. The Americana; a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biography, geography, commerce, etc., of the world. Illinois and Mississippi. Theentire system in the United States aggregatesabout 4,200 miles, nearly all in the belt fromNew York south to Virginia and west toIndiana. There are at present about 40 lar^ecanals in the United States, of which 14 are mPennsylvania, 13 in New York, and 5 in of the lines most important in their earlydays, and which gave great cities their startsince confirmed by railroads, are now entirelydisused; and a
. The Americana; a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biography, geography, commerce, etc., of the world. Illinois and Mississippi. Theentire system in the United States aggregatesabout 4,200 miles, nearly all in the belt fromNew York south to Virginia and west toIndiana. There are at present about 40 lar^ecanals in the United States, of which 14 are mPennsylvania, 13 in New York, and 5 in of the lines most important in their earlydays, and which gave great cities their startsince confirmed by railroads, are now entirelydisused; and a history of their fortunes wouldbe of no more importance than of other bygonebusiness ventures. Some of the leading exist-ent ones, or those which may be only dormant,will be described. Chesapeake & Ohio.— The fortunes of thissystem have shown how difficult it is to fore-cast business developments. As designed byWashington, it was to connect the Chesapeakeand ocean navigation, by way of the Potomac,with tliat of the Ohio, by portages and high-roads from its terminus Cumberland at the footof the Alleghanies; as a fact, its use has been CANALS ?mainly from the accidental fact that Cumberlandis near the Pennsylvania coal fields. The for-tunes of the first company have been 1823 commissioners appointed by Alarylandand Virginia reported in favor of a new routein place of attempting to complete the old one;in 1824 the national system of internal improve-ments was inaugurated by act of 30 April, anda board of engineers in October 1826 reportedon a canal from Georgetown to Pittsburg. Asthe cost was over $22,000,000, it was consideredprohibitory then; and in 1829 the easterndivision to Cumberland was authorized, bynational, State, municipal, and private stocksubscriptions. But the work had been inaugu-rated on 4 July 1828 by President J. Q. Adams,who struck the first spade; and it was fullyopened in 1850. It is 184 miles long and 6 feetdeep, 60 feet wide from Geor
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectencyclo, bookyear1908
