The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-18

which has been done by Congress in
fifty years which will amount to half
as much to the South as the compile
ton of an Isihnian waterway from
the Pacific TO the Atlantic waters. II
has been more than fifty years since
the ratification Of the treaty of Quad
aloupe Hidalgo by which the Mexican
War was closed and we acquired Cali
I fOTnia. New Mexico. Arizona. Nevada,
| Utah. besides other territory. I look
upon the ratification of the Colombian
| treaty. which guarantees the con-
! struCtion of the Panama canal as
| next in Importance TO the one by
which we acquired California and the
/ other states and territory named.
The entire traffic from the orient to
the United States and to western Eu-
roTte will come through that canal
| Galveston. New Orleans Mobile and
! Pensacola will be largely benefited as
! we'll as the country tributary to them.
/ They Will get all the trade from the
East that is destined for the Mississip-
| pi valley and the Northwest. This IS,
/ however, but a drop in the bucket. The
! great mass of traffic which will pour
! through that canal will be for the
/ Northeastern states and for western
! Europe. It is not as far from Hong
! Kong TO Liverpool. by way of the
| Panama canal, as il is by way of the
! Suez canal. It is shorter from Yoke
| hama or Toxic TO Bremen. by way of
! the Panama canal, than it is by tie
way Of the Suez canal. The enormous
traffic of western Europe with the
/ East must necessarily go through the
| Panama canal
VIII Come to Savannah.
Now what is Savannah? 1t is the
first port on the South Atlantic coast,
with deep water, where vessel bound
! from Hong Kong to Liverpool or
Bremen. or any other port in Western
! Europe, can touch. be oyerhauled. get
water. coal and supplies. At the same
| time il is in all-rail communication
with the entire North American con-
tinent. So that advantage, and IL is no
| small one. is obtainable here. When
| ship has sailed 10000 miles, from China
| across the Pacific, she is not always
| in the condition that the Oregon was
when she reached Key West. They will
need everything. They will not go to
| Havana because that is on an island.
| They will want coal. meat, water and
a whole outfit of supplies after sailing
| 10000 miles, and they will come into
| Savannah to get it
You think then that Savannah will
be especially benefited?"
| Il certainly do 1 believe that the
| whole South will be benefited, but I
| think that it will pour riches into this
| town. That Eastern trade has made
every city rich it has ever touched
since the days of the rise of Venice I
would not be at all surprised if the
| population of Savannah were a quar-
| ter of million in ten years after that
! canal is open for traffic. l am very
| largely interested in Savannah and
| Chatham county real estate and this
i ffaSr int DE-
Tor them you have them and you can
give due allowance to the wish being
father TO the thought"
Gen. GOrdon's Views.
Gen. w. W. Gordon. who. as is we'll
known, is one of the best posted men
on the question of the canal to be
found in this section, said that there
was no doubt that the canal would
| benefit Savannah. He did not, how
| ever take as roseate a view of il as
| did the other two gentlemen who were
| approached on the matter. He has
never been in sympathy with the PAN
anna route. He said yesterday. that
While 1t was now no time to waste am
unition, after the matter had been de-
termined by Congress, he could not, in
| speaking on the subject, but denounce
the scheme. The Nicaraguan route he
| said is infinitely preferable to the route
chosen for many reasons.
| What Savannah should do" said
! he, is to cultivate and acquire trade
with Porto Rico. That is where her
wealth lies. The merchants should
come to a realization of the fact The
| construction of the canal means that
the island will become even more val
liable. for it lies almost in the direct
route which will be followed by Euro
pean vessels.
st. Thomas will be the natural coal
ing station for these vessels. The i'm
| mense amount of coal which will have
to be shipped to the island should
come from Savannah. This port can
pour the coal of Alabama, Georgia
| and the neighboring states into St.
| Thomas. There is a direct route from
Savannah to the island, an advantage
which none of the other Southern sea-
| port towns of the same or lesser dis
lance, enjoy, Nor is coal the only
product which Will be needed. I be-
lieVe that the trade which could be es-
! tablished for the supplying of the mer-
chant vessels by Savannahians would
be made great enterprise in itself"
NicaraRua's Advantages.
Il Speaking of the advantages offered
by the proposed Nicarauguan route
over the one chosen by Congress, Gen.
| Gordon said:
THE Nicaraguan route for an 18TH
milan canal has always appeared to me
| preferable to the route by way of the
| Chagres river where the French Com
| pany attempted to build what is known
| as the Panama canal, because
First The water supply would
come from Lake Nicaragua which Gin
| a rough way), may be said to be 100
miles long, thirty miles wide and thir-
| ty feet deep. Such a supply would be
more easily controlled than the water
| of the Chagres river, which is a trop-
| ical torrent in the wet season, and with
scant water in the dry season. 1t has
been suggested to construct vast res
| erVoirS to preserve the water of the
| Chagres river and use it as needed.
| Why do this, even if it could be sue
cessfully done. when nature has al
ready provided a natural reservoir in
Lake Nicaragua?
! Second. The entrances to the Mica
| rauguan route both from the east and
west, are several hundred miles near
| er the ports of the United States than
| the entrances to the Panama canal.
| Third. From the character of the
winds sailing vessels can reach Mica
| rauguan entrances, while for more
! than 100 miles from the eastern en-
! trance of the Panama canal sailing yes
| sells would have to be lowed by steam
| tugs as there are no winds, or such as
there are of such a character that yes
| re- T-a1Xy t6o,,