Kitobdan iqtiboslar The Panama Canal and Its Makersmuallif Vaughan Cornish
New York to—
Reduction.
Yokohama
by Suez
13,564
3,729 miles.
by Panama
9,835
Shanghai
by Suez
12,514
1,629 miles.
by Panama
10,885
Sydney
by Cape of Good Hope
13,658
3,806 miles.
by Panama (
viâ
Tahiti)
9,852
Melbourne
by Cape of Good Hope
13,083
2,656 miles.
by Panama (
viâ
Tahiti)
10,427
Wellington,
N.Z.
by Straits of Magellan
11,414
2,542 miles.
by Panama (
viâ
Tahiti)
8,872
Since the Canal does not reduce the distances between these places and Europe (except slightly in the case of Wellington), the competitive gain of New York is equal in all cases to the absolute gain in distance. The following figures show the distances from New York to Hong Kong and Manila by the Suez and Panama routes:—
New York to—
Reduction.
Hong Kong
by Suez
11,655
by Panama
11,744
Manilla
by Suez
11,601
16 miles.
by Panama,
viâ
San Francisco and Yokohama
11,585
by Panama, Honolulu and Guam
11,729
The average shortening on this coast is therefore
8,415 + 1,004
——————
= 4,709 miles
The most notable effect of the Panama Canal will be the reduction of distance between the Atlantic and Pacific ports of North America. Taking New York as our port of reckoning on the Atlantic, the distance thence to Panama and all ports north thereof on the Pacific seaboard of Central and North America will be reduced by 8,415 miles.
The amount authorised to be appropriated by the Act of June 28, 1902, was $135,000,000, plus $50,000,000 purchase money, that is to say, $185,000,000 in all, for "the canal, harbours, and defences."
What the total cost will be is unknown, but Colonel Goethals stated in evidence (January, 1908) that the Canal would cost at least $250,000,000, and possibly as much as $500,000,000.
The combined cost of the Suez, Manchester, and Kiel Canals has been $205,000,000.
The following important ship canals have been completed for smaller sums:—
U.S.S. St. Marie (somewhat more than)
$6,000,000
Canadian ditto nearly
4,000,000
Amsterdam
10,000,000
Corinth (about)
5,000,000
Cronstadt (about)
10,000,000
Welland (Lake Erie-Lake Ontario)
24,000,000
Total
59,000,000
OLD FLAT ARCH AT PANAMA.
Up to June 30, 1908, the United States Government have spent $126,047,062 on the Panama Canal, made up as follows:—
Payment to New Panama Canal Company $40,000,000, and to Republic of Panama $10,000,000
$50,000,000
Expenditure on work prior to July 1, 1907
43,172,408
Expenditure on work July 1, 1907-June 30, 1908
32,874,654
Total
126,047,062
OF the existing canals for ocean-going ships, that of Suez was built by a company as a commercial undertaking to earn dividends by tolls. It cost $90,000,000.
The Manchester Ship Canal was partly commercial, partl
The Manchester Ship Canal was partly commercial, partly industrial, i.e., the large contribution of the city of Manchester was made not as a financial speculation, but in order to promote an undertaking likely to develop the industries of the city. This canal, partly commercial, partly industrial, cost $75,000,000.
The Kiel Canal has further a military purpose, providing a short line of communication for warships. It cost $40,000,000. The Panama Canal is commercial, industrial, and military, and will cost more than all the above put together.