A canal by way of Lake Nicaragua has also been projected, and two treaties with Great Britain, whereby the United States agreed to build no fortifications to guard it, have been made. No work beyond the surveys has yet been undertaken, however. The cost of each canal is estimated between one hundred and fifty million and two hundred million dollars. The Panama route will require about twelve hours for the passage of a vessel; the Nicaragua route about sixty hours.[11] (See map, p. 270.)
The completion of a canal by either route will cause a readjustment of the world's commerce far greater than that which followed the construction of the Suez Canal. By such a route San Francisco is brought nearer to London than Calcutta now is, and the all-water route between the Atlantic ports of the United States and those of China and Japan will be shortened by upward of eight thousand miles. The importance of the Hawaiian Islands, already a great ocean depot, will be greatly increased, and the latter is becoming one of the great commercial stations of the world.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What were some of the effects which resulted from the various embargo and non-intercourse acts that preceded the war of 1812?
What is the effect upon an industry when all means of getting the products to market are cut off?
In the early history of the country rivers were the most important highways of commerce; obtain an account of some instance of this in detail.
Certain commodities have been carried about four-fifths of the distance between Moscow and Vladivostok by water, across Siberia. Illustrate this, using the map of the Russian Empire, plate, [p. 342].
What has been the effect of cheap steel on ocean navigation?
Discuss the difference between a screw-steamship and a side-wheeler; a ship and a schooner. How are vessels steered?