New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-09-17
PANAMA CANAL
DOES QUITE WELL
NOT YET PAYING ITS WAY. BUT
THIS WAS NOT EXPECTED BY
THE MOST OPTIMISTIC.
BUSINESS GROWS STEADILY
Number Of Commercial Ships Passing
Through the Waterway and the
cargoes Are Increasing Year by
Year.
BY M p.

Sa'9oes H'e increasing rear py
Year.
BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
Neutrality-suspicious. does the PAN
ANA canal come ong" This is a ques-
ton frequently asked in government
quarters. The answer Is that it is
not yet paying its way, but may vent
ually do so. The great waterway was
not built with the idea that it would
be a money maker. As a matter Of
fact 1t is doing better financially than
the most optimistic persons had be-
lieved 1t would.
The business of the waterway for
the last fiscal year, a summary Of
which has just reached Washington.
shows tina during the fiscal year from
July /. 1920, to June 30, 1920, the vol
m of traffic passing through the ca
nal exceeded that in any previous T.
mercial ships made the transit. AS
compared with 2,025 in the fiscal year
ending June 30. 1919, 2,130 in the fls-
cal year 1913. and 2,13i in the year
1919.
The number of commercial ships
passing through the canal in the fis-
cal year 1920 was about two-tifths
above the average traffic for the peri
od of canal operation. 1t was approx
imately one-siXth greater than the
nnInhar of ShitS I'm lnrS n,l .n,. ttftl
greater than the number in the fiscal
year 1919.
OF the 2.iIS commercial ships max
ing the transit in the last fiscal year,
1,lSO were bound from the Atlantic to
the Pacific and 1,29S from the Pacific
to the Atlantic.
Tonnage and Cargo Compared.
The aggregate net tonnage of the
commercial ships passing through the
canal in the fiscal year 1920 was S.545.-
COB tons. according to the Panama
canal rules of measurement. OF this,
4.l6S,SI3 tons went from the Atlantic
to the Pacific and 4.316, $50 tons from
the Pacific To the Atlantic. In the fis-
cal year 1919 the aggregate WAS g.
III 30 net tons.
The cargo carried through the canal
by the commercial ships in the fiscal
year 1920 totaled 9.37i,499 tons OF p
240 pounds. OF these, 4,092.5lG tons
were bound from the Atlantic to the
Pacific and 5,2Sl ,9S3 tons from the Pa
cific 10 the Atlantic. The aggregate
cargo In the preceding fiscal year.
carried by commercial ships, was g.
Z 1919 tons.
In addition to the traffic of CONNER
cial ships, 2G6 vessels passed through
the canal In the service Of the United
States government without the pay
ment of tolls. These were practically
all army and navy vessels. They ear
ried a total of 800, S9S tons of cargo
In revenues and earnings in excess
of expenses OF operation and maipte-
nance, new records were. likewise, es-
tablished during the fiscal year. The
summation of charges has not been
completed I'm detail. but the figures in
dictate aggregate approximate
ing SS,SOO.OOO during the year. tx
including a proportion Of overhead. in
which are the expenses of civil govern
ment, hospitals, quarantine and sani-
tation, the executive department. the
accounting department. the Washing
ton office, the operation and repairs Of
storehouses and quarters. lighting Of
streets. operation of water and eve
systems, and roads. etc. total about
s6.6J0.OOO. This indicates an excess OF
about s. ,1JO.00O.
No Real Profit Is Shown.
No profit has been made in n COM
mercial sense. since there Is no con
sideration here Of interest charges on
the investment or OF the depreciation
Of the plant.
The previous record for n year for
Vas made In the fiscal year
1918. I'm an amount Of SG,4Il. s43.2S. In
that year the excess Of %ove.'
amounted to SI9l. .j00.3I. he
ing greater than that in any fiscal
year prior To the fiscal year 1920.
In the fiscal year 1919
amounted to S635f0lG.9S. AMI the
earnings above the cost of mainte-
nance and operation were S2il .S22.21.
To the beginning Of the fiscal year
1920 the excess Of expenses owe reve-
nues had made a deficit In the recount
amounting to s4.61S.gO.T5. This def
icit will be decreased about s2.JO.OoO
by the earnings in the fiscal year end
ing June 30. 1920.
Tolls constituted about 90 per cent
of the revenues. Other items are H.
lenses and taxes, court fees and ines
(about s1jOOOO). and profits on the
business operations of the canal ad-
iuncts. The latter item amounts to
about s2O0O0 for the fiscal year 800,
and is on operations in which The e
p%enditures were over S14Oon.oo0.
Want a Training System.
Establishment of a system Of train
ing for higher positions in the fed
eral system is advocated by the
national federation of federal EN-
ployees. Such a proposal will be
one of the main topics for con-
sideration II the national conven-
ton to he held in st. Louis next
month. On account Of the numerical
strength of the federal employees