The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-10-14

sides the specific benefits, the committee
thinks great general benefits will accrue to
the entire Mississippi Valley, the lake ports,
and the Atlantic coast. Ship building and
the shipping interests in New England will
receive new impetus. A new coasting
trade will spring up and American tonnage
on the high seas will largely increase.
The committee says that great trans-At-
lantic powers are looking with covetous eyes
toward the Nicaragua project and that for
elgn governments would very cheerfully
and eagerly embrace an opportunity to take
advantage of the enterprise with unlimited
! capital and prompt energy, but it cOnceves
! it to be the patriotic and political privilege
of the United States to complete the canal.
The commercial and naval supremacy of
the nation which might secure control of
the canal demands imperatively that its con-
trol should not pass away from the people
OF the United States. 1t is made plain that
two fleets would be required to block an
American feet in Nicaragua where one
would be necessary elsewhere. AS foot
hold from which to attack or defend, to
threaten or protect all the coasts, islands
and adjacent seas, it is a more commanding
power than Gibraltar.
Among the beneficial results foreseen are
more practical drawing together of the re-
mote parts of the vast domain of the world
ana hrmer cohesion of the widely separa-
ted sections OF the United States, added to
stronger feeling of neighborhOod and
community between the Atlantic and Pacif-
lc SeaD0ardS. The conSummatiOn of the
work, whose feasibility has already been
demonstrated, is asserted to be of far great
er Importance to the Western hemisphere
than the Suez Canal is to the Eastern 1t is
sad that no precedent can be cited upon
winch 10 predict the future of American
commerce when the gateway of the Inter
Oceanic Canal across Nicaragua shall he
open to it.
All surveys and examination of strata re-
quiring removal have been completed The
Jetfy has been constructed and the harbor of
GreytOWn has been restored so that vessels |
Oh l4-leeI draIt nave an easy entrance, EX-
tenSive wharves, landing places and perma-
nent buildings have been constructed. tenn |
porary camps erected, a telegraph line made.
the canal cleared of timber for twenty
miles, and railroad twelve miles in length |
constructed and equipped. The biggest |
dredSlng plant IN America, that formerly |
used at Panama, has been purchased, and |
over mile of the canal has been dredged |
The exclusive franchise for the steam nav
igation of the San Juan river and Lake Mic |
aragua and an extensive plant for the Nav |
lgatlon Company have been acquired. The |
GoYernmentof Nicaragua has acknowledge |
ed that the company has complied with the |
canal grant, which provided that $4,000, 900 |
must be expended the first year. Ii is |
shown that the amount of money spent to |
date on the enterprise is over $4,000, 900.
Inc enterprise is endorsed by the leading |
business men OF the country, and that it will |
be judiciously and economically managed is |
assured by the character of the board of di- |
rectOrs, who, by the charter of the company, |
are accountable to the Government of the |
United Seates. The Secretary of the Inte-
rlor has the power to make public all the |
details OF the corporate management thus
protecting the investor against misuse of |
his money.
The Suez Canal, it is shown, saves only 8,
800 miles around the Cape of Good Hope. as
against over 10000 miles saved by the Mic
aragua Canal; and the following table shows
the number of ships passing through, the
net tonnage and the gross receipts of the
Suez Canal for six separate years: