Evening journal., 1914-05-26
New News Of Yesterday
Why Commodore Wander
bilt Sold His ISthmian
Route
BY Holland.

The late Gen. Charles Serrell was.
when he was well past eighty years OF
age, occupied with enthusiasm and IN
dustry upon proposition involving tine
cutting of canal from the Atlantic
to the Pacific across the narrowest
part of the lsthmus Of Panama and
within the boundaries of the Republic
OF Colombia.
Gen. Serrell was persuaded that a
tidewater canal was the best method Of
canal construction by which the Allan
tic and Pacific could be united. The
route in which he was interested would
have made that possible, but would
have involved the cutting o. tunnel
through a mountain which stood half
way between the Pacific and the At
lantic
frequently spent an hour or two
with Gen. Serrell at his offices in New
York city. lie was short, thickset
man, whose eyes flashed with all tle
brilliance of youth and whose mass of
gray hair was about the only indica-
tion that he was man of years.
asked him one day if he were famil-
lar with the Nicaraguan route, which
Commodore Vanderbilt established in
1851, whereby passengers and commod
tiles to and from California were
transported.
81 certainly was familiar with that
route" Gen. Serrell replied. "I had album
dant opportunities 20 learn all about it..
was one of the engineers who survey
ed the route for the Panama Canal
Railroad My work there made it nee
essary to become familiar with geogra-
phical conditions in Central America
and in Panama.
"Ihere was always a great deal of
astonishment expressed that Commo-
dore Vanderbilt who established the
Nicaragua route to California, should
have been disposed to give it up after
operating it for only two or three
years. For while, it was very profit
able. ! did an enormous business. ]
recall my own astonishment when
heard that Commodore Vanderbilt had
sold out and that he was beginning to
give his attention to railroad matters.
81 presume that | am the only man
now living who knows why Commodore
Vanderbilt abandoned the Nicaraguan
transportation business. He did get
some of his steamers up the rapids of
the river which flows from Nicaragua
to the sea coast and he did succeed in
having a kind of crude transit line
built from the western end of the lake
to the Pacific coast. Yet he suddenly
sold out his interest in this undertake
ing and | can give you the reasons.
"Commodore Vanderbilt realized af
ter year or two of experience with
the Nicaragua route, that it was vital
for permanent success that there be
either a railroad line across the 18TH
mus or complete canal. Other parties
had built the Panama railroad. There
remained. therefore, only a true ship
canal if there were TO be a competition.
The commodore realized that it would
cost an enormous sum of money to con-
struet true ship canal across Nicar-
aqua. even though for half the dis
tance the great lake furnished very
adequate transportation facilities. He
was not disposed to venture upon the
construction % the canal across Mic
aragun and besides. his experience was
beginning to show him that the great
opportunities of the future lay in the
direction OF fallFoau ueNeiophch'. Ina Z
] have the best reason for believing is
the real reason why Commodore Van
derblt sold out his interest in the Mic
aragua route between the Atlantic and
the Pacific in the early days of the Cal
ifornia gold excitement.
Copyright. 1914, by T.. J. Edwards.
All rights reservedl.
Tomorrow Mr. Edwards will tell of
"a Clear-headed Southern Railroad
Promoter