The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-09
Startling Statement by the Former Chief Engineer at Panama Now the Vice
 President of Con-
 solidated. WILL NOT AID U.s. TRADE
Most Benefit Will be to Europe Gan Never Pay for Itself and Will Require Great
 CT Instead of Lesser
 Naval Power.

John F. Stevens, one of the present vice-presldents of the New Haven road and formerly chief engineer of the monster Panama canal, is out with a startling statement regarding the pro- ject in which he plainly states that tho canal promises to be failure. Mir. Stevens expressed himself to this ef- feet in statement to the Journal Courier last night .f
 Mr. Stevens, who now lives in this city, believes that the canal when nn- ished will be of no great. commercial, value to us. He points out that it will not help us in our trade. with Souti, America. Practically all of the inhab- itants of the southern continent are on the east of the Andes so, that it would be of no advantage to make use of the canal to reach them. Furthermore our trade with the countries on the east is by no means developed to-day. To go to Brazil an American has to go first to England and then re-embark
 As for our commercial relations with the islands of the Pacific and the Far East the canal will De of little value. Our coal and wheat centers are inland. Their products have to be started on their way by rail. When once loaded on cars 1t would not be cheaper to ship 10 the Atlantic and then ship to the, east by the way of the canal than 1t would be to send directly to the portss on our Pacifc coast and then get us3' board ship. Furthermore MT. Stevens believes that our coal supply is fast diminishing and that China will be the coal country for the future. Siberia, he says, will be the wheat country of the future with India as a close second
 Furthermore he points out that tho Panama canal cannot hope to become anything other than an expense. It will not meet expenses and it will cost more than is expected. It will be an advantage, yes, but an advantage to European countries and not to- us. The date of the finishing of the canal he fixes, as January, 1915,
 The idea of the canal being of great value to us in times of warfare since our naval forces can be quickly sent from one coast to the other. he says is utterly absurd. It would take days for the ships to get around, and during that time hostile shells could have done their work. Mir. Stevens believes that it would be far wiser plan of defense to put the money that the canal will cost into a greater navy.
 Mir. Stevens is at present staying at the New Haven house. He has just given out the following statement on the Panama canal situation:
 Nations nowadays when, intending to go to war, do not publish their inten- tions and walt for proposals-they be- gin to fight and declare war later on as witness the recent Japanese Rus sian fracas With the Panama canal completed. 1t will take modern war fleet, moving as a unit. at least severn teen days to steam from Hampton Roads to San Francisco, pr vice versa: : and seventeen days is long time to wait when thirteen-inch shells are I1nussing up ones front yard No, the idea that navy can be thrown from one ocean to another, like hot potato