War Department Officers Making Survey of Canal, 1918

War Department Officers Making Survey of Canal

Hagerstown, Md. March 8.

—Officers detailed by the War Department, in charge of Major John Stuart, are making a survey of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from Cumberland to Washington to ascertain if the waterway can be enlarged with a view of the government taking it over and operating the waterway as a coal carrier during the remainder of the war. The officers, traveling on motorcycles, are on their way down the canal making a careful inspection after investigating the terminal and shipping facilities at Cumberland. It is designed to use tractors and a trolley device to be installed on the towpath, in connection with mule power to facilitate the movement of boats. A large fleet of boats will be built for use on the canal if the plan is adopted by the government.