The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-09-02
The Big Ditch
At Panama
An Interesting Statement OF Facts
Bearing on the Panama Canal
and the Work Done.

Realizing that it would take large
sized volume to discuss, comprehen-
siyely. the Panama Canal and the many |
perplexing problems which had to be
overcome by the government before 1t
was an assured fact, the author OF this
paper concluded to confne his remarks
to one phase of the whole subject, j. O.,
what the canal means to the country
that is building it. With one or two
exceptions, the author aims to discuss
the commercial value of the canal to
the different countries it affects.
For more than four hundred years
man has sought in vain for means OF
transferring ocean vessels carrying men
aud merchandise across that narrow
strip of land which separates the At
lantic and Pacific oceans and known
as the Isthmus of Panama. Scores OF
surveys were made; thousands of lives
were lost; and millions of dollars were
expended in futile attempts. And it
then remained for the most progressive
nation on earth to convert dream in
to reality by building the Panama
Canal.
When finished the canal will be about
fifty miles in length from deep water
in the Caribbean Sea to deep water in
the Pacific Ocean, or about forty miles
from shore to shore. On entering the
canal from the Atlantic side, a ship
will proceed from Limon Bay to Gatun
locks, distance of seven miles. Going
through flight of three locks at Gatun
the ship will travel twothirds of mile
before reaching Gatun Lake, eighty
five feet above the sea; passing through
the lake the ship will next reach San
Pablo, after travelling sixteen miles
Passing Juan Crande the ship will ter
inmate its passage through Gatun Lake
at Obispo and enter Culebra Cut. Or
leaving Obispo, the ship going through
the channel will pass Las Cascadas ant
Cucaracha, and will next arrive al
Pedro Miguel where it will be lowered
through locks to the level of Mira1ore'
Lake, and after passing through th'
Miraflores locks and being lowered tt
tide level it will pass through cbanne
eight miles long to deep water in tn
Pacific.
Now, what does the canal mean? L
the first place the canal puts into fore
the railroad maxim of "the short ra
and the long water haul as best for tn
producer, the common carrier and tn
consumer" Let us consider the vas
multitude of consumers in the Orien
and then consider the progressiv
American producer and manufacture
and also remember the European prt
ducer and manufacturer as the con
petitors of the above mentioned Anne
leans for the Oriental trade. tt
European producers in the past ha
one great advantage over their Amer
can competitors, namely, the Suez G
nal. Now the Panama Canal will me-
tralize that advantage. For when Il
Canal is finished New York will be
near to China as Liverpool and tv
thousand miles nearer to Japan. II
canal means that the cotton produc
of the South aud the manufacturers
the New England and Eastern stat
will save the ten thousand miles aroul
Cape Horn and will have a shnrt-c
from the Western to the Eastern hen
sphere. That IN itself means who
lot when one stops to consider tn
there are five hundred million consul
,ers in the Orient.
Next let us consider the Pan Anne
can meaning Of the canal. For lar
section of South America the dream
james G. Blaine comes true. The m,
kets of the United States are extend
and the products of South Americ
countries flow to us in an endless, |
broken stream. The policy of clio
commercial relations which was
augurated by Mr.. Blaine will contin