Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1912-06-01
THE PANAMA CANAL and HONOLULU
What the Cutting Of the Big Ditch Will Do to South Sea
Commerce.

What is the importance to Honolulu
of the Panama Canal?
To the discussion on this subject,
already productive of much argument
and not little heat, a new voice has
been added, that of Capt. L. Il. Simp.
son Baikic, a veteran skipper and one
who has made deep study of world
commerce.
| In the following article Capt. Baikic
refers to Honolulu only indirectly. but
his comments on the Australasian
trade are such as to affect Hawaii al
! SO He says:
As the time of the completion of
the Panama Canal approaches, and the
opening ceremony is said to be less
than two years distant-it Is becoming
a subject of surprise to the average
citizen that so little Is heard of II in
relation to Australian commerce.
What advantages will the merchant
reap? How will II affect the passcn.
Ger traffic? What saving of time will
there be for the mails? Apart from a
rumor that the Southampton Royal
Mail Company, best known In Austria.
liza as the owners of the Asturias. in.
tend to run line. there has been lit.
/ tie interest shown in New Zealand
and less in Australia.
The reason is not far to seek. Ev.
cry shipping concern must have inves.
tigated the proposition from the point
of view of commercial economy, with
the result, rather surprising to them.
selves, that they found the saving of
distance. which was to play so great
n part in facilitating trade via Pana.
ma, is fallacy and an Illusion.
Suez Route Shorter.
Taking Plymouth as a geographi-
Cally typical United Kingdom port, for
the purpose of comparing the dis.
tances from Australia and New Zeal.
and by the Cape Horn, Cape of Good
Hope, Suez, and Panama routes, we
find that the Panama Canal route Of
fcrs no advantage. except for Yelling.
ton and Auckland. In the case of
each of these ports about one thou.
sand miles are saved by going via
Panama instead of Suez. But, then,
New Zealand has already the Cape
Horn route, which is shorter than the
SuCZ Canal route, so that even for
them there will be no revolution of
conditions. In the case of Sydney, the
Cana of l..
as the Panama route. and the Suez
route Is one thousand miles shorter
while, II Melbourne be our port of de.
parture, the advantage against Pan.
anna Is still more marked-it Is 1000
miles shorter via Sucz. nearly 1000
miles shorter via the Cape of Good
Hope, and only about 300 miles longer
via Cape Horn than by Panama. And
when we have added that the distance
from New Zealand ports to Plymouth
via Panama shows only an advantage
of about 500 miles over the Cane Horn
route Cwhere there are no tolls), there
is scarcely any room for doubling that
the benefits OF the Panama Canal to
Australasia have been Overrated.
There will be no advantage TO the
merchant in the matter of freight.
Passenger traffic will be diverted
only to the extent of those who will
he drawn by curiosity and those pro.
ceedinG to the Atlantic seaboard of
America. An alternative will be pro.
vidcd for people who are now finding
the existing lines overcrowded In the
season. As 1t is 500 miles less to
Vancouver than TO Panama, and mails
by the Canadian-Pacifc railway and
Atlantic steamers will always take
less time to reach Great Britain from
Vancouver than sea-borne mails from
Colon, there will certainly be no short.
ening of the mailtime when the Pana.
ma Canal is opened.
For California and Canada.
THE facts and figures of the canal,
as far as they relate to Australasia.
offer so little announcement that Il Is
with relief that we turn to other as.
poets of the great undertaking. The
utility of the canal to the trade be.
tween the west coast OF South Amer.
lea and the Eastern States, and he.
tween Brazil and the Argentine and
the Western States will be enormous.
New Orleans and the cotton and tim.
Der ports of the Gulf of Mexico
should derive some benefit from It.
The canal will, II the tariff Is moder.
ate, have a marked influence on the
trade between the Eastern and West.
crn States and on the grain trade of
California and Oregon, and even of
northwest Canada. But 1t must be
borne In mind that, with the exCep.
ton OF the grain and the United
States domestic trades, the Panama
railway has hitherto been able to-
cope with the above mentioned trades,
carrying the goods across the isthmus
at about rs Cd per ton freight. If the
canal rates show saving IN tbip