Panama and the Canal in Picture and Prose

by Willis J. Abbot

Photo by Brown Bros.

AN ERUPTION OF THE CANAL BED
The pressure of the adjoining hills has forced up the soil at its weakest point, namely the bed of the Canal, to a height of 18 feet, as shown by the dotted line

The ease however with which English or German ships en route to the Far East may touch at New York, Boston or Philadelphia will doubtless divert to Panama some of the traffic that would find a shorter through route via Suez. For example, from Liverpool to Melbourne is 1312 miles less via Suez than by way of Panama, while to Hongkong it is 694 miles less. Yet it is quite conceivable that the advantage of taking New York or other United States Atlantic ports on the way may secure some of this traffic for Panama.

The really striking saving in time and distance is shown by a comparison of the present distances between our Atlantic coast towns and Australasia and the Orient. Prof. Johnson has put this in two compact tables, which I quote from The Scientific American:

TABLE I.—DISTANCES AND TIME SAVED VIA THE PANAMA CANAL AS CONTRASTED WITH ROUTES VIA THE SUEZ CANAL, THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, AND THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC GULF SEABOARD OF THE UNITED STATES AND AUSTRALASIA

To	From New York						From New Orleans						Remarks
	Dis- tance saved	Days saved for vessels of					Dis- tance saved	Days saved for vessels of
		9 knots	10 knots	12 knots	14 knots	16 knots		9 knots	10 knots	12 knots	14 knots	16 knots
	Miles						Miles
Adelaide	1,746	7.5	6.7	5.6	4.6	4.0	3,258	14.6	13.1	10.8	9.2	8.0	Difference between routes via Panama, Tahiti, Sydney, and Melbourne, and via St. Vincent and Cape of Good Hope.
Melbourne	2,770	12.3	11.0	9.1	7.7	6.7	4,282	19.3	17.3	14.3	12.2	10.7	Difference between routes via Panama, Tahiti, and Sydney and via St. Vincent, Cape of Good Hope, and Adelaide.
Sydney	3,932	17.7	15.8	13.1	11.2	9.7	5,444	24.6	22.2	18.4	15.7	13.7	Difference between routes via Panama and Tahiti, and via St. Vincent, Cape of Good Hope, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
Wellington	2,493	11.0	9.9	8.1	6.9	6.0	3,488	15.6	14.0	11.6	9.9	8.6	Difference between routes via Panama and Tahiti and via Straits of Magellan.

TABLE II.—DISTANCES AND DAYS SAVED BY THE PANAMA OR THE SUEZ CANAL BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC GULF SEABOARD OF THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, CHINA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND SINGAPORE

To	Via			From New York						From New Orleans						Remarks
				Dis- tance saved	Days saved for vessels of					Dis- tance saved	Days saved for vessels of
					9 knots	10 knots	12 knots	14 knots	16 knots		9 knots	10 knots	12 knots	14 knots	16 knots
				Miles						Miles
Yokohama	-		Panama	3,768	16.9	15.2	12.6	10.7	9.3	5,705	25.9	23.3	19.3	16.5	14.4	Via San Francisco.
			Suez	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	Via Colombo, Singapore, Hongkong and Shanghai.
Shanghai	-		Panama	1,876	8.1	7.3	6.0	5.1	4.4	3,813	17.1	15.4	12.7	10.8	9.4	Via San Francisco and Yokohama.
			Suez	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	Via Colombo, Singapore and Hongkong.
Hongkong	-		Panama	...	...	...	...	...	...	1,919	8.4	7.5	6.2	5.2	4.5	Via San Francisco, Yokohama and Shanghai.
			Suez	18	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	Via Colombo and Singapore.
Manila.	-		Panama	41	...	...	...	...	...	1,978	8.6	7.7	6.4	5.4	4.7	Via San Francisco and Yokohama.
			Suez	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	Via Colombo and Singapore.
Singapore	-		Panama	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	Via San Francisco and Yokohama.
			Suez	2,484	11.0	9.8	8.4	6.9	5.9	547	2.0	1.7	1.4	1.1	0.9	Via Colombo.

So far as Asiatic traffic is concerned, there is almost sure to be some overlapping of routes. Conditions other than those of time and space will occasionally control shipmasters in the choice of a route. But so far as the trade of our Atlantic ports with Hongkong, the Philippines and points north and east thereof is concerned it will all go through Panama. So, too, with the vessels from English, French or German ports. If the contemplated economies offered by the price of coal and fuel oil at Balboa are effected, the inducements of this route will divert from Suez all European shipping bound for Asiatic ports north of India. A careful study of the Suez Canal shows that the trade of the United States with all foreign countries made up 33 per cent of the total traffic, and the commerce of Europe with the west coast of South America comprised 38 per cent. Col. Johnson compiled for the benefit of the Commission a table which showed the vessels which might advantageously have used the Canal in 1909 and 1910, and accompanied it with another giving his estimate of the amount of shipping that actually will use the Canal in 1915 and thereafter. As the expression of official opinion based upon the most careful research, these tables are here republished.