The St. Johns herald., 1893-09-21
COST AND VALUE OF CANALS.
The Nicaragua Cut Likely to Be an Enor-
 n1ousiy Profitable Enterprise.

The Nicaragua Cut Likely to Be an Enor-
 nousiy Profitable Enterprise.
 The Sucz canal, with almost hun dred miles of continuous digging, cost about S1c9, GOO, ,O00; of this sun 230, ,O00,- O0o was wasted in interest, commis- sions, changes of location and bad management. That canal has now Q traffic of nearly nine million tons an- nuallv, and, according to the North American Review, it must be speedily enlarged to accommodate the com merce that is crowding through it to the western coast of the Pacific ocean. The Nicaragua canal has twenty-nine and half miles of canal prism, or axial line. Of this one-third is very light dredging. The total length of this transit from sea to sea is 16915 miles; of this line 155H miles is slack water navigation at an elevation of no feet above the level of the sea. This small lift is overcome by six locks three on either side of the lake. The entire cost of the canal ready for use, as estimated by Mir. MenOcal, allowing 9 per cent. for contingencies, is S65,- O84,176. A board of five other great engineers went over Mir. Menocal's measurements and estimates with great care, and out of abundant eau tion, and not because of any substan- tial change in his figures, they added to his estimate another 20 per cent. for contingencies, and so changed his esti- mate as to make the total cost of the canal, ready for service, SS7, ,799,5 ,570.
 It seems that this may be reasona- ply accepted as the outside cost of the canal But, if we run up the conjec- tural cost to $1O0, ,O00, 900, if built for that sum, it must be the most valuable property in the world of it's magni- tude. The tonnage, annually, can scarcely fall below that of the Suez canal. It will gradually exceed that amount. If it is two-thirds as great as that which passes through the St. Mary's canal on the lakes it will equal 9,000,000 tons. Who does not know that it must be greater than the traffic supplied by so small an area of inland country? A just estimate would be fixed, confidently, blythe most careful and hesitating persons at 9,000,O0O tons per annuE, to say nothing of in- come from passengers, of whom swarms will emigrate to the Pacific coast. Of this estimate we could place the tolls at the rate of $1 per ton, and realize S9,OOO,O0O per annum. Take $3, 900, GOO of this sum for maintenance of the canal, which will not exceed half that sum; $3,OO0,000 for interest on the bonded debt, and $3,00O, 900 for the stockholders, and we will have result that should excite the cupidity of the most grasping speculator. But the true friend of the industrial and commercial people will see in this re- suit saving to industry and com merce of more than one-half the charges for tonnage that are now paid to the Suez canal. If the United States are the owners of $50, ,000, 900 of the $1O0, 100000 of the stock in this canal, and if it is to cost $10O,O0 900 to build it, the dividends on that $sO,O0O,OOO of stock, employed in sinking fund and invested in the bonds of the company, would pay the entire cost of construction and the interest of the bonds in less than fifty years.