The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-03-20


bana car ompete with Pennsylvania,
but VI, Pennsylvania can compete
NJ one doubts the South can compete
with New England in the manufacture of
cotton goods, but many doubt whether
New, England can compete with the
TO the South the country and foreign
trade must look in future for their naval
manufa ctured products, for these will
come from this section in ever increasing
volume.
vegetables, sugar and rice, and other
productions. which improved transporta-
ton will make more and more available.
and the future OF this favored land can
scarcely be imagined.
To move these products to market to
meet the demand of this enormous and
need is facilities and provisions for
transportation.
1t is true that 1.-The five prime necessi-
and transportation"
The cost of transportation fails largely
on the producer. To lower the cost on
getting his products to market means
that much saved to the farmer, fruit, and
vegetable grower. The cheapest, S&fest,
and best transportation is by water.
The railroads are congested Block
AIDES on every hand, both as to passengers
and freight, are in sight Car shortage.
lack of motive power and particularly
want of terminals, are bringing on rail-
way paralysis and they are ready to
encourage and cooperate with. water
ways.
Canal building. deepening of our natural
channels and the construction of new
ones, is at present, national demand. A
great awakening of these internal needs
is being experienced. Older countries
have long since seen the importance of
and pointed out the way along which we
must advance. By these water systems
alone can the problems of sufficient, as
well as cheap, transportation be solved
They are the result of modern progress
The extended commerce of the times has
produced the great oceans going steam
shipS--"the ShuttieS of Commerce. and
they call for means facilitating their
movements.
England has only 1900 miles Of coast
line, but little more than the State of
Florida, about one twentieth of what the
United States has, yet she expends an
nually over twenty million dollars upon
them Upon the Clyde, which is but a
rivulet compared with the Mississippi, she
has expended thirty million dollars; upon
the Mersey, which is but little larger than
some of our springs in Florida, she has
expended eighty-thre million dollars.
Great Britain has also looked after. her
harbors, having expended five million
dollars at Portland, over six million, five
hundred thousand dollars at Holyhead,
and over seven million dollars. at Ply
mouth, while, on the Davenport govern
ment dock yard her estimated eXpendi-
ture is thirty million dollars. She built
the great ship canal connecting Manches-
ter with the sea at Liverpool, fifty miles
of difficult problems, and constructed the
Burton Swing Aqueduct at total cost of
seventy-five million dollars The total
length of her canals in 1888 was three
thousand. eight hundred and thirteen
miles, upon which a traffic of 36,301, 120
tons was carried, yielding revenue of
\ France with about 3-5 of our popula-
tion and LII of our territorial area, has
and waterways more tfan six hundred
and fifty million dollars, in addition to
seven hundred million dollars upon her
I've,
canals and navigable rivers is about seven
thousand miles, not much exceeding the
natural waterways of the State of Florida.
Her thirty to forty canals have been made
uniform that you can load a barge
with freight in any part of France and
carry it without breaking. bulk at water
Germany has four thousand, nine
hundred and twenty miles of available
navigable rivers and in 1887 had twelve
hundred and eighty-nine miles of canals
in operation, and that year authorized
construction of one thousand miles of
The New York Herald. November %.
1896. said, THE German Government has
opened stragetfcal waterway for Ger
man warships between two seas, and is
about to make Berlin seaport. and has
already appropriated two hundred twenty
five million francs to unite the Rhine with
the Elb, Hamburg with Starsburg and
the Danube with the Oder.
Russia has just commenced preliminary
work on coast canal which, when COM
pleted, will be thousand miles in length
and connect the Baltic with the Black
sea-"
Germany built the Baltic Sea Canal
sixty-four miles long and thirty feet deep
at a cost of forty million dollars. 1t is
said that no less than thirty-five thousand
ships year pass around the Peninsula
the Black Sea. The average distance
saved by the Baltic Canal between the
principal ports using it is two hundred
tifty-four miles. less than one-half the
Ia NV nie-
using the Florida Ship Canal. instead of
passing thru the Florida Straits.
Even Spain has given attention to her
ports and harbors.
As an. example of canal usefulness we
may. refer to, the Suez Canal, which is
beeg ake5 e we qag de dee6 and m tfs
bottom width seventy-two feet. 1t was
completed in 1859. In 1895 the number
3434, yielding A5.074.017 in dues. England
through , bankrupt Khedive. secured
twenty million dollars of the Canal stock
by the advice of the DisraeH. par value.
which is now worth ninety-ffve million
dollars.
Improvement in the means of transpor-
tatiOn is the policy of all commercial ma
tons. and they are utilizing all natural
advantages to that end and developing
schemes particularly in the direction of
wide and deep ship canals. deeper harbor
and river entrances, looking TO larger
ships.
April, 1897 I have obtained much informa-
ton regarding the Florida ship canal pro-
iect and much of the data herein set
forth. that the estimated tonnage that
would pass through a canal across the
Peninsula of Florida, from the commerce
of the United States Gulf ports would
amount to at least thirty million tons
annually. and. that in all probability it
would soon he double that 1t was cal
Culated by the French that six million
tons of freight annually would pass
through the Panama Canal and they fixed
the dues at three dollars per ton
The opening of the Danube canal in
September. 1896. which cost ten million
effect upon American wheat growers. be-
cause it enabled the growers of wheat
in the fertile country drained by the
Danube river. to compete with us in the
wheat markets of the world. Our surplus
, grain must compete now with Russia
India. Hungary. Argentine Renublic, Rou-
mania. Chile, Austria. Asia Minor. Can
ada. Algeria. Bulgaria. Persia and Syria
, Turkey in Europe, Egypt and Tunis II
seems that five of the Latin American
countries south of US. namely: Brazil
| Uruguay, Argentina. Chile, and Mexico
have now under way harboT and channe
/ construction tor which direct apprOpria
| ti0us of not less than one hundred miIlior
son of this improved waterways products
! of Western Europe and of South Ameri,
/ can countries are getting IL salt water
| with freight charge OF less than one.
| tenth that which our producers. who senC
by railways. have to pay. our farmers
! are not able now 10 compete with the
rest Of the world in equal tons. ana thi: