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Show CANALS OF THE FUTURE. Ihey Will Be Large Enough For the Handling Han-dling of a Heavy Business. The history of the straggle between canals of small dimensions and of .railroads .rail-roads has been tbe same in all countries. The fight raged bitterly for a number of years, tho canals Acting on the defea sive, although they had as allies tha states under whose patronage they were built and operated. The result has been the same in all cases the unconditional surrender of the canals to the railroads. This, however, is not so much tho fault of the system as of their management. The railroads have great advantages over canals. They are better able to Abridge distances both by reason of supe rior speed and of facilities for overcoming overcom-ing elevations, spanning streams, free from danger of destructive floods, and piercing through the highest mountains, but their great success is mainly due tc the fact that they have kept pace with the progress of the world. Wateryays built from the beginning ?.f tho eighteenth century to the first quartirjof the nineteenth century were regarotid ample co meet the requirements of trade at the time they were constructed, construct-ed, and there was in many instances a progressive improvement in their dimensions dimen-sions and appurtenances. But while tha industrial, agricultural and commercial developments of the world have ad vanced to proportions not dreamed of a century ago canals have remained stationary. sta-tionary. They are now obsolete and can no longer fulfill the requirements of cheap transportation in competition with railroads. The canals of the future must have the dimensions and the facilities facili-ties foi rpid transport to adapt them to the new conditions of commerce. They must not be barge or boat canals, but ample waterways for the free passage of such ships as are now "ugaged in carrying carry-ing the world's trade Of such canals we have now some important types ia successful operation, and others in process proc-ess of construction or in completion. ' Chautauqrrn. |