The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1903-12-31
THE PANAMA CANAL
1T MEANS DEVELOPMENT OF ALL
THE GULF COAST

1T MEANS DEVELOPMENT OF ALL
THE GULF COAST
opers the Market Of the World to the
American Manufacturer and Pro.
Queer and Adds to the National
Wealth.
Pensacola, Fla, Special: Apparent
ly there is a spirit of prophecy inner
ent in corporation organizations. Cap
ital. no matter how well organized, is
exceedingly sensitive to every changed
condition; it may have no soul. but no
one will deny it has sense of feeling.
1t may be accounted blind to the per-
sonal rights of those who get in its
way, but most certainly It is argus
eyed In spying out opportunities. I
am driven into this homily by per-
sonal scrutiny into the plans 50 far
made public of q large northern cor
poration some months since brought
into existence under the elastic laws
Of New Jersey and sending its keen
and alert emissaries quietly to the
Gulf coast 1t has been very difficult
to learn, except in some few instances,
where the company has been forced
to exhibit its hand, exactly what the
policy of the corporation is to be.
l am now referring to the Interna-
tional Land & Harbor Company, which
has one of its principal Offices in Pen
sacola, Fla, branch in Indianapolis,
Ind, another in New York and colon
ization agencies abroad.
l find that the acquisitions of this
company near Mobile have consisted
of factory sites and frontage on the
great river that gives Mobile her har-
Dor. also fnd that the company,
under another name, has a ward called
The Southland Company" that is I'LL
ing part of Baldwin county full of set
tiers, and that many Of their colonists
eventually will come direct from Ger,
many and that Pensacola is to be the
gateway for their ships and the rail-
way bringing the hearty settlers. The
company has also bought a virgin tim
Der tract Of something like one hun
dred thousand acres of long leaf pine
and hard wood.
Not at all singular il it, therefore,
that realty has advanced by leaps and
bounds in the vicinity of all the Gulf
ports. particularly at Mobile and Pen
sacOla. Il takes whole columns to
publish daily real estate transfers
where before the transfers were few
indeed.
The airline from New Orleans, Pen
sacola, Mobile or Gulfport to the Pan
anna canal is respectively 300 and
1900 miles. Pensacola is the nearer
of the number, being about 1.200 miles.
New York is about 2,40O miles. AS
the sailing route from New York is
through the Winward Passage, the ac-
tual distance is about 5000 miles. The
New York <oute is beset with consid-
cradle danger. Between the Gulf ports
and Panama navigation has none of
these perils. The isthmus is in the
shape of a not very crooked letter s.
what railroad men in track parlance
call reverse curve" 1t is 400 miles
long and 30 to 100 miles in width. II
has q population Of 100000 and every
man, woman and child of them are for
American control of the ditch" The
Trans.lsthmian railroad, built In 1856,
connects Colon. on the Atlantic side,
with Panama on the Pacific side.
II the conservative estimate be cor
rect 1. will cost the United States
$1S4, 200 900 in round numbers to COM
plete the canal and to take care of the
rights and concessions More than
this amount has been sunk in the en-
terprise by promoters and contractors
and others when the work was at
tempted by private corporations. Still,
much valuable work has been accom-
plished and the experience gained by
others will be of great value when
the general government takes charge.
Originally it was intended that the
canal should have depth of 1915 feet.
but the plans likely to be adopted will
call for tide-level waterway accom-
plished by locks at the sea ends of the
canal, and a depth of SO feet. Here
again comes the opportunity of the
South. Here the opportunity of the
gulf port with the deepest natural
harbor. Once more l remark that the
vision, prophetic skill, or tip, whatever
al Land & Harbor Company was sub
lime; its purchase was a gift very in
teresting for contemplation. A knowl-
edge of where, when and what to buy
comprises a gift well worth having.
]. M. KEENEY, JR-