The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-01-01

Nrioedle on Representative Hepburn's
11SIedfag qua canal bill will begin in the
LIVER branch of Congress next Tues-
diSnos'S4 @Ii4 continue until the measure is
ir~ - OI. L he question of construct
tbs an Isthmlan canal has been before
sIe country for many wears Cnsb-
HIdh IL Davis. late senator fror,
SIllIllesota was one of its ardent advo-
~ 49,. Messrs. Hepburn, Hawlev and
60 t So are now striving for action by
Us Us SO. secretary of State Hav has
paved the way by negotiating the new
GCtedIy with Great Britain. Minister
Urea OF Nicaragua, whose pOrtrait is
&aIinohs those given above, is also con
Is DllDsIelnS MS share of work toward
perlectlng preliminaries. Rear Al
nlral Walker is at the head of tbo
commission which surveyed the Nics-
raguan route
me Inc discussion in Congress over Sc
sTJ1ioh sTiuth OF route promises to be
sbn-tu' b,lrleeu' ne Panama route is the
SIoIteF OF the two, and considerable
Work on 1t has been done already
nuch french capital was sunk i'm it
dt a time when it looked as if the
SanaI was to be an international af-
. IalI. owing to the sudden under
Pi,ioiIis PritoiI.s arrived at with Great
6rltaln contained in the newly rati-
Ieu Fauncefote-Hay treaty, and the
introduction of bills at Washine+on
.dVorlng the NicaTaguan route bv
BPessIs. Hepburn and Morgan the
llama llama canal people have been
5Gdued 10 sudden action. NJ Hutin.
VINO was so long president of the DE
tt-esSepS attempt, has been removed
from that position, and we are very
| likely to receive some favorable offer
rom thls company, which would prob
ANY De glad to sacrifice much To oh
tdln something out of the wreck of
/ their plans
| Inc comparative value of the two
/ routes has been already decided 11non
| ny a senate committee on interoceanic
TdHdls' ana Dill was passed by the
/ HouSe OF Representative authorizinr
! the President to acquire from Nica =
! ragua and Costa Rica such territory
/ as IL would be necessary to control in
order to build and fortify the canal.
| me bill provided that the canal should
oe Ol suInclent depth and capacity to
! permit the movements of ships of the
/ largest tonnage and greatest depth
! now IN use, and should be made from
! a point near Greytown on the Carib-
/ bean sea, via Lake Nicaragua TO Bre-
| TO, on the Pacific. The bill called for
| a preliminary appropriation of $40. COO
UOO, with limit that further appro-
! prlauons should not exceed i'm the
| aggregate Sl4OO0OO00. Neither this bill
nor the one introduced concurrentlv
IN the Senate by Senator Morgan be.
came law.
The total distance from ocean to
| ocean of the Nicaragua route is 1s9 Q
miles. including 1l0 miles of Lake
| Nicaragua. which reduces the length
! OF cutting to 79.9 miles.
The length of the Panama canal is
estimated at 1872 miles. the canal be-
! ing practically finished from Colon to
/ Buteo, distance of fourteen miles
1t is estimated that the cost of COM
| pletlng the Panama canal would be
! lOO,O0O,OO0, a sum of s275, 600 900 having
| already been expended on preliminary
| operations. While it is estimated that
| the Panama canal would take ten
| years 10 complete owing to the great
| engineering difficulties to be overcome.
/ the Nicaragua canal can be finished
/ IN about seven years at a cost of $125.-
100000. according TO the report OF the
| committee
/ Railroad experts who have examined
/ the ground diner considerably from
this point of view, and instead of s125.-
| UVOOgJ place the estimate of cost for
| the Nicaragua route at $3.50 600 900
| II seems TO be a plain, indisputable
| TACT that as business proposition the
| Nicaragua canal Will for a long time
! dead loss and that the proposition is
! fenSible only on the ground that it is n,
! sary as strategic step on the part OF
! United States government and for the
/ VelOpment of our own coastwise comm
between the Atlantic and Pacific seaI
/ and IN other directions.
! Comparisons in regard TO possible
] mage which would pass through the
/ mian canal are sometimes made bu
/ these there is one important fact 90
/ ally lost sight of. While the Suez canal
! no railway competition TO consider
| Nicaragua route would be a competitt
| thirteen lines of transcontinental raiIw
| Grave engineering difficulties are