Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1912-08-28
S|DE[|CHTS ON TOLLS AND
TRAFFIC OF PANAMA CANAL
Interest and Maintenance viii
Amount to $15,000,000
Per Year.

Europe must purchase large quantities
of coal on the east coast of South
America at prices so per cent above
those that will prevail at Panama and
at West Indian stations. The differ
ence in coal costs by these two routes
will be equal to a half or possibly
more than half Of the canal tolls"
A freight steamship of some 5000
tons register went last year from New
York to the Philippines and back via
the Suez canal. Her coal bill was
$2O,86S75. If she could have been
routed through the Panama canal and
by way of San Francisco and Yoko
hama to Manila the coal would have
cost $1S,2225O, which would have
meant saving of almost 81 per ton of
the ships net ton register
Suppose that the advance In tonnage
using the Panama canal should be 60
per cent-and it may be more-between
1915 and 1925. In the latter year it
would come to something like 17,O0O,-
GOO tons. That the estimate is not ex-
cessive is shown by the fact that the
Suez canal, at the present rate Of in
crease, will show 2OOOQ,OOO tons in
1915 and 35OOO,OOO tons in 1925.
Saving In Distance.
There are some instructive tabula.
lions of comparative distances. For
instance, let us take the distances from
Philadelphia to points on the Pacific
seaboard via Panama and via the
strait Of Magellan. From Philadel-
phia to Portland, Ore, the isthmian
route Is 1854 miles, and that via the
end Of South America is 1882. TO
San Francisco the distance is 1924
miles by the former route and 13, 1872
by the latter. AS for European ports,
taking Liverpool as typical, we find the
distance to San Francisco $3.50 miles
less by way Of the isthmus than it is
via Magellan. TO Honolulu the saving
is 4,4O3 miles and to Guayaquil 5,199
miles. Twenty days would be saved
between New York and San Francisco
by sixteen knot vessel. These figures
are sufficient to indicate the desira bill
ity, from the point of view of mere
mileage, Of utilizing the Panama canal.
In the opinion Of DR.. Johnson "the
tolls at Panama, in so far as they are
charge for service rendered, may
be made equal to the money equivalent
of the services rendered by the canal
to the commerce that derives the least
benefit from the shorter route afford
ed by the canal. Neither the
tolls that shipping can pay for using
the Panama canal nor the limits that
any particular toll will give to the ca
nal traffic zone can be determined
solely by comparing distances via the
Panama canal and alternate routes"
But, taking into consideration the va
r1ous factors that affect the reckoning,
it is his conclusion that lit is not prob
able that any considerable share of
the commerce of the Atlantic gulf
coast of the United States with west
ern South America would be diverted
from the Panama canal by tolls Of 81
or even more than 81 ton net regis
ter" The traffic between this sea-
board and Australia and New Zealand
may be expected to use the Panama
route If the tolls are not more than 81
per ton. The traffic between Europe
and New Zealand via Panama, at 81
per ton. would probably not be more
than 80 per cent of the total traffic.
'"The possibility that the Panama ca
nal may be used by at least a minor
share Of the shipping between Europe
and the Pacific ports of Asia and the
apparent prospect that New York may
become transfer point for a portion
Of the trade Of Europe with the far
east make it desirable that the tolls
should be lower at Panama than at
Suez." Suez tolls on Jan. 1, 1912, were
$1.30 per net ton for loaded vessels
and 50 cents per ton for vessels in bal
last 1T Is uncertain what share of
the traffic between Europe and the
orient can be secured by the Panama
canal in competition with the Suez
route. In any event the Panama canal
will obtain small percentage of the
total, but it will be we'll to assist the
Panama route by lower tolls, in so far
as that policy does not interfere with
the establishment of tolls that will
yield adequate total canal revenues"