The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-27
THE HIDDEN HAND.

Joseph Nimmo Jr. has dragged forth his
famous report of 1880 adverse to the Mica
ragua canal, revamped it and submitted it
to the Nicaragua Canal Board. Curiously
enough it has been printed and distributed
throughout the country. Were it not for
undoubted internal evidence that this mis-
sionary work is being done and was in
spired IN the first place by certain trans
continental railroad interests, the identity
of the printers and distributors of this
precious document would likely remain
forever mystery, as the name of the pub
Usher is modestly omitted. In these con-
lectures we are assisted by memory of
Mr.. Nimmo's fulsome praise of the rail-
road service to the country when the Reilly
funding bill was under discussion.
The author has indicated the inspiration
of his pen in this sneer: "* the
promoters of a wild and impracticable in
teroceanic canal scheme, who are unable
to go into the money markets of the world
and raise dollar in aid of their project"
In reporting the railroad tonnage of the
United States be omits, among other trans
continental roads, the Central Pacific, the
Sunset Route of the Southern Pacific, and
every one of the great railroads centering
at the Columbia River and Puget Sound,
evidently with the intention of making
the amount of freight hauled out of the
West appear as small as possible. He at
tempts to show that even the Panama Rail-
road route will in time be abandoned in
favor of the transcontinentaI roads, and he
extends warm thanks to the late A. N.
Towne, general manager of the Southern
Pacific Company, "for highly appreciated
courtesies shown him in the preparation
OF his document"
There are many other indications of this
character, and they place this special plea
in behalf of the railroads outside the field
of serious discussion. Still short review
of his most important arguments might
have slight interest.
He estimates that the tonnage likely to
pass through the canal would not exceed
1.625,00O tons, and ridicules De Lesseps
estimate of 100000 tons. Placing then
the cost of the canal at S252, 900, 900, he puts
the annual interest charge at $10,080,O OO
which would require charge of $40 ton
through the canal in addition to that re-
quired for current expenses, which would
be 81 so, whereas the average charge on
through the Suez canal 81 81 ton.
In support of his assumption that 1,0O0,-
DOC tons annually will be the traffic of the
Nicaragua canal, he declares that sailing
vessels can round the Horn in shorter
time and at far less cost than would be
necessary should they pass through the
canal; that steamships plying between the
Orient and Europe will always, as hereto
fore, take the Suez canal; that no silks
and teas from the Orient are brought to
the Pacific Coast of the United States for
transcontinental rail forwarding; that the
development of railway systems in the
countries south of the United States tends,
as in the United States, to the depletion of
west-coast traffic by water and the rail
hauling Of products to Eastern ports; that
the receipts of the Panama Railway have
steadily fallen along with its rates, and
that instead OF transisthmian lines having
the effect OF regulating transcontinential
rail charges, the opposite has been the
TACT; that there has been "a wonderful
growth OF transcontinental railroad traf-
tic" and that wonderful reduction has
been made in freight charges on all the
transcontinental lines''; that transconti-.
mental railroads, instead of affecting ger