The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-21
AN PANAMA CANAL ATTRACT TRAFFIC ENOUGH TO PAY;
Commerce of Most of
Land Surface and of
More Than Nine
tenths of the Worlds
Population Is Beyond
Canals influence

all countries bordering on the Pacific
in 1912 amounted to s372,s49,Os7 No
tonnage statistics are available but, to
serve purposes of illustration "a roughly
| approximate idea may be obtained by
assuming an average value of SIS a ton
FOR everything from teas and silks 10
nitrates and lumber. This would give
l,91.32l cargo tons, or about PASS, $50
tons net register, the tolls on which
would fall about $4,000. 900 short of
paying fixed charges on the canal
investment. This of course does not
include the coasting trade
very little reflection will show that
the entire Pacific trade of the country
can never pass through the canal.
lnexorable circumstances will prevent
more than a small proportion Of this
trade from taking the Panama route
First a considerable part of our exports
originate on the Pacific coast or In the
interior beyond the influence OF the
canal, while a considerable part Of the
, imports are consumed in the same re-
gion.
Furthermore. the greater part OF the
| traffic with Japan, China and the
Philippines Is handled in vessels be-
| longing to the transcontinental rail-
roads and are operated as feeders to
| these roads, or in Japanese vessels that
| have traffic agreements with the rail-
| roads. United States mails and no
! little other traffic from this side Of the
| boundary are carried in Canadian
| Pacific steamers To- the Philippines
None Of this traffic can he expected to
be diverted To the canal The Hawaiian
traffic is also handled by these vessels
and by a line which has traffic agree
ment with the Tehuantepec Railroad.
After deducting the further portion
which. as already shown, may he ex-
pected to continue around the southern
extremity of South America there isn't
| much left.
| The coasting trade. from which
| foreign ships are barred. Is about the
| only traffic which appears to he In
| position to reap any substantial ad-
| vantage from the canal. But here.
| again, appearances are deceptive. Ii
| seems improbable, for instance. that
| Chicago will become an extensive pa iron
of the canal. Chicago products destined
for Pacific coast points would have to
be shipped by rail thousand miles
east or south to reach the sea, equiva-
lent to half the distance westward by
rail to destination.
To sum up. the older routes are
| shorter or for other reasons are more
attractive for the greater part OF the
worlds shipping than the Panama
route For the small portion for which
Panama is in position to compete
Sue: has the advantage, for II can cut
il present rate Of $155 and still pay
good dividends. The only way for us
to secure even the small part OF traf-
hc which is competitive would be to
make the canal free. In that case we
should he in the position Of having spent
s375. 900 600 for the benefit Of foreign
shipowners.
Less than Q per cent. Of our foreign
trade Is carried in American vessels.
The Panama Canal will create no new
conditions likely to have any influence
on the revival of the American mer-
chant marine. The cost of building
ships will remain the same while sea-
mems wages and the cost of fuel and
supplies is not likely To be affected by
the opening of the canal So long as
a British ship Of $500 tons can be
operated for Sls.2s9 less per year and
German ship for $lj3l5 less a year
than an American ship Of the same
size so long will the worlds carrying
rad be performed by foreign ships, no
matter how many canals We dig at
Panama.