Evening Star Newspaper, November 11, 1923, Page 67

| FICTION | MAGAZINE SECTION The Sundlay Star. WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 11. 1923. Rich Charter Rights Are Retained by Historic Waterway Here BY GEOINGE H. DACY. EVERAL miles from the “Vhite House, out Georgetown way, is the terminal of a historic | American canal, an inland ‘waterway which was the important etepping stone in the establishment, during the early days of our repub- lic, of easy means of communication | between the Atlantic seaboard and the rich, fertile agricultural lands of the Ohio valley. The Chesapeake and Ohio canal and the earlier attempts to harness the Potomac river for navigational pur- poses were the pet hobbies of George Washington—enterprises in which causes he campaigned and struggled | as earnestly as he worked for our national liberty Away back in 1748, when the Ohio Company was chartered and given a grant of a h; -million acres of land in the state of what is now Maryland, along the Potomac river, George Washington was mastering the com- plexities of sarveying at Mount Ver- non. Itimately he acquired such proficiency that he was hired as one of the surveyors of the Ohio Company and in time promoted to be chief surveyor of the enterprise. For several years Wa dered this way and stretches of the I'o different tracts of land intimate familiarity w which previousiy more than wil all the K of the uppe Potomac as well as he knew the fields | of his beloved Mount Vernon. As he became bette cquainted | with the length and breadth of the peaceful Potomac, G Wash ton sensed the possibilities of a great proje network of waterways to | furnish an = of continu- ©ous commu ation between tidewater Virginia and the distant lands of | Ohio. “Even after he left the employ | of the Ohio Company to accept a military commission Washington con- tinued to husband his p hobby of harnessing the Potomac to the needs | of navigation 1 After the revolutionary war and the inauguration of the national Con- stitution, through the personal in- fluence of Gen. George Washington, the Pawtommack Company was form- ed, and its purpose was to clear the | channels of the Potom river and | other connecting streams and to con- | struct a chain of highways as land links in the avenue of communication that was to be made readily passable between Virginia and Ohio. Gen. Washington even went o far as to subscribe $2,500 of the original $40,000 raised to finance the scheme. Ov'n first scouting miles by hors visited the the propo and g: regions | nothing | me to kr roo SDke nne President went on a trip of more than 700 | ack, during which he | through which | »d national roadway and waterway were to run. During the revolution Virginia ceded to Mary- land all jurisdiction over the Potomac river, reserving only the right of free | navigation. Hence both these states, | legislative approval, had to in- | the Pawtommack project be- fore it became official When the lawmakers acquiesced to | the plan. George \ashington and his | associates devised the scheme of con- structing canals and locks around the impassable falls and rapids of the Potomac., Such facilities would favor water transportation as far north and west as a little settlement then | called Will's Creek, now known as | the city of Cu Md. The planned to bui n from this terminal to the mouth of the Cheat river and to join this river | by connecting roadway links with the | Youghlogheny and Monongahela | rivers, which would give ingress mm{ Ohio. i Strange to say, at that time there | was not a single American engineer who had ever seen a canal lock or | who was in any way familiar with | such contrivances. Notwithstanding, | the best mechanical talent available | was assembled for the prodigious op- | erations. No public undertaking regions land, in | the history of the new republic had aroussd such interest and enthusi- | asm, as most every one appreciated that the potentfal prosperity of the | country depended upon making the ! western prairies and farm lands readily accessible, Although money was some way or another the of the Pawtommack plan together enough funds to commence their colossal task. For the next twenty years the hum of construction and the bustle and turmoil of almost incessant industry prevailed along the route of the Potomac river, where | artificial detours had to be installed | around the rapids. As much coun-“ tryside interest was manifested in | the herculean assignment as has more | latterly been concerned in the com- pletion, perfection and profitable | utilization of‘the Panama canal. 1 ‘When completed the canals and locks which were built around the Little Falls and Great Falls of the Potomac were the outstanding engi- neering feat of the eighteenth cen- tury. Engineers and construction ex- perts in all parts of the world were keenly interested in how the clever | Americans had solved a baffling | enigma. George Washington was a firm be- llever that expansion, prosperity and national unity would reswk from a! commercial development of *he Toto- mao river. He gave unstintingly of his time and service in the consum- mation of the bonanza project. Every tme an obstacle arose, Washington Joaned his ready wits to its solution. Notwithstanding, unfavorable weath- er and labor conditions impeded the activities. Finally, the white contract work- men abandoned their labors and alaves had to be purchased and used =0 complete the work. Kunds were exhausted and on several different| oooasions the legislatures of both Virginia an1 Maryland hid {0 make special appropriations to aid the en- terprise. Maryland even sponscred a novel lottery which was productive | of $300,000. The main canals were six fect deep and twenty-five feet wide, amply! large enough to accommodate the passage of the river boats used in those early days. The locks were 14 Dy 100 feet in dimension and equipped | scarce, in promoters scratched First President Was an Enthusiastic Supporter of the Pawtommack Company, Which Was Succeeded by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Corporation—Washington Surveyed Land Through Which Waterway Extends and Contributed to Financ- ing of Initial Work—Engineers of World Were Interested in Feat Accomplished—Future Value May Depend on Possibility of Widening and Deepening Channel of the Potomac. Clubhouse on the Maryland side of the Potomad exactly opposite a,bpp *Widewater Lake” from Geord e canal s for a lift of ten feet. At Great Fails there were five locks and a canal one mile long. They each accommo lated about 22,000 cubic feet of water when filled. At Little Falls there was an- other canal with three additional locks. A suspension bridge was also built over Great Falls, the first pas- | sageway of its exact character con- structed in America. * % % % ROM the time it was opened to navigation, the upper Potomac never proved profitable. Despite that in the meighborhood of 300 boats of an aggregate burden of 1,630 toms used the waterway the first year it was opened, while a decade later as many as 1,300 vessels of 16,500 tons regularly plied those waters, the toll revenues always fell far short of pay- ing the maintenance expenses. The initial construction ultimately retro- graded Into nothing wmore than a monument to a big idea that failed. Today, massive, crumbling walls of masonry—ruins of our first great na- | tional engineering achievement—are all that remain of the Great Falls locks and canals. The Pawtommack Company’s failure_put the quietus on all attempts to utilize the regular riverbed of the upper Potomac as a channel of water traffic. where Washington's locks and Creat Falls. were located. Iwelve miles y) etow & Undeterred by the bubble-like blowup of the initial project, a new enterprise, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company—a concern—was formed and took over the charter of the defunct Pawtommack Company. < The second plan of establishing communication between the Atlantic states and Ohio features the construc- tion iof a canal that’was. to parallel the Potomac river from Georgetown, D. C., to Cumberland, Md. It was the logical outgrowth of the Pawtom- mack plan and represented our first natlonal attempt to improve internal and domestic commerce. At the out- set, the canal proposition had the en- thusiastic support of Uncle Sam and the states of Maryland and Virginia. The first surveys indicated that it would cost about $8,000,000 to com- pleté the huge artificlal waterway. For that early period, when American millionaires’as an internationally fa- mous class had not yet come into be- ing, the sum was enormous. The city {.of Baltimore—one of the leading sea- ports of the United States—had made arrangements to tap ‘the Chesapeake and Ohio canal and extend it to that Maryland: center of trade and com- merce. ‘When careful re-surveys and check- a muwles. This boat throught onc of tite Locks six-million-dollar | \t; @V E as ing up of estimates were made, the promotors ascertained that their orig- inal figures were very inaccurate. The final balances showed that the water- way would cost at least $20,000,000 by the time it was properly extended to Ohio. The announcement of this figure knocked the bottom out of much of the popular support of the project. The .citizens of Baltimore abandoned the enterprise and imme- diatley began to concentrate all their resources on the popularization and perfection of a railroad systém that would extend from that city to the heart of the Oho river valley. In this curious, roundabout way, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal was directly responsible for the/ develop- ment of railroad communication be- twhen the inland middle west and the ocean-bounded eastern states. The plan to make the Potomac navigable failed, but was a stepping stone to the canal construction project which also never bore fruit but which, in turn, led to the building of the rail- road, which was a success and the foundation of the network of trunk and freight lines, which now girdles the country. 2 N President John Quincy Adams thrust his spade into the sofl to shovel forth the first earth $ o . | One of the dame of the Potomac which supplies water tothe ¢anral. e B Jastpassed two from the canal in the makidf¥ on July 4, 1828, he struck an impenetrable root. - Again he plunged the tool into the ground, but to encounter another root. Thereupon he had to doff his fancy coat and set to work in earnest to break a way through the network of roots so that he could reach the s0il below. i Z The obstructions and difficulties that President Adams encountered in the canal inauguration ceremonies weére truthful prophets of the poten- tial - exigencies and construction conundrums that complicated and paralyzed the operations: On noless than & dozen different occasions Vir- giniaand Maryland had to reach down, deep into their state money bags and dole out funds to the canal builders, while Uncle Sam repeatedly aided the project in a financial way. It took thirteen years to extend the canal to Cumberland and the work was never ‘carried any further. The artificial ‘waterway cost $11,072,000, an average cost of $59,618.61 a mile. The first year it was operated the ex- penses amounted ‘to approximately $84,000, while the total income was less than $48,000. These figures are faithful® registers -of what has oc- curred ever since that time. Like its predegessor, the Pawtommack Com- are 75 1ift locks Z{;’%Euéww Geptqiewafiffiwean these ereée 1w elevation be terminals of the canal it 878 feetD. and two quard Tocks Cumberiand. MNational Photos. pany, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company made nothing more profit- able than history, despite its strenu- ous efforts. The same day that the ground- breaking ceremonies for the canal were celebrated at Great Falls the citizens of Baltimore staged a notable celebration in honor of.the beginning | of their railroad. Work on laying the track began immegiately, thereafter. A roadbed was started even before any efficient method of locomotion for the passen- ger cars was perfected. The first car rails ever milled in the United States were produced at a special factory built in a Maryland village along the route of the railroad, which was the pioneer project of its kind of any iength in the country. One type of locomotive that was developed and fostered as a practical steel horse for hauling the coaches was operated by heavy horses that tramped over end- less aprons inside the locomotive, treadpower fashion, in order to make the wheels go around. One of the most ‘extraordinary races in the an- nals of American speed contests was a match between this horsepower en- gine and a little steam locomotive that Peter Cooper invented about that time. The steam locomotive won and was selected by the railroad officials as the official steed of the line. An- other unusual locomotive strated in those days was a car that was equipped with sails and which would run only when the wind was blowing. * k k% THE Chesapeake and Ohio canal is the father of our inldnd American waterways. It was a masterplece of construction for the period when it was built. In fact, its greatest fame rests in the fact that it was bullt in spite of a thousand and one obsacles of one kind or another, The canal is 186 miles In length and is large enough to accommodate a fleet of 350 active canal boats. The waterway consists of seventy-five 1ift locks, each of which is 14 by 100 feet in dimensions and two guard locks. These locks cover a descent of 578 feet from Cumberland to Georgetown The average canal boat. has a ca- pacity for 116 tons of coal. The fleet is capacitated to move 1,000,000 tons of soft coal from the Cumberland mines to the District of Columbia an- nually. The canal never has been and probably never will be an impor- demon- | tant factor in the movement of soft coal from the Maryland mines to the Atlantic seaboard. The lower Poto- mac is pot easily navigable by the large vessels engaged in the coastwise coal trade. If the channel of the Po- tomac ever is widened and deepened, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal may begin to pay dividends. This historic waterway has been the pumching bag of Maryfand poki- ticians for the last half century. Many a statesman has ridden to fame and fortune over fits channel. Since 1848 the canal has been operated by a board of trustees. It is still main- tained because it has the most val- uable charter rights of any American waterway. Complete control of the future development of all water {rights and power in the Potomac river is vested by law in the Chesa- peake and Ohio Canal Company. The Doll Theater of Japan HE dol! theater holds an impor- I tant place in Japan. It is a s prise to find this jewel of art | in Osaka, | stacks. 1t art that |alive in Japan for more | years, but that is now ery the city is an big stone {each side b {lanterns. The fence that surrounds {the compound shows a line of green |1atticed windows, bordered with black, set at interv hite wall {that is decorated with crossbeams of | vermillion The interior of the theater is ar- ranged like that of an ordinary Jap- anese plavhouse, with its square com- partments, or boxes, and there are galleries on three sides of the house. The stage itself is similar to that on which the real playsrs act and is fully equipped with settings, but it |differs In one respect, for there is a deep space in which the doll handlers stand while they are manipulating l(hv'r characters. | The figures are large and take from {three to four men to move them To { call them dol's is hardly fair, for they lare so full of dignity and grace, their movements so suggestive of the whole | gamut of human emotions. that they {are far removed from the trivial and | banal with which e name of puppet {is 80 widely associated in the west. { * ok k% | THE doll handiers, who have con- quered themse to such a de- { £Te that they lose themselves in their | creation, wear gay costumes and thelr | faces are uncovered, but the minor | performers are garbed in bla ck, with 1 black hoods and face curtains to hide |all traces of their individuality— | grouped like shadows behind the ra- | diant moving figures ! The minstrel sits on a rosturm to | the right of the stage, with a musi- cian to accompany him. He sings the | descriptions and recites the conver- | sations, changing suddenly from the | high treble of a youthful princess to the gruff tones of a villain, imitating a feudal lord or a merchant, a priest or a beggar, interpreting the drama, by the ever-changing rhythms of his samisen. { For the ancectors of the dolls the best playwrights have written, and the dramas produced in the doll thea- ter have become masterpieces of Jap- anese literature, the names of the characters household words. Other countries have their doll thea- | ters in more or less flourishing condi- {tion, but few have reached such a | state of perfection as the Bunraku-za | of Osaka. For here is a rare combina- “flfln—inmnimale figures instead of {actors of flesh and blood; dol! men trained from childhood to acquire the | technique to manage the cold and |lifefless forms through which flows | the creative genius of the hanilers; minstrels and musicians who have de- { voted their lives to the interpretation |of the plays. and tho best brains of {the dramatist employed in order that {the dolls might be triumphant ana | their use fully justified | * ¥ ¥ x N OSHIDA BUNGORO, one of the | chief doll handlers of the Bun- raku-za, may believe that his great art ought to belong to his native lland; perhaps he thinks it could be |appreciated only in Osaka. But that }is not true. It should be world-wide. :He takes a piece of wood, into which lare inserted u head and limbs, and covers it with a piece of brocade, and it becomes a fairy princess, changing her postures every second, rivaling in | animation any dancer possessed of a | spinal column. | Koshijidayu, the ohief interpreter of the dolis' ballad dramas, is a man | of many voicea. He laughs and crles, jcouglhs and scolds, is a villain one moment and the hero the next. His | minstrelsy is something that has been |lost on the stages of other lands, but it is fully adequate to express all the {comedy, tragedy, pathos and joyful- iness of these old plays that still move the busy, bustling people of modern Japan. The actors of the theater proper in Japan have long gone to the doll actors for inspiration, and the dramas written for the dolls are. today the most popular pleces played on the stages of Tokio and Osaka. “Valley of 10,000 Smokes.” VWHEN an expedition sent out by the National Geographic Soclety to the Katami district of Alaska was about to return the leader of the expedition saw beyond some rising ground a puff of steamy, His decision to investigate it led to the discovery of the famous Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. + As he mounted the hillock and looked, down the valley he saw, stretching as far as the eye could reach, thousands of little volcanoes. Many of them were sending up columns of steam tha rose a thousand feet before they dissolved. Some wers closely grouped in lines along & common fissure; others stood apart.