The San Francisco call., 1906-12-27


ments are let by contract
ITO enable all the improvements
planned for the next FIVE years to be
carried on, the shareholders OF the
company at the annual meeting, held
In Paris In June, voted to increase the
loan OF 25,00o.0 600 francs. which was au-
thorized in 1901. to $4,000, 900 francs.
This places approximately $4,000, 900
at the disposal of the management in
addition to the ordinary revenues
which are set aside for maintenance
and Improvement.
The saving of time In transit
through the canal is one point which
the shipowners are likely to secure
Under the regulations OF the company
the speed of vessels is limited to I'VE
and an eighth miles per hour. SO that
for the eighty-eight miles seventeen
hours would be required, without al
lowing for time lost in tying up for
the passing OF other ships. But great
| er speed can be made in trayersing
| Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes
and some of the large mail ships in
ordinary circumstances count on six
teen hours as the limit, since they are
given preference in crossing and do
not have to tie up so frequently. The
| transit and the tying up for crossing
are regulated by the central signal sta
ton at Ismailia, the chief signal sta
ton midway in the canal. Yet some
times the mail steamers are eighteen
hours getting !. through, while the
ireight boats are nineteen and twenty
hours. These delays are the most fire.
quent causes of complaint, and the
company is seeking to obviate them by
providing greater facilities for cross
/ ing
The system Of quarantine now in
Iorce on the canal has deep interest
Tor the countries which still follow the
oarbarous practice of placing an infect
ca or suspected vessel with crew and
passengers in detention. Under the
international agreement, to which
most OF the European nations are par
ties, they are represented in the quar-
anime boards stationed at the entrance
to the canal, and physicians of various
nationalfties are included among the
health officers The terms of the Ven
Ice convention are observed AS an
Illustration of the working of the sys-
tenn, vessel coming through the Red
sea is boarded at Suez by health Of
hcer. and If the papers are regular and
no cases of infectious disease exist the
vessel proceeds in the regular way
But should there be Infection on board
the infected cases are removed to the
quarantine station at Moses Wells,
passengers for Egypt are disembarked
at the detention station and remain
there the required period for observa-
tion, disinfecting apparatus and ma
terials are sent aboard the vessel by
means of pontoons, the health officer
takes charge, disinfects and fumigates,
and the ship proceeds through the
canal, whether by night or day, with
/ out the loss of an hour At Port Said
the vessel Goals in quarantine and pro-
| ceeds to her port of destination, sub
ject, of course, to the quarantine regu-
lations therein The shipowners bear all
the costs of the canal sanitation and
IN case of wrong diagnosis or of 9TH
er mistakes they have no means of
recovering the expenses incurred But
while In individual instances this is a
hardship. the loss is inftnitesimal in
comparison with the saving to the vast
volume of international commerce that
i traverses the canal without loss from
Il detention.
RATES FOR TRANSIT AND RECEIPT
"Of equal Importance with increased
transit facilities, and by many ship
owners considered of greater conse-
quence, is the question of the canal
tolls or rates. The total receipts of
the canal company in 1905 were H.
3oS,000 francs, or about s22250, 900.
The total expenses were 4o.ss4,0oO
francs, leaving balance of 76,324,00O
francs. or approximately s14.s75, 900, for
dividends and other purposes. At the
prevailing price of the Suez canal
shares the dividend rate about EQUALS
three per cent, and shareholders have
been clamoring for an increase, while
the shipowners. in view of the enor-
nous increase in the value of the orig
inal investment, are ceaselessly calling
for reduction in tolls, especially since
the growth of traffic is so steady and
i since in the case of a canal increased
traffic does not augment working ex-
penses very greatly
The agitation for a reduction OF
i tolls has been persisted almost from the
opening of the canal. The original
rates were 10 francs per ton with a
ballast; but when the company was
facing bankruptcy In 1874 these were
raised, by means or surtaxes, to 13
francs. On the protest of the British
and other shipowners, backed by their
respective Governments, the surtaxes
were gradually reduced until they
were entirely abolished in 1884 when
the rate was left at 10 francs per ton
In the same year the pilotage tax was
abolished, and the pilots, of whon
more than 100 are now employed, have
since then been paid by the company
In 1885 the transit dues were reduced
to az francs per ton; In 1898 to 8
francs; In 1902 to 8 II francs, and al
the beginning of 1906 the new rate OF
tn francs went into effect. so that the
present charge is about $1-4s per ton
The aim of the shipowners is to bring
the rate down to francs. or less thar
81, by 1912, but the canal company does
not hold out the promise that this will
be done.
THE currents of international trade
as they have flowed through the cana
from year to year with rising tide are
of absorbing interest from the indica-
tions they give of the regions in which
markets have grown and In which fu-
ture growth may be expected. The
general movement of import and ex-
port transit for the regions beyond
Suez during the last fifteen years i:
exhibited in the following table In
terms of thousands of tons: