Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-23
THE SHIP RAILWAY.
Capt. Eads' Great Project for Trans
porting Ships Across the Isthmus.

Capt. Eads' Great Project for Trans
porting Ships Across the Isthmus.
London Engineering.
Work on the roadbed Of the railway for
carrying ships between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, projected by Mr.. James
b. Eads, across the Isthmus OF tehuante-
pee, in Mexico, was formally commenced
last year near MInatitlan. It's northern
terminus on the CoatZacOalcOs river. AS
this enterprise unquestionably takes
foremost place among the engineering
and commercial enterprises elaborated
during this century, some account OF It's
leading features will possess unusual in
terest.
Tehuantepec Is the most northern of the
several isthmuses which, with the States
Of Central America, form the connecting
link between North and South America
Being 1900 miles nearer the former cOntl-
nent than Panama. the route over it pos
sesses immense climatic as well as geo
graphical advantages over the latter one.
No less than five states Of Central Ameri-
ca lie between these two rival routes, viz:
Yucatan, Campeachy, Guatemala, Mica
ragua, Costa Rica, and also parts Of the
Mexican States of OaXaca and Vera Cruz,
and the Colombian State Of Panama. In
considering, therefore, the great superior
ity Of the Tehuantepec route for all COM
merce between the British Islands and
L
and the Orient, the fact should be kept in
mind that between the locality where NJ.
de Lesseps is striving to cross the Ameri-
can isthmus, and that where Mr.. Eads has
commenced 70 construct the ship railway,
there exists a territory twice the length of
Great Britain. To 90 by the way of the
ship railway to California, British Column
bia, Japan, the Philippine Islands, or
China, we would pass through the Gulf of
Mexico, but to 20 by Panama we must
sail south to the caribbean Sea, cross the
lower end Of the isthmus, and then sail
1.200 miles along its Pacific coast to the
Bay of Tehuantepec, where the ship rail-
way crosses it.
That the ship railway project is one
fraught with the most stupendous results
may be readily seen when we consider the
facts that the American isthmus sepa-
rates about 100, 600 of the most enter
prisiDg. industrious and enlightened peo-
pie on the earth, inhabiting the North
Atlantic coast OF Europe and America,
from 600,000,000 souls who inhabit the
1 Orient and islands of the Pacific.
1t is true that the sailing distances
( which separated England, France, Ger
many and Italy from India, China and
other Oriental nations have been greatly
( lessened by the SueZ canal, but these dis
tances are almost insignificant when COM
pared with those which the snip railway
will annihilate. For instance the great
est saving effected by the Suez canal be-
tween London and Calcutta is about 1900
statute miles; whereas the sailing dis
lance by the ship railway from London to
every port on the Pacific coast of North
America will be lessened by nearly twice
this vast distance, or about s. $50 miles.
The Suez canal brought London and
Canton about $500 miles nearer together
by sea. The ship railway will save more
than three times this distance between
the great American metropolis and every
port in British Columbia. 1t will lessen
the sailing distance which to-day separ-
ates the Atlantic and Pacific ports of
British America by a distance but little
less than half of the circumference Of the
world, and give a sea route between the
Gulf OF st. Lawrence and NancOuyer's
sound only 90 per cent. longer than the
railway route across the American con-
tinent.
The American Isthmus and the COrdil-
leras of North America constitute a mar
row but almost impossible barrier to the
interchange of the manufactures and
productions Of 100000 people in the
Mississippi Valley and Atlantic States,
not only with those of 10000, 600 Of their
cOuntrymen to the west Of them, but with
the products of nearly 100,000,000 9th
ers on the islands and coasts of the Pa
citic, who are seemingly their nearest
neighbOrs.
The ship railway will give to these
descendants of the British Isles a sea
route between their Atlantic and Pacific
ports scarcely thousand miles longer
than the railway between New York and
san Francisco, and it Will give to the vast
valley of the Mississippi a gateway equiv
alent to the discharge of its mighty river
/ directly into the Pacific.