Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1926-11-10

| the Suez route, while "a nations were
represented In the maritime caravan
at Panama
The World War was not the only
unexpected factor in bringing Pana-
ma so quickly to equality with Sues,
nor the most important The enor-
nous increase in Panama traffic In
| 1923 WAS represented almost entirely
( by petroleum and It's products, msv-
J ing from California to the east coast
and Europe. In the year ended June
80, 1884, tolls aggregating 324 ,29o. GOO
was from tankers carrying petroleum.
An even more striking statement of
the matter is that for the same year
exactly 50 per cent OF all tonnage
! through the Canal was between the
two ocean fronts of the United
States, that is, 1880, 600 tons: and
Of this, considerably over 5000 ,o0e
tons. or more than two-thirds was Pc
tToleum II was of course chiefly
| from California, en- route to eastern
refneries. In the succeeding year
this petroleum movement fell of
heavily; but for 1926 1t is again in
creasing and the increase is likely to
continue for many years. But for the
petroleum traffic, the Canal would
have shown a deficit in every year Of
its operation.
The enormous petroleum business
has been IN ether ways advantageous
to Panama. A constantly increasing
proportion of maritime shipping now
adays uses oil fuel OilIburning ships
seek routes on which they can most
cheaply buy oil; and because Cali
fornia oil can be put so cheaply into
the bunkers Of vessels passing
through the Panama ditch, there
is substantial inducement to
prefer this route This will In
creasingly favor Panama and mill.
tate against Suez, as the number
OF oil burners Increases Moreover,
Panama's advantage will still further
increase as the enormous oil re
sources Of Venezuela, Colombia. and
other South American countries
are developed.
Great Service of Panama
II cheap petroleum has thus served
Panama so well. Panama in turn has
equally served the American motor
list, who consumes most OF the worlds
petroleum products For Panama has
brought the Pacific Coast petroleum
TO the eastern market at costs which.
but for the Canal would be vastly
greater. Thus the Canal has given
the United States the cheapest De-
troleum products in the world and
helped build the automobile industry
and our modern highway system.
This mutually helpful relationship
between the Canal and the petroleum
users is the more impressive when
one realizes that it was not even re-
motely anticipated at the time Presi
dent Roosevelt started building the
Canal. So late indeed, as 1910. when
Admiral Evans wrote mis- articles
about the Canal and decided that II
could not be profitable cor several
decades at least, he based all his cal
culations on the probable cost OF coal
Tor bunkering ships He did not
dream that merchant marines were
on the verge Of the revolutionary
change from coal to oil. So he figured
that as there is practically no bunker
coal IN the countries bordering on the
racine, that ocean could not com
pete, by way of Panama for a great.
~ increased share Of shipping. The
oil development overturned the nronb.
ecies OF Admiral Evans, and Of
others who had foreseen that
problems would make Panama
profitable.