The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-08
CANAL IS A FOLLY George L. Fox Speaks to Yale Men of the Expense
 of Building. MAY GO TO BILLIONS Advantage of the Completed Work Will be Principally
 for Europe.
MAY GO TO BILLIONS

George L. Fox, of the University school, last evening, before the Yale Political Science club in Connecticut hall, read a thoughtful and interest ing paper on "The Panama Canal as a Business Venture" It was an attempt to put the matter into the form of balance sheet such as has seldom been attempted before. He tried to give the best answer possible to the follow ing four important questions:
 l. What will be the probable outgo before steamers pass through the canal?
 2, What will be the probable in- come from tolls after the canal is built?
 8. What will be the fixed charge each year upon the United States treasury on the supposition that the canal will be open for traffic in 1920, and that tho thirty-year bonds will be- gin to be redeemed in thirty yearly in- stallments at that time?
 1. What will be the economic ben eft to the world in the lowering of the cost of low-grade freight, viz, coal ores, metals, sugar, grain and lumber between the Atlantic and the Pacific, through the canal, as compared with the cost by the Panama railroad, equipped throughout in the best pos sible way and furnished with the best possible terminal facilities, like the Tehuantepec railroad across Mexico?
 MT. Fox discussed these questions in full detail, giving his authorities, and by which he arrived at his results. His two methods of finding the cost were CD to add to the sum already expended twelve yearly installments of 30 mil lions each, and reckon in compound in- terest on all sums from the time ex- pended; (9, on the supposltlon that ten per cent. of the work had already been accomplished to multiply the amount already expended by ten on the theory that the rate of cost in the fu- ture would be the same as In the past.
 His conclusions were as follows.
 l. The cost will be half billion of dollars as a minimum with a possibili- ty of the cost rising to two or three billions of dollars.
 2. The probable annual income on the basis of tolls aadolar ton will be from $4OO,000 as minimum to s70O0, ,000, while the annual cost of maintenance will be between two and three millions | 8, The income of the canal may not pay the cost of maintenance and tho annual cfargeaa on the United States treasury after 1920 will vary from twenty millions as minimum to one hundred millions as a maximum, If the bonds are paid in thirty yearly | installments
 4. After the expenditure of this enormous sum from the United States treasury, the economic gain to the world In the lowering of freight rates from the Atlantic to the Pacific will be at the highest not more than fifty cents ton, and European merchants and shipowners will be the ones most benefited
 Tn conclusion MT Fox said that he approved the statement of Samuel Hill of Seattle, Wash, who had made an expert study of tho question, viz; That the building of tho Panama canal with the money of the taxpsyers of this country at enormous expense chiefly for the benefit of Europe wa. the monumental folly of tho age.