The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-04

ing 1899 in the tonnage of the vessels that
would have used the canal was 22.55 per
cent. Upon the safe assumption that this
rate of increase per decade viii continue,
the availablo canal tonnage of 1898, as cal
| culated By the French statISticIans, will
have become {, 127, 112 tons in 1868, and
/ 6,922, 166.or, in round numbers, 1000 600
I tons net register in 1914; that is, at the
end of sixteen years. II the Tonnage of
The entrances and clearances of the avail
/ able canal traffic Of the year 1S9S-1S99. as
determined by this commissions investi-
cation (5,73G, 456 tons net register), be tax
en- as the basis Of estimate, Al increase of
22-55 per cent per decade would make the
! figures for 1909, 7,O30, 027 tons, and for
1914, 1882, 240 tons net register.
BENEFITS to America.
''Three-ffths of the seagoing tonnage of
/ the United States now consists of sailing
vessels. and We have a larger oeean-sailing
tonnage than any other country except the
United Kingdom However. sails are be-
1 ing displaced by steam. and the statistics
/ of steamers and sailing vessels Indicate
| that not more than one-sixth OF our total
| seagoiBg tonnage viii consist Of sailing
vessels in 1914. If the sailing vessel should
( continue to give way to the steamer after
! that Gate an isthmian canal wiz not be
( much used by sailing ships. The unmis-
/ taxable tendency of commerce is to employ
/ steam instead of sails not only in the
I transportation of general OF mixed freight,
but also for carrying full cargoes of bulky
commodities. Moreover. the canal will so
increase the competitive advantages of the
/ steamer as to render practically certain
its general substitution in place Of the
sailing vessel for all lines OF trade through
an isthmian waterway.
CAS- compared with Europe. the United
States will derive from the canal far
greater benefits, both commercially and
| industriaIly. The commerce of Europe
with the Pacific Coast of North, Central
and South America, under existing condi-
lions. is somewhat larger than the total
volume Of the present traffic of the United
States that may be considered tributary 10
the canal; but this fact does not indicate
the relative advantages which the canal
viii possess for the trade OF Europe and
that Of the United States. As soon as it
has been opened, our trade with the west
coast Of South America will rapidly in
crease. as viii also the volume Of our
trade with the Orient. The amount of the
American commerce through the canal will
quickly surpass the tota! amount Of Eu-
ropes traffic.
IAN isthmian canal will strengthen the
unity of the national and political inter
eSts of the United States, develop its Pa
Cif1C territory, and promote the commerce
and industries of the entire country The
! benefits which Europe viii derive from
! the canal viii be commercial In addition
+ to this ours VIII be political and indus
] trial By bringing the eastern and west
! ern sections of our country into closer
/ relations, by reducing the time and cost
( of transporting our western products TO
/ Europe, and by enabling the Eastern,
! Southern. and Central States to reach the
! raw materials and markets of Pacific
-FvE-
( canal will more fully identify political and
! social interests and quicken the Industrial
/ activity Of every section of the United
! States. The iron and steel, the textiles,
and the other manufactures OF the East
! eTn and Southern States. the coal from
/ the mining regions the cotton from the
( South. and the grain and forest products
! from many sections viii flow out 20 for
I eisn countries IN an increasing volume
I and this larger trade will be shared gen
! orally by the ports Of all our seaboar5s-
( the Atlantic. the Gulf, and the Pacific
/ The canal VIII cause the competition Of
! the United States with Europe in the
( countries of Western South America AID
/ the Orient to be much keener, with the
result that The trade OF our country viii
/ increase more rapidly than Will that OF
cur rivals. The canal viii aid the United
/ States in securing and maintaining . po-
siJfOn OF pTimaCy- IN the International
1 tr9ze Of the world.
Qualification of the Expenditure.
These are the considerations which jus
tify the expenditure by the United States
Of the sum required q build the canal
They may involve low tariff of charges
and he al variance with the production OF
z large revenue from the canal
One method CT showing the relative
advantage which the Nicaragua and Pan
anna routes would possess is to compare the
distances by way Of each Of them between
typical Atlantic and Pacific ports.
Between New York and San Francisco,
the Nicaragua Canal route would be 81
nautical miles shorter than the Panama
route. Between New Orleans and San
Francisco SO miles would be saved, and,
in general, the distances between the AT
lantic and Pacific ports OF the United
States are less By way Of Nicaragua
Between our east coast and Yokohama
and Shanghai the Nicaragua route is some
what shorter. but for the trade Of our Eas-
tern ports with the west coast OF South
America the Panama route is not so long
as the Nicaragua.
a part of the saving in distance eff
feeted by using q Nicaragua Canal instead
OF one at Panama would be Offset by the
longer time Of transit at Nicaragua. An
average steamer would require twelve
hours to make the passage through the
Panama Canal. and thirty-three through
ere across Nicaragua For a I6-knot
steamer this difference Of twenty-one hours
would be equivalent to 200 knots differ
ence in distance, and for 13-knot steam
er. the difference IL tine Of transit would
be equivalent to 2T2 knots
The Commission proceeds TO relate the
condition which the purchase of the fran
chises of the French Panama Canal Com
paHy would impose upon the United
States, and reason from this that "even
if the privileges Of the companies could
be purchased by and transferred to the
United States, they were encountered with
charges cId conditions that would not
permit iris Government 10 exercise all
the rights Of complete ownership over a
canal constructed by it at the Panama
route
Concluding Statements
The concluding portions of the Commits
sion's report contain the following gtate-
ments:
81. The estimated cost of building the
Nicaragua Canal is about s58, O00, 600 more
than that of completing the Panama Ca
nal leaving out the cost of acquiring tie
latter property This measures the Off
ference in the magnitude of the obstacles
to be overcome in the actual construction
of the two canals, and covers all physical
considera tfons such as the greater or less
height Of dams, the greater or less depth
Of cuts. the presence or absence of natu-
raj harbors the presence or absence of a
railroad. the exemption from or liability