The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-08-06
Copyright, 1912. by Frank G.. Car
pentcr.

COLON, Panama.
Uncle Sans railway.
Yes, the title is right. Uncle Sam
owns a railway, and il is one Of the
prcttleSt, busiest and best managed
Zines Of the world. II has more traf-
IL IN proportion to its length than
ANY road owned by any other govern
ment, and is paying better than any
railway system of the United States.
II Is q beehive Of industry which
stores up honey of liquid eold. The
lin" earned last year more than ST.
100000, which, according to the width
OF the territory it over WAS more
than $4,000 Il mile.
The main tract of this road is less
than fifty miles long. 1t begins here
at Colon ana runs across the lSthlnuS
Of Panama, skirting the canal, and
tnIing at Balboa, our new port on
the Pacific. A part of it is double
tracked, and il has switches n other
construction 1T the terminals, which
give it a total length of 1913 miles,
but even taking them into considcra-
ton it is doing more business, l Ven
ture, than any other railroad under
the sun. 1T took in last year more
than $500. 900, and its freight traffic
amounted to more than l 100000
tors. 1t carried almost $500, 600 pas
Sengers. And all this was outside the
work done on the construction tracks
Of the Panama Canal.
The Panama railroad is run as q
commercial proposition, and Uncle
Sam keeps his tracks in the Culcbra
cut and elsewhere on a separate
miles of other roads on the Cana
Zone, but the Panama railway proper
is Il government road, which charges
fares TO every one who goes over i
and makes every ton Of freight pay
its tolls.
Witch
Pays.
But first let me tell YOU how tn
railroad is managed and something
more Of the enormous profits i
make The president is Col. Geore'
w. Goethals, the chief engineer o
the canal. and the first vice-presiden
is Mr.. e. A. Drake, vino has his head
quarters in New York. Mr.. Drak
has been connected with the institu
ton for many years and is one 0
its most valuable employees. In ad
dition, we have Engineer Commits
SioDer Hodges as the second vice
president and as the general superin
tendent and the man who has hi
hands on the wheels, and Mr.. J. A
Smith, who has under him a fu'
corps of engineers, mechanics an
transportation officials, and the usua
machinery which belongs TO the man
agement of any great railroad.
All Of the officers are appointed b
Uncle Sam. and with the exception G
one or two shares all the stock be
longs to him. 1t am to the COY
through our purchase OF tn
Panama canal, being turned in /
the French at a valuation Of $1,000
900. The last French p ha
bought il of the De LeSseps organize
ton for eighteen millions, but whe
we figured out the Value of tF
isihmian property it was put down
seven million, and it has been ca
ried on the books at that sum-. Never
theleSs, it's assets have steadily grow
until they are now over 100000
and the company today has z surpl,
Of almost twelve millions. Nor
over, the traffic and the profits A
steadily increasing. The freight tol
mage last year showed q gain Of mo-
than % Per cent, and the number
passengers was S per cent more thu
IN 1910.
1t Has Earned Millions.
The Panama railroad has alwa,