The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-12
SAN FRANCISCO THINKS
THERE IS MORE IN CANAL
FOR HER THAN HAWAII
Continued from Page one,

|
when an ordinary map, which is bu
a fiat projection of curved surface
is used. When the question of trans
pacific routes is studied on a globe,
totally different state of affairs il
found to exist, and we find that Ha
waii lies near only a single trad,
route, namely that from San Fran
cisco to Australia. The shortest dis
| lance between any two points on {
sphere is by a great circle that is
line cut on the surface of the spher,
| by a plane passing through the two
points in question and the center Of
the sphere itself. The great circle
| connecting Panama with Japan anG
| China or any point on the eastern
Asiatic coast passes through the Car
| ibbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Gal
weston, Denver, strikes the Pacific
Coast of the United States north OF
Seattle, and skirts the Aleutian Is
lands. The navigator will keep his
ship as close to the above route be-
tween the Isthmus and any port in the
Far East as land permits. That is,
after passing through the canal, he
will first go south, then northwest
along the coast of Central America
and Mexico, and, after clearing Cape
st. Lucas, the southern end of Lower
California, he will take the great cir
Gle from there to Asia, and this great
circle will carry him about 100 miles
to the east of Hawaii and only 300
miles west of San Francisco. AS the
ordinary tramp freight steamer can
not, or will not wish to, carry, enough
coal to take her from the Isthmus to
Asia, she will have to stop at the most
convenient intermediate point for coal
and supplies. This point will be San
Francisco, distant 3277 miles from Pa
mama and 1886 miles from Yokohama;
and in order to make such call she
will be frightening her passage only
10 miles, or less than half a day
in time over the shortest possible
course in a total distance of 1918 miles.
The extraordinary resuIt-one appar-
entity not generally understood by the
American public-is that San Fran
cisco will become the key and gate
way of the Pacific, where all vessels
going to the Far East, not only from
the Atlantic seaboard, but from Europe
as well, viii stop for coal and sup
plies. At no place will the
existence of the canal be more in evil
dence than at San Francisco where IA
continuous procession of east and
westbound steamers will be stopping
daily These steamers will make San
Francisco a great competitive point
for through freight shipments"
Thus the great engineer. Passen-
gers going from San Francisco TO
Yokohama before the acquisition Of
Hawaii, found that instead of sailing
for Yokohama by the rhumb-line-that
is, always on on courSe-the ships
took course to the northwest and
sailed up to forty-eight degrees, maxi
ing what is known as the great circle,
thereby cutting 246 miles from the dis
lance between the two ports.
The United States photographic Of
flee publishes a gnomonic chart of the
Pacific Ocean, curious and interest
ing affair wherein the land areas are
strangely distorted. This gnomonic
chart is based upon a system OF pro-
lection the plane of which is tangent
to the earth's surface at a point on
the equator in longitude 155 degrees
west of Greenwich, and the eye of the
spectator is supposed to be situated at
the center of the earth, whence, being
at once in the plane of every great
circle, it will see these circles pro-
jected as straight lines. A straight
line drawn between any two points or
places on the chart represents an arc
of the great circle passing through
them, and is, therefore, the shortest
possible track between them. showing
also all the geographical localities
through which the most direct route
passes.
Mr.. Parsons says in conclusion that
the .'canal will bring the grain fields
of the northwestern Pacific States 5000
miles nearer Liverpool, and it viii
bring the iron and coal of the Gulf
States shipped from New Orleans and
Pensacola $500 miles nearer San Fran
cisco; giving TO the former a new great
market not now open and to the latter
cheap supply of the raw materials
of manufacturing.
In writing of the advantages that
will accrue TO San Francisco in the
way of manufactures. Mr.. Parsons did
not enter into the matter of oil pros
duction in California. California is
the largest oil-producing State in the
Union. and the product is far in ex-
cess of consumption. But the use of
oil as fuel is in its infancy. The sta
tistics of the Agricultural Department
give the use of petroleum as but
per cent. Of the total amount of fuel
used. Its use for this purpose is being
rapidly extended, and its excellence
and cheapness make it most desirable
for all manufacturing plants. Iocomo-
tives. steamships etc. The Orient is
a large importer of cotton and cotton
goods, mineral oils, manufactures of
iron and steel, flour and meats. The
import of cotton goods alone amounts
TO $3.50, coo per year. There is no
reason why San Francisco, with its
location and its cheap fuel, should not
become great manufacturing center.