The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-29

merce in the canal will be that he made
his heavy investments in the extension
of his railroad lines by viaduct around
southern Florida to Key West
The late c. P. Huntington, who died
before the canal was assured, said to the
writer that if they ever did cut a canal
across the Panama isthmus the three
American cities which would be chiefly
benefited by the increase of commerce
would be found to be New Orleans, st.
Louis and Chicago. E. II. Hartman pre-
dicted great commerce through the Pan
anna cahal and in the latter years of his
life was convinced that the railroad sys-
TENS of the Mississippi valley and those
which extended from the gulf to the
southwest would be greatly benefited,
serving as feeders to and from the YES
sells which were to navigate the canal.
Will Require Several Years
The best opinion in this city appears TO
be that not less than 10 years, perhaps 70.
will have passed before there is full un-
derstanding of what this canal means
not only for the commerce of the United
States but for the world. Some of the
great authorities of the American navy
who at the time of the civil war, or just
after, predicted that the great engineering
of the future would be the cutting of
an artificial waterway across the Isthmus
y
commerce would gradually but surely con-
centrate upon the Gulf of Mexico. Mr.
Huntington was of the opinion that If a
canal were built there would be estab-
lished large industrial activities along our
gulf coast. Whatever doubts may be
cast by the men of theories and by the
teachers of economics in the legislative
systems upon the commerce of the Pan
anna canal the people of west South
A no rnprpbantS Of this cifV
who are now carrying on the greater part
of the commerce between the United
States and South America have not the
slightest doubt that the commerce will
at an early day exceed in magnitude
even the most glowing predictions
The people upon the west coast of South.
America are expending large amounts for
harbor improvements. In Europe, too,
the shipbuilders have contracts for con-
struction Of commerce bearers which are
expected to navigate the Panama canal.
The public has little knowledge of the
magnitude of some of the developments
now in progress in Chile. These are in
part although not wholly, due to the
certainty that the Panama canal wiz
make possible inexpensive transportation
of minerals mined in Chile to some ex-
tent to the United States. but to a greater
extent to Great Britain. The Guggen-
helms will have invested a little over
S1O0 600, goo in the copper mines of Chlle
and they feel justified in doing that, first
because the Panama canal is to open a
short route between the United States and
Europe, and second, because their eX-
perts tell them that they can mine copper
ores and put them on the vessels at the
lowest cost which obtains in any copper
mines in the world.
1t is the expectation that very large
expectation of copper from Chile by way
of the Panama canal to Wales viii take
place. 1t has been recently reported that
about so steamships, with an average tom
mage of 10000 tons, are upon the stays
or in the shipyards to be completed by
the time the canal is open to navigation.
With these facts in mind, some of our
business men feel justified in predict
ing that within three or four years after
the opening of the Panama canal the
record will show that there has been an
underestimate instead of an overestimate
of the commerce, and it has sometimes
been said that it is an extraordinary
happy coincidence that the opening of the
gates of the canal for the passage of shlps
is practically identical in point OF time
with the awakenings of American ma
terial activities.