El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-16
Mighty Stone Entertainments.

names are unknown IN America, and a
fringe. of villages runs along it all the
way from Tientsin to ~HangcboW.
Mighty Stone Entertainments.
From the Yangtse north the canaf
flows $50 miles without a lock- This is
over the great plain of north China. Stfn
further north there are numerous
slulees and locks, and in places the wa
ter Is carried above the country on stone
embankments 20 feet or more higher
than the surrounding plains, and that
notwithstanding the stream is 200 feet
vide. It has stone flood gates man
aged by soldiers. 1t is fed bv rivers and
creeks At one place q river is conducted
into it, and the Chinese say that 100000
men worked seven months to turn the
water OF that single stream
rms canal Is now going to ruin It
used to take all the tribute rice to Pc
kin, and was then sailed by 5000 gov
eminent boats every spring. Since the
advent OF the Chinese Merchant Steam
ship company this rice has been car
red by sea, and the steamers have ma
terially DANCED its other traffic It still
has numerous iunks and bat-winged
barges, and in places it Is traversed By
steamers and steam launches.
AS practical ship canal. however. Il
Is q thing of the past and it would re-
ut II Tor the transportation of the pres-
emit Its value has so diminished that
the department for its upkeep has been
practically abolished, the office of direc-
tor general OF the grain transport, which
had charge of it, having been discon-
tinued about five years ago.
The Suez Canal In 1872
The next canal we shall see IA the
most important of all and the one which
viii compete with our big ditch at Pan
ANA. 1t Is the SueZ canal, which now
has more shipping and bringsi in more
money than any other canal upon earth.
The tonnage Of the vessels which passed
through II last year amounted to more
than zO,OOO,OOO. and the receipts were
far more than that MANY dollars. This
canal Is Just 40 miles longer than our
canal at Panama, and, ike the latter
It Joins two mighty oceans. If we con
slider the Mediterranean an arm of the
atlantic and the Red sea an arm of the
indian ocean the Suez canal Joins the
two have gone many times through
It, and It has cost the steamer each time
high into the thousands of dollars. There
IS a charge of 81 for every man, woman
and child on board, and, in addition.
every ship has to pay tonnage due,
which now amounts to somewhere be
tween $3.50 and 81 ton.
For many years 1t was 50 a ton. 80
that q 10000 ton ship would pay $40
600 Tor going through The last time I
traversed it the steamer took Is hours
and the charge for the ship was lust
about $500 an hour
It Brings In Millions
The Suez canal has paid almost from
the start and the canal stock is as
high as anything sold in Wan street
The bulk of it is owned by Great Brit
ain, and although the French nominal
~ control the canal its real direction
comes from John Bull. As It is now
no large block Of the common stock
appears to be owned by any individual
or corporation or other government
John Bull IS said TO have a large ma
1ority OF the whole, and the next share
holder In point OF ownership is
Frenchman who has only q little more
than 500 shares out Of the whole 400
O00- As / remember II the British gov
eminent bought 1T6.0OO shares Of the
old khedive, Ismail Pasha, getting the
same through loan OF 5000 600.