National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-01-03
others reporting against the hopeful ox-
pogtatiOns Of his employees. He says


The Gordon Of sand which has almost en-.
tirelp closed "up the harbjr entrance |
attribute to the accumulation which the river
formerly Carriod to the sea At large, and which
It t,pdcd constantly. to rcpel, 1t therefore ~,
suited from the predomunnCo of the action OF
tic sen over that OF the river waters, (which
gradually increased rs the river lost volume
uf wateri assisted by general tendency OF inc
sea to establish the limits Oi us own dolhNlh.
can the hurbur be improved! II can III my
opinion. hut not permanently; for the same
causes that have OCCNsiuuCd its present con
dtion arc still ut work aud must insure its IN.
Cyitahlc decay; the money and The umo re.
turCd to improve 1t temporarily would hng
hc commensurate with the benefit that might
be- derived, ! consider any attempt to do go
uuwise.
Greytown seems to have as bad q repu-
tatiOu in tho English service, for our
visitor Capt. Bedford PIN, in his "Pana-
ma ana Nicaragua" PIP. 233 3-235, tolls US
"sh!us lie there at anchor as close rs they
can with safety, in q funnel into which the
n. e. trades blow with force, the current
from the river being Mt loPgerhead with
the wind, aud so vastly prejudicial to
comfort ships have an opportunity for
rolling such as | will venture TO say can
scarcely be found in any part of tho
world" Now, with such agreeing ac-
counts, how could one help falling into
lut uulolNullhNt tllOl Nhdb Nllp N"N
not be built for the Sal, 100000 doubled,
or the S65, 900, 900. or $l00,000,000l Tho
commission Of 1870. reporting to tho
President (senate OK. doc. No. 10, 10Th
cong, LIST sess.), said in their report,
"The cost of construction Of the canal
aud haTbors may be set down rs at least
Sl00,00O,000. SOnpenstern, tho Nicara-
guam engineer accompanying tho survey
under Capt. Lull reported IL to his gov
ornment as Sl0l ,272, ,0l5; Mcfarland with
out allowance for sickness to arise, at
SllO,OO0,00O. Add any fair estimate to
these, even in n healthy country, aud
you have more likely sum Of S200,O0O,- :
O00 not however, twice that sum, as has
been asserted" The samo must be said
as in my unfortunate letter, for Panama,
'the canal must cost more"
As to tho reduction with one stroke
of the PEN" by N. de Lessepss,.
of tho estimates for that canal, If
he thus did, it was contrary to
his uniform doings in the case of the
Suez canal, all plans and estimates for
which he received under the advice of q
commission. / find it stated also, in the
bulletin of the Panama canal, that the
sum of 6l2, 300, 900 francs was the estimate
of the subcommission, of which Favre,
the builder of the Gothard tunnel, was a
member. But Gm not NJ. do Lessp's de-
fender-non tall detensori eget.
As regards the health of any one OF
these isthmus routes, the words OF the re-
port cited will be probably accepted by
oil, that sickness must arise from the
breaking up of the virgin soil and the
employment Of the unacclimated." The
letter to the Sun did not dispute that
there might be more sickness in Panama
than in Nicaragua, but some allowance,
IL is believed must be added for this in
all estimates.
Considering with reason that the iudg-
mont Of ono not an engineer and not Oh
the ground, may be of little weight,
close with the following extract from a
letter recently received from one who
has given years ofattention and large out
lay to these explorations. Mr.. L. NJ.
Kelley, of New York, sent five different
expeditions into Dlrien and nhas long
been close student of the problem. He
says:
live in hopes that the time will soon come
when the intelligence ofthe American people
VIII see the injustice and folly OF throwing the
Monroe doctrine, or any other obtacle, in the
way OF the successful prosecution OF tue
Panama or other canals across the American
continent so long as they are conducted within
the legitimate bounds OF private enterprise. II
FrenChmen choose to expend one hundred or
one thousand millions on the Panama canal,
] am not aware that 1t is anybody's business
but their own, and .were our government ia
Interfere, hazard little or nothing in saying
that the English, French and German govern
ments will unite 10 protect II, and then would be
seen the lGmentable spectacle of four great
nations engaged in n ruinouS and disgracetul
war overthe control Of an enterprise which Ia
every respect is calculated to promote the
happiness and prosperity of all.
IL ANY EurOpenn government should attemDI
to seize the isthmus, then would be the proper
time TO apply the Monroe doctrine, but as
there Is no apparent danger of this, why
should not enterprlsing Americans and Euro
pcans be allowed TO build us many canals and
railways rs they like, as the more they con
struot the more rapidly the trade of the Pacific
between the two oceans, and as TO the question
Will any OF them pay, let the future settle that
ns the building of our 10000 miles ofrailrOadi
have done. ! also live in hopes of seeing the
great maritime powers, actuated by Just anC
enlightened considerations for the welfare o
mankind, engage In an International treaty
guaranteeing the neutrality of both the 18th
muses. Of suez and Panama. II is impossible
tO calculate beforehand the cost of the Panama
canal; | believe 1t will be at least two hundred
millions, and that the Nicaragua would cos
one hundred and fifty millions, and that 1
two canals were now open the Panama cana
would get at least three.fourths of the business
and keep 1t, as a short canal without locks ant
with good harbors easily and safely reached
in all weathers offers the conditions which
ships demand and will have, cost what thes
may
Submitting to the judgment of sucl
men of experience in tho problem ant
still more to that Of the engineers, TotteI
who built the Panama railway and Dirk
and Conrad and others who went TO th
isthmus with H. de Lesseps, l repeat tn
belief expressed In tho beginning of thu
laftaE aritiniaaH hnt in tba ia % l.,
senate report of the late Admiral Davi
(lS86y, one Of the committee also of til,
academy reporting in 1866: "rhe inter
oceanic canal in width, depth in supply
of water in good anchorage and secur
harbors ut both ends. and in absolute free
dom from obstruction by lifting locks o
otherwise, must possess rs nearly as pos
Bible the character of strait ! ma,
here add that the reduction of the time O
passing through locks las cited for tn
st. Mary's canal was learned whom Lieut.
Sullivan's report was begun, but the rul
of three was applied for ships drawing to,
feet more than the sixteen Of that cana
also that sometimes one ship must be sup
posed to be waiting for another whic
has just entered before her. Totten es
Inmates one hour for the passing. Hoy
soon the world will SEQ such canal a
the strait is as yet II thing out Of sight.
In a recent issue Of the Eueniag TeicgIa,
Mr.. Mackey, returning from visit as
contractor III Panama, states among othe
important items that 10000 men are a
work leveling the high hills and cuttin
the channel to divert the Chagres; who
this (ths hardest part is Done tho ma
chimes can get TO work and the cutting O
the canal will then be sUon accomplished
] can give no opinion when this will be.
IT might be wished that Panama wer
Nicaragua, ]. Il. NoURsE.