"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.' "If that was true when the lockages were 25,000, how much more so is it when the lockages have fallen to 20,800 as in 1884? "_Q. 2._ How far does the fact that the lake transportation has almost entirely passed into the hands of railroad people, affect the probability of increasing the business of the canal, in case it should be deepened? "_Q. 3._ Can the canal be maintained in the face of the increasing railroad competition? "_A._ Total tons of each class of articles which came to the Hudson River from Erie and Champlain Canal: [From the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Works upon the trade and tonnage of the Canals for the year 1884, page 100.] 1874 1884 Products of the forest 1,192,681 1,097,450 Agriculture 1,470,872 1,054,041 Manufactures 49,426 56,899 Merchandise 12,905 45,538 Other articles 497,228 377,259 --------- --------- Total 3,223,112 2,631,187 "Tonnage of the canal, and of the Central and Erie railroads: [From the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Works upon trade and tonnage of the Canals for the year 1884, pages 94-95.] 1874 1884