The age-herald., 1902-01-21
President Sends Report of ihs Isthnian Canal ComniS-
 sion tO Congress
UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR
 OF ACCEPTING OFFER
Company Owns 3o,ooo Acres of Land, 2431 Buildings and a Lot of Old Machinery Dredges, Tugs
 and Launches.

Washington, January 20.-The Presi-
 dent today sent to Congress with mes-
 sage simply of transmittal, the supple
 mental report of the lsthmian Canal
 Commission, in which it Is unanim ously
 recommended that the offer of the new Panama Canal Company to sell all of its
 rights property and unfinished work to
 the United States for $40 000,0O0 be &C.,
 cepted.
 "The totality, without exception, of the Panama Canal Company's property and rights on the Isthmus," includes the fol- l lowing classes of property: 1. Bands not built on.
 There are 56 parcels of land to which | the title rests in the canal company amounting to about 90.oOO acres, which
 with the lands belonging to the railroad company, cover nearly all of the ground required for the actual construction of the canal
 2. Buildings.
 There are scheduled 2.4s1 buildings. divided among 47 sub-classifcations, used for offices, quarters, storehouse hospl- tai, shops. stables and miscellaneous pur- poses. These buildings are furnished. 3. Plant.
 There is an immense amount of ma
 chinery consisting of floating plant dugs.
 launches, dredges, etc.)
 | 4 Work done
 | The excavation already accomplished | upon the main canal line which will be | of value in the plan recommended by the
 commission, was found to be 36, 6S9 956
 cubic yards. The value of the work done l is found to be $27, 474,033
 | D. Panama railroad.
 l Of the existing 70,00 shares of the Pan anna railroad the canal company will | transfer to the United States all but about HOO shares. These latter are held | by few individuals residing in various l parts of the United States and in Eu- l rope. At par the value of the 68,S63 shares | to be transferred to the United States l by the canal company is $6.sS6,300. The l railroads liabilities are $2. 49091S not | counting $996 GOO six per cent sinking fund subsidy bonds but this liability is an amortization of the annual payment of $255,0 ,0O0 due the Colombian government un- der it's concession for which the Colom- bian government has received the bene- fit and for which 1t should make allow ance to the United States In the negotia- tion for treaty rights.
 It's cash assets January 15, 1902, were s436, 569.
 It owns three passenger and freight steamers of American registry. of approx imately 2000 tons net each. For the past year it has operated line of chartered steamers of American registry between San Francisco and Panama. These steamers on the Atlantic and Pacific con stitute the Panama Railroad Steamship Line.
 The railroad company owns an undivid- ed half in the islands of Naos Culebra, Perico and Flamenco in the Bay of Pan- anna, the Pacific mail steamship com pany being the joint owner.
 Besides it's right of way terminals, wharves and considerable areas of lands, it owns nearly the whole town of Colon. the houses there being constructed un- | der leases.
 6.Maps. drawings and records. The value of the maps. drawings and records in Paris, on the isthmus or else l where, all of which are to be transferred
 to the United States. is placed at $2-
 100000.
 Summing up the foregoing items the 1 total value of the property Is found to be
 $S6,36O, 3S3, to which add 10 per cent to
 cover commissions $3, ,667.
 Total, $40000,000.
 The estimated cost of constructing the
 Nicaragua canal Is s45,630,704 more than
 the cost of completing the Panama canal.
 The estimated annual cost of mainten-
 ance and operation is $1,300.000 greater at 1 Nicaragua than at Panama.
 The Panama route will be i34.6 miles
 shorter than the Nicaragua route from | sea to sea, with fewer locks and less | curvature, both in degrees and miles. The
 estimated time for a deep draft vessel 1 to pass through the Nicaragua canal was placed at thirty-thrce hours and against 1 twelve hours for the Panama, the esti-
 mates being the time of actual navigation
 and not including delays for winds. cur rents or darkness. If the passage were made without interruption about a day could be saved by the Nicaragua over the Panama route by ordinary steamers hand
 ling commerce between our Pacific ports | and all Atlantic ports, and about two days | by steamers of the same class trading be- | tween our Gulf ports and North Pacific l ports. The time advantage of the Mica ragua route would be less in the case of | high-class vessels. Between the Atlantic l ports and west coast of South America | the Panama route has the advantage of | about two days and between Gulf ports | and the west coast of South America the | Panama route has the advantage of at | least one day. The trade of the western | coast of South America is very im- 1 portant one which has hitherto been in | European hands.
 The Panama route is an old highway of | commerce along which no considerable | Industrial development is likely to occur during the construction of canal on the l Nicaraguan route because relations would be established with Costa Rica and Nicaragua which would likely con- | tinue. Existing conditions indicate hy- gienic advantages at Nicaragua, although l equally effective sanitary measures may I be taken in both cases
 The offer received from the new Pan anna Canal Company to convey all of it's property. including all it's interests in the Panama Railroad. to the Cnited