The Cordova daily times., 1920-12-02
PANAMA CANAL
 REPORT MADE
 FOR YEAR PAST

. has closed the best year financially 1 in it's six-years of operation with an e oess of $2,337,599 in revenue over i the expense of operation and main- 1 tenance.
 Brigadier General Chester Hard | ing, governor of the Panama canal, | predicted in his annual report to | the secretary of war; just made pub | lie, that within a reasonable pe- riod of normal world conditions, the canal will earn an actual profit on it's cost, which has been $366,650 900 military and naval defense. In the meantime, the general added, the canal is performing an important | commercial service by stimulating | American trade with the west coast of South America and the Orient 1 More than 25 per cent of the cargo | handled through the canal since it's opening was in transit between the United States and South America, and 14R per cent was between the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Orient
 within the six years of operation, General Harding's report said, there has been a marked increase in traf- fic through the canal notwithstand- inG the fact that the world war in- | terefered with the normal develop ment of ocean-gOing commerce. After the entry of the United States into the war there was a decrease in con- | merclal traffic, due to the diversion of certain lines of shps to Trans atlantic service but this was more than offset by the in crease in traffic growing out of the war, chiefly on account of the de- velopment of the nitrate trade with 1 the Pacific coast of South America. | Discussing the amount of money ChpSHuSu Dy lllt oHllcu tOJdltS OH the canal, Governor Harding said:
 ''The investment from one point of view, may be regarded as having been made and justified in the l creation of an invaluable element of | national defense. If this be true. | the canal has an additional value in rendering useful service in times of peace, and in returning to the fed eral treasury revenue more than suf- ficient to defray the expense of it's | operation and maintenance. It is capable of doing more than this; and it is not an idle prediction to state that with proper management di- reCted along the lines of large l business enterprise, it will within a reasonable period of normal world | conditions earn an actual profit on under assumptions as to amortiza- ton, depreciation, obsolescence, and interest, it is estimated that with an annual revenue of three times that of 1920 the canal will make a financial return on the investment. The time required to produce this | result will be affected by any changes in legislation affecting charges for tolls.'
 1 r In the year 2,745 vessels passed through the canal, of which 2,47S other revenues amounted to $685. other canal revenues will exceed by S71, while current expenses of Oper- ation and maintenance, totaled to $6,543,272. The excess of revenue this year reduced to $2,2310 091 the excess of expense and maintenance canal has been in operation.
 At the rate of revenues this year it is expected that by June 30, 1921, the collections for tolls and other canal revenue swil leXceed by $1,000,000 or more the total current expenses of operation and mainten- ance from the opening to that date, after which, the canal authorities argue, there should be an excess of $5O,0G0,000 or more each year.
 The auxiliary services of the canal have been largely utilized and are of great value in carrying out the policy of making it attractive in all of the incidental services that are considered by shipping interests iu routing their vessels, General Hard
 ing said, adding that it has not been the purpose to make large profits on these activities, but rather tC regulate the charges so as safely to