THE PANAMA CANAL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8360, 21 February 1913, Page 11

THE PANAMA CANAL

EFFECT UPON AUSTRALIA “ WILL TAP THE UNITED STATES.” (By Frank Coffee in Sydney “ Sun.”) Tho near approach to completion of the Panama Canal is a matter fraught with a great deal of interest to Australia, ns. Many arguments have taken place, but 1 have gathered a few facte from a perusal of American and Canadian papers. The Panama Canal is fifty-one mile* long, and its cost to the United States nearly £100,000,000. Going bacli some years, we find that the French wasted a lot of money and failed in their efforts to build the canal. Had France taken The precaution that the United States did to establish clean sanitary conditions success might have attended her efforts. Later on tho United States gave the French Government £8,000,000 tor whatever rights they possessed and old junk that lay along the line of the canal in tie shape of machinery. America gave £2,000,000 to the Republic of Panama for the right to build the canal , and is to pay it £50,000 a year in perpetuity. The locality of the canal is subject to earthquakes and landslides, which may any day destroy the canal. Tho United States has not one-fourth, of the . mercantile marine owned by Great Britain; in fact, Great Britain has greater interests at sea than any other nation, and when France failed why did not she take up the work of - building the Panama Canal, either alone or in conjunction with the United States? Apparently it would not interfere with the Monroe Doctrine, or why were tho French permitted to proceed as far as they did? When tho French built tho Suez Canal, Disraeli at once recognised its value, and bought a controlling interest for Great Britain'. If Australia went to tho expense of building a canal through New Guinea or - New Zealand she would be very foolish to let other nations use it on the same conditions as herself. Cables from Ottawa state that tho Canadian Government points out that the United States vessels are using Canadian waterways and canals without payment of tolls. Why is the other side of the ; position suppressed ? And why do some ’ men in the Federal Parliament keep on referring to the United States as the - only country having an Inter-State - Commerce Act? American dripping laws are no more drastic than ihoee existing to-day cm the ooaeta of Java, Italy, Germany, France, Norway, and also Canada. •Foreign stripe cannot trade on the coast of New Zealand unless they pay . New Zealand seamen's wages. There ore 1223 miles of navigable waters between the United States and Canada. , This includes canals and lakes, and a foreign ship (which includes a United States ship) carrying a passenger or cargo between Canadian, ports is liable . to a fine of £BO per passenger, goods to be forwarded as if they were smuggled. If a foreign drip wore to- tow a rift from one port of Canada to another it weald be KaUe to a penalty of £9O; the ship would also foe liable to seizure until paid. * The most cor- . dial relations exist between the United States and Canada with regard to their canals (so far as bolder canals go), each country giving the other free nso of them. There are three canals at Saolt She. Marie (two of which areAmerican and one Canadian) connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron. The minimum depth of any canal is 14ft. Theae canals are navigable only about half tho year- The tonnage going jShxoush the Sanli Btfi,. Mama Canal is equal to the tonnage through - the Suez CaoaL The Welland Canal, connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, on the Osoadhcn _ s*de (fifteen miles west of Niagara), is entirely to Canadian territory, and twenty-six miles long. Owing to high wages and starvation subsidies the American mercantile marine is disappearing from the ocean, a» the States cannot compete with foreign bottoms. Is it reasonable to think she will allow foreign ships to cut in on her. ’ coastal trade? It costs 40 per cent. ’ more to maintain an American strip than most of the foreign bottoms. The salaries of the officers and men in the American Navy and on merchant-ships are about twice as much as those of any other country. It will he interesting to learn what wiE be the effect of the Navigation Act now before the Federal Parliament. Australian steamship authorities claim that the Panama Canal will novar bo much used by ships trading between Europe and Australia. I claim that it will enable Australian butter, eggs, fruit, meats, etc., to tap the populous ' portion of the United States at a very low rate of (water) freight by vessels taking cargo for New Orleans at tho mouth of the Mississippi River, on the Gulf of Mexico, 1500 nrQes this side of New York. Bulk can be broken there, and again water communication by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers will' give us low carriage rates through tho ' very centres of America’s teeming millions. These river boats always keep the railway companies from resorting to extortionate freight rates. True, we may ship to the cities of the Paci- ' lie Coast, but if we wish to send the stuff across the continent to the populous centres wo have railway freights to pay over two or three thousand ' miles. To enable the non-importing public to compare water and railway rates, I will say I can bring a ton of merchandise from New York to Sydney by water for less than it can be shipped from New York to Chicago—looo milea apart. When the wharf strike was on some months ago Sydney people could not ship to Melbourne. I asked the Railway Department for a goods rate per ten to Melbourne, and was quoted £6 16s. I think water rates was a couple of pounds per ton. I mention this incident to impress upon Australians that- low freights (water) to all outside markets will benefit this country —and the day is not far distant when America will be a large consumer of Australian foodstuffs, especially fruits in the off season. Independent of the commercial aspect of the canal, it might be of interest to point out the sanitary aspect. That portion under American control, excluding the cities of Panama and Colon, had under 16 deaths per 1000 of the population, including coloured people, making 90,000 people in all. . Among the employees of the Canal Commission the deaths were less than 12 per 1000, and among the 11,500 whites the rate was precisely 5.52. In the days of the French occupation the mortality rate was more than ten times this. The rate for New York City averages. 22 per 1000— and remember, this is a swampy jungle near the Equator, where yellow fever, malaria, and plague are to bo met with.