the original plan1 should be carried 
through4  ,the governor1 the mayor1     
presidents of banks1 committees of      
commercial exchanges1 the president of  
the ,public ,belt ,railroad1 the        

president of the ,levee ,board1         
newspaper publishers1 labor leaders and 
prominent business men were invited4    
,likewise1 a general call was made to   
the community at large to express an    
opinion as to finishing the ,canal4  ,at
 the meeting of ,october #ag the city   
made its answer4  ,president ,hudson    
outlined the attitude of the ,dock      
,board as follows3  ,the board has no   
feeling of prejudice against the        
completion of the ,canal4 ,we are in    
favor of it4 ,we are anxious to complete
 it4 ,it was fostered by the citizens of
 ,new ,orleans4  ,the floating of the   
bond issue is a simple matter1 if you   
men think we ought to do it2 but where  
is the money for meeting the interest to
 come from8 ,the #fjj1jjj interest on   
bonds now outstanding is being paid1    
#eej1jjj by the ,levee ,board1 and      
#ej1jjj by the ,public ,belt ,railroad4 
,the ,public ,belt's share is paid from 
its earnings2 but the ,levee ,board's   
share is being paid by direct taxation  

on the citizens of ,new ,orleans4 ,must 
we increase that tax8 ,i personally     
won't object to any taxation as a       
citizen to pay my part towards financing
 the ,canal4  ,i want to see the canal  
completed1 said ,governor ,pleasant4    
,but it is up to the people of ,new     
,orleans to say whether they are willing
 to assume the added obligation4  ,r4   
,s4 ,hecht1 president of the ,hibernia  
,bank1 and a recognized financial leader
 in ,new ,orleans1 then arose4  ,i feel1
 he said1 that all who have the future  
of ,new ,orleans at heart must agree    
that we are here to discuss not whether 
the ,canal is to be finished1 but how4  
,finished it must be1 or our commercial 
future will be doomed for many years4   
,if the ,dock ,board were to stop the   
work1 it would forever kill its credit  
for any other bond issue that might be  
proposed for wharf development1 new     
warehouses1 or anything else4  ,the cost
 of the canal is a surprise to          
everybody4 ,i was present when the cost 

was originally estimated at #c1ejj1jjj  
with a leeway of #a1jjj1jjj4 ,i said    
then1 and ,i repeat now1 that the canal 
could be financed if the people of ,new 
,orleans stood squarely behind it4  ,the
 cotton warehouse and the grain elevator
 cost a great deal more than the        
original estimates4 ,so the ,industrial 
,canal1 though it is costing more than  
anticipated1 because of the increased   
cost of material and labor and the      
increased size in the ,canal1 will1 ,i  
feel sure1 be justified by the          
development of the future4  ,are we to  
be taxed for fifty years for our        
investment of #ab1jjj1jjj and get no    
return1 or are we willing to pay a      
little bit more and get something worth 
while8  ,that expressed the sentiment of
 the meeting4  ,illustration3 ,,building
 ,,the ,,lock  ,the people of ,new      
,orleans1 said ,hugh ,mc,closkey1       
financier and dean of all ,dock ,board  
presidents1 have never failed to meet a 
crisis4 ,it is the duty of the ,dock    

,board to finish the ,canal1 no matter  
what the doubting ,thomases may say4    
,similar expressions were made by       
,thomas ,killeen1 president of the      
,levee ,board2 ,thomas ,cunningham1 of  
the ,public ,belt ,railroad2 ,d4 ,d4    
,moore1 editor of the ,times-,picayune2 
,james ,m4 ,thompson1 publisher of the  
,item2 ,b4 ,c4 ,casanas1 president of   
the ,association of ,commerce2 ,l4 ,m4  
,pool1 president of the ,marine ,bank2  
,j4 ,e4 ,bouden1 president of the       
,whitney-,central ,bank2 ,bernard       
,mc,closkey1 attorney2 ,frank ,b4       
,hayne1 of the ,cotton ,exchange2       
,jefferson ,d4 ,hardin1 of the ,board of
 ,trade2 ,william ,v4 ,seeber1          
representative of the ,ninth ,ward2     
,marshall ,ballard1 editor of ,the      
,item4 ,others present1 assenting by    
their silence1 included ,john ,f4       
,clark1 president1 and ,e4 ,s4 ,butler1 
member of the ,cotton ,exchange2 ,w4    
,horace ,williams1 of ,doullut          
,williams ,shipbuilding ,company2 ,e4   

,m4 ,stafford1 state senator2 ,c4 ,g4   
,rives of the ,interstate ,bank2 ,s4 ,t4
 ,de,milt1 president of the ,new        
,orleans ,steamship ,association2 ,r4   
,w4 ,dietrich of the ,bienville         
,warehouse ,corporation2 ,edgar ,b4     
,stern1 ,milton ,boylan1 ,w4 ,h4        
,byrnes1 ,j4 ,c4 ,hamilton1 and about   
thirty other representative business and
 professional men4 ,mayor ,behrman1     
,john ,t4 ,banville1 president of the   
,brewery ,workers' ,union1 and ,george  
,w4 ,moore1 president of the ,building  
,trades ,council1 at a subsequent       
meeting1 gave their endorsement4  ,with 
only one dissenting voice1 these        
meetings were unanimous that the        
,industrial ,canal must be completed at 
all costs2 that without it1 the growth  
of the city would be seriously          
interrupted4 ,the one protest was by the
 ,southern ,realty and ,securities      
,company4 ,it was made ,october #bc     
against the ,levee ,board's underwriting
 the interest on the new bond issue4    

,on that date the ,levee ,board         
unanimously voted to guarantee these    
interest charges1 amounting to #cge1jjj 
a year4 ,this brings the total being    
paid by that body out of direct taxation
 to #ibe1jjj4jj a year4 ,the other      
#ej1jjj is paid by the ,public ,belt    
,railroad4  ,to provide a leeway against
 the engineer's estimates1 the ,dock    
,board made provision for a bond issue  
of #g1ejj1jjj1 but actually issued only 
#e1jjj1jjj worth4 ,this was taken by the
 same syndicate of bankers that had     
taken the previous issues1 but this time
 they paid par4 ,that was a point on    
which ,president ,hudson had insisted4  
,the contract was accepted ,december    
#aj1 #aiai4  ,and the work went on1 with
 every effort concentrated on economical
 construction4     ,,siphon ,,and       
,,bridges4   ,as an incident in the work
 of building the ,industrial ,canal1 it 
was necessary to create a disappearing  
river4  ,this is the famous siphon--the 
quadruple passage of concrete that will 

carry the city's drainage underneath the
 shipway4 ,it is one of the largest     
structures of its kind in the country4  
,a word about ,new ,orleans' drainage   
problem4 ,the city is the bowl of a     
dish1 of which the levees against river 
and lake are the rim4 ,there is no      
natural drainage4 ,the rainfall is      
nearly five feet a year1 concentrated at
 times1 upon the thousand miles of      
streets1 into cloudbursts of four inches
 an hour and ten inches in a day4 ,in   
the boyhood of men now in their early   
thirties it was a regular thing for the 
city to be flooded after a heavy rain4  
,to meet the situation1 ,new ,orleans   
has constructed the greatest drainage   
system in the world4 ,there are six     
pumping stations on the east side of the
 river1 connected with each other by    
canals1 and with a discharge capacity of
 more than #aj1jjj cubic feet a second4 
,the seven billion gallons of water that
 these pumps can move a day would fill a
 lake one mile square and thirty-five   

feet deep4  ,three of the canals empty  
into ,lake ,pontchartrain1 the fourth1  
the ,florida ,walk ,canal1 into ,bayou  
,bienvenu1 which leads into ,lake       
,borgne1 an arm of ,pontchartrain4      
,because of this drainage contamination1
 the lake shore front of ,new ,orleans  
has been held back in its development4  
,yet it is an ideal site for a          
suburb--on a beautiful body of water1   
and just half a dozen miles from the    
business district4  ,so the ,sewerage   
and ,water ,board has been planning     
ultimately to turn the city's entire    
drainage into ,bayou ,bienvenu1 a stream
 with swamps on both sides1 running into
 a lake surrounded by marsh4  ,the      
,industrial ,canal crosses the ,florida 
,walk drainage canal4 ,this made it     
necessary to build the inverted siphon4 
,a siphon1 in the ordinary sense1 is a  
bent tube1 one section of which is      
longer than the other1 through which a  
liquid flows by its own weight over an  
elevation to a lower level4 ,but siphon 

here is an engineering term to describe 
a channel that goes under an            
obstruction--the canal--and returns the 
water to its former level4  ,like the   
famous rivers that drop into the earth  
and appear again miles further on1 the  
,florida drainage canal approaches to   
within a hundred or so feet of the      
,industrial ,canal1 then dives forty    
feet underground1 passes beneath the    
shipway1 and comes to the surface on the
 other side1 in front of the pumping    
station1 which lifts it into ,bayou     
,bienvenu4  ,at first it was planned to 
build a comparatively small siphon1 but 
while the plans were being drawn1 ,new  
,orleans entered upon its tremendous    
development4 ,the engineers threw away  
their blueprints and began over again4  
,they designed one that is capable of   
handling the entire drainage of the     
city4 ,and in ,april1 #aibj1 it was     
finished--a work of steel and concrete  
and machinery1 costing nearly           
three-quarters of a million dollars1 and

 with a capacity of #b1jjj cubic feet of
 water a second1 #g1bjj1jjj an hour1    
#agb1hjj1jjj a day4  ,it was a work that
 presented many difficulties4 ,first the
 ,florida ,walk canal had to be closed  
by two cofferdams4 ,the space between   
was pumped out1 the excavation was made1
 and the driving of foundation piling   
begun4 ,quicksands gave much trouble4   
,they flowed into the cut1 until they   
were stopped with sheet piling4 ,the    
piles were from #cj to #fj feet in      
length and from three to five feet apart
 on centers4  ,forty-six feet below the 
ground surface 7-#bf ,cairo datum7 was  
laid the concrete floor of the siphon4  
,the siphon is divided into four        
compartments4 ,there are two storm      
chambers1 measuring #aj by #ac feet     
each1 one normal weather chamber        
measuring #d by #aj feet1 and one public
 utilities duct1 measuring #f by #aj    
feet4 ,these are inside dimensions4 ,the
 floor of the siphon is two feet thick2 
the roof1 one foot nine inches4 ,the    

whole structure is a solid piece of     
concrete and capable of standing a      
pressure of more than #b1jjj pounds to  
the square foot4 ,its total length is   
#cgh feet2 the shipway passing over it  
is #aje feet wide and #cj feet deep4    
,in the public utilities duct are       
carried the city's water pipes1 cables1 
telephone and telegraph wires1 and gas  
mains4  ,the storm chambers will handle 
the rainfall of cloudbursts4 ,in        
ordinary weather the water will be      
concentrated through the smaller        
chamber1 in order to produce a strong   
flow and reduce the settlement of       
sediment to a minimum4  ,eight sluice   
gates1 each #f by #aj feet1 open or     
close the water chambers4 ,they are     
operated by hydraulic cylinders of the  
most approved type4  ,for sending       
workmen inside the siphon to make       
repairs or clearing away an obstruction 
there are eight manholes4 ,four measure 
#f by #ac feet1 two #f by #f feet1 and  
two #f by #d feet4  ,as soon as the     

,florida ,walk canal can be deepened and
 a few link-ups in the drainage system  
can be made1 the entire drainage of ,new
 ,orleans1 in normal weather and during 
light storms1 will1 according to        
announcement by the ,sewerage and ,water
 ,board1 be sent through this outlet4   
,during the occasional cloudbursts it   
will be necessary to send some of the   
drainage into the lake1 but this will be
 rapidly flowing water and will sweep   
offshore4 ,it means a great deal to the 
suburban development of the city4  ,a   
year and a half the siphon was in the   
making4 ,preparations for the structure 
cost more than #bej1jjj--;excavation    
foundation1 etc4 ,the concrete alone    
cost #agj1jjj4 ,machinery and the work  
of housing and installing it cost       
#fj1jjj more4  ,four bascule steel      
bridges now cross the ,industrial       
,canal4 ,they are the largest in the    
city4 ,three of them--at ,florida ,walk1
 for the ,southern and ,public ,belt    
,railways2 ,gentilly1 for the           

,louisville  ,nashville2 and on the lake
 front1 for the ,southern1 weigh        
#a1fjj1jjj pounds each--superstructure  
only4 ,the fourth--at the lock--weighs  
#a1jjj1jjj pounds4 ,they are balanced by
 #hjj-ton concrete blocks and concrete  
adjustment blocks4 ,their extreme length
 is #afj feet2 the moving leaf has a    
span of #aag feet4  ,with a #cj-;foot   
right of way for railroad tracks1 #aa   
feet for vehicles and trolley cars and  
four feet for pedestrians1 they are     
designed to meet traffic conditions of a
 great and growing city4 ,they will     
support #ej-ton street cars or #ae-ton  
road rollers--,new ,orleans has nothing 
as heavy as that now--and trains a great
 deal heavier than are now coming to the
 city4 ,no bridge in the ,south will    
support as heavy loads4  ,the tensile   
strength of the steel of which the      
bridges are constructed is from #ee1jjj 
to #he1jjj pounds to the square inch1   
and they will bear a wind load of #bj   
pounds to the square inch of exposed    

surface4  ,they are operated by two     
#ge-;horse power electric motors1 #ddj  
volts1 #fj-;cycle1 #c-phase current1    
which is stepped down from #b1bjj volts 
by means of transformers4 ,in addition1 
there is a #cf-;horse power gasoline    
engine1 to be used if the electrical    
equipment is out of order4 ,to open or  
close the bridges will require a minute 
and a half4     ,,the ,,remarkable      
,,lock4   ,not only is the lock of the  
,industrial ,canal one of the largest in
 the ,united ,states1 but its           
construction solved a soil problem that 
was thought impossible4 ,that of the    
,panama ,canal is simple in comparison4 
,the design is unique in many respects4 
,the lock is a monument to the power of 
,man over the forces of ,nature1 and to 
the progress of a community that will   
not say die4  ,because of the great     
variation in the level of the river at  
low and high water--a matter of twenty  
feet--it was necessary to make the      
excavation1 for building the lock1 about

 fifty feet deep4 ,in solid soil this   
would be a simple matter4 ,but this     
ground has been made by the gradual     
deposit of ,mississippi ,river silt upon
 what was originally the sandy bed of   
the ocean1 and through these deposits   
run strata of water-bearing sand1 or    
quicksand4 ,this flows into a cut and   
causes the banks to cave and slide into 
the excavation4 ,underneath there is a  
pressure of marsh gas1 which1 with the  
pressure of the collapsing banks1       
squeezes the deeper layers of quicksand 
upwards1 creating boils and blowing up  
the bottom4  ,new ,orleans has had      
plenty of experiences with these flowing
 sands in its shallow sewerage          
excavations4 ,how1 then1 expect to make 
an excavation fifty feet deep8 asked the
 doubting ,thomases4 ,it couldn't be    
done4 ,the quicksands would flow in too 
fast4 ,the dredges would drain the      
surrounding subsoil1 but that wouldn't  
get beyond a certain depth4             
,furthermore1 what assurance was there  

that the soil that far down would supply
 sufficient friction to hold the piles  
necessary to sustain the enormous weight
 of the lock and the ships passing      
through it8  ,undaunted by these        
croakings1 the engineers1 from test     
borings1 calculated the sliding and     
flowing character of the soil1 and      
estimated the various pressures that    
would have to be counteracted1 balanced 
this with the holding power of pine and 
steel and concrete1 evolved a plan1 and 
began an excavation of a hole #cej feet 
wide by #a1ejj feet long1 gradually     
sloping the cut 7#a to #d ratio7 to a   
center where the lock1 #a1jbj by #aej   
feet1 outside dimensions1 was to be     
built4  ,illustration3 ,,inner          
,,harbor--,,navigation ,,canal     ,lock
 and ,vicinity  ,the gentle slope of the
 cut was to prevent slides4  ,it had    
been ascertained that the first stratum 
of quicksand began twenty-eight feet    
below the ground surface 7-#c ,cairo    
datum7 and was three feet thick2 the    

second stratum1 forty-eight feet below  
the surface 7-#bc ,cairo datum7 and ten 
feet thick4 ,coarser sand extended      
eleven feet below this1 from -#cc ,cairo
 datum4 ,the second stratum of flowing  
sand began just below where the lock    
floor had to be laid4 ,the third layer  
was #hj feet below the surface 7-#ee    
,cairo datum72 the tips of the piling   
would just miss it4  ,excavation began  
in ,november1 #aiah4 ,while the dredges 
were at work a wooden sheet piling      
cofferdam was driven completely around  
the lock1 and about #abe feet from the  
edge of the bank1 to cut off the first  
quicksand stratum4 ,about #aej feet     
further in1 when the excavation was well
 advanced1 a second ring of sheet piling
 was driven1 to cut off the second      
stratum1 which carried a static pressure
 of #ee feet and was just a foot or so  
below where the floor of the lock would 
be4 ,it was not thought necessary to cut
 off the third stratum4  ,the excavation
 was made in the wet4 ,when it was      

finished the dredges moved back into the
 ,canal1 the entrance closed1 and the   
work of unwatering the lock site began4 
,this was in ,april1 #aiai4  ,there had 
never been such a deep cut made in this 
section4 ,consequently1 the character of
 the soil1 while it could be estimated1 
could not be known absolutely4 ,and the 
exact pressure of the gas could not be  
known4  ,the sands proved to be more    
liquid and the gas pressure stronger    
than anticipated4 ,quicksands ran       
through the sheet piling as through a   
sieve4 ,the walls of the excavation     
began to slough and cave4 ,the gas      
pressure became alarming when the weight
 of earth and water was taken off2 sand 
boils began to develop at the bottom2   
the floor of the cut was blowing up4    
,the fate of the ,industrial ,canal hung
 in the scale4  ,to meet the situation  
the engineers pumped a great volume of  
water into the excavation4 ,its weight  
counterbalanced the earth pressure of   
the side and the gas pressure of the    

bottom4  ,then another ring of sheet    
piling was driven inside the other two4 
,this one was of steel1 and the walls   
were braced apart by wooden beams ten   
inches square and fifteen feet apart in 
both directions4 ,this is one of the    
largest cofferdams of steel ever driven4
 ,as an added precaution against the    
danger of a blowout by the third stratum
 of quicksand1 which had a static head  
of #ge feet1 #acj ten-inch artesian     
wells were driven inside the steel      
cofferdam4 ,fifty-six similar wells were
 driven between the steel and the wooden
 cofferdams to dry out the second       
stratum of quicksand1 as much as        
possible1 and lessen its flowing        
character4  ,in ,november1 #aiai1 the   
work of unwatering the lock site again  
began4 ,only one foot every other day   
was taken off4 ,engineers watched every 
timber4 ,it was not until ,january #d1  
#aibj1 that the unwatering was complete4
 ,the plan had worked4 ,only in one     
place had there been any movement--a    

section of the wooden sheet piling about
 #cjj feet long bulged forward a maximum
 distance of three inches1 when the     
bracing caught and stopped it4  ,then   
began the work of driving the #bd1jjj   
piles on which the lock was to be       
floated4 ,they are #fj feet long and    
their tips are #ajj feet below the      
surface of the ground4  ,in ,march1     
#aibj1 the work of laying the concrete  
began4 ,the work was done in #ae-;foot  
sections1 for only a few of the braces  
could be moved at one time4 ,when it was
 finished in ,april1 #aiba1 the lock was
 in one piece1 a solid mass of steel and
 stone1 #a1jbj feet long1 #aej feet     
wide1 and #fh feet high1 weighing1 with 
its gates and machinery1 #bbe1jjj tons1 
and filled with water1 #cej1jjj tons4   
,the concrete floor of the lock is #i to
 #ab feet thick1 the walls #ac feet wide
 at the bottom1 decreasing to a two foot
 width at the top4 ,six thousand tons of
 reinforcing steel were used in the     
construction1 and #abe1jjj barrels of   

cement4 ,there are #ij1jjj cubic yards  
of concrete in the structure4 ,two and a
 half million feet of lumber were used  
in building the forms4  ,usable         
dimensions of the lock are #fdj feet    
long1 #ge feet wide1 and #cj feet 7at   
minimum low water of the river7 deep4   
,the top of the lock is #bj feet above  
the natural ground surface and #f feet  
above the highest stage of the          
,mississippi ,river on record4 ,to the  
top the ground will be sloped on a      
#aej-;foot series of terraces4 ,this    
will brace the walls against the        
pressure of water within the monolith4  
,it will be developed to a beautiful    
park4 ,heavy anchor-columns of concrete 
will hold the walls against the pressure
 of these artificial hills when the lock
 is empty4  ,traffic crosses the canal  
here by a steel bascule bridge #fe feet 
wide1 with two railroad and two street  
car tracks1 two vehicle roadways1 and   
two ways for pedestrians4 ,concrete     
viaducts lead to the bridge4  ,gas and  

water mains1 sewer pipes and telephone1 
telegraph and electric wires pass under 
the lock in conduits cast in the living 
concrete4  ,water is admitted into and  
drained from the lock by culverts cast  
in the base4 ,these are #h by #aj feet1 
narrowing at the opening to #h by #h    
feet1 and closed by #h sluice gates1    
each operated by a #eb-;horsepower      
electric motor4 ,it will be possible to 
fill or empty the lock in ten minutes4  
,there are five sets of gates to the    
lock4 ,they are built of steel plates   
and rolled shapes1 four and a half feet 
thick and weighing #bjj tons each4 ,and 
there is an emergency dam weighing #gbj 
tons1 which in case of necessity can be 
used as a gate4  ,four pairs of the     
gates are of #ee-;foot size2 one of     
#db-;foot4 ,each gate is operated by a  
#eb-;horsepower electric motor4 ,when   
open1 the gates fit flush into the walls
 of the locks4  ,in the emergency dam is
 the refinement of precaution--designed 
as it was to save the city from overflow

 in the remote event of the lock gates  
failing to work during high water1 and  
to insure the uninterrupted operation of
 the lock in normal times1 if the gates 
should be sprung by a ship1 or otherwise
 put out of commission4  ,this dam      
consists of eight girders or sections1  
#hj feet long1 #c feet wide and #f feet 
high4 ,they weigh #ij tons each4 ,they  
are kept on a platform near the river   
end of the lock4 ,nearby is the crane   
with a #cjj-;horsepower motor1 that     
picks up these girders and drops them   
into the slots in the walls of the lock4
 ,to set this emergency dam is the work 
of an hour4  ,a ship passing through the
 lock will not proceed under her own    
power4 ,there are six capstans1 two at  
each end of the lock and two at the     
middle1 each operated by a              
#eb-;horsepower electric motor1 and     
capable of developing a pull of #ce1jjj 
pounds1 which will work the vessels     
through4  ,the lock complete1 counting  
the bridge and approaches1 cost         

#g1ejj1jjj4 ,one and a half million of  
this is for machinery1 and #ef1jjj for  
the approaches4  ,henry ,goldmark1 the  
,new ,york engineer who designed the    
gates of the ,panama ,canal and the ,new
 ,orleans ,industrial ,canal1 in a      
letter of ,march #bd1 #aiba1 to the     
engineering department of the ,dock     
,board1 comments as follows on the      
remarkable lock3  ,i was much impressed 
by the uniformly high grade of          
construction of the lock1 the systematic
 and energetic way in which the work was
 being carried on1 and especially by the
 admirable spirit of team work1 shown by
 the employees of the ,dock ,board1 of  
different grades1 as well as the        
contractors1 superintendents and        
foremen4  ,the desire to get the best   
possible results in all the details1 at 
the least cost1 was manifest throughout4
  ,the unique method used for carrying  
on the very difficult and risky work of 
excavation has attracted much           
professional attention in all parts of  

the country4 ,its successful completion 
is very creditable to all concerned1 in 
the inception and carrying out of the   
method used4  ,the concrete work gives  
the impression of lightness1 as well as 
strength1 as though every yard of       
concrete was doing its special share of 
the work without overstraining1 which   
is1 of course1 the characteristic of    
well-designed reinforced masonry4  ,the 
outer surfaces are particularly smooth  
and well finished1 more so than in any  
work ,i have recently seen4  ,the       
erection of the gates1 valves1 operating
 machinery and the protective dam1 has  
kept up closely with the concrete work1 
so that no delays need be apprehended at
 the close of the construction period4  
,the shop and field work in the lock    
gates is excellent4 ,the rivet holes    
match well and the rivet heads appear to
 be tight and well formed4 ,the gate    
leaves seem very straight and true4     
,the lock was designed by ,george ,m4   
,wells of the ,george ,w4 ,goethals     

,company1 assisted by ,r4 ,o4 ,comer1   
designing engineer of the ,dock ,board1 
and approved by ,general ,goethals4 ,the
 methods employed to unwater the lock   
were devised by ,mr4 ,wells4 ,j4        
,devereux ,o',reilly1 chief engineer of 
the ,dock ,board1 to ,november1 #aiai1  
had charge of the details of installing 
the unwatering and safety devices4 ,he  
was succeeded by ,general ,arsne        
,perrilliat1 who supervised the final   
unwatering process4 ,upon his death in  
,october1 #aibj1 he was succeeded by ,j4
 ,f4 ,coleman  ,company1 in charge of   
the engineering department1 and ,h4 ,m4 
,gallagher1 chief engineer1 under whom  
work is being brought to a conclusion4  
,from first to last1 ,tiley ,s4         
,mc,chesney1 assistant secretary and    
treasurer of the ,dock ,board1 rendered 
intelligent and invaluable service1     
gathering together and holding the      
threads of the enterprise1 and attending
 promptly to the multitude of details   
connected with the prosecution of the   

work4  ,the lock was formally dedicated 
,may #b1 #aiba--;a ceremony that was the
 feature of the ,mississippi ,valley    
,association's convention in ,new       
,orleans4  ,with the dredging of the    
channel between the river and the lock1 
a work that should be finished before   
,january1 #aibb1 ships will be able to  
pass from the ,mississippi into ,lake   
,pontchartrain4 ,then ,new ,orleans can 
plan its next great development4        
,illustration3 ,,cross ,,section ,,of   
,,lock  ,illustration3 ,,cross ,,section
 ,,of ,,siphon     ,,new ,,channel ,,to 
,,the ,,gulf4   ,george ,m4 ,wells1     
,george ,r4 ,goethals1 son of the       
,general1 ,colonel ,e4 ,j4 ,dent1 ,u4,s4
 district engineer at ,new ,orleans1 and
 other engineers who have studied the   
problem1 say that the dredging of a     
channel from the ,industrial ,canal to  
the gulf through ,lake ,pontchartrain1  
or the marshes1 is feasible1            
comparatively cheap1 and maintenance    
would be simple4 ,this would shorten the

 distance from ,new ,orleans to the sea 
by about #ej miles1 and would be a vast 
saving for ships4 ,it is one of the     
objects towards which the ,hudson ,dock 
,board is working4  ,it is ,uncle ,sam's
 recognized duty to develop and maintain
 harbors and channels to the sea4       
,distance is obviously an important     
factor2 furthermore1 the proposed new   
outlet would be an important link in the
 ,intracoastal ,canal1 connecting with  
the ,warrior ,river section of ,alabama1
 which the government is developing     
between the ,atlantic and ,gulf ,coasts4
 ,a bill was introduced in the ,senate  
in #aibj by ,senator ,ransdell of       
,louisiana1 providing for the           
development of the proposed channel2 it 
was not pressed because the canal was   
far from completed4 ,however1 every     
effort will be made by the ,dock ,board 
from now on to have ,uncle ,sam take    
hold4  ,colonel ,dent has for a number  
of months been studying the feasible    
routes4 ,he1 by the way1 is thoroughly  

convinced of the value of the           
,industrial ,canal to the development of
 ,new ,orleans1 and the commerce of the 
nation1 and has so expressed himself in 
public4  ,the ,pontchartrain route has  
been laid off1 by engineers1 beginning  
at the ,canal1 paralleling the south    
shore of the ,lake ,pontchartrain to the
 south draw of the ,southern ,railway   
bridge1 thence to the ,rigolets to ,cat 
,island ,pass1 from there to ,cat       
,island ,channel and so to the deep     
water of the ,gulf1 a total distance of 
#ge miles4  ,soundings and surface      
probings have been taken at frequent    
intervals over the entire route4 ,these 
have shown the engineers the following3 
,three-quarters of a mile from the south
 shore of the lake1 and as far as the   
railroad drawbridge1 a hard bottom is   
found4 ,the material is principally     
packed sand1 rather fine1 with a small  
amount of clay1 and occasionally some   
broken shells4 ,beyond this distance    
from the shore1 the bottom is softer1   

consisting of mud mixed with sand4 ,from
 the bridge over the remainder of the   
route1 the bottom1 with the exception of
 a few sand pockets1 is soft--a blue mud
 with a large percentage of sand4 ,this 
soft material has so much tenacity1     
however1 that current and wave wash1    
which tend to fill up artificially      
dredged channels1 would affect only the 
surface4  ,the government is conducting 
large dredging operations in ,mobile    
,bay1 ,gulfport ,channel1 ,atchafalaya  
,bay and the ,houston ,ship ,channel4   
,an outline of the results there will   
show how feasible the dredging of the   
,pontchartrain ,channel would be1 and   
how much cheaper in comparison4  ,the   
channel connecting ,mobile ,bay with the
 ,gulf of ,mexico has a bottom very soft
 for the most part1 and with a small    
percentage of sand4 ,towards the outer  
end1 the material is black mud1 about   
equal in consistency to the softest     
material found in the ,pontchartrain    
route4 ,a sounding pole with a #d-;inch 

disc on the end can be easily pushed    
three or four feet into the mud and     
pulled out again4 ,wave and current     
action cause the channel to shoal at the
 rate of #gh1jjj to #acb1jjj cubic yards
 per mile per year1 depending on the    
softness of the bottom and the depth4   
,where the highest rate obtains1 the    
surrounding material consists of soft   
mud1 without a trace of sand4           
,experience shows that where there is a 
fair percentage of sand in the material 
adjacent to the channel bed1 the        
shoaling is lessened4 ,in general1 the  
material along the ,pontchartrain route 
contains a greater percentage of sand   
and is far more tenacious than that     
along the ,mobile ,bay ,channel4        
,furthermore1 the ,pontchartrain route  
is not exposed to such strong cross     
currents4  ,the ,gulfport ,channel is   
dredged through very soft material1 a   
grayish-blue mud of oozy consistency1   
into which the sounding pole penetrates 
six feet with very little exertion4 ,on 

top1 a small amount of sand is found1   
but practically none in the lower       
stratum4 ,the material is considerably  
softer than any encountered on the      
,pontchartrain route1 except for one    
small stretch4 ,yet the shoaling is not 
great4 ,where the shoaling is heaviest1 
between the end of the pier and ,beacon 
#aj1 only about #gjj1jjj cubic yards a  
mile has to be dredged out every year to
 maintain the channel4 ,from ,beacon #aj
 out1 the average annual maintenance is 
less than #bjj1jjj cubic yards a mile4  
,except for the four-mile stretch west  
of the inner entrance to the ,cat       
,island ,channel1 the bottom1 on the    
,pontchartrain route1 is harder than    
that of the ,gulfport ,channel4         
,therefore1 it is reasonable to conclude
 that the maintenance of the            
,pontchartrain ,channel would not       
average as high as the outer portion of 
the ,gulfport ,channel4  ,the           
,atchafalaya ,bay ,ship ,channel1       
extending from the mouth of the         

,atchafalaya ,river across the shoal    
waters of ,atchafalaya ,bay1 to about   
the #bj-;foot contour of the ,gulf1 a   
distance of fifteen miles1 is through a 
material of slushy mud1 with occasional 
thin pockets of sand4 ,the shoaling runs
 from #edj1jjj to #a1fhj1jjj cubic yards
 a mile a year4 ,the highest rate is    
obtained in shallow water4 ,except in   
the stretch mentioned1 the material on  
the ,pontchartrain route is not as soft 
as on the ,atchafalaya1 nor are the     
depths as shoal1 nor is there the       
exposure to cross currents4  ,in the    
,houston ,ship ,channel1 the material is
 composed of soft mud with a small      
amount of sand4 ,a two-mile stretch     
through ,red ,fish ,reef is practically 
self-maintaining4 ,for the remainder of 
the channel1 during the six years from  
#aiae to #aibj1 a total excavation of   
#ac1egd1jjj cubic yards was necessary to
 maintain the depth4 ,this is equivalent
 to #ajj1jjj cubic yards a mile a year4 
,in summary1 then3  #a4 ,the ,lake      

,pontchartrain route is practically     
unexposed to cross currents1 as is the  
case with the ,mobile ,bay1 ,gulfport1  
,atchafalaya1 and1 to a certain extent1 
the outer portion of the ,houston ,ship 
,channels4  #b4 ,the material along and 
on the sides of the ,pontchartrain route
 is1 with the exception of a small      
stretch1 more tenacious1 and contains1  
in general1 a greater proportion of sand
 than in the case of the neighboring    
channels mentioned4  ,the channel could 
therefore be more easily maintained4    
,engineers estimate that a channel with 
a #cjj-;foot bottom would be needed4 ,on
 the south shore of the lake1 the side  
slopes should be on the #a to #c ratio1 
with provision for a #a to #e ratio at  
the end of five years4 ,dumped on shore1
 the material would reclaim considerable
 frontage1 and eliminate the re-deposit 
of this material in the channel4        
,through the remainder of the route1 the
 original excavation should be made with
 side slopes on the #a to #e ratio1 with

 provision made for a #a to #aj ratio in
 five years4  ,the dredging of the #ge  
miles of the ,pontchartrain ,channel    
would amount to #ig1bjj1jjj cubic yards1
 it is estimated by engineers4 ,the cost
 would be around #aj1jjj1jjj4 ,the      
annual maintenance1 during the first    
five years1 would amount to #h1hhj1jjj  
cubic yards--an estimate based on a     
comparison with the other channels into 
the ,gulf1 and the character of the     
material to be excavated4 ,this estimate
 is considered large--but even at that1 
it is only #aah1djj cubic yards a mile a
 year1 and the cost would be about      
#gej1jjj1 according to ,colonel ,dent4  
,after five years1 it would be less4    
,another proposed route1 investigated by
 ,colonel ,dent1 is through ,lake       
,borgne4 ,a canal some miles in length1 
through the marsh1 would connect the    
lake with the ,industrial ,canal4 ,this 
route has considerable maintenance      
advantages over the ,pontchartrain      
route4 ,the character of the bottom in  

,borgne is more or less the same as in  
,pontchartrain4  ,sooner or later1 one  
of these channels will be built by the  
government4 ,that it has not already    
been begun is due to the fact that the  
,canal has not yet been completed1 and  
the expected development has not taken  
place4 ,but there is no doubt that it   
will4  ,illustration3 ,,typical ,,bridge
 ,,on ,,canal  ,illustration3           
,,emergency ,,dam ,,crane     ,,why     
,,government ,,should ,,operate ,,canal4
   ,it is the function of the state to  
provide port facilities in the form of  
docks1 piers1 warehouses1 grain         
elevators1 mechanical equipment1 etc4   
,but it is the duty of the national     
government to improve harbors1 dredge   
streams1 dig canals for navigation and  
irrigation1 erect levees to protect the 
back country1 and build locks and dams  
when needed4  ,these are the premises   
from which the ,hudson ,dock ,board     
reasons that the cost of construction   
and maintenance of the ,new ,orleans    

,navigation ,canal and ,inner ,harbor   
should be assumed by ,uncle ,sam4 ,it   
will leave no stone unturned to have him
 assume the obligation4  ,the           
,navigation ,canal is essentially a     
harbor improvement4 ,it enables         
practically unlimited industrial        
development and commercial interchange4 
,it is an important link in the         
,intracoastal ,canal system which the   
government is developing to provide an  
inland waterway from ,boston1 ,mass4 to 
,brownsville1 ,tex41 and1 with the      
dredging of a channel through ,lake     
,pontchartrain to the ,gulf1 a problem  
which ,u4,s4 engineers have been        
studying for some time and an           
undertaking which they have found       
feasible1 it will put the nation's      
second port about fifty miles closer to 
the sea4 ,it has considerable military  
value4 ,its purpose is1 therefore1      
national2 the local interests are       
secondary4  ,it is no new principle1    
this obligation of the government4 ,that

 duty has been recognized by ,congress  
since the ,united ,states was4  ,any    
rivers and harbors bill will show great 
and useful expenditure for waterways    
improvement4  ,the ,panama ,canal1 built
 by the government1 is the greatest     
example4  ,coming closer home1 there is 
south pass at the mouth of the          
,mississippi4 ,a bar1 with a nine-foot  
depth of water1 blocked the commerce of 
,new ,orleans4 ,under the rivers and    
harbors act of #ahge1 ,captain ,james   
,b4 ,eads was paid #h1jjj1jjj for       
building the famous jetties to provide a
 #bf-;foot channel4 ,since then1 the    
channel has been deepened to #cc feet4  
,in more recent years1 the government   
began to improve southwest pass1 the    
westernmost mouth of the ,mississippi4  
,a nine-foot bar was there1 too4 ,to    
increase the depth to #ce feet1 the     
government spent1 up to #aiai1 about    
#ae1jjj1jjj1 and is still spending4     
,just as the purpose of the improvements
 of these channels was to bridge the    

distance from deep water to deep water  
says ,arthur ,mc,guirk1 special counsel 
of the ,dock ,board1 in a report of     
,february #bc1 #aiba1 to the ,board1 so 
is the purpose of the ,navigation ,canal
 to bridge the distance from the deep   
water of the river to the proposed deep 
water channel of the lake4  ,in the     
annual report of the chief of engineers1
 ,u4,s4,a41 for the fiscal year ending  
,june #cj1 #aiai1 are listed the        
following waterways improvements and    
canal developments being made by the    
,government3  ,operating and care of    
canals1 #c1eif1eff4bj4  ,cape ,cod      
canal1 purchase authorized1 river and   
harbors act1 ,august #h1 #aiag1 cost not
 exceeding #aj1jjj1jjj1 and enlargement 
#e1jjj1jjj4  ,jamaica ,bay channel1 #ejj
 feet width1 #aj feet depth1 to be      
further increased to #a1ejj feet width  
entrance channel and #a1jjj feet        
interior channel1 maximum depth of #cj  
feet1 length of channel #ab miles4      
,approved estimate of cost to ,united   

,states not to exceed #g1dcj1jjj4 ,river
 and harbors act of ,june #be1 #aiaj4   
,house document ,no4 #adhh1 #fjth       
,congress4  ,ambrose channel1 ,new ,york
 harbor1 appropriation new work and     
maintenance1 #d1ibd1ecj4hh1 year ending 
,june #cj1 #aiai4  ,bay ,ridge and ,red 
,hook channels1 #d1dga1ajj4  ,locks and 
dams on ,coosa ,river1                  
,alabama-,georgia1 #a1gjj1iah4ba4       
,channel connecting ,mobile ,bay and    
,mississippi ,sound1 act of ,june #ac1  
#aijb1 original project1 for            
construction and maintenance total cost 
#g1hji1hab4db4  ,black ,warrior river1  
#ag locks1 ,mobile to ,sanders' ,ferry1 
#ddc miles4 ,total to date1             
#aj1aja1bie4ed4 ,indefinite             
appropriation4  ,sabine ,pass1 act of   
,june #ai1 #aijf and prior1 channels1   
turning basins and jetties1 ,march #b1  
#aijg1 and previously1 total            
appropriations1 #a1hge1ejf4gh4  ,trinity
 ,river1 ,galveston1 north1 #cg miles   
locks and dams4 ,act of ,june #ac1      

#aijb1 house document #dji1 #efth       
congress4 ,estimate cost complete       
canalization of river1 revised #aiaf1 in
 addition to amounts expended prior to  
rivers and harbors act of ,july1 #aiaf1 
in round numbers #ac1ejj1jjj4 ,estimated
 annual cost of maintenance1 #bhj1jjj4  
,houston to ,galveston ship canal1 act  
of ,july #be1 #aiab1 and ,july #bg1     
#aiaf4 ,cost1 #c1hej1jjj4 ,annual       
maintenance1 #cbe1jjj4  ,rock ,island   
,rapids 7,ill47 and ,le,claire canal1   
rock excavations1 etc41 act of ,march   
#b1 #aijg1 dams1 #c locks1 etc41 to     
,june #cj1 #ca1ahj1jhe4fb and           
#acj1aeh4jc for #a year maintenance4    
,keokuk1 ,iowa 7formerly ,des ,moines   
,rapids canal71 old project 7act of     
,june #bc1 #ahff71 #d1egd1iej4jj4       
,muscle ,shoals ,canal 7,tennessee      
,river71 #cf4f miles1 depth #e feet1    
#d1gdc1dhd4ej4 ,exclusive of cost of    
nitrate plant4  ,locks and dams on ,ohio
 ,river1 act of ,march #c1 #ahgi1 to act
 of ,march #b1 #aijg1 including purchase

 of ,louisville and ,portland canal1    
#ag1feg1bgc4gh4  ,estimated cost of new 
work1 widening ,louisville and ,portland
 canal and changes in dams1 #fc1gca1dhh4
 ,annual maintenance covering only lock 
forces and cost of repairs and renewals1
 #haj1jjj4 ,act of ,june #be1 #aibj1    
house document #dib1 #feth congress1    
first session4 ,also act of ,march #d1  
#aiae1 house document #afie1 #fdth      
congress1 second session4  ,ship channel
 connecting waters of great lakes1      
including ,st4 ,mary's river 7,sault    
,sainte ,marie locks71 ,st4 ,clair and  
,detroit rivers1 locks and dams1 total  
appropriations to ,june #cj1 #aiai1     
#bf1jbj1cfi4fh4 ,estimate new work1     
#bd1jhe4  ,st4 ,clair river1 connecting 
,lakes ,st4 ,clair and ,erie1 shoalest  
part was #ab-a_/b to #ae feet4 ,improved
 at expense of #ac1beb1bed4jj4          
,estimated cost of completion1          
#b1gbj1jjj4  ,niagara river1            
#ae1ghe1gac4jg4  ,los ,angeles and ,long
 ,beach harbor1 #d1dib1hji4hj4          

,seattle1 ,lake ,washington ship canal1 
in city of ,seattle1 from ,puget ,sound 
to lake2 original project1 act of       
,august #ah1 #ahid4 ,double lock and    
fixed dam4 ,length about #h miles4      
,total appropriation to date1           
#c1cde1ejj4jj4  ,these are only some of 
the larger projects4 ,of course there   
are a great number of such works1 all   
over the country1 constructed and       
maintained by the ,united ,states1      
sometimes alone1 and again by           
co-operation with local authorities4    
,new ,orleans was founded because of the
 strategic value of the location1 both  
from a commercial and a military        
standpoint4 ,the power that holds ,new  
,orleans commands the ,mississippi      
,valley--a fact which the ,british      
recognized in #ahab when they tried to  
capture it4 ,likewise1 when ,farragut   
captured ,new ,orleans1 he broke the    
backbone of the ,confederacy4  ,mr4     
,mc,guirk1 in the report to which       
reference has already been made1        

discusses the military importance of the
 ,industrial ,canal as follows3  ,a ship
 canal1 connecting the river and the    
lake at ,new ,orleans will be a ,panama 
or a ,kiel canal1 in miniature1 and     
double in effectiveness the naval forces
 defending the valley1 as they may be   
moved to and fro in the canal from the  
river to the lake4 ,on this line of     
defense heavy artillery on mobile mounts
 can be utilized1 in addition to heavy  
ships of the line4 ,that is to say1 just
 as light-draft monitors1 and even      
floats carrying high-powered rifles were
 used effectively on the ,belgian coast2
 on the ,piave river in ,italy1 and on  
the ,tigris in ,mesopotamia1 so may they
 be used in the defense of the valley1  
on any canal connecting the ,mississippi
 river and ,lake ,pontchartrain4        
,changes are constantly occurring in the
 details of work of defense due to      
development of armament1 munitions and  
transport4 ,the never-ending development
 of range and caliber has assumed vast  

importance1 particularly with reference 
to the effect on the protection of      
cities from bombardment4 ,naval guns are
 now capable of hurling projectiles to  
distances of over #ej1jjj yards1 #bh to 
#cj miles4 ,for the protection of the   
valley we should have at ,new ,orleans  
armament mounted on floating platforms  
which will hold the enemy beyond the    
point where his shells may not reach    
their objective1 and in this operation  
the canal1 affording means of rapid     
transport1 will render invaluable and   
essential service4  ,a country's ports  
are its watergates4 ,their local        
importance is comparatively small4 ,they
 are important or not according to      
whether they are on trade routes1 and   
easily accessible4 ,an infinitesimal    
part of the trade that flows through    
,new ,orleans originates or terminates  
there4 ,the back country gets the bulk  
of the business4 ,the development of the
 harbor is for the service of the       
interior4 ,it is essentially national4  

,from every point of view1 therefore1 it
 is the duty of the national government 
to take over the ,navigation ,canal and 
release the monies of the state so they 
may be devoted to the improvement of the
 waterway with wharves and other works  
in aid of the nation's commerce4        
,illustration3 ,s4 ,s4 ,,new ,,orleans  
,first ,ship ,launched by ,doullut      
,williams ,shipbuilding ,co4            
,illustration3 ,s4 ,s4 ,,gauchy         
,first ,ship ,launched on ,canal        
,,economic ,,aspect ,,of ,,canal4       
,tied to the ,mississippi ,valley by    
nearly #ad1jjj miles of navigable       
waterways1 and the largest port on the  
gulf coast and the most centrally       
situated with respect to the            
,latin-,american and ,oriental trade1   
,new ,orleans is naturally a market of  
deposit4 ,the development of the river  
service1 in which the government set the
 pace in #aiah1 is restoring the north  
and south flow of commerce1 after a     
generation of forced haul east and west1

 along the lines of greatest resistance2
 and ,new ,orleans has become the       
nation's second port4 ,its import and   
export business in #aibj amounted to a  
billion dollars4  ,ninety per cent of   
the nation's wealth is produced in the  
,valley1 of which ,new ,orleans is the  
maritime capital4 ,it is the source of  
supply of wheat1 corn1 sugar1 lumber1   
meat1 iron1 coal1 cotton oil1           
agricultural implements1 and many other 
products4 ,it is a market for the       
products of ,latin-,america and the     
,orient4  ,with the co-ordination of    
river1 rail and maritime facilities1 and
 sufficient space for development1 it is
 inevitable that ,new ,orleans should   
become a mighty manufacturing district4 
,such enterprises as coke ovens1 coal   
by-product plants1 flour mills1 iron    
furnaces1 industrial chemical works1    
iron and steel rolling mills1           
shipbuilding and repair plants1         
automobile factories and assembling     
plants1 soap works1 packing plants1     

lumber yards1 building material plants  
and yards1 warehouses of all kinds1     
etc41 would be encouraged to establish  
here if given the proper facilities1 and
 the ,industrial ,canal is the answer to
 this need1 for under the laws of       
,louisiana private industries can not   
acquire or lease property on the river  
front4 ,even before the completion of   
the ,canal1 the dream has been partly   
realized--with the establishment of two 
large shipyards on the ,canal1 which    
otherwise would have gone somewhere     
else1 and the building of the army      
supply base on the same waterway1       
largely due to the enterprise of the    
port4  ,as ,colonel ,e4 ,j4 ,dent1      
,u4,s4 district engineer1 said before   
the members' council of the ,association
 of ,commerce1 ,february #ag1 #aiba1 the
 ,industrial ,canal will be the means of
 removing the handicaps on ,new         
,orleans' foreign trade4 ,i hold no     
brief for the ,industrial ,canal1 he    
continued1 but speaking as one who has  

no interest in it but who has studied   
the question deeply1 ,i will say that   
five years from now1 if you develop the 
,industrial ,canal as it should be      
developed1 you will be wondering how on 
earth you ever got along without it4    
,before the constitutional convention of
 ,louisiana1 on ,april #d1 #aiba1 he    
elaborated this thought as follows3     
,the ,industrial ,canal will furnish to 
,new ,orleans her greatest need4 ,it    
should be possible to build docks there 
where the entire cargo for a ship may be
 assembled4 ,under present conditions in
 the river it is often necessary for a  
ship to go to three or four docks to get
 a complete cargo4  ,last year there    
passed through the port of ,new ,orleans
 #aa1jjj1jjj tons of freight valued at  
#a1ajj1jjj1jjj4 ,this required #a1jjj   
loaded freight cars a day passing over  
the docks1 fifteen solid trainloads of  
freight each day4 ,the inbound freight  
was about #e1jjj1jjj tons and the       
outbound about #f1jjj1jjj4 ,this is     

extraordinarily well balanced for any   
port in the ,united ,states4 ,this would
 mean about #e1jjj steamers of an       
average capacity of #b1jjj tons4  ,the  
proper place to assemble a cargo is on  
the docks4 ,last year the ,dock ,board  
allowed but seven days for assembling   
the cargo for a ship--only seven days   
for assembling #bej carloads of stuff4  
,then last year the ,dock ,board would  
not assign a ship a berth until it was  
within the jetties4 ,these are some of  
the difficulties4  ,what ,new ,orleans  
needs is #ej to #ajj per cent more      
facilities for her port4 ,last summer   
the port of ,new ,orleans was congested1
 but she held her own because other     
ports were congested4 ,but that may not 
occur again4 ,if you want to hold your  
own you must improve your facilities4   
,wharves can be built a great deal      
cheaper on the fixed-level canal1 with  
its stable banks4 ,and that is the only 
place specialized industries can secure 
water frontage4  ,sooner or later the   

government will adopt the free port     
system1 by which other countries have   
pushed their foreign trade to such      
heights4 ,free ports have nothing to do 
with the tariff question4 ,they are     
simply zones established in which       
imports may be stored1 re-packed1       
manufactured and then exported without  
the payment of duties in the first      
place1 duties for the refund of which   
the present law makes provision1 but    
only after vexatious delays and         
expensive red tape4 ,precautions are    
taken to prevent smuggling4 ,in the     
preliminary investigations and          
recommendations made by the ,department 
of ,commerce1 ,new ,york1 ,san          
,francisco and ,new ,orleans have been  
designated as the first free ports that 
should be established4 ,with the ample  
space it offers for expansion1 the      
,industrial ,canal is the logical       
location for the free zone4  ,counting  
the #ae1jjj1jjj contract of the ,doullut
  ,williams ,shipyard1 the #e1jjj1jjj   

contract of the ,foundation ,company    
,shipyard1 the #ac1jjj1jjj army supply  
base1 the ,industrial ,canal has already
 brought #cc1jjj1jjj of development to  
,new ,orleans1 #fj per cent more than   
the cost of the undertaking4 ,more than 
half of this was for wages and material 
purchased in ,new ,orleans4 ,the state  
has gained hundreds of thousands of     
dollars in taxes4 ,about half the money 
spent on the ,industrial ,canal was     
wages2 and helped to increase the       
population1 force business to a new     
height1 raise the value of real estate1 
and make ,new ,orleans the financial    
stronghold of the ,south4  ,what        
indirect bearing on bringing scores of  
other industries to ,new ,orleans1 which
 did not require a location on the      
waterway1 the building of the           
,industrial ,canal has had1 there is no 
way of ascertaining4  ,since the work   
was begun the ,dock ,board has received 
inquiries from a hundred or so large    
enterprises regarding the cost of a site

 on the canal4 ,that they have not      
established there is due to the fact    
that the ,canal has not yet been        
completed1 and the ,dock ,board has     
announced no policy4  ,it is now working
 on that question with representatives  
of the ,association of ,commerce1 ,joint
 ,traffic ,bureau1 ,clearing ,house     
,association1 ,cotton ,exchange1 ,board 
of ,trade1 and ,steamship ,association4 
,there is no use trying to guess at what
 the policy will be4 ,it is too big a   
problem1 and must be worked out very    
carefully1 with reference to a confusing
 tangle of cross-interests4  ,two       
principles have already been            
categorically laid down by ,president   
,hudson and endorsed by the ,dock ,board
 at an open meeting of ,april #e1 #aiba1
 with the commercial and industrial     
interests of the city1 planning for the 
policy of the ,canal3  ,first1 that the 
development of the ,canal shall not be  
at the expense of the river4 ,wharf     
development will be pushed on the river 

to meet the legitimate commercial       
demands of the port4 ,no one is to be   
forced on the ,canal4 ,that would hurt  
the port4 ,it is not thought that such  
forced development would be necessary1  
and the ,canal will be kept open for the
 specialized industries that can best   
use the co-ordination of the river1 rail
 and maritime facilities4  ,second1 that
 the control of the property along the  
,canal1 owned by the ,dock ,board1 will 
not go out of the hands of the ,board4  
,there will be long-term leases--up to  
ninety-nine years1 but no outright sale4
 ,furthermore1 the private land on the  
other side of the ,dock ,board's        
property will not be allowed to be      
developed at the expense of the state's 
interests4 ,so the frontage on the      
,canal will be developed before there is
 any extensive construction of lateral  
basins and slips4  ,what will be the    
rate charged for a site8 ,will it be    
based on the actual cost of the ,canal  
and its maintenance8 ,or will the state 

consider it a business investment like a
 road or street1 and charge the property
 owners thereon less than the cost of   
construction1 collecting the difference 
in the general progress8 ,that1 too1 is 
a question which calls for considerable 
study before it can be answered4  ,with 
the ,industrial ,canal open1 sites      
available on long leases to business    
enterprise1 and with our tax laws       
relating to the processes of industry   
and commerce revised and made more      
favorable1 ,new ,orleans will enter a   
period of expansion and development on a
 scale hardly yet dreamed of by her most
 far-visioned citizens1 with enlarged   
profit and opportunity for all her      
people4  ,new taxable wealth will be    
created rapidly4 ,new needs for taxable 
property will arise4 ,the tax burden on 
all will be distributed more widely and 
when contrasted with the earning power  
of such property will become less and   
less of a burden4  ,this will be so     
because the water frontage through which

 the ,canal is being created for the    
attraction of many enterprises which    
cannot locate on the river front1 is all
 within the limits of the city of ,new  
,orleans4  ,with this ,canal in         
operation1 ,new ,orleans will possess to
 the fullest degree the three great     
systems of port operation3 ,public      
ownership and operation of the river    
harbor facilities2 public ownership of  
the land and private operation of       
facilities on the ,industrial ,canal2   
and private ownership of the land and   
private operation of the facilities on  
the new channel to the sea4  ,no other  
port in the country has the capacity for
 this trinity of port systems4  ,no     
other port possesses such a hinterland  
as is embraced within the ,mississippi  
,valley1 nor so extensive and so        
complete a system of easy-grade         
railroads and navigable waterways       
penetrating its hinterland4  ,no other  
port holds so strategic a position in   
the path of the new trade routes        

connecting the region of greatest       
productivity with the new markets of    
greatest promise in ,latin-,america and 
the ,orient4  ,illustration3 ,,lock     
,,gate     ,there are ,ten ,like ,this  
,,construction ,,costs ,,and            
,,contractors4   ,everything is         
relative4 ,looking at the total1 some   
may think that the cost of the          
,industrial ,canal is large4 ,so it     
is--compared with the cost of an        
irrigation ditch through a #bj-;acre    
farm4 ,but comparing the cost with the  
wealth it is invested to produce--has   
already begun to produce--it dwindles to
 a mere percentage4 ,and a comparison of
 construction costs on the ,industrial  
,canal with similar work done elsewhere 
during the same time is very much in    
favor of the former4  ,witness the      
following figures shown in the books of 
the engineering department of the ,dock 
,board3  ,dredging1 including the canal 
prism and the excavation of the sites of
 the bridge foundations1 siphon and     

lock1 averaged 4#bghd cents a cubic     
yard4 ,the highest cost was in the lock 
section1 from which #fji1cjb cubic yards
 were excavated at an average cost of   
4#cgif cents a cubic yard4 ,on the      
siphon and ,florida ,walk bridge        
section1 including two other deep cuts1 
the #had1iai cubic yards excavated cost 
an average of 4#bfjg cents a cubic yard4
 ,on the ,louisville  ,nashville bridge 
section1 the #a1jbc1dff cubic yards     
excavated cost an average of 4#bcfc     
cents a cubic yard4 ,from there to the  
lake1 #a1fgc1ghg cubic yards1 the       
average cost was 4#bdaa cents4 ,dredging
 costs were below the original estimates
 when labor and supplies were #ej per   
cent cheaper4  ,the #ij1jjj cubic yards 
of concrete in the lock cost an average 
of #bb4ej a cubic yard4 ,this includes  
cost of material1 mixing1 building      
forms1 pouring and stripping forms4     
,mixing and pouring1 from the time the  
material was handled from the storehouse
 or pile1 averaged #a4bj a cubic yard4  

,it would be hard to find cheaper       
concrete on a work of similar magnitude 
anywhere1 say the engineers4  ,on the   
siphon the concrete work cost more1     
because it was a subterranean job1 with 
elaborate shaping4 ,the price there was 
#ce a cubic yard1 in place1 including   
material and form work4  ,to drive the  
#ag1jjj bearing piles and #g1jjj        
traveling piles on which the lock is    
floated1 cost an average of #ae cents a 
running foot4 ,this does not include the
 cost of the piling4  ,construction     
steel cost 4#ab cents a pound1 and      
erection around #d cents4 ,these were   
standard prices4  ,the lock gates1      
weighing #e1bhe1jjj pounds1 cost        
#hde1fjj1 in place4 ,this does not      
include opening and closing machinery4  
,three of the bascule bridges crossing  
the ,canal1 weighing #a1fjj1jjj pounds  
each1 cost #bej1jjj each1 erected4 ,the 
fourth bridge1 near the lock1 weighing  
#a1jjj1jjj pounds1 cost #bjj1jjj1       
erected4 ,this is for superstructure    

only--it does not include the           
foundation4  ,the emergency dam bridge1 
weighing #cej1cgc pounds1 and its       
#ajh1bef pounds of turning machinery1   
cost #if1gbh1 in place4 ,hoisting       
machinery cost #dj1jjj more4  ,the eight
 girders of the emergency dam1 weighing 
#ij tons each1 at #bdj a ton1 cost      
#agb1hjj4  ,machinery for working the   
ten lock gates1 the eight filling gates1
 and the six capstans--twenty-four      
#eb-;horse power electric motors--cost  
#ba1dgi1 f4o4b4 ,new ,orleans4  ,the    
plant for unwatering the lock1          
consisting of one pump with a capacity  
of #ae1jjj gallons a minute1 and two    
with a capacity of #bej gallons each1   
cost1 erected1 #aa1jjj4  ,total         
mechanical equipment used on the        
,industrial ,canal weighs #ad1ejj tons4 
,its cost1 including power-house1       
electrical connections1 etc41 is        
#a1eaf1jjj4  ,plant and equipment for   
building the ,canal1 including          
locomotives1 cranes1 piledrivers1       

dredges1 tools1 etc41 cost #gha1bcb4    
,depreciation1 up to ,february1 #aiba1  
is set at #bff1hgd1 leaving a balance of
 #ead1ceh1 carried as assets4 ,much of  
this has already been sold1 and more    
will be disposed of4  ,following are the
 firms that executed contracts on the   
,industrial ,canal3   ,,outside ,,new   
,,orleans4  ,lock gates and emergency   
dam girders3 ,mc,clintic-,marshall      
,construction ,company1 ,pittsburg1     
,pa42 designed by ,goldmark  ,harris    
,company1 ,new ,york4  ,filling gates3  
,coffin ,valve ,company1 ,indian        
,orchard1 ,mass4  ,miscellaneous valve  
equipment3 ,ludlow ,valve ,company1     
,troy1 ,n4,y4  ,capstans3 ,american     
,engineering ,company1 ,philadelphia1   
,pa4  ,mooring posts3 ,shipbuilding     
,products ,company1 ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4  
,miter gate moving machines3 ,fawcus    
,machine ,works1 ,pittsburg1 ,pa4       
,motors1 control boards and             
miscellaneous electrical equipment3     
,general ,electric ,company1            

,schenectady1 ,n4,y4  ,bridge crane and 
bascule bridges3 ,bethlehem ,steel      
,corporation1 ,steelton1 ,pa4 ,former   
designed by ,goldmark  ,harris ,company1
 ,new ,york1 ,n4,y42 latter1 by ,strauss
 ,bascule ,bridge ,company1 ,chicago1   
,ill4  ,steel sheet piling3 ,lackawanna 
,steel ,company1 ,buffalo1 ,new ,york4  
,hoists and cranes3 ,orton              
,steinbrenner1 ,huntington1 ,ind42      
,american ,hoist and ,derrick ,company1 
,st4 ,paul1 ,minn4  ,conveyor equipment3
 ,webster ,company1 ,tiffany1 ,ohio2    
,barker-,greene ,company1 ,aurora1 ,ill4
  ,woodworking machinery3 ,fay  ,egan   
,company1 ,cincinnati1 ,ohio4  ,pipe3   
,u4,s4 ,cast ,iron ,pipe ,company1      
,birmingham1 ,ala4  ,lumber and piling3 
,hammond ,lumber ,company1 ,hammond1    
,la42 ,great ,southern ,lumber ,company1
 ,bogalusa1 ,la4  ,dredges3 ,bowers     
,southern ,dredging ,company1           
,galveston1 ,tex42 ,atlantic1 ,gulf and 
,pacific ,company1 ,mobile1 ,ala4   ,,in
 ,,new ,,orleans4  ,cinder and earth    

fill3 ,thomas ,m4 ,johnson4  ,levee     
work3 ,hercules ,construction ,company2 
,hampton ,reynolds4  ,sand and gravel3  
,jahncke ,service1 ,inc42 ,d4 ,v4       
,johnston ,company4  ,cement3 ,atlas    
,portland ,cement ,company1 the ,michel 
,lumber and ,brick ,company being local 
agents4  ,lumber and piling3 ,salmen    
,brick and ,lumber ,company2 ,w4 ,w4    
,carre ,company1 ,ltd4  ,coal3          
,kirkpatrick ,coal ,company2 ,tennessee 
,coal1 ,iron and ,r4,r4 ,company4       
,reinforcing steel and supplies3        
,tennessee ,coal1 ,iron and ,r4,r4      
,company2 ,ole ,k4 ,olsen4  ,rail and   
track accessories3 ,a4 ,marx  ,sons4    
,concrete mixers3 ,fairbanks ,company4  
,repairs and castings3 ,dibert1         
,bancroft  ,ross2 ,joubert  ,goslin     
,machinery and ,foundry ,company2 ,stern
 ,foundry and ,machinery ,company4      
,,other ,,port ,,facilities4   ,new     
,orleans1 says ,dr4 ,roy ,s4 ,mac,elwee 
in his book on ,port and ,terminal      
,facilities1 a subject on which he is   

considered an authority1 is the most    
advanced port in ,america in respect to 
scientific policy4 ,the ,shipping ,board
 echoed the compliment in its report of 
its port and harbor facilities          
commission of ,april1 #aiai1 when it    
said3 ,new ,orleans ranks high among the
 ports of the ,united ,states for volume
 of business1 and presents a very       
successful example of the public        
ownership and operation of port         
facilities4 ,it is one of the best      
equipped and co-ordinated ports of the  
country4  ,new ,orleans is the principal
 fresh water-ocean harbor in the ,united
 ,states4 ,landlocked and protected from
 storms1 it is the safest harbor on the 
,gulf ,coast4 ,almost unlimited is the  
number of vessels that can be           
accommodated at anchor4 ,alongside the  
wharves the water is from thirty to     
seventy feet deep4 ,the government      
maintains a #cc-;foot channel at the    
mouth of the river4  ,the port of ,new  
,orleans takes in about #ba miles of    

this harbor on both sides of the river4 
,this gives a river frontage of #da4d   
miles1 which is under the jurisdiction  
of the ,dock ,board1 an agency of the   
state4 ,the ,board has1 to date1        
improved seven miles of the east bank of
 the river with wharves1 steel sheds1   
cotton warehouses1 a grain elevator and 
a coal-handling plant of most modern    
type1 together with other facilities for
 loading and unloading4 ,authority has  
been granted to issue #f1ejj1jjj in     
bonds for increasing these facilities4  
,wharves1 elevators and warehouses built
 by railroads and industrial plants on  
both sides of the river bring up the    
total improved portion of the port to   
#de1jjj linear feet1 capable of berthing
 ninety vessels #ejj feet long4 ,these  
facilities are co-ordinated by the only 
municipally owned and operated belt     
railroad in the ,united ,states1 which  
saves the shipper much money4 ,more than
 sixty steamship lines connect the port 
with the world markets2 the government  

barge line1 a number of steamboat lines1
 and twelve railroad lines connect it   
with the producing and consuming        
sections of the ,united ,states4        
,illustration3 ,,bull ,,wheel     ,part 
of ,operating ,machinery for ,lock      
,gates  ,now nearing completion is the  
,public ,coal ,handling ,plant4 ,built  
by the ,dock ,board to develop the      
business in cargo coal1 it is costing   
more than #a1jjj1jjj4jj1 and will have a
 capacity of #be1jjj tons4 ,it is of the
 belt-conveyor type4 ,the plant will be 
able to3      #a4 ,unload coal from     
railway cars into a storage pile2       
#b4 ,unload coal from cars into steamers
 or barges2     #c4 ,load coal from     
storage pile into steamers or barges2   
#d4 ,unload coal from barges into       
steamers and storage pile2     #e4 ,load
 coal from barges or storage pile into  
cars4  ,at the #gej-;foot wharf the     
plant can take care of three ships at   
one time1 with a maximum loading        
capacity of #hjj to #a1jjj tons an hour4

  ,other coaling facilities at the port 
are furnished by3  ,illinois ,central   
,railroad3 ,tipple with capacity of #cjj
 tons an hour2  ,new ,orleans ,coal     
,company3 ,two tipples1 capacity #aej   
and #cej tons an hour2 floating collier 
to coal ships while freight is being    
taken aboard at the wharf1 capacity #age
 tons an hour2 collier1 capacity #aej   
tons an hour4  ,alabama and ,new        
,orleans ,transportation ,company3      
,storage plant with loading towers on   
,lake ,borgne canal1 just below the     
city2  ,american ,sugar ,refining       
,company3 ,coal plant1 capacity1 #gj    
tons an hour1 for receiving coal from   
barges and delivering it to boiler      
house2  ,monongahela ,river ,coal and   
,coke ,company3 ,floating collier4      
,fuel oil facilities for bunkering      
purposes are furnished by3  ,gulf       
,refining ,company3 ,storage capacity1  
#ajj1jjj barrels2 bunkering capacity1   
#hjj barrels an hour2  ,texas ,oil      
,company3 ,storage capacity1 #aej1jjj   

barrels2 bunkering capacity1 #a1ejj     
barrels an hour2  ,mexican ,petroleum   
,corporation3 ,bunkering capacity1      
#a1ejj barrels an hour2  ,sinclair      
,refining ,company3 ,storage capacity1  
#bej1jjj barrels2 bunkering capacity1   
#b1ejj barrels an hour2  ,standard ,oil 
,company3 ,storage capacity1 #aaj1ccf   
barrels2 bunkering capacity1 #a1jjj     
barrels an hour4  ,in the ,jahncke ,dry 
,dock and ,ship ,repair ,company1 ,new  
,orleans has the largest ship repair    
plant south of ,newport ,news4 ,the     
plant is on the ,mississippi river1     
adjacent to the ,industrial ,canal4 ,it 
has a #a1ejj-;foot wharf and three dry  
docks1 of #f1jjj1 #h1jjj and #aj1jjj    
tons capacity1 respectively4 ,these can 
be joined for lifting the very large    
ships4 ,it is equipped with the latest  
and most powerful machinery1 and has    
been a strong factor in developing the  
port4  ,the ,johnson ,iron ,works and   
,shipbuilding ,company likewise has     
facilities for wood repairing1 caulking1

 painting and scraping of vessels1 as   
well as iron work4 ,it has three docks3 
one #bcd feet long1 one #ccd feet long1 
and a small one for lifting barges and  
small river tugs4  ,at the ,united      
,states ,naval ,yard is a dock of       
#ae1jjj tons capacity4 ,this is placed  
at the service of commercial vessels    
when private docks are not available4   
,the ,public ,cotton ,warehouse and     
,public ,grain ,elevator are among the  
most modern facilities in the country4  
,both plants are of reinforced concrete 
throughout1 insuring a low insurance    
rate4  ,the cotton warehouse comprises  
five units1 with a total storage        
capacity at one time of #cbj1jjj bales1 
and an annual handling capacity of      
#b1jjj1jjj4 ,high density presses       
compress this cotton to #cd pounds per  
cubic foot1 saving the exporter #bj per 
cent on steamship freight rates4 ,the   
insurance rate on storage cotton is #bd 
cents per #ajj a year4 ,cotton is       
handled by ,dock ,board employees       

licensed by the ,new ,orleans ,cotton   
,exchange under rules and regulations   
laid down by the department of          
agriculture4 ,warehouse receipts may be 
discounted at the banks4 ,cotton can be 
handled cheaper here than at any other  
warehouse in the country4  ,storage     
capacity of the ,public ,grain ,elevator
 is #b1fbb1jjj bushels4 ,this is about  
#be per cent of the grain elevator      
storage capacity of the port1 but the   
,public ,elevator handles #fj per cent  
of the business--proving its efficiency4
 ,its unloading capacity is #fj1jjj     
bushels a day from barges or ships1 and 
#bjj1jjj bushels from cars4 ,loading    
capacity into ships is #ajj1jjj bushels 
an hour--to one or four vessels1        
simultaneously4 ,fireproof and equipped 
with a modern dust-collecting system1   
this facility is considered one of the  
best in the country4  ,other grain      
elevators at ,new ,orleans are operated 
by3  ,southern ,railway3 capacity1      
#cge1jjj bushels2  ,illinois ,central   

,railroad two elevators1 capacity1      
#b1ejj1jjj bushels2  ,trans-,mississippi
 ,terminal ,railroad ,company3 two      
elevators1 capacity1 #a1cej1jjj bushels4
  ,wharves owned and controlled by the  
,dock ,board measure #bh1hgb linear feet
 in length1 with an area of #d1bcj1hid  
square feet4 ,twenty of these           
thirty-four wharves are covered with    
steel sheds4  ,wharves operated by the  
railroads on both sides of the river    
increase the port facilities as follows3
  ,southern ,railway3 ,two concrete and 
steel covered docks1 one a two-story    
structure2 one is #aej by #a1cjj feet1  
with a floor space of #aie1jjj square   
feet2 one is #aej by #a1fhj feet on the 
lower floor1 and #abj by #a1fhj on the  
upper1 with a combined area of #dec1jjj 
square feet floor space4  ,illinois     
,central ,railroad3 covered wharf1      
#acj-aej by #d1gci feet4  ,morgan's     
,louisiana and ,texas ,railroad and     
,steamship ,company3 wharf space1       
#aab1jjj square feet2 covered space1    

#aag1bjj square feet4                   
,trans-,mississippi ,terminal ,railroad 
,company3 ,wharf ,no4 #a1 three berths1 
#bha1ijd square feet2 ,no4 #b1 one      
berth1 #id1cej square feet2 ,no4 #c1 one
 berth1 #ajj1gbe square feet--most of it
 covered2 oil wharf1 #ae1jjj square     
feet4  ,the ,new ,orleans ,army ,supply 
,base has a two-story wharf #b1jjj feet 
long by #adj feet wide4 ,the lower floor
 of the wharf is leased by the ,dock    
,board4 ,back of it are the three       
warehouses1 each #adj by #fjj feet1 and 
six stories in height4  ,seven          
industrial plants have loading and      
unloading facilities on the river4 ,the 
,dock ,board does not lease or part with
 the control of these1 and controls the 
following charges3 harbor fees1 dockage1
 sheddage1 wharfage1 etc4  ,open storage
 on river front contiguous to wharves   
totals #a1afi1ijj square feet4 ,there is
 a great deal of potential open storage 
space away from the wharves and along   
railroad tracks1 which could be reached 

by switches4  ,for the storage of       
coffee1 alcohol1 sisal1 sugar and       
general commodities1 private warehouses 
offer a floor space of #b1jjj1jjj square
 feet4  ,railroads serving ,new ,orleans
 are3 ,the ,public ,belt1 ,illinois     
,central1 ,yazoo  ,mississippi ,valley1 
,gulf ,coast ,lines1 ,louisiana ,railway
  ,navigation ,company1 ,louisville     
,nashville1 ,louisiana ,southern1       
,missouri-,pacific1 ,texas  ,pacific1   
,new ,orleans  ,lower ,coast1 ,morgan's 
,louisiana  ,texas ,railroad and        
,steamship ,company1 7,southern         
,pacific7 ,southern ,railway and ,new   
,orleans  ,great ,northern4  ,storage   
track capacity of ,new ,orleans for     
export traffic totals #ae1aef cars4     
,track facilities alongside the wharves 
will accommodate #fjj cars4 ,new        
,orleans can handle1 at the grain       
elevators and wharves1 #c1jjj cars a    
day4  ,wharves are served exclusively by
 the ,public ,belt ,railroad4 ,the      
,industrial ,canal will be similarly    

served4 ,the ,public ,belt ,railroad    
assumes the obligations of a common     
carrier1 operating under appropriate    
traffic rules and regulations4 ,the     
switching charge is #g4jj a car1        
regardless of the distance4 ,on         
uncompressed cotton and linters1 the    
charge is #d4ej4  ,the government barge 
line connects ,new ,orleans with the    
,warrior ,river section of ,alabama and 
the ,upper ,mississippi ,valley1        
including a great deal of inland        
territory to which river and rail       
differential rates apply1 as far as ,st4
 ,louis4 ,it is operating a fleet of    
#b1jjj-ton steel covered barges and     
#a1hjj horsepower towboats4 ,there is a 
weekly service4 ,rates are #bj per cent 
cheaper than rail rates4  ,the port is  
supplied with some of the most modern   
freight handling machinery4 ,harbor dues
 and other expenses are low4 ,the water 
supply1 for drinking purposes and       
boilers1 meets the strongest tests4     
,how advantageously situated is ,new    

,orleans will be seen from the following
 comparison of distances3               
,illustration3 ,,ship ,,lock on the     
,,inner ,,harbor ,,navigation ,,canal at
 the ,,port ,,of ,,new ,,orleans  ,,the 
,,lock ,,completed     ,,comparison ,,of
 ,,distances ,,by ,,and ,,between ,,new 
,,orleans ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,and      
,,principal ,,cities4  7,distances in   
statute miles1 furnished by ,war        
,department47                    ,new   
,york   ,new ,orleans                   
----------------------------------------
 ,atlanta              #hdf         #dih
 ,baltimore            #ahh       #a1ahd
 ,birmingham         #a1jdc         #cdh
 ,boston               #bce       #a1fjg
 ,buffalo              #ddb       #a1bge
 ,charleston           #gci         #ggf
 ,chattanooga          #hdf         #dih
 ,chicago              #iab         #iab
 ,cincinnati           #gha         #hcf
 ,cleveland            #ehd       #a1jib
 ,dallas             #a1fdb         #eae
 ,denver             #a1icb       #a1cef

 ,detroit              #fic       #a1ajj
 ,duluth             #a1cij       #a1cdj
 ,el ,paso            #b1caj            
#a1aie ,galveston          #a1ghb       
#daj ,indianapolis         #hbg         
#hhh ,kansas ,city        #a1cce        
#hfg ,little ,rock        #a1bij        
#dhg ,louisville           #hfg         
#gdi ,memphis            #a1aef         
#cif ,minneapolis        #a1ccb         
#a1bhe ,mobile             #a1bca       
#ada ,norfolk              #cdg         
#a1jic ,oklahoma ,city      #a1fdc      
#hef ,omaha              #a1djb         
#a1jgj ,pittsburgh           #ddd       
#a1adb ,philadelphia          #ia       
#a1bha ,port ,townsend      #c1aii      
#b1igi ,portland1 ,oregon   #c1bjd      
#b1gdf ,salt ,lake ,city     #b1ddb     
#a1ibh ,san ,antonio        #a1idc      
#ega ,san ,francisco      #c1aia        
#b1dhb ,savannah             #hde       
#ffa ,seattle            #c1aea         
#b1ica ,st4 ,louis          #a1jeh      
#gja ,toledo               #gje         

#a1jdj ,washington1 ,d4,c4     #bbh     
#a1add     ,,comparison ,,of ,,distances
 ,,by ,,water ,,routes ,,between ,,new  
,,orleans ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,to       
,,principal ,,ports ,,of ,,the ,,world4 
7,distances in nautical miles1 supplied 
by ,hydrographic ,office1 ,navy         
,department2 land routes in statute     
miles supplied by ,war ,department47    
,new ,york  ,new ,orleans               
----------------------------------------
----------------- ,antwerp              
#c1cbe      #d1hec ,bombay--     ,via   
,suez                          #h1abj   
#i1ecf     ,via ,cape of ,good ,hope    
#aa1bej     #aa1hdh ,buenos ,ayres      
#e1hfh      #f1cah ,callao--     ,via   
,panama                        #c1cib   
#b1gfd     ,via ,tehauntepec            
#d1bdf      #b1iia ,cape ,town          
#f1hea      #g1cgd ,colon 7eastern end  
of ,panama ,canal7   #a1iha      #a1chj 
,havana                                 
#a1bbg        #eig ,hong ,kong--        
,via ,panama                            

#aa1dca     #aj1hcj     a ,via rail to  
,san ,francisco     #i1bgg      #h1efh  
,honolulu--     ,via ,panama            
#f1fhf      #f1jhe     ,via rail to ,san
 ,francisco         #e1bhh      #d1egi  
,liverpool                              
#c1jec      #d1eec ,london              
#c1bcc      #d1ejg ,manila--     ,via   
,panama                       #aa1edf   
#aj1iic     a ,yokohama and ,san        
,francisco    #i1dhj      #h1gga     a  
,yokohama and ,port ,townsend    #i1aib 
#h1igb ,melbourne--     a ,via ,san     
,francisco            #aj1bca           
#i1ebb     ,via ,panama                 
#aj1jbh      #i1dbd     ,via            
,tehauntepec                   #i1heb   
#h1fjd     ,via ,suez ,canal            
#ab1iha     #ad1cjc ,mexico ,city--     
,by land and water                      
#b1cii      #a1agb     ,by land         
#b1hih      #a1ebf ,new ,orleans--      
,land                                   
#a1cgb     ,water                       
#a1gda ,nome1 ,alaska--     a ,via ,san 

,francisco             #e1hif           
#e1ahg     a ,via ,port ,townsend       
#e1eee      #e1cce     ,via ,panama     
#h1jaj      #g1daj ,panama 7western end 
,canal7--     ,via ,canal and ,colon    
#b1jbh      #a1dbg ,pernambuco1 ,brazil 
#c1fif      #c1ifi ,rio de ,janeiro     
#d1ggh      #e1bah ,san ,juan1 ,p4,r4   
#a1dbh      #a1eci ,singapore--     ,via
 ,yokohama and ,panama          #ac1ajd 
#ab1ejc     ,via ,suez                  
#aj1agj     #aa1efj ,san ,francisco     
#c1aia      #b1dhb     ,via ,tehauntepec
                   #d1dae      #c1aia   
,via ,panama                            
#e1cje      #d1gjd ,tehauntepec--       
,eastern end of railroad                
#b1jcf        #hab ,valparaiso--        
,via ,panama                            
#d1fcg      #d1jce ,yokohama--     ,via 
,honolulu and ,tehauntepec      #i1bdc  
#g1iie     ,via ,honolulu and ,panama   
#aj1jic      #i1dib     ,via ,panama    
#i1hfi      #i1bfh                      
----------------------------------------

-----------------        a ,by land and 
water4        b ,by land4