Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-25
Preparing for the Panama Canal.
From Financial America

VIII DE started III InlS country.
Preparing for the Panama Canal.
From Financial America.
Developments in the world trade
will follow one another swiftly as the
time for opening the Panama canal
draws near. Already the leading for
eign steamship lines have placed con-
tracts for fleets of vessels to use the
new waterway; the Hamburg Amer
lean, North German-Lloyd and Royal
Mail companies all have announced
plans for routes that will have in the
Panama canal their determining in
fluence. The United Fruit Company
has also let contracts for number of
large vessels, for use through the
canal The United Fruit is a COM
pany controlled in the United States,
but its ships fly the British flag, and
those ships which are going to use the
canal are being built abroad.
How many ships are under con-
struction in the United States for use
through the Panama canal? Few, in
deed. The Royal Mail Company has
awarded contracts for nine vessels of
16. 600. tons burden each to shipbuilders
on the Clyde and in Belfast. 1t is alb
solutely safe to venture that for all
the steamship companies in this coun-
try there are not building nine ships
of 16. 900 TONS A single foreign COM
pany is building nine ships to use our
S400, 900, 900 canal; we are sitting idly
dreaming of the benefits which are to
be poured into our laps when the
canal is in operation. The first year
of it's operation more than three
| fourths of the vessels that pass
through the Panama canal will be OF
foreign register. That should not be.
| AS one commentator has put 1t, a
| Panama canal without an American
merchant marine is grotesque idea. i"
| Calculations of mileage, cost of coal,
freight rates and theories about the
changes to be effective in the world s
| commerce can have little interest for
| American manufacturers and pro-
| duoers unless there are American
ships to carry their cargoes to the
! Pacific and the Far East.
At the coming regular session of
Congress the. subject of facilitating
a mercantile marine for the United
States should be taken up in earnest
There is no American mercantile
marine now to speak of. From pres
emf indications the United States is
10 keep the canal in operation for the
| mercantile fleets of other nations,
using it only for such shipping as is
carried on between its Pacific and
Atlantic seaboards. Prof. A. w
Kirkaldy, of Birmingham, stated q
week ago that if merely the coaling
facilities of the Panama canal are
such that American shipping is given
an advantage at present enjoyed by
British shipping, that advantage
will deal a mortal blow at our mer-
chant marine"
American coal can now be supplied
for less per ton at Colon than Welsh
coal can be supplied at Suez. But
the coal from Norfolk to Colon is
likely as not to go in foreign ships
Lately it was testified that the United
States government has at this time
under charter thirty foreign steam.
ships to carry coal round the Horn
Coastwise ships can be used aftel
the opening of the canal to carry
coal from Norfolk to Colon or further
say to San Francisco. But coast.
wise ships do not grow overnight
and those few available, flying the
American flag, will have to max,
reasonable rates if coal is to b.
quoted sufficiently low at the Pan
anna canal to give it advantage ovel
Suez.
Many more ships flying the Amer.