Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-01-18
PANAMA CANAL PROsPERs

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15.-After a
history made up very largely of hard
luck the Panama Canal is coming
into it's own.
Constructed amid controversy in
the face of natural obstacles, and on
the ruins Of a previous colossal FAIL
ure, this great waterway has struS-
gled through V years Of advers-
ity-the traditional seven lean years.
But o the era of slides, diplomatic
and political squabbles over tolls.
war and business depression, seems
to have come to an end and coed
times are promised.
November, 1922, the latest month
for which compiled statistics are
available, shows that Panama Can
! al traffic is gaining rapidly. In the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1920-the
last year before the business deples-
sion set in and drove ships OFF the
| seas tolls amounted to $S,493.0OO.
The November, 1929, figures 1ndl-
| cate that for the fiscal year ended
| June so, 1928, the tolls will amount
to S13, 500, 900. However, each
month of the present year the ratio
| has been increasing and it is fair to
assume it will continue to increase
probably bringing the total tolls o
the year to $15,000,000.
The Panama Canal was opened
| in August, 1914-in the same month
that the European war began. In
! the ensuing year, that is. the fiscal
year ended June 80, 1915, 357 yes"
sells had passed through the canal
carrying 1,852,O00 tons of cargo and
| paying $1.495,00O in tolls. In 1915
! LEGAL hard luck, in addition to the
interference of the war, set in, bring
ing slides which practically suspend
ed traffic for a portion of the e
| One thousand and seventy-tWo ships
got through carrying cargo of A.
926 600 tons and $2,S63,OO0 in tolls
were collected. The business gradu-
ally increased until in 1920, Eats
! ships passed through carrying 9,374,-
600 tons of cargo and paying S.
$4,000 in tolls. For the current
year, ended June 30, next, the midi
cations are that no less than $500
ships will traverse the waterway
carrying 1~7,160.O00 tons of cargo
and paying s13, 500, 900 TO $780,
600 in tolls.
At this rate, it will not take long
for the traffic to increase to ulti-
mate capacity and then talk will be
renewed about another Isthmian
canal-probably the old Nicaragua
sea level route, which was so much
discussed in the early years OF the
last decade.
Canal Will Pay for Itself
When the canal was projected,
there was much objection to its cost.
Total expenditure, including the
necessary Notifications and adjuncts
! has reached the sum of $500, 900 GOO.
This was an impressive sum in LOLA
before the world war taught men and
nations to think in money terms of
astronomical proportions. For five
| consecutive months this year, canal
tolls have exceeded $1,000, 600 a
month. In November, 1922, the lat
est month published, they were ST.
264,000 and still going up.
Something in the neighborhood Of
$50, 600, 900 has been collected in
tolls since the opening of the canal
| leaving $35O.000,0 900 to make I'D.
Even at the present rate of earnings
| this would require only about 20
years to pay for the colossal under
taking out of tolls. The cost of OPP
Grating is from ~$4,000,000 to S.
| UUU ,UUU a year 50 u lOlSSE dAlC
would be required were it not for
/ the great increase in traffic which
now is manifesting itself. The oper-
ating cost and the increased bust
ness probably will nearly equalize,
making the term OF payment for the
canal not more than rs years.
short time in the life of a nation.
The r earning power of the ca
nal must not be based on tolls col
Iected. While hat is the only part
that comes directly to the govern
ment, the great gain to the American
ships and to the world as a whole
arises from the time and money saw
ed in piercing the Isthmus. To as
certain the real saving. the real prof
its of the canal, one must go through
the painstaking operation of figuring
the difference between sending a ship
around the Horn and making the
short cut through the canal. This
saving is enormous
Even this saving brings an indi-
rect revenue to the government. The
canal enables ships to make more
trips and earn more money. AS
their earnings increase, they pay
more taxes to the government and
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