BARGE CANAL, The New York State. The improvement of the New York State canals authorized by a vote of the people in 1903 has become popularly known as the Barge Canal. This phrase is without particular sig nificance in itself, being but the shortened forrn of (Thousand-ton barge canal,D the name which was first given, based on the proposed size, but which is now a misnomer, since subsequent legislation has increased the capacity of the canal two or three fold.
The Barge Canal is the improvement of four branches of the State waterway system. These canals had already undergone various enlarge ments, but the Barge Canal is more than an en largement, in several respects it is a radical change in form of construction. Of these changes, three are especially prominent. First, the new canal has no towing-path and conse quently no animal towage. Again, electrically driven machinery replaces hand-operation. But the greatest change is the substitution of river canalization for independent canals. When the original State canals were built the best practice of the time dictated a channel separated from the natural streams. Canal-builders naturally sought the valleys, but they put their waterways away from and slightly above the stream beds. Modern practice, because of ability to cope with floods, boldly chooses the valley'bottoms and makes the natural stream into a canal. This procedure has largely changed the locations of canals in New York, in some instances placing the new channel several miles from the old waterway. Briefly to summarize the chief changes— the Barge Canal is a thorough mod ernization in size, construction and equipment.
The four branches improved are: (1) The Erie, or main canal, which stretches across the State from east to west and joins the Hudson River with Lake Erie; (2) the Champlain, which runs northerly from the eastern terminus of the Erie and enters the head of Lake Cham plain; (3) the Oswego, which starts north, midway on the line of the Erie, and reaches Lake Ontario; (4) the Cayuga and Seneca, which leaves the Erie a little to the west of the Oswego junction and extends south, first to Cayuga Lake and then to Seneca Lake.
The Barge Canal, while differing from the earlier canals in many respects, is really but a stage in the development of the State water way& The original Erie and Champlain canals, completed in 1825 and 1823, respectively, were so successful that a veritable mania for canal building spread over both the State and nation.
In New York this agitation resulted in the building of several additional canals and in the enlargement of the original Erie within 11 years after its opening, and a few years later in the enlargement of the three other canals which are now parts of the Barge Canal im provement This first enlargement was pro tracted through 26 years and even then was not entirely finished. About a decade later a popu lar feeling of opposition to canals became so strong as to bring about, within the next half dozen years, the abandonment of several lateral branches. However, shortly after this the ad verse -sentiment gave place to a favorable atti tude and an improvement was undertaken which proved to be the beginning of a reawalcen ing of interest in canals that has endured until the present time.
This period of reawakening found its first expression in 1884 in the lengthening of locks. In 1892 came the first official suggestion of an enlargement sitnilar to what has become the Barge Canal. The Constitutional Convention of 1894, recognizing the popular demand for improved canals, included an article in its pro posed amendments whereby such improvement could be authorized. This enlargement, ordered by the people in 1895 and calling for nine feet depth in the Erie and Oswego canals and seven feet in the Champlain Canal, owing to the ex haustion of funds, was but partially completed.
At the beginning of 1899 the State found itself in a quandary. The old canals were antiquated; the attempted improvement was unavailable without considerable additional outlay. As a result a committee of eminent citizens was appointed, with authority to study the whole situation and in effect to fortnulate a canal policy for the State. This committee reported to the legislature of 1900, giving rough estimates for completing the attempted enlarge ment and also for making improvements on lines substantially like those later adopted, and recommending for immediate action the making of careful surveys and estimates for the latter scheme. Almost contemporaneously with the work of this committee, two Federal investiga tions had been in progress—the Deep Water ways survey and a study of relative costs of transportation between lalces and sea by ships and by barges. These investigations produced valuable data and helped mold public sentiment.