The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-01-20
TRAFFIC VIA PANAMA AND TEHu-
ANTEPEc.

6fN
Eighty-two million dollars worth of
merchandise originating in the United
States crossed the Isthmuses of Pana-
ma and Tehuantepec last year. Most
OF this merchandise was moved across
the Isthmuses for the mere purpose
of transferring it from one great sec
ton of the United States TO another
section, from the eastern to the west
ern coast, or from the western coast
and Pacific Islands TO the eastern
coast. Fifty million dollars worth of
this grand total originated ON the
eastern coast and moved wcstwardly
across the Isthmuses, four-fifths of 1t
passing thence northward to the Pa
.cific coast OF the United States. the
other fifth being distributed along
the Pacific Coasts OF Mexico, Central
and South America. The other thirty
two million dollars worth of this
grand total moved eastwardly across
the Isthmuses, two-thirds of it origi-
mating in Hawaii, and the remainder
along the western coast OF the Unit
ed States.
The Hawaiian sugar destined for
the eastern coast of the United States
which formerly made the trip by
sailing vessel around Cape Horn,
now passes by steamer to the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec, is there transferred
to the railway, carried across the
Isthmus and again placed on steamers
passing thence to the refineries at
Philadelphia and New York. The
steamers carrying this sugar return
from New York loaded with general
merchandise which il transferred to
the Tehuantepec Railway, crossing
the Isthmus. and re-transferred to
steamers which pass up the western
coast Of the United States, to San
Francisco and Puget Sound and then,
returning to Hawaii, reloaded with
sugar for the eastward trip.
This trans-isthmian traffic between
the eastern and western coasts of the
United States and between the east
ern coast of the United States and
the western coast of Central and
South America has greatly Increased
in recent years. In the fiscal year
1905 1t aggregated but eight million
dollars; in 1910 it was over eighty
million dollars. or ten times as much.
This increase is the result in part of
the opening on January 1, 1907, of
the railway across the Isthmus OF
Tehuantepec, Mexico, 100 miles in
length, operated in conjunction with
lines of ocean steamers at either end
and supplied with facilities for trans.
ferring freight from steamer to rail
way and from railway to steamer.
The value of its traffic in merchan.
disc originating in, and destined for
potrs of the United States has grown
from about twenty-five million dol.
lars In the calendar year 1907, the
first year of its operation, to seventy
million dollars In the fiscal year 1910
In the meantime the value of Ameri.
can merchandise crossing by way OF
the Panama Railway, largely occupied
c. LIE pISsrut tluiS Win the service
incident TO the construction OF the
Panama Canal, has grown from nine
and one-half million dollars in the
fiscal year 1907. TO twelve and three.
fourths million in the fiscal year 1910
Practically all the American traffic
carried across the Isthmus of Tehu
antepec passes between the eastern
and western coast ports of the Unit
ed States, including the Hawaii Is
lands. while about three.nfths OF that
carried over the Panama line passes
between ports Of the United States
and about two-nfthg between domestic
ports and ports OF foreign countries
OF the forty-one million dollars worth
OF American merchandise passing
westward over the Tehuantepec line
last year twenty-three million dol
liars worth vent to San Francisco.