The Great Canal Dream
Proponents argue that connecting Lake Washington to the Sound would revolutionize Seattle's shipping and spare iron hulls from the ravages of salt water.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The United States survey authorized by Congress of the proposed ship canal to connect Lake Washington with Puget Sound at Seattle has been completed. Lake Washington lies abreast of the city to the eastward, parallel with the Sound, and stretches north and south for a distance of about twenty-five miles. Its waters are deep, soundings showing 100 fathoms in places. One thing that those interested in salt-water ships know is that iron and steel bottom boats running in salt water are subject to marine growths which adhere to them and greatly impair the efficiency of the vessels. Speed is often reduced one-half by the presence of sea grass and barnacles. Fresh water destroys these marine growths and prevents their formation. This is why Lake Washington is considered of very great importance to seafaring vessels. The ravages of the teredo worm in salt water also destroy piling in a single year, causing wharves to collapse, whereas in the fresh water of the lakes, piling will last practically without limit.
“A great city, placed at the focal point where the commercial tides of two continents converge, will beget an infinite number and variety of important industries.”
The Ship Canal, completed in 1917, remains a defining piece of Seattle infrastructure. While the commercial benefits discussed in 1893 were realized, the project significantly altered the ecology of the lakes and the ancestral fishing grounds of the Duwamish Tribe.
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