"Q. 1. Would not the expense of deepening the canal, so as to add two feet to the depth of water, be very great? I understand that now, for a great part of its course, the bottom of the canal is composed, for about a foot depth, of clay and hydraulic cement packed closely, so as to prevent leakage; and would not the expense of taking this up and replacing it, after the bottom was dug up, be more serious than any calculation has yet allowed?
"A. The idea of increasing the depth of the canal two feet is a gross exaggeration of what is possible or proper to do.
"To build up the banks two feet would necessitate building up the locks. To excavate the bottom two feet would be impracticable.
"At page 23 of my Message for 1873 it was stated: 'The waterway was practically never excavated in every part to its proper dimensions. Time, the action of the elements, and neglect of administration all tend to fill it by deposits.' There is no doubt that the sides of the waterway have been changed, and the slope filled in with silt, narrowing the bottom of the canal, so that it is only in the middle that the proper depth is approached, and inconvenience is felt in one boat passing another.
"My suggestion was to bring up the canal to an honest seven feet. All the structures of the canal were adapted to that. 'Bring it up to seven feet—honest seven feet—and on all the levels, wherever you can, bottom it out; throw the excavation upon the banks; increase that seven feet toward eight feet, as you can do so progressively and economically. You may also take out the bench-walls.'
"This suggestion looked to gaining on the long levels, when it was found practicable, some inches increasing seven feet 'toward' eight feet. The suggestion was carefully limited, because in many places you cannot change the bottom without interfering with culverts, or carrying the excavation below the mitre sills of the locks."
As to the Capacity of the Erie
"The lockages at Frankfort, during the season of 1884, were 20,800.
"The lockages in 1873 were stated on page 22 of my Message of 1875 to have been 24,960.
"'The theoretical capacity of the canal will be three or four times the largest tonnage it has ever reached. There is no doubt it can conveniently and easily do double the business which has ever existed, even though the locks be not manned and worked with the highest efficiency.'