The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-22
THE NICARAGUA CANAL
LYMAN f. COOLEY THINKS TT SHOULD
BE PROMPTLY CONSTRUCTED.
Several Potent Reasons Given by the
Noted Engineer -Of Great
Strategic Importance.

CHICAGO, May 21-Mr Lyman E. Cooley,
the well-known engineer. who spent two
months of last winter on the route of the
proposed Nicaragua canal, in an interview
says: 'As bluff, if nothing more, the Mic
aragua canal in operation to-day would be
worth 800 ,OO0.0 600 to this government Com
pleted it could perpetually reveal to all ma
lions that our fleets in a moment of neces-
sity could command the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, as 10 other fleets in the world would
be able TO do In a race for Manila, we
starting at New York and Spain at Cadiz.
we with the Nicaragua canal could reach
the Philippines before any fleet passing the
Suez canal could do So
Mr.. Cooley has studied the journey of the
Oregon around South America with extraor-
binary interest since, if the Nicaragua canal
hal been completed, the Oregon might have
been with Sampson weeks ago, or. in any
emergency, any part of our navy could be
dispatched to the Pacific coast with the
saving of thousands of miles of journey.
Suppose. at the least" said Mr.. Cooley,
eft costs $4,000 900 to construct the canal or
at the most $133, 900, COO. what would that
amount to in view of the fact that at the
present moment every city on the Pacific
coast could be destroyed by a hostile fleet
before any battle ship of ours could even
round Cape Horn. When we could reach the
shores of San Francisco the enemy would be
at Hawaii. and If we were there they would
be at Manila or safely at home. Leaving
aside all questions of the value to us of the
canal as a powerful agency for developing
our commerce. look at its construction from
q war point of view. The Atlantic coast
will always be the concentration point for
600 miles from San Francisco without the
Nicaragua canal-that is. via the Straits OF
Magellan; steam vessels leaving New York
are over 1900 miles from San Francisco and
sailing vessels via Cape Horn, 1850 miles
away. The canal would shorten one route
S265 miles and the other 1888 miles. A
man-of-war sailing ten knots per hour, or
240 miles per day. would save in the one in
stance forty-four days and in the other
th1rty-four days time. In other words, II
the Oregon is al Barbados, sixty-two days
have been occupied by her in reaching that
point from San Francisco via Cape Horn.
With the Nicaragua canal completed. forty
four days time would have been saved over
one existing route and thirty-four days over
the other The journey from San Francisco
10 New York could be made in eighteen days
by a slow vessel and in nine or ten days by
a swift one.
would not this be of value to the gov
ernment in time of war, when so much de-
ponds on the rapidity with which our yes
sells must be moved from point to point ?
Possessing the Nicaragua canal we could
prevent any navy in the world from trav-
ersing the Horn for the purpose of at
lacking us east or west
Mr. Cooley also said that the charges
through the canal would be less than the
wages paid the men on the vessel and the
coal consumed in trip around Cape Horn
In conclusion Mr.. Cooley said: I'VE could
control naval station at Lake Nicara qua
second to none in the world and from which
our vessels could proceed for the protection
of either of our coasts with rapidity une-
Qualed. The Spanish war and the journey
of the Oregon will awaken the general pub
lie to the necessity of having the canal. as
nothing else could have done. Once built
the canal, from strategic or commercial
point of view means that our flag and our
shipping will enter every port in the world
and we will be the maritime power of the
twentieth century,"