Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-03-18


by water power developed at the Mira
flores dam.
Docks on the Atlantic.
The docks to be erected at the At
lantic side are not SO extensive, as
they are intended merely for the
berthing of steamers while waiting
to enter the canal and for the han
ding of such supplies and material
as are necessary for that end. Never
theless these piers will be worthy of
admiration.
The improvements at this end con-
template the dredging out of an an
chorage basin mile long and 1925
feet wide and the construction of four
concrete piers of the same size as at
the Pacific docks. The basin will ad-
join the canal channel, which is
dredged out to Limon bay.
The improvements at the Atlantic
end 1t is estimated will cost in the
neighborhood of 100000 and those
at the Pacific end $1O,0O0,000. This
will come out of the general canal
fund.
When these improvements are COM
p1eted it will be possible for ship to
load at New York, for example, with
freight for the Pacific coast and also
with freight for Central and South
America. The former class of freight
would be put in the hold and the lat
ter between decks. She would then
sail through the canal to the great
docks at the Pacific end, where await
ing her would be perhaps some of the
twin screw oil-burning barges de-
scribed by Mr.. Baker.
Freight Easily Transshipped.
They would make fast to her inside
the slip and by means of the escala-
tors would take her between-deck
cargo intended for Central American
points. Possibly her terminus might
be these Pacific docks and the cargo
in her hold intended for Peru and
Chile. In that case great electric
cranes would transfer this cargo to
the docks, moving it at the rate of
1 900 tons an hour From the docks 1T
would be put aboard regular west
coast steamers, of which there is al
ready one line running to Peru, which
will probably be extended to Chile.
Once empty such a vessel would
load up with cargo brought from the
east OF from South America. While
to all ships, their advantage to this
country lies in the fact that such facil-
tiles for transporting American goods
means the opening of a trade door
which has heretofore been shut, giving
our Atlantic coast ports for the first
time a chance to compete with and
even to outstrip the European ship
ping concerns which have been sup
plying South America and Central
America by regular steamers running
| through the Straits of Magellan.
To understand the possibilities
which this will open up one should
draw line from some of the Atlantic
ports down to Valparaiso, making 1t
go through the canal By reason of
the peculiar bend of the isthmus such
line would be almost a straight
north and south line. Freight may be
shipped from New York by a 16-knot
boat through the canal to Valparaiso,
transferred there to the railroad
across the Andes and delivered at
Buenos Ayres six days ahead of
freight carried in the same boat from
| New York down the east coast of
South America to the Argentine cap
ital 1t could be transshipped at
Buenos Ayres and taken up to Rio
Janeiro in two days quicker time.
AS was brought out at the confer
ence in Washington. the total foreign
commerce of the Central American
countries Venezuela and Ecuador in
1909 amounted to $135 ,000, 000 OF
this amount only s27, 0O0. 900 was with
this country In other words these ma
lions bought here 81 cents worth of
the products when they spent 1888 in
the European markets. Chile and
Peru imported S15.000,00 of com
modes from this country out of their
total imports of $125. 100000. This
was by reason of the control Europe
has had of their trade through the
4 Strait of Magellan
What is confidently expected to fol
low the projection of these docks and
facilities at Panama is the establish
ment of a number of new American
steamship lines 1t is said that plans
are already being made by certain In
terests for distributing freight from
the canal