STATEMENT showing the extent, character, and cost of the principal canals in the United States. ──────────────────────┬──────┬───────┬──────┬─────┬──────────┬─────── │ │No. of │Length│Rise │ Cost of │Average Canal. │Miles.│Locks. │ of │ and │Construct-│Cost / │ │ │Locks.│Fall.│ ion. │ Mile. ──────────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼─────┼──────────┼─────── │ │ │ feet │ feet│ dols. │ dols. Erie │ 365 │ 72 │ 110 │ 656│51,609,000│141,394 Champlain │ 81 │ 33 │ 110 │ 179│ 2,378,000│ 29,358 Delaware and Hudson │ 83 │107 │ 100 │1,028│ 6,339,000│ 76,373 Raritan (ship) │ 44 │140 │ 220 │ 150│ 4,735,000│107,613 │ │ [117]│ │ │ │ Morris │ 103 │ 46 │ 88 │1,674│ 6,000,000│ 58,252 Schuylkill │ 58 │ 71 │ 110 │ 619│12,580,000│216,893 Union │ 84½ │ 93 │ 90 │ 501│ 5,907,000│148,946 Susquehanna │ 30 │ 43 │ 170 │ 230│ 4,930,000│164,333 Chesapeake and │ │ │ │ │ │ Delaware (ship) │ 14 │ 3 │ 220 │ 32│ 3,730,000│266,430 Chesapeake and Ohio │ 179½ │ 75 │ 100 │ 609│11,290,000│ 62,869 Illinois and Michigan │ │ │ │ │ │ (ship) │ 102 │ 15 │ 110 │ 141│ 6,557,000│ 64,284 Ohio Canal and feeders│ 323 │150 │ 90 │1,207│ 4,695,000│ 14,536 Miami and Erie │ 284 │ 93 │87—89 │ 907│ 7,144,000│ 25,155 ──────────────────────┴──────┴───────┴──────┴─────┴──────────┴─────── The canal system of the United States now in actual operation extends over 2926 miles, of which 411 miles are slack water. The cost of constructing the whole system is officially stated at 170,028,636 dollars (34,005,727_l._). Disregarding the slack water, this corresponds to an average of rather more than 13,500_l._ per mile, or approximately 2000_l._ per mile more than the average cost of the railways of the same country. The total gross income in 1880, the latest year for which there are complete returns, was 4,538,620 dollars, and the total expenditure was 2,954,156 dollars, or 65 per cent. of the gross income. This figure compares very unfavourably with that shown for the American railroad system in the same year, the working expenses having been only 39·2 per cent. of the gross earnings. The net income of the United States canals in 1880 was 1,584,000 dollars, which is less than 1 per cent. on the total expenditure. The commercial aspect of the canal system of the United States is not, therefore, an encouraging one. Hadley, indeed, declares that after 1870 “it became a question whether the canal could pay expenses of maintenance—a question which was finally decided in the negative.”[118]