Arizona republican., 1909-04-19
||STHM|AN
 RAILWAYS Traffic Amounted to s50,00O-
 O00 Last Year THE TEHUANTEPEc LED This Governments Forty Mile Panama Line Was Largely Kept Busy With Canal Business--Most of Its Traffic Westbound.
THE TEHUANTEPEC LED

Washington. April 1S.-Traffic be- tween the eastern and western coasts of the United States by way of 18th mus railways and steamship lines amounted to practically s5O,0O0.O00 in value in 1908, a marked increase over any earlier year.
 Two railway lines now carry freights across the narrow neck of land connecting North and South America; one at the Isthmus of Pan anna, the other at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. one of these railways, that of Panama, is forty miles in length; the other, at Tehuantepec. 190 miles. The one at Panama, owned by the government, is, of course, largely devoted to work and traffic growing out of the construction of the Panama canal; the one at Tehuan- tepec, constructed chiefly with British capital and controlled in part at least by the Mexican government, is built especially for the purpose of handling freights between the Atlantic and Pa cific, and, although opened only at the beginning of 1907, carried during 1907 and 1908 between S60.000, 900 and S7O, 900, 900 worth of merchandise pass ing between the Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States.
 These figures, relating to this com paratively new traffic route between the eastern and western ports of the United States. are compiled from re- ports received by the bureau of sta tistics of the department of commerce and labor. They show that the Te hauntepec railway. which crosses the isthmus at Tehuantepec in the south ern part of Mexico. carrying the freights received from the steamship lines plying between the great ports of the United States and its eastern and western termini. carried in the first year of its operatiOn-19OT- between $25.O00.O0O and s30,O00,000 worth of merchandise; and in the second year-19OS-nearly $3S,000.000 worth. The Panama railroad, engaged chiefly as above suggested in work on behalf of the Panama canal. car ried in 1907 about s12,OOOOOO worth of merchandise originating in the United States and bound either for other ports of this country or for foreign countries, and in 1908 about Ss.5Ub,UUV uOlidTS NbIll-
 Of the merchandise crossing by way of the Panama railway. sS.5OO.O0O worth moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific. and only a little over s1,000.- 900 worth from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Of the SS,500,000 crossing from the Atlantic side to the Pacific coast by the Panama line, S2,750.000 was destined to the western ports of the United States. and s5.75O.00 to foreign countries located upon the Pacific coast of North and South America a little over $1.000,000 going to Ecuador: nearly $1,OOO,O 900 to Peru; nearly s1. 1.000. 900 to Salvador; $750, ,000 to Panama; nearly S5O0,OO0 each to Honduras and Nicaragua; s333.O00 each to Colombia and the western coast of Mexico. Of the $2,750,000 from the eastern coast by way of Panama, practically all originated at New York and nearly all was sent to San Francisco. The eastbound merchandise passing through Panama amounted to a little more than s1 ,O0O, 900 and was shipped exclusively from San Francisco, all of it to New York City.
 The business of the Tehuantepec line, although much larger in it's value than that of the Panama route, was confined almost exclusively to busi- ness between the eastern and western ports of the United States, including, however, in this term the Hawaiian Islands, which are now a customs district of the United States. Of the nearly $3S,00O,000 worth of merchan- disc passing over the Tehuantepec line in 1908. a little over S21,000.000 worth moved from the Pacific end, destined for ports on the eastern coast of the United States; and s16,- 5OOO 900 worth moved from the eastern end, destined for Pacific ports. Of the S21, 100000 worth of merchandise received at the Pacific terminus of the Tehuantepec road and moved eastwardly, $17,75O,O0O worth was from Hawaii, being almost eXclu sively sugar: while between S3,000,0 900 and s4.000,O 900 worth originated on the Pacific coast, chiefly at San Fran cisco, being composed. of miscellaneous merchandise. Of the S16, ,500, 900 worth passing westwardly over the Tehuan- . tepec line, s14.25O.OOO was sent to ports on the Pacific coast-San Fran cisco. San Diego and Port Townsend and S2,250.OO0 worth to Hawaii.
 New York and San Francisco are the chief centers for this ocean and trans-isthmian traffic between the eastern and western coasts of the United States. of the $2.750.000 worth of domestic traffic passing west