The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-30

to Puget Sound or Portland). another TO
South America, and still another 20 Aus
tralia. It's managers, therefore, are men
of ability and Judgment one of them. a
specialist on trade routes. etc. said to
me in emphatic terms:
Il cannot understand why the United
States does not build the Nicaragua
canal 1 should think all of your politi-
cal parties would clamor for It. / assure
you. were Japan in control OF the pro-
posed route, it would be half finished by
this time. Were the canal, moreover.
open, you would see a large fleet OF our
steamers running across to San Fran
cisco, then around TO New Orleans and
New York. This is no boast We have
often discussed the idea In our meetings
But your own shipping interests would
receive such an impetus from the open
ing of the canal that Japan's interests
seem very small in comparison How
ever, if you do not build II you will not
control the Pacific, morally or CONNER
cially. and Japan may become the domi-
nant power, closely followed by Great
Britain, France or Russia"
These are almost his exact words, and
l would use his name were they not said
to me in private discussion. 1 quote them
to show a phase of the subject perhaps
not brought out lately-that is, unpreju-
diced foreign opinion.
1 asked over fifty representative ship
ping men between Singapore and Vladi-
vostock their frank opinion as to whether
the canal would pay, and without excep-
ton they held that it would Some OF
them thought that the dividends OF the
first few years might be small, but that
in five years at the latest 1t would re-
turn as good incomt as the Suez
canal did in ten years BY representative
shipping men 1 mean those who are the
heads of firms that rank high i'm San
Francisco and New York and are known
there.
Another point of interest: 1 sought the
opinions of many of the captains of the
old ompanies-navigators who know the
best routes in every sea-and / was inn
pressed with the consensus Of authority
that the majority Of steamers running be-
tween New York, Boston, Philadelphia
or even London, Bremen, Hamburg and
Havre and Yokohama, Kobe and Shang-
hal would touch both ways at San
Francisco 1T being so close to the great
circle of navigation, and of course a big
port for both import and export cargoess
as we'll as coaling station. They would
stop there as regularly as the Suez stea-
mers do at Colombo en- route to China
and Japan.
The published articles by Joseph MINI
mo have done the most harm Of recent
printed arguments adverse to the canal.
Although I cannot doubt the honesty OF
his convictions, / regret that he should
have INDUCED in such illogical and UNI
warranted assumptions that we do. not
need the canal, that it would do more
harm than good, that there is not ship
ping enough to support it, and that IL
would not be a financial success.
We who have made a study OF the
commercial and material possibilities OF
the Pacific seas, of the Pacific coast OF
the United States, of the Pacific shore or
Sonth America, of trans-Pacific Asia.
of Australia, Of the islands Of the Pacific,
cannot sympathize with Mr.. Nimmo. If
he would not hold the sixpence of isolat-
ed sectionalism too near his eye, he
would / am confident write no more let
tiers to magazines and newspapers against
the Nicaragua canal.
California, then, must keep up a cam
paign for the canal. IT must be offensive
and extend the effort to a campaign of
education. Every word belittling the
canal should be met with a chapter in
it's favor.
1t is to be hoped that this coming cleo
ton will prove that California is more
deeply in earnest than ever before I'm
favor of the Nicaragua canal, even If
it is not plainly decided where the State
stands on money and tariff issues.-John
Barrett, Minister to Siam, in San Fran
cisco Chronicle.