The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-31
RAILWAY FROM
OCEAN TO OCEAN.
New Freight Route by Way Of
Tehuantepec.
HEADED BY ENGLISH SYNDICATE,
Railway Leased From Mexican Gov
eminent - $4,000, 900 for Harbor
Improvement at Salina Cruz.
shorter Than the Panama Route

Improvement at Saltna Cruz.
shorter Than the Panama Route
Information has just been received
which is of the greatest interest to San
Francisco and the Pacific Coast from
its relation to the problems OF freight
and transportation, says the Chronicle
of August II. An English syndicate,
at the head of which is Sir Wheetman
Pearson, member of Parliament for
Colchester, has just concluded a
lease with the Mexican Government of
the Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway. The
terms of the lease include an agreement
on the part of the syndicate TO finish
the works already we'll advanced for
the Improvement Of the harbOr Of Coat
zacoa1cos, at the Atlantic terminus of
the road, and to construct the harbor
works at Salina Cruz, the Pacific ter
minus, which were included in the orig
inal plans, but which the Mexican Gov
eminent has been so far unable to exc
cute.
The road itself will be greatly i'm
proved and put in the condition OF
first-class line. A line of ships plying
between Salina Cruz and San Francisco
will be put on and deliver freight to
the many lines plying in the Gulf Of
Mexico. A determined effort will be
made to secure the freight and low
priced passenger traffic of San Fran
cisco.
On the other side of the isthmus it is
expected to get the bulk of the Euro
pean fine freight, such as dry goods,
which now come by steamship to New
Orleans and by rail to San Francisco.
That the syndicate means business is
shown by the fact that it intends TO
spend large amounts in harbor i'm
provements On the gulf side the Mex
lean Government has constructed jet
ties similar to those at the mouth of
the Mississippi, by which the entrance
to the Coatzacoalcos river is gradually
being deepened so as to admit the lar
gest ocean-gOing vessels. Compare
lively little will be required to complete
these works. The syndicate's contract
calls for the expenditure of about $780,
900.
On the Pacific side, the port of Salina
Cruz is nothing but an open rOadstead,
There was an iron pier extending to
twenty-seven feet of water, but the
storm in which the Colima went down,
destroyed it, and all freight has to be
Iightered, often under unfavorable con-
ditions. The character of the coast and
bay is such that very fine, commo-
dious harbor can be created artifcially,
but the expense will be great.
The syndicate has undertaken this
expense and expects to spend $4,000
600 to build breakwaters, wharves,
docks and warehouses. This is even
more than the original designs, made
when the railroad was completed, called
for But the understanding is that the
works to be created shall make this the
finest harbor on the Pacific coast out
side of San Francisco
Just what concessions the syndicate
gets in return for these expenditures is
not known, but it is not believed that
they are unfavorable to the Mexican
Government which built and owns the
road and has been operating it since
its completion, because President Diaz
has steadfastly refused offers to lease
it from various corporations. He was
not given sufficient assurances that 1t
would remain an independent cOmpetl-
tive line.
The Chamber of Commerce of this
city has on file letter from President
Diaz in which he says the road will
not be leased or its operation controlled
in such a way as to destroy its useful
ness as a competitive factor
Sir Wheetman Pearson, who is at the
! head of the syndicate, is man of 40,
of great executive and financial ability,
the managing partner of ]. 5. Pearson
| & Son, contractors for the new Black
wall tunnel, and constructors and part
owners of the craving docks at Halifax.
Nova Scotia.
That the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
would be the connecting pathway be-
| tween the two oceans was foreseen or at
| least dreamed of by Cortez, who exam
ined it with the hope Of finding nat
ural passage, or to determine whether
an artificial one was practicable.
| When Mexico threw off the Spanish
yoke one of the first acts Of its Con-
gress was TO call for proposals for open
| ing a route across the isthmus. As
early as 1912 a grant was made for the
! purpose of building a railroad. Fol-
| lowing this there were number OF
! efforts made to secure the construction
of the road by private enterprise, but
without complete success. Finally, in
| 1892, the Government undertook the
work itself completing it three years
| later.
But the road itself, however valuable
for local traffic, can cut no figure IN
interoceanic traffic until there are har-
| bOrs at each terminal suitable for all
kinds of vessels. 1t is this lack the
English syndicate, which has secured
a lease of the road, now proposes to
fill.
Of the ADVANTAGES of the TehuaDrp-