At present, excepting for those who might prefer that some arrangement be made for the redemption of share capital out of the surplus profits, this method of distribution seems practically ideal. The state receives sixty-five per cent. of the surplus net profits; the municipality (in lieu of larger license duties now abolished), fifteen per cent.; while the remaining twenty per cent. are devoted to objects of public utility, not chargeable on any rates, but operating as counter-attractions to the public house. I must confess, however, that I am personally attracted by the possibility of converting the company system into a purely public trust by utilizing annually a fixed proportion of the surplus profits to that end. Why, for instance, should not the surplus profits be partly utilized in redeeming the share capital annually at par? An example will serve to explain my meaning. Suppose in some town of 12,000 inhabitants who decided, after a local-option poll, to license a restricted number of houses a company were formed with a capital of $50,000 and with shareholders' profits limited to five per cent. Suppose, again, that the total average annual profits were fifteen per cent. In such a case it would be clearly possible to redeem the whole of the original share capital in the space of ten years; so that at the end of that period the town would possess in its licensed system an independent public trust in which no private citizen would have one cent of pecuniary interest.

In conclusion, brief consideration may be given to details of site and internal economy. It is of the utmost importance that no licensed houses shall be placed in alleys or by-streets. On the contrary, the location should in every case be such that the public can be aware of any infringement of the licensing law. At the same time, it is equally desirable that nothing should be done to advertise the licensed house. I was much struck with this feature of the Swedish system when I visited Gothenburg. We reached the harbor before noon, and during the afternoon I walked about the city endeavoring to discover some of the licensed houses belonging to the system which I had come to inspect. I spent two hours walking all over the main streets of the city, and at the end of that time had come to the conclusion that the Gothenburg system did not exist! It was not till I called on some of the directors on the following day that I discovered where my error lay. I had passed several of the houses belonging

to the company in my walk, but, though they nearly all had corner situations, there was nothing whatever in their outside appearance to indicate that they were places of alcoholic refreshment. I have since noticed that other visitors to Gothenburg have been struck by the same fact; and this marked absence of any endeavor to advertise their houses is certainly a most commendable feature of this system. Again, it is extremely desirable that great attention should be paid to providing a proper system of ventilation. There is nothing which more encourages excessive drinking than a poisoned and unventilated atmosphere, and in this particular I have found nearly all public houses to be extremely deficient, partly, no doubt, from carelessness or ignorance, but partly, it is to be feared, from a knowledge that proper ventilation would seriously affect the sales at the bar. The "tobin" principle, by which a circular pipe is admitted from the outside, is so simple, economical and effective that there is really no excuse for such a constant violation of sanitary principles in the ordinary licensed house.

And now let me briefly sum up the main points of my article. I have endeavored to show that the true solution of the Temperance question lies in Local Option combined with a licensing system of disinterested management; and that in no case should the unit of one licensed house for every thousand of the population be exceeded. Local option should for this purpose embrace the power of deciding, by a substantial majority, the simple question of "License or no License"; while a bare majority should have the further power of reducing the number of licensed houses and also reducing the daily period of hours during which alcohol could be legitimately sold.

Disinterested management should combine the principles of a company (a) limiting its shareholders' profits to five per cent. and (b) giving to its employees, in addition to their salary, a liberal commission on the sale of food and non-intoxicants. The bar should be absolutely abolished, and the surplus profits be so disposed of as to remove from the municipality or city any motive. for encouraging the traffic in alcoholic liquors. If genuine Prohibition is ever to be attained, I submit that it is by proceeding on the lines of least resistance that such a reform can most effectively and speedily be accomplished.

R. E. MACNAGHTEN.

VOL. CXC.-NO. 648.

41

THE GEORGIAN BAY CANAL.

BY S. J. MCLEAN.

FROM the beginning of its canal policy, Canada has been interested not only in obtaining a cheap water route for its own produce, but also in attracting traffic to this route from the United States. While the Canadian Parliament declared, in 1875, in favor of a fourteen-foot waterway from the Lakes to the seaboard, it was not until 1900 that this was obtained. The fact that the Erie Canal, owing to its lagging behind in point of technical improvements, has become of minor importance in the transportation of grain to the seaboard has caused New York to fear the diversion of traffic to the St. Lawrence route. This was used as an argument by the Erie Canal Commission in 1899 in favor of the improvement of the Erie Canal. The diversion of a large part of the export grain traffic to Montreal during the season of 1908 has attracted further attention to the competition of the Canadian route. Canada has expended, in round numbers, $116,000,000 on its canal system; $94,000,000 of this amount have been expended in the last forty years. Over seven-eighths of the latter sum has been expended on the route from Lake Superior to Montreal.

While a large part of the expenditure has been concerned with the development of a waterway competitive for American traffic, it is only of recent years that the anticipations have begun to be realized. The canal at the Canadian "Soo" competes for American traffic. This canal was opened in 1895. In 1896 the tonnage passing through was 7.9 millions; by 1907 the tonnage had doubled. The Canadian canal percentage of the total traffic passing through the two "Soo" canals is gradually increasing. In 1901 it was 8 per cent.; in 1907 it amounted to 26 per cent.; this represents both a relative and an absolute increase. The

tonnage passing through the Canadian canal, like that using the American canal, consists almost wholly of low-grade bulky freight, the greater part being east-bound. In 1907, 12.5 millions of tons of freight passed down through the Canadian canal, an increase of 76 per cent. over 1906. The canal is not, however, successful in carrying a large portion of this down by the St. Lawrence route. Of the 1907 grain shipments from Port Arthur and Fort William 24 per cent. went by water to Canadian points east of the Welland Canal; while 43 per cent. went to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron points, whence it was handled by rail. It must be remembered that, while the "Soo" Canal permits the passage of the large Lake-going vessels, conditions are different in the case of the Welland and the St. Lawrence canals. In general, a vessel 247 feet in length, 42 feet 6 inches wide, drawing 13 feet and carrying 2,212 tons of cargo may be regarded as typical of the ordinary vessel accommodation afforded by these canals.

Early in 1907 a deputation of vessel-owners and grain-shippers memorialized the Dominion Government to so deepen and improve the Welland Canal as to accommodate the largest vessels of the Upper Lakes. The Government has at present under consideration a project for deepening the canal to twenty-five feet. The various commercial organizations are, however, by no means agreed on this question. At present it takes a vessel from sixteen to nineteen hours to lock through the canal, according to the conditions of traffic. The same expenditure of time would permit the vessel to get back to the Detroit River. In the case of the larger vessels it would be more economical to pick up a coal cargo on Lake Erie and go west to the river than to continue east, attempting to pick up a cargo west-bound from the light traffic offering from Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. It is true that if the canal were improved the time disadvantage would be lessened, but it would not be eliminated. As regards the deepening of the St. Lawrence canals, it may be noted that the transportation of grain in barges from Prescott to Montreal has certain advantages. The exporter can bring his barges alongside the ocean-going vessel at Montreal, thus saving elevator charges which have been complained of as exorbitant. If the ocean vessel is not ready to load, the demurrage charges on the barges are low.

It is under such conditions of dissatisfaction with the Lower

Lake and river canals that there has been a renewed interest in the Georgian Bay canal route. The project for a canalized waterway from the Upper Lakes by way of the French River, Lake Nipissing and the Ottawa River to Montreal attracted attention so early as 1845. In 1856 and in 1860 surveys were made. Undoubtedly this route has great advantages in point of distance. A vessel going from the "Soo" or from the Straits of Mackinaw to Montreal would by this route practically take one side of a triangle, as compared with two sides of the triangle by way of the Lower Lakes. The following table shows some of the distance advantages of the route:

The earlier surveys were concerned with obtaining a depth of from ten to twelve feet, and the cost of construction was estimated at from $12,000,000 to $24,000,000. In more recent years the increase in the average draught and carrying capacity of Lakegoing vessels has led to a change of opinion in regard to the depth and cost of construction. While some, at an earlier period, favored a barge canal, the recent interest has been concerned with a waterway which will permit a Lake vessel to unload at Montreal. The Canadian Government has recently completed a comprehensive engineering survey of the whole route based on a minimum depth of twenty-two feet. The project submitted would permit the passage of the largest Lake vessels from Lake Huron to Montreal. In finding that the route was feasible from an engineering standpoint, the report of the survey was confirmatory of the opinion expressed by the "Engineering News" in its issue of March 5th, 1903:

"From an engineering standpoint, disregarding for the moment political boundaries, there can be no doubt that the Ottawa route is by far the best for a deep waterway from the Upper Lakes to the sea. So far as export traffic from the northwest to Europe is concerned, it offers by far the best possible route. . . .”

In comparing this route with existing or projected routes the question of the elevation to be overcome is of importance. Be