Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-01-27
The T~ehuantepec Route
(From the Washington post)

-
The foresight Of the Mexican gov.
ernment In providing modern means
OF transportation between the Allan.
tic and Pacific oceans across the 18TH.
mus OF Tehuantepec Is soon to be re.
warded by a commerce that promises
to be permanent and increasingly i'm.
portant, even after the completion Of
the Panama canal. Pending the com
pletion OF the canal. which Is a con.
summation so far In the future that
II need not deter competitive enter.
prises. the Tehuantepec railroad viii
certainly reap a harvest OF traffic.
The failure Of the Panama railroad
under government management to
take care Of i~nteroceanic traffic bids
fair tn become q chronic condition. on
account OF the demands made upon
the railroad In canal construction.
This fact will tend to divert com.
merce TO the Tehuantepec road, and
when once diverted, It may be diff
cult to defect the current
The first important step toward
securing trafic for the Tehuantepec
line was made In the form OF a con
tract with q Hawaiian steamship line,
which will begin a weekly service
next July on a triangle formed by
the ports OF Honolulu. San Francisco,
and Salina Cruz, the Pacific terminus
OF the T~ehuantepec railroad. Part of
the Hawaiian sugar crop will thus
make It's way to New York via TIE.
huantepec. and return cargoes will be
carried from New York to Coatza.
~coalcos, the Atlantic terminus, and
thence cross the isthmus. The Pac.
INC mail steamers, 1t Is reported. will
make Salina Cruz regular port Of call,
distributing and collecting freight be-
tween San Francisco and Panama.
The Kosmos steamers, plying between
Hamburg and San Francisco, already
call at Salina Cruz. Arrangements
are also being made to establish bet
ter connections between Salina Cruz
and New South Wales. where the
Pacific coast obtains much Of its
coal.
The great expenditures made by
the Mexican government in establish
ing this new ~interoceanic highway is
described by Mr.. Pepper, the special
agent OF the department of commerce
and labor. In a recent report. The
railroad has been practically rebuilt
SO as to make 1t available for heavy
trafic. Steel bridges have been con-
structed and the rOadbed has been
rockballasted. while the harbor works
at both termini have been constructed
on an extensive scale. Facilities al
Salina Cruz have peen provided
whereby cargoes may be discharged
and transferred to Coatzacoalcos,
1870 miles, within thirty hours after
the arrival Of the vessel. Direct
steamship connection between New
York and Coatzacoalcos will reduce
the time between those ports to six
days.
Within a year, therefore, the gov
ernments OF the United States and
Mexico will find themselves in COM
petition In the operation Of inter
oceanic railroads open to the COM
merce Of the world. The Mexican
government Is In the business for
money-making purposes, while the
United States Is operating the Pan.
anna railroad as an incident to the
construction Of the canal. The length
Of the ~Tehuantepec railroad Is 1870
miles, while that Of the Panama rail-
road Is fortyIseven miles-a differ
ence that is practically i~nappreciable
In the handing Of traffic. In view OF
the increasing burden to be placed
upon the Panama railroad in tran.
sporting canal material and supplies,
and the apparent reluctance Of the
United States to operate the railroad
primarily for commercial purposes. It
Is reasonable to look for heavy traffic
over the ~Tehuantepec route. This
will enable American compercial In
~terests to wait with patience the In.
Jatoruipata romplatfou ne tho cona1