The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-22

 pee route with that of the Panama ca nal on the same. assumption that s1 per ton VIII carry ocean fretghts 1000 miles, and that $1 per ton will be the. minimum rate charged for transit through the canal.
 From Liverpool to Hong Hong the savings In the distance via Tehuatepec will he 1900 miles, and allowing two days for the transit of the freight across the isthmus of Tehuantepec, the saving of time will be approximately two days. The saving in distance will be equivalent to $1.20, which added to the minimum charge of S1 through the Panama Canal, would give $2.20 as ] maximum charge to the Tehuntepec railroad.
 From Liverpool to Yokohoma the saving as against the Panama route will be HOO miles. From New York to Australia, port of Sidney. the saw ing will be 761 miles, which, on the same basis as just stated, would yield the Tehuantepec railroad maximum charge of $176 ton. would approxi- mately one cent per ton per mile. some 40 per cent higher than the average States
 From New York to San Francisco the saving will be approximately 1900 miles. which would yield $220 as a maximum rate to the Tehuantepec rail road.
 From New Orleans to Hong Kong, common point for northern China. the saving of the Tehuantepec line over Panama is approximately 2,000 miles, which would permit the Tehuantepec railroad to charge a maximum of $3 per ton on an equivalent basis, and save in time approximately five days.
 From New Orleans to Australia, port of Sidney, the saving would be approxi- mately 1,4oo miles, allowing the Te- huantepec railroad a maximum charge of $40
 From New Orleans to Honolulu the saving would approximately be 2.o00 miles. permitting the Tehuantepec rail- road to charge maximum rate of $3 per ton.
 From New Orleans to San Francisco, the saving in distance via the Tehuan- tepec route would be 1,S00 miles, per mltting the Tehuantepec railroad to charge s2S per ton. with correspond ing saving of several days in time.
 The advantages of Tehuantepec over the Suez and Panama routes in the saving of money and time, make it self evident that in the years that will elapse before the completion of the Panama Canal. our British cousins will undoubtedly build up a large and pro- htable business, which 1t will be diff cult thereafter to divert back to the Panama route
 do not submit these ideas to dis toshow the cold facts and to point out at to show the cold facts to point out at least the direction Tn which I think the remedy lies. It is in the immediate provision al Panama of the proper fa- clntleS and equipment for the develop meht of the maximum efficiency of the Panama railroad. and the putting in of flat rate of not more than $2 a ton, and possibly as low as $1.50. in order to prevent other lines from diverting tarlH from that route. and to en- courage and expand that traffic tribu- tary to it. That this can be done, without any material loss to our Gov ernment is evident.
 "A rat" as low as $15O per ton which will give an average of 2 cents per ton per mile for transit over the lsthmus and allow 50 cents per ton for the handling of freight from ship to car and from car to ship-would be ample after complete facilities for handling the business had been provid- ed and the husines had increased to sufficient amount to justify 1t, say to one million tons per annum So far aS the mere question of rate is concerned, with the only disadvan- tage of breaking bulk. this rate would Immediately enable us to compete with the Surz canal on all traffic from the united States ports to the far east. and from the ports of Europe to Aus tralla, Japan China and all points east of Sireapore, and SO far as our trade with the west coast of South America iS concerned this would give the United