New Britain herald., 1924-02-09

canal instead of the Strait of Magel- Ian at the extreme southern end of south America. the voyage of a ship going from New York 10 San Fran
 cisco is shortened 1873 nautical
 miles. Merchant vessels passing
 through the canal with passengers or
 freight are required 10 pay q toll of
 S2.20 per net vessel ton of actual
 carrying capacity. Vessels in ballast
 without cargo or passengers, pay
 72 cents Der net ton. Naval vessels,
 other than transports, colliers. hos
 pital ships and supply ships pay 90 cents per displacement ton. Trans
 ports. colliers, hospital ships and sup
 ply ships are charged Sl.e0 per ton.
 "A 10-knot ship sailing from New
 York 10 sydney, Australia, saves over
 nine days in passage is the Panama canal is chosen in preference to other
 routes. A ship going from New York to Yokohama saves . days. 10 Val paraiso, Chile. l5 days; to Honolulu
 27 days. to Shanghai seven days and San Francisco il saves 32 days. Fuel costs are greatly reduced in cutting off long runs by transit through the canal.
 At the Atlantic end of the cana 1 we anchor in Limon bay and after ! much work in rigging out boats and ! gangways We are ready to go ashore. i
 "I crossed the street from Amer 1 ican Cristobal to Panamanian Colon. A railroad forms a boundary between . Cristobal and Colon.
 My first impression of Colon was the cleanliness of the docks. They ! are government property and very 1 well kept. There is order and per . feet arrangement everywhere which i is a sure indication that our Uncle | sammy is right on the job. From . the docks We walk under the stately palm trees and past typical Spanish . houses through to the American town of Cristobal. Most of the residents of Cristobal are employed in the canal zone.
 Colon is perfectly tial. the streets are straight and well planned, the . houses are almost all alike with shops on the lower floors and living quarters above. The general appear ance of the city is comparatively modern, crowded with negroes and few natives, and dirty. Dirty ragged are seen, and negro women owning fruit stands, squat lazily in the shade of the two story buildings. Many open carriages for hire drive slowly past, the drivers bargaining with tourists and natives to accept his horse and 'Carametta' for a small sum.
 Tt is very interesting to walk up and down the streets, window shop f ping and to roam in and out of the 1 large Indian curio shops.
 In the morning We leave for cule- ora, about l,t0o miles travel. .
 Now we stop in the vicinity of . Target Bay in the waters of Niequez {, sound. Here the fleet will conduct f actical exercises until departure for 1 liberty ports late in February. The , and nearest our anchorage will be the s island Of Culobra, one Of the Virgin islands group. |,
 "The Virgin Islands were discover |, d by Columbus on his second voyage fl n l494 and were at one time the {  stronghold Of buccaneers who preyed l. lpon the treasure ships or the spanish f Main. The Spanish Main includes the |, waters of the Caribbean along the shores of Nicaragua, Costi Rica, Pan | ma and Colombia. We pass through he Spanish Main on our way 10 -ulebra Island. The most important i stands of the Virgin Islands group i Ire; saint CroiN Santa Cruz); Vie luez, or commonly known os Crab ls- and from its resemblance of a crab; ;aint Thomas and Culebra. There Irc 100 islands in the Virgin Islands group. Saint Thomas is where the notorious Bnebcard reigned. His astle can still be seen from the har- ,or.
 "Culebra Island will lie to the east