,,the ,,panama ,,canal ,illustration3 ,clinedinst--,washington1 ,d4,c4 ,,col4 ,,george ,w4 ,,goethals1 ,u4,s4,a41 ,chairman and ,chief ,engineer ,isthmian ,canal ,commission4 ,,the ,,panama ,,canal ,a ,,history ,,and ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,enterprise ,,by ,j4 ,,saxon ,,mills1 ,m4,a4 ,,barrister-,,at-,,law ,,with ,,maps ,,and ,,illustrations ,,thomas ,,nelson ,,and ,,sons ,,london1 ,,edinburgh1 ,,dublin1 ,,manchester1 ,,leeds ,,paris1 ,,leipzig1 ,,melbourne1 ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,preface4 ,the literature on the subject of the ,panama ,canal is rather dispersed4 ,a full and entertaining history of the project will be found in ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,johnson's ,four ,centuries of the ,panama ,canal 7,cassell and ,co41 #aijg71 a work to which ,i am greatly indebted4 ,dr4 ,vaughan ,cornish has given the results of much research and several visits to the canal in ,the ,panama ,canal and its ,makers 7,t4 ,fisher ,unwin1 #aiji71 and in several lectures1 especially one before the ,royal ,colonial ,institute1 ,june #aa1 #aiab4 ,an inexhaustible mine of information will be found in ,mr4 ,emory ,r4 ,johnson's ,official ,report on ,panama ,canal ,traffic and ,tolls 7,washington1 #aiab74 ,the ,report on the ,trade and ,commerce of the ,republic of ,panama for the year #aiaa1 by ,mr4 ,h4 ,o4 ,chalkley1 ,acting ,british ,consul at ,colon1 contains useful information4 ,a valuable series of articles on the ,panama ,canal appeared in ,the ,times of #aiab4 ,the ,national ,geographic ,magazine of ,february #aiaa contains an authoritative article by ,colonel ,g4 ,w4 ,goethals1 ,chief ,engineer of the ,canal1 and the number for ,february #aiab an interesting appreciation by ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,showalter4 ,in ,scribner's ,magazine for ,february #aiac1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,b4 ,bishop1 ,secretary of the ,isthmian ,canal ,commission1 writes a very useful paper on the ,sanitation of the ,isthmus4 ,in his recent work on ,south ,america ,mr4 ,bryce devotes one of his delightful chapters to the ,isthmus of ,panama4 ,a chapter on the ,panama ,canal will be found in ,mr4 ,a4 ,e4 ,aspinall's ,the ,british ,west ,indies1 and many references in ,mr4 ,c4 ,g4 ,murray's ,a ,united ,west ,indies4 ,i must thank ,mr4 ,g4 ,e4 ,lewin1 the ,librarian of the ,royal ,colonial ,institute1 for his unfailing help and courtesy4 ,,bushey1 #aiac4 ,,contents4 ,,preface #e ,,date ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,canal #aa ,i4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,the ,,strait #ae ,,ii4 ,,canal ,,projects #bc ,,iii4 ,,the ,,clayton-,,bulwer ,,treaty ,,and ,,the ,,suez ,,canal #db ,,iv4 ,,the ,,french ,,failure #eb ,v4 ,,the ,,hay-,,pauncefote ,,treaty #fd ,,vi4 ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,and ,,colombia #gg ,,vii4 ,a ,,miniature ,,revolution #hh ,,viii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the ,,levels #aab ,,ix4 ,,man ,,and ,,the ,,gnat #abi ,x4 ,,life ,,at ,,the ,,isthmus #aec ,,xi4 ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,construction #agb ,,xii4 ,,the ,,culebra ,,cut #ahf ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,locks #aie ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,completed ,,canal #bjg ,,xv4 ,,panama ,,and ,,the ,,isthmus #bbf ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,new ,,ocean ,,highways #bdb ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,canal ,,and ,,the ,,americas #bfe ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,canal ,,and ,,the ,,british ,,empire #bhd ,,xix4 ,,the ,,new ,,pacific #caf ,,appendix ,i4--,,hay-,,pauncefote ,,treaty #cbc ,,appendix ,,ii4--,,panama ,,declaration ,,of ,,independence #cbg ,,appendix ,,iii4--,,hay-,,bunau-,,varilla ,,treaty ,,clauses #a-i ,,and #bc #ccb ,,appendix ,,iv4--,,proclamation ,,as ,,to ,,canal ,,toll ,,rates #cdc ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,col4 ,george ,w4 ,goethals1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,frontispiece ,chairman and ,chief ,engineer ,isthmian ,canal ,commission4 ,col4 ,william ,c4 ,gorgas #add ,medical ,department1 ,u4,s4 ,army1 ,head of the ,department of ,sanitation1 ,ancon4 ,culebra ,cut1 from ,west ,bank #aib ,gatun ,locks1 looking ,south-,west #bja ,gatun ,upper ,lock1 looking ,north #bjh ,gatun ,upper ,lock--,west ,chamber #baf ,pedro ,miguel ,locks #bbd ,,date ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,canal4 ,conquest of ,constantinople by ,turks #adec ,columbus's ,first ,voyage #adib ,columbus discovers ,bay of ,limon #adig ,rodrigo de ,bastidas1 ,balboa1 and ,la ,cosa reach the ,isthmus #aejj ,columbus's ,fourth ,voyage1 vainly seeks the strait #aejb ,balboa sights the ,pacific ,sept4 #be1 #aeac ,pedrarias founds the old town of ,panama #aeai ,magellan discovers the straits that bear his name #aeai-ba ,gonzalez de ,avila discovers ,lake ,nicaragua #aebb ,the quest of ,isthmian ,strait given up as hopeless circa #aecb ,gomara appeals to ,charles ,v4 to construct canal #aeea ,drake sights the ,pacific #aegc ,philip ,,iii4 directs surveys for ,darien ,canal #afaf ,english seize ,jamaica #afee ,henry ,morgan destroys old ,panama #afga ,paterson's settlement at ,panama #afih ,spanish surveys of ,tehuantepec and ,nicaragua #agga and #aggi ,von ,humboldt's residence in ,central ,america #agii-ahjd ,panama declares its independence and joins ,new ,granada #ahbb ,overtures made by ,central ,america to ,united ,states for canal #ahbe ,goethe's prophecies #ahbg ,dutch canal concession from ,nicaraguan ,government #ahbi abandoned #ahcj ,british ,honduras annexed by ,great ,britain #ahce ,united ,states ,treaty with ,new ,granada #ahdf ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty #ahej ,panama ,railway opened to traffic #ahee ,dickinson-,ayon ,treaty between ,united ,states and ,nicaragua #ahfh ,president ,grant recommends canal under ,united ,states control #ahfi ,appoints ,interoceanic ,canal ,commission #ahfi ,suez ,canal opened #ahfi ,la ,societe ,civile ,internationale du ,canal ,interoceanique founded #ahgf ,grant's ,commission reports in favour of ,nicaraguan route #ahgf ,the ,de ,lesseps ,company formed #ahgh ,company starts work #ahha ,bankruptcy of ,french company #ahhi ,new ,panama ,company formed #ahhi ,construction work at ,nicaragua #ahij-c ,ferdinand de ,lesseps died #ahid ,hay-,pauncefote ,treaty #aija ,spooner ,act #aijb ,panama revolts from ,colombia #aijc ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty #aijd ,american occupation of ,isthmus begins #aijd ,completion of canal #aiad ,formal opening #aiae ,,the ,,panama ,,canal4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,the ,,strait4 ,it was either very careless or very astute of ,nature to leave the entire length of the ,american continent without a central passage from ocean to ocean1 or1 having provided such a passage at ,nicaragua1 to allow it to be obstructed again by volcanic action4 ,this imperviousness of the long ,american barrier had1 as we shall see1 important economic and political results1 and the eventual opening of a waterway will have results scarcely less important4 ,the ,panama ,canal will achieve1 after more than four centuries1 the object with which ,columbus spread his sails westwards from the port of ,palos--the provision of a sea-route westwards to ,china and the ,indies4 ,the capture of ,constantinople in #adec by the ,turks interrupted the ancient trade routes between ,east and ,west4 ,brigands held up the caravans which plodded across the desert sands from the ,euphrates and the ,indus1 and pirates swarmed in the ,mediterranean and ,red ,sea1 intercepting the precious cargoes of silks and jewels and spices consigned to the merchants of ,italy4 ,the eyes of all ,europe were turned to the ,atlantic1 and an ocean route westwards to ,india and the ,orient1 the existence of which had been fabled from the days of ,aristotle1 became an economic necessity4 ,columbus1 as every one knows1 died in the belief that he had discovered this route1 and that the lands he had visited were fringes and islands of the ,eastern ,asiatic continent4 ,the geographers of those days greatly exaggerated the eastern extension of ,asia1 with the result that the distance from ,europe to ,china and ,india was underestimated by at least one-half4 ,this was a fortunate mistake1 for it is improbable that if ,columbus had known that ,cathay and ,cipangu 7,japan7 were a good #ab1jjj miles westwards from the coast of ,spain he would have ventured upon a continuous voyage of that length in the vessels of his time4 ,it was in his fourth voyage 7#aejb7 that ,columbus first reached and explored the coastline of the isthmus and ,central ,america4 ,he was apparently not the first to land on the isthmus4 ,that distinction belongs either to ,alfonso ,ojeda1 who is said to have reached ,terra ,firma earlier in #aejb1 or to ,rodrigo de ,bastidas1 who1 we are told1 set sail from ,cadiz with ,la ,cosa in #aejj1 and1 reached the isthmus somewhere near ,porto ,bello4 ,about the doings of ,columbus on the mainland we get some detailed information from the ,portuguese historian and explorer of the sixteenth century1 ,galvano4 ,it is interesting to read that the great navigator visited the exact spot where the newly-constructed canal starts from the ,caribbean coast4 ,from the ,rio ,grande1 we read1 ,columbus went to the ,river of ,crocodiles which is now called ,rio de ,chagres1 which hath its springs near the ,south ,sea1 within four leagues of ,panama1 and runneth into the ,north ,sea4 ,it was this same river1 as we shall see1 that became the feeder of the canal when the high-level scheme was adopted4 ,so far out of his reckoning was ,columbus that at ,panama he imagined himself to be ten days' journey from the mouth of the ,ganges6 ,one of his objects1 as we know from his own journal1 was to convert the ,great ,khan of ,tartary to the ,christian faith1 and this entanglement in what he called the islands of the ,indian ,sea was a sore hindrance to that and all his other purposes4 ,he began that search for the strait which engaged the attention and tried the temper of ,spanish1 ,portuguese1 and ,english navigators for the next thirty years4 ,he had heard from the natives of the coast of a narrow place between two seas4 ,they probably meant a narrow strip of land as at ,panama4 ,but ,columbus understood them to mean a narrow waterway1 and rumours of such a passage no doubt existed then1 as they still do among the isthmian tribes4 ,he must also have heard accounts of the great ocean only thirty miles away1 and it is rather surprising he should not have made a dash across and anticipated ,balboa and ,drake4 ,in ,may #aejc1 however1 he quitted the ,terra ,firma without solving the great secret1 and he never returned to the mainland4 ,he died in #aejf1 still in complete ignorance of the nature of his discovery4 ,he knew nothing of the continent of ,america or of that seventy million square miles of ocean beyond1 to which ,magellan gave the name of ,pacific4 ,the ,holy ,grail itself was not pursued with more persistence and devotion than this mythical1 elusive strait by the navigators of the early years of the sixteenth century4 ,the isthmian governor sent out from ,spain went with urgent instructions to solve the secret of the strait4 ,in #aeac ,balboa set himself to the great enterprise4 ,if he could not discover a waterway he would at least see what lay beyond the narrow land barrier4 ,from ,coibo on the ,gulf of ,darien he struck inland on ,september #f with a hundred ,indian guides and bearers4 ,it is eloquent of the difficulties of the country which he had to traverse that it was not until ,september #bf that he won1 first of ,european men1 his distant view of the nameless and mysterious ocean4#a ,it was he1 and not ,cortez1 who with eagle eyes1 stared at the ,pacific4 ,and all his men ,looked at each other with a wild surmise1 ,silent upon a peak in ,darien4 ,cortez was himself a persistent searcher for the mythical strait4 ,he wrote home to the ,king of ,spain saying1 ,if the strait is found1 ,i shall hold it to be the greatest service ,i have yet rendered4 ,it would make the ,king of ,spain master of so many lands that he might call himself the lord of the whole world4 ,these vain attempts had very important results4 ,they led incidentally to the exploration of the whole coastline of the ,american continent4 ,for example1 ,jacques ,cartier1 who was sent out by the ,king of ,france about this time to find the shorter route to ,cathay1 searched the coast northwards as far as ,labrador and thus prepared the way for the planting of a ,french colony in ,canada4 ,at last1 in #aebj1 a sea-passage from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific was actually discovered by the first great circumnavigator1 ,magellan1 but it was far away from the narrow lands between ,north and ,south ,america4 ,through the perilous straits that have ever since borne his name at the southern extremity of the continent1 ,magellan pushed his venturous way into the great ocean beyond4 ,but even ,magellan had no idea that a few miles south of his strait the land ended and ,atlantic and ,pacific mingled their waters in one great flood4 ,that truth was accidentally discovered by the ,english ,drake more than fifty years afterwards 7#aegi74 ,drake had been driven southward by stormy weather when he made the discovery which almost eclipsed in its importance even ,magellan's exploit4 ,in his exultation1 we are told1 he landed on the farthest island1 and walking alone with his instruments to its extremity threw himself down1 and with his arms embraced the southernmost point of the known world4 ,from that point ,drake sailed up the western coast of ,south ,america1 engaged mainly in his favourite pursuit of singeing the ,king of ,spain's beard--capturing1 that is1 the treasure-ships bound to ,panama4 ,but he did not forget the more scientific duty of searching for the strait4 ,far northward he held his course1 past the future ,california1 till he must have been off the coastline of what is now ,british ,columbia1 ever hoping to find the ,pacific outlet of the famous ,north-,west ,passage4 ,but always the coast trended to the north-west1 and ,drake1 giving up the quest1 turned his prow westward and continued his voyage of circumnavigation4 ,but we are over-running our dates and must return to events at the isthmus4 ,it was about the year #aecj that the non-existence of a natural waterway became recognized4 ,and no sooner was this fact accepted than projects for an artificial canal began to be put forward4 ,it was clear to the geographers and traders of those days that an isthmian route westward offered great advantages to the routes via the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 ,magellan ,straits1 or the problematical ,north-,west ,passage4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,the eminence known as ,balboa ,hill in the ,american canal zone is certainly not that from which ,balboa first sighted the ,pacific1 though very likely a tradition to that effect will now gradually be established4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,canal ,,projects4 ,it appears that the honour of first conceiving and proposing the project of an artificial waterway through the isthmus belongs to ,alvaro de ,saavedra ,ceron1 a cousin of ,cortez1 who had been with ,balboa at ,panama4 ,ceron had been for twelve years engaged in the search for the strait1 and had finally begun to doubt its existence4 ,his thoughts turned to the isthmus at ,panama1 where the narrowness and low elevation of the land seemed to offer the likeliest chance of an artificial canal4 ,we learn from the old historian ,galvano that ,ceron prepared plans for the construction of a waterway there--almost precisely along the route chosen for the ,american canal nearly four hundred years later4 ,ceron's death1 however1 put an end to this early project4 ,it is interesting to find the ,portuguese historian ,galvano1 who flourished in the middle of the sixteenth century1 mentioning four possible routes for the canal--namely1 ,darien1 ,panama1 ,nicaragua1 and ,tehuantepec4 ,the choice1 however1 quickly confined itself to the ,panama and ,nicaraguan lines4 ,the reader may feel some surprise that at such an early date as this an engineering project should be seriously considered which was only accomplished in the end by the wealth and mechanical resources of one of the greatest of modern ,powers4 ,the explanation is that the tiny vessels of the early sixteenth century could have taken advantage of the natural rivers and lakes in the isthmus1 especially those on the ,nicaraguan route1 and that far less artificial construction would have been necessary than in these days of the mammoth liner and warship4 ,charles ,v41 ,king of ,spain1 seems to have been quite alive to the importance of these canal projects4 ,in #aecd he directed the ,governor of ,costa ,firme1 the old name for the ,panama district1 to survey the valley of the ,chagres1 the river which supplies the water for the upper reaches of the ,american canal4 ,this gentleman1 however1 seems scarcely to have shared the royal enthusiasm4 ,he may be supposed to have known the isthmus at these points very well1 and his scepticism about the prospect of canal construction there in those days was not wholly groundless4 ,the ,spanish historian ,gomara1 who wrote a history of the ,indies in #aeea and dedicated it to ,charles ,v41 declared a canal to be quite feasible along any of the four routes mentioned by ,galvano4 ,it is true he recognized obstacles4 ,there are mountains1 he wrote1 but there are also hands4 ,if determination is not lacking1 means will not fail2 the ,indies1 to which the way is to be made1 will furnish them4 ,to a king of ,spain1 seeking the wealth of ,indian commerce1 that which is possible is also easy4 ,but ,charles ,v4 died without making any practical advance in this enterprise1 and a rather remarkable reaction took place under his successor1 ,philip ,,ii4 ,it should be noted that by this time a permanent roadway had been established across the isthmus from ,panama to ,porto ,bello1 along which the ,spanish treasure-convoys passed from sea to sea without much interruption4 ,the rapidly growing power of the ,english at sea made ,philip fear that1 if a canal were built1 he would be unable to control it1 and would probably lose his existing monopoly of isthmian transit4 ,so he issued a veto against all projects of canal construction4 ,he even persuaded himself that it would be contrary to the ,divine purpose to link together two great oceans which ,god had set asunder1 and that any such attempt would be visited by a terrible nemesis4#b ,so his ,majesty not only forbade all such schemes but declared the penalty of death against any one who should attempt to make a better route across ,central ,america than the land-route between ,panama and ,porto ,bello4 ,in course of time the king's beard was so horribly singed by ,english navigators and adventurers in the ,caribbean ,sea that the ,atlantic end of the overland trail became almost useless1 and the ,spanish argosies were compelled to sail homewards round the far ,magellan ,straits4 ,but in #aegi1 as we have seen1 ,sir ,francis ,drake 7,el ,draque as he was called by the terrified ,spaniards7 had suddenly attacked1 captured1 and scattered the ,spanish ships off the ,pacific coast of ,south ,america4 ,so the isthmian land-route was once more resumed1 and it took the ,spaniard all his time to hold that open4 ,for many years no progress was made with the idea of an isthmian canal4 ,war between ,england and ,spain was the natural order of things in these ,central ,american regions4 ,in #afee the ,english seized ,jamaica1 and soon afterwards established themselves on the coast of ,honduras and ,nicaragua4 ,the old city of ,panama1 of which only a picturesque church-tower remains to-day1 had been founded by a ,spanish governor named ,pedrarias in #aeai4 ,in #afga the city was destroyed by that wicked ,welsh buccaneer1 ,sir ,henry ,morgan4 ,the town was rebuilt two years later by ,alonzo ,mercado de ,villacorta1 five miles west of the old site4 ,the project of a canal across the isthmus was never allowed entirely to disappear4 ,in #afid a very determined attempt was made to plant a ,british colony on the isthmus at ,darien1 a little east of the ,panama route4 ,the pioneer was ,william ,paterson1 a ,scotsman1 who founded the ,company of ,scotland ,trading to ,africa and the ,indies4 ,sir ,walter ,scott1 in his ,tales of a ,grandfather1 thus describes the project3-- ,the produce of ,china1 ,japan1 the ,spice ,islands1 and ,eastern ,india1 brought to the ,bay of ,panama1 were to be transferred across the isthmus to the new settlement1 and exchanged for the commodities of ,europe4 ,in ,paterson's enthusiastic words1 ,this door of the seas and key of the universe will enable its possessors to become the legislators of both worlds and the arbitrators of commerce4 ,the settlers at ,darien will acquire a nobler empire than ,alexander or ,caesar1 without fatigue1 expense1 or danger1 as well as without incurring the guilt and bloodshed of conquerors4 ,so #a1bjj settlers set sail from ,leith in ,july #afih1 no doubt with a high hope and courage4 ,in ,november the expedition arrived and established itself at a point of the coast still called ,puerto ,escoces1 or ,scotch ,port1 in ,caledonian ,bay1 also named from the same event4 ,new ,edinburgh and ,new ,st4 ,andrews were founded1 but the settlers soon got into difficulties4 ,the climate was intolerable1 and the project was opposed from the outset by the ,english and ,dutch ,east ,india ,companies1 who were alarmed on the score of their own exclusive rights1 while ,spaniards and ,indians were a perpetual menace4 ,broken down by these adversities the original settlers left the place1 but were succeeded at once by another company which1 after some successful fighting with the ,spaniards1 were compelled by the superior forces of the enemy to evacuate the settlements in the year #agjj4 ,it is possible that if this attempt at colonization had been made after and not before the ,union of ,scotland and ,ireland it would have met with much less opposition in ,england1 perhaps would have received government sympathy and support4 ,in that case the isthmus would have been added to the ,british dominions1 and a waterway might have been constructed under the ,british flag4 ,it should be added that ,paterson1 who had personally surveyed the isthmus1 positively declared that the construction of a canal was a feasible undertaking4 ,during the eighteenth century1 though surveying was carried out in many parts of the isthmus by ,european engineers1 the project of a canal was never seriously taken up4 ,it may be remembered that in #aghj our own ,nelson was at ,nicaragua1 annexing the lake and getting control of the interoceanic route in this region1 but doing little more than injuring his own health4 ,with the nineteenth century1 however1 events began to move at the isthmus4 ,the great scientist1 ,alexander von ,humboldt1 spent the first few years of the new century in ,mexico and ,central ,america4 ,in his ,political ,essay on ,new ,spain he described the impervious isthmus1 the barrier against the waves of the ,atlantic1 as for ages the bulwark of the independence of ,china and ,japan4 ,the absence of any water communication at the isthmus between the two oceans has indeed had highly important political and economic results4 ,it kept ,east and ,west far asunder4 ,it removed the west coast of ,north ,america from the colonizing rivalries of the ,old ,world4 ,england and the ,united ,states seemed for long ages only semiconscious of their territories on the ,pacific which were awaiting colonization4 ,even in recent times very few emigrants from ,europe1 who went out with the intention of going far west1 penetrated much further than ,chicago or ,manitoba4 ,population and industrial enterprise were concentrated in the east of ,canada and the ,united ,states1 and have only begun within modern times to move effectually westwards4 ,england was indeed so indifferent about her territories along a far coast1 which could be reached only round the ,horn or by an almost impossible land-transit1 that in the settlement of the ,oregon boundary in the middle of last century she accepted a ,canadian frontier-line much further north than would otherwise have contented her4 ,she had at least as good a right to ,california and the territories to the northwards as the descendants of her revolted colonists4 ,the absence of a waterway at the narrow lands secured to the ,united ,states and to ,england their expansion westwards1 but imposed on the westward movement a very slow and gradual pace4 ,one result of the new canal will be a very rapid development of these ,pacific slopes1 especially those of ,british ,columbia4 ,the effect on ,south ,america of this complete severance of ,east and ,west has also been very important4 ,the republics on the ,pacific have been sheltered as much as possible from ,european influences4 ,immigration has been naturally restricted1 the population1 especially that of ,chile1 kept free from negro admixture1 and the development of the countries effectually checked4 ,the opening of the canal will1 of course1 have a contrary effect all along these lines4 ,but1 to return from this digression1 ,humboldt described six routes in ,central ,america where a canal would be practicable1 including that which was afterwards adopted at ,panama4 ,he investigated and discussed many physiographical questions in connection with the subject4 ,there had arisen a general belief that the level of the ,pacific was much higher than that of the ,atlantic1 and that a sea-level canal would therefore be impossible4 ,humboldt declared against this theory4 ,but it is curious to find him favouring the idea that the construction of a tide-level canal might have the effect of diverting the ,gulf ,stream from our shores1 and thus making the climate of our ,british islands much more rigorous and inhospitable4 ,the researches of ,humboldt in the ,west ,indies and ,central ,america much interested the scientist's great fellow-countryman1 ,goethe4 ,a passage from ,goethe's ,conversations with ,eckermann is worth quoting as an example of prophecy wonderfully fulfilled3-- ,humboldt said ,goethe has with great practical knowledge mentioned other points where1 by utilizing some of the rivers which flow into the ,gulf of ,mexico1 the end could perhaps be more advantageously attained than at ,panama4 ,well1 all this is reserved for the future1 and for a great spirit of enterprise4 ,but so much is certain3 if a project of the kind succeeded in making it possible for ships of whatever lading or size to go through such a canal from the ,gulf of ,mexico to the ,pacific ,ocean1 quite incalculable results would ensue for the whole of civilized and uncivilized humanity4 ,i should be surprised1 however1 if the ,united ,states were to let the opportunity escape them of getting such an achievement into their own hands4 ,we may expect this youthful ,power1 with its decided tendency westwards1 in thirty or forty years to have also occupied and peopled the extensive tracts of land beyond the ,rocky ,mountains4 ,we may further expect that along the whole ,pacific coast1 where ,nature has already formed the largest and safest harbours1 commercial cities of the utmost importance will gradually arise1 to be the medium of trade between ,china1 together with the ,east ,indies1 and the ,united ,states4 ,were this to happen1 it would be not alone desirable but even almost necessary that merchantmen as well as men-of-war should maintain a more rapid connection between the west and east coasts of ,north ,america than has previously been possible by the wearisome1 disagreeable1 and costly voyage round ,cape ,horn4 ,i repeat1 then3 it is absolutely indispensable for the ,united ,states to effect a way through from the ,gulf of ,mexico to the ,pacific ,ocean1 and ,i am certain they will compass it4 ,this ,i should like to live to see1 but ,i shall not4 ,secondly1 ,i should like to live to see a connection established between the ,danube and the ,rhine4 ,but this1 too1 is an undertaking so gigantic that ,i doubt its being accomplished1 especially when ,i consider our ,german means4 ,thirdly and lastly1 ,i should like to see the ,english in possession of a ,suez ,canal4 ,these three great things ,i should like to live to see1 and it would almost be worth while for their sakes to hold out for some fifty years4 ,many projects for canal construction1 chiefly by the ,nicaraguan route1 were started and failed during the first half of the nineteenth century4 ,the second decade of that century witnessed the revolt one by one of all the ,spanish provinces in ,central and ,south ,america4 ,the ,colombian ,confederation1 comprising ,venezuela1 ,ecuador1 and ,new ,granada1 achieved their independence in #ahba4 ,panama quickly followed1 and allied itself with ,new ,granada 7now ,colombia74 ,in #ahbe the ,central ,american envoy to the ,united ,states urged the ,american government to co-operate in the canal enterprise with the states he represented4 ,the result was that ,henry ,clay1 the ,american ,secretary of ,state1 ordered an official survey at ,nicaragua1 and scheme followed scheme in quick succession4 ,in #ahbi the ,king of ,holland was granted a canal concession by the ,nicaraguan government4 ,this enterprise was frustrated by the outbreak of the revolution in the ,netherlands and ,belgium4 ,it would be tedious to enumerate the many projects started during the following years4 ,but it is worth recalling that ,louis ,napoleon ,bonaparte1 who was then a prisoner in the fortress of ,ham1 became interested in the subject1 and while still a captive obtained a concession and franchise for a canal company from the ,nicaraguan government4 ,he published a pamphlet on the ,isthmian ,canal question which aroused a good deal of attention1 though its author's interest was soon diverted to political events nearer home4 ,a passage from his little book is interesting for its strong advocacy of the ,nicaraguan route by the ,san ,juan ,river and the lakes3-- ,the geographical position of ,constantinople rendered her the queen of the ancient world4 ,occupying1 as she does1 the central point between ,europe1 ,asia1 and ,africa1 she could become the entrepot of the commerce of all these countries1 and obtain over them immense preponderance2 for in politics1 as in strategy1 a central position always commands the circumference4 ,this is what the proud city of ,constantine could be1 but it is what she is not1 because1 as ,montesquieu says1 ,god permitted that the ,turks should exist on earth1 as a people most fit to possess uselessly a great empire4 ,there exists in the ,new ,world a state as admirably situated as ,constantinople1 and we must say1 up to this time1 as uselessly occupied4 ,we allude to the ,state of ,nicaragua4 ,as ,constantinople is the centre of the ,ancient ,world1 so is the town of ,leon the centre of the ,new1 and if the tongue of land which separates its two lakes from the ,pacific ,ocean were cut through1 she would command by virtue of her central position the entire coast of ,north and ,south ,america4 ,the ,state of ,nicaragua can become1 better than ,constantinople1 the necessary route of the great commerce of the world1 and is destined to attain an extraordinary degree of prosperity and grandeur4 ,france1 ,england1 and ,holland have a great commercial interest in the establishment of a communication between the two oceans1 but ,england has more than the other ,powers--a political interest in the execution of this project4 ,england will see with pleasure ,central ,america becoming a powerful and flourishing state1 which will establish a balance of power by creating in ,spanish ,america a new centre of active enterprise1 powerful enough to give rise to a feeling of nationality1 and to prevent1 by backing ,mexico1 any further encroachments from the north4 ,the idea of a trans-isthmian canal seemed likely in the 'fifties of last century to prove a cause of discord1 if not of war1 between ,england and the ,united ,states4 ,under the rather pushful foreign policy of ,lord ,palmerston1 ,england rapidly increased her influence and possessions in ,central ,america4 ,in #ahce ,british ,honduras was practically constituted a ,british colony1 and ,british influence was subsequently extended into ,nicaragua and ,mosquitia1 thus covering the favourite route for an isthmian waterway4 ,the ,united ,states were establishing themselves on the ,pacific through their encroachments on ,mexico4 ,in #ahdf they acquired the states of ,california1 ,nevada1 ,arizona1 and ,new ,mexico1 and naturally began to attach more importance to the canal project and to feel more sensitive as regards rival ambitions in ,central ,america4 ,soon after they had acquired these ,pacific territories1 began the great rush for gold to ,california1 and some shorter way from east to west became necessary than the sea-trail round the ,horn or the weary wagon-trek over the broad ,north ,american continent4 ,already in #ahdf1 before the ,mexican ,war and the discovery of gold in ,california1 the ,united ,states had made a treaty with ,new ,granada1 by which the former secured rights of transit over the isthmus upon any modes of communication that now exist or may hereafter be constructed1 and by which they guaranteed the sovereignty of ,new ,granada over all the territories at the isthmus4 ,it was under this treaty that the ,panama ,railway was constructed which brought the town of ,colon 7formerly ,aspinwall7 into existence1 and was subsequently taken over by the ,united ,states government4 ,this railroad made the isthmus for the first time a highway of world-traffic4 ,it had a monopoly of isthmian transportation1 and was able to make any charges it pleased4 ,steamship services to the southern and northern coasts of ,america from ,panama were developed1 and the railway succeeded so well that it paid down to #ahie an average dividend of #ae per cent4 ,it was bought by the first ,french ,panama ,company for the outrageously high sum of ,l#e1ajj1jjj4 ,the existence of the railway really determined ,de ,lesseps' choice of the ,panama route1 and the immense amount of excavation done by the ,french had a great deal to do in turn with the ,american choice of the same route1 so that the construction of the ,panama ,railway was a highly important event at the isthmus4 ,the ,united ,states took over the railroad from the ,french with the unfinished canal1 together with a steamship service from ,colon to ,new ,york1 owned by the railroad4 ,the rivalry between ,england and the ,united ,states along the ,nicaraguan route became so acute and dangerous that a very important treaty was concluded between the two countries in #ahej1 when we may say that the ,panama ,canal question entered the domain of modern politics4 ,the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty1 so-called from ,mr4 ,john ,m4 ,clayton1 the ,american ,secretary of ,state1 and ,sir ,henry ,bulwer1 ,british ,minister at ,washington1 who negotiated it1 held the field for fifty years1 and became the subject of endless discussion between ,england and the ,united ,states4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,herodotus tells a story how the people of ,knidos were forbidden by the ,delphic oracle to make a canal through the isthmus1 along which their ,persian enemies could advance by land to attack them4 ,the oracle said that if ,zeus had wished the place to be an island he would have made it one4 ,there is a curious resemblance between this story and that related in the text4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,clayton-,,bulwer ,,treaty ,,and ,,the ,,suez ,,canal4 ,the treaty of #ahej was concerned primarily with a canal along the ,nicaraguan route--that is1 as the preamble expresses it1 a canal between the ,atlantic and ,pacific ,oceans by way of the river ,san ,juan de ,nicaragua and either or both of the lakes of ,nicaragua or ,managua to any port or place on the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,but as ,article ,,viii4 says1 it established a general principle relating to any waterway across the isthmus between ,north and ,south ,america4 ,the two contracting parties undertook in the treaty that neither should obtain or maintain for itself any exclusive control over the said canal1 or maintain any fortifications commanding the same1 or in the vicinity thereof1 or occupy1 or fortify1 or colonize1 or assume1 or exercise any dominion over ,nicaragua1 ,costa ,rica1 the ,mosquito ,coast1 or any part of ,central ,america4 ,this agreement1 as ,i said1 subsisted for fifty years1 but it was scarcely concluded when it was found inconsistent with the growing importance and ambition of the ,united ,states1 where a demand quickly arose for an ,american-owned canal4 ,again there followed a series of schemes for canal construction at various points of the isthmus4 ,for example1 ,dr4 ,edgar ,cullen created some excitement in ,england in the early ,victorian days by giving a very favourable account of the ,caledonian route across the isthmus at ,darien1 in a lecture to the ,royal ,geographical ,society4 ,the doctor was received by the young queen and the ,prince ,consort1 a corporation was formed1 and an engineer sent out to make surveys from ,caledonian ,bay4 ,a ,british and a ,french man-of-war were dispatched to the isthmus to make investigations4 ,but the surveyor was driven from ,caledonian ,bay by local tribes1 and so went on to ,panama1 giving a favourable report of that route on his return to ,england4 ,but nothing came of these incidents1 and the ,american ,civil ,war in the early 'sixties diverted the attention of the ,united ,states from isthmian affairs4 ,at the end of the war ,american interest revived1 and public opinion set more and more against the idea of sharing a canal with any other ,power4 ,in #ahfi ,president ,grant gave the first public expression to the demand for an ,american canal under ,american control4 ,i regard it1 he said1 as of vast political importance to this country that no ,european government should hold such a work4 ,later1 in an article in the ,north ,american ,review1 he said1 ,i commend an ,american canal1 on ,american soil1 to the ,american people4 ,just before the ,president's declaration of policy the ,united ,states had concluded an important treaty1 known as the ,dickinson-,ayon ,treaty1 with ,nicaragua1 securing a right of way for a canal over the ,nicaraguan route2 and1 just afterwards1 ,president ,grant appointed an ,interoceanic ,canal ,commission which investigated four routes for a canal1 and finally1 in #ahge1 reported unanimously in favour of the ,nicaraguan route from ,grey town to the ,san ,juan ,river1 to ,lake ,nicaragua1 through the ,rio del ,medio and ,rio ,grande valleys1 to ,brito on the ,pacific coast4 ,in #ahfi an event occurred which was to have a very decisive effect on isthmian affairs--the opening for traffic of the ,suez ,canal4 ,these two isthmuses in the eastern and western hemispheres have some obvious features in common4 ,they both link two vast continents and form a barrier between two oceans or oceanic systems4 ,they are fairly equal in breadth--,suez1 sixty miles1 and ,panama about fifty-four4 ,the shortest line across each runs almost exactly north and south4 ,and they were both until recent times uninhabited country4 ,but there are many dissimilarities4 ,the isthmus at ,suez is a flat and sterile desert2 that at ,panama is hilly and covered with an almost impenetrable jungle of tropical vegetation4 ,again1 ,suez is a healthy district1 whereas ,panama was1 until recent years1 a pest-house as deadly as ,sierra ,leone or the ,guinea coast4 ,mr4 ,bryce in his charming book on ,south ,america compares these two inter-continental causeways from a more historical point of view4 ,he writes3-- ,a still more remarkable contrast1 between these two necks of land1 lies in the part they have respectively played in human affairs4 ,the isthmus of ,panama in far-off prehistoric days has been the highway along which those wandering tribes whose forefathers had passed in their canoes from ,north-eastern ,asia along the ,aleutian ,isles into ,alaska found their way1 after many centuries1 into the vast spaces of ,south ,america4 ,but its place in the annals of mankind1 during the four centuries that have elapsed since ,balboa gazed from a mountain top rising out of the forest upon the far-off waters of the ,south ,sea1 has been small indeed compared to that which the isthmus of ,suez has held from the beginning of history4 ,it echoed to the tread of the armies of ,thothmes and ,rameses marching forth on their invasions of ,western ,asia4 ,along the edge of it ,israel fled forth before the hosts of ,pharaoh4 ,first the ,assyrian and afterwards the ,persian hosts poured across it to conquer ,egypt2 and over its sands ,bonaparte led his regiments to ,palestine in that bold adventure which was stopped at ,st4 ,jean d',acre4 ,it has been one of the great highways for armies for forty centuries1 as the canal cut through it is now one of the great highways for commerce4 ,the turn of the isthmus of ,panama is now come1 and1 curiously enough1 it is the isthmus of ,suez that brought that turn1 for it was the digging of a ship canal from the ,mediterranean to the ,red ,sea1 and the vast expansion of ,eastern trade which followed1 that led to the revival of the old designs1 mooted as far back as ,philip ,,ii4 of ,spain1 of piercing the ,american isthmus4 ,thus the comparison of the two isthmuses becomes now more interesting than ever1 for our generation will watch to see whether the commerce and politics of the ,western ,world will be affected by this new route which is now being opened1 as those of the ,old ,world have been affected by the achievement of ,ferdinand de ,lesseps4 ,it will be seen from this quotation how the completion of the ,suez ,canal affected the ,panama project4 ,lesseps1 fresh from his success at ,suez and not contented with his great achievement there1 was easily attracted by the schemes which were afoot for constructing a ship canal at another land-barrier which1 like the isthmus at ,suez1 had obstructed the quickest lines of communication between ,east and ,west4 ,in #ahgf a corporation was established1 called ,la ,societe ,civile ,internationale du ,canal ,interoceanique1 for the purpose of promoting canal schemes on the lower isthmus4 ,its head was ,lieutenant ,lucien ,napoleon ,bonaparte ,wyse1 who easily obtained a canal concession at ,bogota from the ,colombian government4 ,in #ahgi an ,international ,engineering ,congress was assembled at ,paris by ,lesseps1 whose partisans compelled a decision in favour of the ,panama route4 ,but the ,united ,states1 determined by this time to construct a canal for themselves without any joint control or international guarantee of neutrality1 opposed the ,french scheme from the outset4 ,no amount of bluff from the ,french promoters affected this opposition4 ,the ,american people had indeed some right to complain4 ,the ,colombian concession to the ,french was quite inconsistent with the treaty of #ahdf between this ,south ,american republic and the ,united ,states4 ,this treaty ,lesseps tried to induce ,colombia to abrogate1 and every effort1 fair and foul1 was employed to overcome the ,american objection to the scheme4 ,in #ahhj ,lesseps was feted at a public banquet at ,new ,york1 but even the personal presence of the great man failed to have the desired effect4 ,president ,hayes addressed a strong message to the ,senate on the subject1 a few passages of which are interesting as showing the very decided views now held by the ,american government and people3-- ,an interoceanic canal across the ,american isthmus will essentially change the geographical relations between the ,atlantic and ,pacific coasts of the ,united ,states1 and between the ,united ,states and the rest of the world4 ,it will be the great ocean thoroughfare between our ,atlantic and our ,pacific shores1 and virtually a part of the coastline of the ,united ,states4 ,our mere commercial interest in it is larger than that of all other countries1 while its relation to our power and prosperity as a nation1 to our means of defence1 our unity1 peace1 and safety1 are matters of paramount concern to the people of the ,united ,states4 ,no other great ,power would1 under similar circumstances1 fail to assert a rightful control over a work so closely and vitally affecting its interests and welfare4 ,without urging further the grounds of my opinion1 ,i repeat1 in conclusion1 that it is the right and the duty of the ,united ,states to assert and maintain such supervision and authority over any interoceanic canal across the isthmus that connects ,north and ,south ,america as will protect our national interests4 ,this1 ,i am quite sure1 will be found not only compatible with1 but promotive of1 the widest and most permanent advantage to commerce and civilization4 ,the reader will see that all this is inconsistent with the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty1 under which the ,united ,states had actually undertaken to claim no such exclusive control as was now desired4 ,lengthy negotiations were now set on foot with ,england for the abrogation of a treaty which forbade the ,united ,states to build a canal of their own and prevented them from effectually opposing the ,french scheme4 ,lord ,granville1 however1 saw no reason why ,england should abandon the treaty solely in the interests of the ,united ,states1 and the negotiations were fruitless4 ,meantime the ,french persisted in their undertaking4 ,their canal was to be tide-level1 twenty-eight feet deep1 costing ,l#bf1djj1jjj4 ,a corporation entitled the ,compagnie ,universelle du ,canal ,interoceanique de ,panama was formed in #ahha1 and in the same year the work of construction was begun4 ,so it looked as though the ,americans were to lose all chance of constructing an isthmian canal under their own control4 ,events1 however1 were to decide otherwise4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,french ,,failure4 ,the ,french company began work on the isthmus in ,february1 and such a rake's progress set in as the world has seldom seen4 ,the name of ,ferdinand de ,lesseps inspired such confidence that plenty of money was forthcoming from the ,french people4 ,a great deal of it was subscribed by small investors who could ill afford to lose their savings1 and no fewer than #af1jjj women took shares in their own names4 ,the beginning of the excavations was celebrated with a gala performance in the little theatre at ,panama1 among the artistes being ,sarah ,bernhardt4 ,then began a drama or a melodrama of extravagance and profligacy lasting seven years4 ,money was poured out like the torrential flood-waters down the river ,chagres4 ,i have mentioned the exorbitant sum which the company paid for the ,panama ,railway4 ,all the expenditure was on the same scale4 ,princely salaries were paid to the managers and directors1 and elegant mansions erected for their accommodation4 ,building operations--warehouses1 hospitals1 hotels1 etc4--were carried on regardless4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,johnson tells of a man who owned thirty acres of land useful mainly as a breeding-place for mosquitoes1 but lying right across the route of the canal4 ,it was worth perhaps #cjj dollars4 ,the man demanded just a thousand times that sum2 the ,colombian courts awarded it1 and the ,french paid it4 ,for one great mistake the ,french made was that they failed to secure a canal zone in which they would have exercised full powers of administration4 ,they began to build their canal on ,colombian territory1 under ,colombian control1 and the consequence was that they were fleeced on every side4 ,probably this mistake was inevitable1 as the ,united ,states would have vetoed any territorial concession by ,colombia to ,france as a transgression of the ,monroe doctrine4 ,the isthmus rapidly degenerated into a moral as well as a climatic pest-house4 ,froude described the condition of things at ,panama in one terrible sentence3 ,in all the world there is perhaps not now concentrated in any single spot so much swindling and villainy1 so much foul disease1 such a hideous dung-heap of moral and physical abomination4 ,in fairness1 however1 it must be said that ,lesseps himself cannot be held directly responsible for this state of affairs4 ,he lived in ,paris1 and had probably little notion of what was happening at ,panama4 ,he furnished an example of the proverbial effects of too much success and prosperity4 ,he seems to have become a superstitious believer in his own star1 and to have thought that nothing could fail with which he was associated4 ,still less can the ,french nation be blamed for the wild doings of their representatives at the isthmus4 ,and there is at least one redeeming feature in the conduct of this enterprise4 ,in the midst of the moral and physical abominations that infested the isthmus during the ,french occupation1 the engineering work went on steadily and conscientiously4 ,much of the ,french work was available for the ,americans when they took over the task1 and the engineers of the ,united ,states have always testified generously to the excellence of the ,french excavation and construction along the ,canal route4 ,it must be carefully noted that the ,french canal was to be sea-level like the ,suez1 ,corinth1 and ,kiel ,canals4 ,the construction of such a waterway differed in many important ways from that of the high-level lock canal which the ,united ,states have completed4 ,to understand this we must consider briefly the character of the country which lies between ,panama and ,colon4 ,the dominant and decisive features of the isthmus at this point are the ,chagres ,river and the ,culebra ,mountains4 ,the ,chagres enters the ,caribbean a little west of ,colon4 ,its valley runs right across the isthmus south-south-eastwardly towards ,panama for about twenty-six miles1 then1 at a place called ,bas ,opisbo1 suddenly swerves away to the north-east into the trackless and jungle-clad hill country4 ,this valley is the only transverse trench which the isthmus affords at this stretch1 and it has always fixed the attention of surveyors looking out for a canal site4 ,if the isthmus had been a rainless desert like that of ,suez1 a canal could have been constructed by a further preparation of this river valley and some heavy excavations along the nine-mile reach from ,obispo to the ,pacific4 ,the sea would then have been admitted1 the ebb and flow of the ,pacific 7the ,atlantic shore is almost tideless7 being regulated by a tidal lock4 ,but the problem is not nearly so simple4 ,the isthmus is one of the rainiest places in the world1 enjoying on the ,atlantic side #adj inches of rain a year4 ,at ,panama the rate is much smaller1 not more than #fj inches4 ,in the central hills the rainfall averages #ij to #ie inches4 ,the average number of rainy days in the year is #bdf at ,bohio 7inland on the ,atlantic side71 #aif at ,colon1 and #ada at ,panama4 ,the reader must not imagine a perpetual downpour or drizzle4 ,the rain comes down in thundering tropical cataracts1 leaving spaces of fine weather between the storms4 ,still1 the isthmus is undoubtedly rainy and damp1 and it is this humidity which makes the climate so trying1 though the variations of the thermometer are by no means extreme and the average air temperature not particularly high4 ,for example1 the average temperature at ,panama ranges from #ha4f ,fahrenheit in ,november to #hf4a in ,march--that is1 during the hottest time of the day1 from two to four o'clock p4m4 ,the coolest time is from six to seven a4m41 when the average temperature ranges between #gd4j in ,january to #gf4f in ,june4 ,the yearly average daily temperature is #gi4f4 ,the thermometer seems never to have recorded #ajj degrees ,fahrenheit at ,panama1 whereas #ajd has been touched even at ,washington4 ,but to return to the ,chagres ,river4 ,the tropical rains convert this stream very quickly into a raging torrent4 ,the ,chagres is capable of rising over forty feet in twenty-four hours4 ,if the ,chagres valley was to be the site of the canal1 as was obviously necessary1 how did the ,french propose to care for this tremendous and capricious flow of water8 ,mr4 ,johnson remarks that those who have seen the antics of the ,chagres under the stress of a characteristic isthmian rain must be pardoned if they regard the harnessing of the ,chagres to the canal as something much like the harnessing of a mad elephant to a family carriage4 ,the only course open to the ,french with their sea-level project was to divert the ,chagres with its twenty-six tributaries1 chief of which are the ,gatun and the ,trinidad1 from its old valley into another channel1 along which it could rage as it pleased on its short journey to the ,caribbean4 ,this would have been a tremendous1 though probably not an impossible1 task4 ,the ,new ,panama ,company1 which took the ,french work from the ,lesseps ,company in #ahic1 dropped the tide-level in favour of a lock or high-level canal1 and adopted the plan of a dam across the river valley at ,bohio1 creating a lake above this point and discharging the flood waters to the level below by means of a spillway in the adjacent hills4 ,we shall see later how the ,americans adopted the same principle but modified it in practice4 ,so much at present for the ,chagres problem4 ,the other main feature of the isthmus is met with about the point where the river suddenly changes its direction--that is at ,bas ,obispo1 or ,gamboa1 about nine miles from the ,pacific outlet4 ,here are the hills1 the backbone or continental divide1 averaging over #cjj feet high but rising to much higher points1 which connects the ,cordilleras of ,south with the ,sierras of ,north ,america4 ,for eight or nine miles the canal must run through this central barrier on its way to the ,pacific4 ,the earliest ,french notion was for a ship tunnel--a project perhaps never seriously contemplated4 ,the only other course was to cut right down through this hilly country4 ,that was a tremendous undertaking1 which required1 even for its inception1 a good deal of the faith which is said to be able to remove mountains4 ,we shall look more closely at the famous ,culebra ,cut when we come to the ,american canal4 ,most of the work of the ,french companies consisted of the dredging of the sea-level channels at the ,atlantic and ,pacific ends4 ,but they drove a pretty deep furrow as well through the ,culebra ,mountains1 excavating in all about #bb1fjj1jjj cubic yards4 ,with their sea-level scheme the ,french had1 of course1 a bigger proposition before them at the hills than their ,american successors4 ,they would have had to cut right down below sea-level1 whereas the bottom of the cut in the ,american lock-canal is forty feet above that level4 ,considering the difficulty the ,united ,states engineers have had with slides and breaks along the sides of their cutting1 one suspects that the much deeper and narrower channel of the ,french would have proved impracticable4 ,the ,french scheme gave a width to the channel at this point of only #gd feet1 while the bottom width of the ,american canal is #cjj feet4 ,the ,french work at the ,cut was all utilizable by the ,americans1 who1 though with different machinery1 adopted the same general method of excavation4 ,in #ahhh the ,french company suspended payments and went into bankruptcy4 ,the canal was completed to the extent of about two-fifths1 and had already cost nearly ,l#hj1jjj1jjj4 ,it was said at the time that about one-third of this sum was spent on the canal1 one-third wasted1 and one-third stolen4 ,the original capital with the eight subscription lists between #ahhb and #ahhh produced nominally ,l#gh1gja1jbj1 but actually only ,l#dj1cji1cdh1 the loss in discounts1 etc41 amounting to ,l#ch1cia1fgb4 ,the collapse of the company was followed by investigations and trials in ,france4 ,ten senators and deputies1 together with the directors1 were brought to trial4 ,ferdinand and his son ,charles de ,lesseps were1 among others1 condemned to fines and imprisonment1 but the sentences upon the ,lesseps were never carried out4 ,neither the son nor the father was probably responsible for the iniquities which had marked the history of the company4 ,the genius who had created the ,suez ,canal was indeed completely broken down by the tragical conclusion of his second venture1 and died in #ahid in a condition of mental and physical collapse4 ,but financial profligacy was not the only cause of the ,french failure4 ,disease and death fought against the enterprise from the first4 ,yellow fever and malaria caused as much mortality among the ,french employees as would suffice for a great military campaign4 ,sir ,ronald ,ross1 the great expert in tropical diseases1 was told in #aijd1 when at the isthmus1 that the ,french attempt cost at least #ej1jjj lives4 ,this may have been an over-estimate1 but there is no doubt that the mortality was terrible1 and would probably have brought the ,french operations to an end even if greater economy and honesty had prevailed in the administration4 ,it must not be supposed that the ,french made no provision for the victims of these endemic diseases4 ,excellent hospitals were built at ,ancon1 near ,panama1 at a cost of over a million of money2 while those at ,colon cost more than a quarter of a million--in both cases about three times a fair and honest price4 ,at the time of the ,french occupation of the isthmus nothing was known of the real nature and cause of yellow fever and malaria1 of the manner in which they are transmitted1 and the only effective means of prevention4 ,all the recent and marvellous advance in scientific knowledge of these diseases was available when the ,americans began their work1 and was applied with the greatest efficiency and success4 ,medical science1 quite as much as engineering skill1 made a ,panama canal possible1 and we shall have a good deal more to say on this subject when we come to describe the ,american operations4 ,let us not forget1 then1 that despite their failure the ,french did a great deal of good work1 which they passed on many years afterwards to their ,american successors4 ,a quantity of the ,french machinery1 tools1 and hardware was also available4 ,it is true that among this was included a large consignment of snow-shovels 7for use at sea-level less than #aj degrees from the ,equator671 and a quantity of petroleum torches for the festivities which were one day to celebrate the completion of the canal4 ,but a great deal of the plant was in good condition4 ,the extravagance and corruption which prevailed at the isthmus during the first ,french company were almost incredible4 ,but it may be doubted whether any other nation could have succeeded in the 'eighties of last century where the ,french failed4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,hay-,,pauncefote ,,treaty4 ,in #ahic a new corporation1 known as the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company1 took over all the assets of the ,de ,lesseps ,company1 including the railway1 and the work of construction was continued1 or at least not wholly interrupted4 ,meanwhile the people of the ,united ,states were not greatly displeased at the collapse of the great ,french enterprise4 ,they became more and more determined to construct an ,american canal under ,american control4 ,the ,nicaraguan route was still favoured by many as compared with that at ,panama4 ,in #ahhg a surveying party was sent to ,nicaragua1 and the next year the ,maritime ,canal ,company was established to promote the building of a canal there4 ,it is important to notice this particular scheme1 for under it work was actually begun4 ,wharves1 warehouses1 and a breakwater were constructed at ,greytown1 a railway was built1 and some progress made with the canal itself4 ,outside the ,panama route this was the only actual work of canal construction performed in ,isthmian and ,central ,america4 ,the project failed owing to the great depression of trade which occurred in #ahic and the impossibility of getting more capital4 ,it should be noticed that these projects of constructing an ,american canal at ,nicaragua quite independently of ,great ,britain were right in the teeth of the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty of #ahej1 which still remained in force4 ,most sensible persons saw that the first preliminary to an ,american canal was to get this treaty abrogated or modified4 ,but this purpose and canal schemes in general were delayed by the outbreak in #ahih of the ,spanish-,american ,war4 ,this was a naval war1 and the ,united ,states were to feel the inconvenience and danger of having no sea communication between their eastern and western coasts except via the far southern extremity of the continent4 ,united fleet action over the whole theatre of the war was rendered impossible4 ,an event soon occurred which finally completed the conviction of the ,american people that1 in the words of ,president ,grant1 an ,american canal on ,american soil was a national necessity4 ,at the beginning of the war the battleship ,oregon1 one of the finest ships in the ,united ,states navy1 lay off ,san ,francisco4 ,she was not wanted there1 but she was very badly wanted at the ,west ,indies1 the main scene of the naval struggle4 ,to get there the ,oregon had to sail #ac1djj miles round ,cape ,horn instead of #d1fjj miles via a ,panama canal1 if there had been one4 ,everybody in the ,united ,states knew that the precious warship was making that perilous journey exposed all the way to the attack of the enemy4 ,if she had been lost1 the course of the war might have been very different1 and even the delay of this long passage was a serious consideration at so critical a time4 ,however1 the vessel arrived safely and in a record time off ,florida1 and the suspense and anxiety of the ,american people were changed into jubilation4 ,but never again was the moral they drew from this painful and exciting experience4 ,at the end of the war a fresh canal campaign broke out in ,congress1 the claims of ,nicaragua and ,panama being urged by their respective champions4 ,the outcome of this rivalry was the appointment of a commission1 the third of the kind1 to go to the isthmus and investigate both ,nicaragua and ,panama4 ,we shall have something to say about the report of this commission1 which was issued in ,december #aijj4 ,but already1 before that appeared1 negotiations had been set on foot between the ,united ,states and ,great ,britain with regard to the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty4 ,allusions to the subject by ,mr4 ,m',kinley in his second message to ,congress had brought the question prominently before the people of both countries4 ,the president had spoken thus3-- ,that the construction of such a maritime highway is now more than ever indispensable to that intimate and ready communication between our eastern and western seaboards demanded by the annexation of the ,hawaiian ,islands and the prospective expansion of our influence and commerce in the ,pacific1 and that our national policy now more imperatively than ever calls for its control by this government1 are propositions which ,i doubt not the ,congress will duly appreciate and wisely act upon4 ,it is obvious that the annexation by the ,united ,states of ,hawaii and the ,philippines1 the beginnings of an ,american oversea empire1 had greatly strengthened the case for a canal owned and controlled by the ,united ,states1 and bringing the eastern coasts1 the governmental centre of the ,states1 into far more direct communication with these new acquisitions in the west4 ,mr4 ,m',kinley's pronouncement was soon followed by conversations between ,mr4 ,john ,hay1 the ,american ,secretary of ,state1 and ,lord ,pauncefote1 ,british ,ambassador at ,washington4 ,the result was a treaty which was laid before the ,senate in ,february #aijj4 ,this first attempt1 however1 was unsuccessful4 ,the ,american people were annoyed to find that it did not abrogate the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty1 but left the ,united ,states with something very short of that independent control which they desired4 ,amendments were introduced1 and1 so altered1 the treaty was ratified by the ,senate on ,december #bj1 #aijj4 ,but in this new shape it proved unacceptable to the ,british government1 and it was permitted to lapse2 ,lord ,lansdowne1 however1 suggesting that another attempt at agreement should be made4 ,it may be asked why ,great ,britain1 who had hitherto taken the view that it had nothing to gain1 and perhaps much to lose1 from the reconsideration of the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty1 should now have been so willing to bring it under review4 ,there was a variety of reasons4 ,the government of the ,united ,states had protested for nearly fifty years against the agreement1 and this pertinacity1 together with the changed conditions since the ,spanish-,american ,war1 may have weighed with the ,british government4 ,then the ,alaskan boundary question was at that time still under discussion between the two countries1 and a settlement was proving difficult4 ,an obstinate resistance to the ,united ,states over the canal question might have continued that deadlock indefinitely4 ,at this time1 too1 ,england was at the beginning of the ,boer ,war1 and finding that business a good deal more intricate than she had expected4 ,the sentiment of ,anglo-,american friendship had also grown much warmer since the days when ,lord ,granville had repulsed the advances of ,mr4 ,blaine4 ,in ,november #aija a new treaty made its appearance4 ,this was ratified by the ,senate without amendment1 and was ultimately concluded between the two ,powers1 being known as the ,hay-,pauncefote ,treaty4#c ,it is very important to note the provisions of this treaty1 because it establishes what is known as the political status of the new canal4 ,the ,hay-,pauncefote expressly supersedes the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty and provides for the construction of a canal 7mentioning no particular route7 under the auspices of the government of the ,united ,states1 which country is to have and enjoy all the rights incident to such construction1 as well as the exclusive right of providing for the regulation and management of the canal4 ,it adopts the principles of neutralization which were embodied in the ,treaty of ,constantinople of #ahhh in connection with the ,suez ,canal4 ,both treaties provide for3-- #a4 ,freedom of transit in time of peace or war for the vessels of all nations4 #b4 ,freedom of the canal and its terminals from blockade4 #c4 ,a code of procedure for war-vessels entering or leaving the canal4 ,no special reference is made to the question of fortification1 but the ,united ,states are to be at liberty to maintain such military police along the canal as may be necessary to protect it against lawlessness and disorder4 ,a treaty1 however1 subsequently concluded between the ,united ,states and the ,republic of ,panama 7known as the ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty7 contains the following provision3-- ,if it should become necessary at any time to employ armed forces for the safety and protection of the canal1 or of the ships that make use of the same1 or the railways and auxiliary works1 the ,united ,states shall have the right1 at all times and in its discretion1 to use its police and its land and naval forces or to establish fortifications for these purposes4 ,but the most important provision of all related to the question of the charges and other conditions of traffic through the canal4 ,the meaning of the section seems plain enough1 though it became a subject of rather acute controversy3-- ,the canal shall be free and open to the vessels of commerce and war of all nations observing these rules1 on terms of entire equality2 so that there shall be no discrimination against any such nation1 or its citizens or subjects1 in respect of the conditions and charges of traffic1 or otherwise4 ,such conditions and charges of traffic shall be just and equitable4 ,this provision is reaffirmed in ,article ,,xviii4 of the ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty4 ,there is no doubt that the ,british government regarded this promise of equal treatment as some compensation for the surrender of those rights of joint construction and control which ,great ,britain enjoyed under the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty4 ,in fact1 ,mr4 ,hay1 in a memorandum he sent to the ,senate ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 described the treaty as a sort of contract between ,great ,britain and the ,united ,states by which the former gave up those rights just mentioned in return for the rules and principles included in the new treaty1 the chief among these being1 of course1 the provision about equality of treatment for all nations4 ,it was1 therefore1 a surprise when the ,united ,states government decided that the expression all nations did not include the ,united ,states themselves1 and that it was quite open to them to give preferential treatment to their coastwise traffic4 ,under the term coastwise the ,united ,states include the sea-traffic not only between ports along a continuous coast1 but between such points as ,san ,francisco or ,washington and the ,philippine ,islands4 ,as a matter of fact1 an amendment proposed by ,mr4 ,burd in the ,senate1 reserving to the ,united ,states the right of favouring its coastwise traffic1 had been defeated1 when the new treaty was under discussion4 ,but1 leaving these controversial questions1 the most important thing for us to notice is that the ,panama ,canal has what is known as an international status4 ,it is not quite the sole and absolute property of the ,united ,states in the sense in which the ,kiel ,canal belongs to ,germany1 the ,corinth ,canal to ,greece1 and the ,amsterdam or ,north ,sea ,canal to the ,netherlands4 ,its status is governed by treaties which impose certain obligations and restrictions upon the ,united ,states and lay down certain rules of administration4 ,it was intended at first to make the status of the ,panama and the ,suez ,canal identical4 ,but there are considerable differences4 ,the neutrality of the ,suez ,canal is guaranteed by all the ,powers of ,europe1 that of the ,panama ,canal by two only1 ,england and the ,united ,states1 and it is safeguarded and maintained by the ,united ,states alone4 ,then the ,suez ,canal is and must remain unfortified1 while the ,panama ,canal will be strongly fortified by the ,united ,states4 ,the reader may wonder what precisely is meant by the word neutral as applied to the new waterway4 ,the position will be as nearly as possible that indicated by ,dr4 ,vaughan ,cornish in the following passage3-- ,if there be a war in which the ,united ,states is not a party1 the canal will be used by belligerents in exactly the same way as was the ,suez ,canal--for example1 in the ,russo-,japanese ,war--and the government of the ,united ,states has pledged itself to see that such neutrality is preserved4 ,but if there be a war in which the ,united ,states is a party1 the circumstances of fortification and operation by the ,united ,states in fact render it impossible for the other belligerent to use the canal1 and are intended to have that effect4 ,this being so1 the ,united ,states is preparing to defend the canal from attack4 ,thus it is important to the proper understanding of the undertaking on which the ,united ,states government has embarked that we should clearly realize that the canal is only neutral in a restricted sense4#d ,as a matter of fact the status of the ,panama ,canal lies somewhere between neutralization and ,american control4 ,the ,hay-,pauncefote ,treaty also lays down the rules which are to be observed by the ships of war of a belligerent using the canal and the waters adjacent to the canal--that is1 within three marine miles of either end4 ,they are similar to those in force at ,suez1 and need not be repeated here4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,appendix i4 #d ,the ,panama ,canal and its ,makers1 pp4 #db1 #dc4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,and ,,colombia4 ,those citizens of the ,united ,states who thought that with the disappearance of the ,clayton-,bulwer ,treaty all the difficulties in the way of obtaining a canal of their own had also disappeared were doomed to a severe disappointment4 ,they had not reckoned with a ,south ,american republic on the verge of bankruptcy and suddenly presented with a glorious opportunity to fill its empty treasury4 ,two preliminaries were necessary before the ,united ,states could settle down at the isthmus of ,panama to the work of canal construction4 ,they had to purchase the concession1 the unfinished works and the other assets of the ,new ,panama ,company1 at as reasonable a price as they could obtain2 and1 secondly1 it was necessary to conclude a treaty with ,colombia1 securing to the ,united ,states on satisfactory terms the perpetual control of a strip of territory on the isthmus from sea to sea within which the canal could be constructed4 ,the first of these undertakings presented1 as it turned out1 no great difficulty4 ,the ,new ,panama ,company had begun to despair of its own ability to get a canal finished across the isthmus1 and to realize that their best course was to transfer the whole business to the ,united ,states4 ,this disposition had been greatly strengthened by the ,report of the ,third ,canal ,commission1 issued in ,december #aijj4 ,probably the members of the commission were convinced of the advantages of the ,panama route and the desirability of continuing the work of the ,french engineers4 ,but they were shrewd people4 ,they dwelt in their report on the improbability that the ,new ,panama ,company would sell its property to the ,united ,states1 and on the difficulty of getting the ,colombian concession transferred4 ,they decided1 therefore1 that the most practicable and feasible route for an isthmian canal to be under the control1 management1 and ownership of the ,united ,states is that known as the ,nicaraguan route4 ,the commission probably foresaw the effect such a decision was likely to have on the directors and shareholders of the ,new ,panama ,company4 ,if an ,american canal were constructed at ,nicaragua1 all the property and work of the company at ,panama would be thrown on the scrap-heap4 ,the company estimated the value of its property at #aji1ada1ejj1 a price which the commission1 representing the ,american government1 declined to look at4 ,the commission thought #dj1jjj1jjj quite enough for the property1 and so completely were the ,americans master of the situation that that price was agreed upon in ,january #aijb4 ,the commission thereupon issued a supplementary report1 which reversed the former decision and recommended the ,panama route and the purchase of the ,french property4 ,then arose in the ,congress of the ,united ,states a tremendous conflict between the ,nicaraguans and the ,panamanians1 the champions of the two routes which had so long been in rivalry4 ,the former party insisted that ,panama was farther from the ,united ,states than ,nicaragua1 and therefore the journey from the eastern to the western seaboard of the ,states would be longer4 ,they argued that ,panama was unfavourable to sailing vessels on account of the prevailing calms on that coast2 that it would be easier to deal with ,costa ,rica and ,nicaragua than with ,colombia2 and that ,nicaragua was the traditional ,american route as compared with the ,frenchified ,panama4 ,the claims of the old ,darien route were also advanced4 ,this was probably done by ,american railway people who were against any canal1 for the ,darien route would have involved a rock tunnel five miles long and three hundred feet broad1 the attempt to achieve which would probably have ended all canal adventures at the isthmus4 ,from these discussions emerged the celebrated ,spooner ,bill1 under which the ,panama ,canal has been constructed4 ,it empowered the ,american government to secure the rights and property of the ,panama ,company for not more than #dj1jjj1jjj2 to obtain from ,colombia the perpetual control of a strip of land1 not less than six miles wide1 in which the canal should run2 and then to proceed with the work4 ,but if it should prove impossible to come to terms with ,colombia and the ,new ,panama ,company1 then the ,nicaraguan project was to be revived4 ,we shall see how1 in the sequel1 this latter proviso came very near fulfilment4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 the ,spooner ,bill marks the end of the great battle of the routes which had lasted for four centuries4 ,the purchase price of the ,new ,panama ,company's property was happily settled1 but the purchase was of course conditional on the conclusion of a satisfactory agreement between the ,united ,states and ,colombia4 ,it was no use for the ,united ,states to acquire unfinished canal-works if they were to be prevented from continuing and completing them4 ,the situation was interesting4 ,the ,republic of ,colombia was extremely hard up4 ,its currency was debased1 its treasury empty1 its debt rapidly increasing through a large annual deficit4 ,the government1 if one may so express it1 of the ,colombian ,republic was therefore not likely to overlook the chance of making a bit out of the necessities of the bigger and richer republic farther north4 ,the ,united ,states wished to get their concession as cheaply as possible2 ,colombia wished to sell as dearly as possible4 ,this is not infrequently the case with buyers and sellers2 but ,colombia pushed her haggling a little too far1 and in the end very badly overreached herself4 ,the ,united ,states began by proposing terms on which they might obtain the desired strip of territory4 ,the conditions were carefully laid down4 ,the territory was to remain under ,colombian sovereignty1 but to be administered by the ,united ,states4 ,sanitary and police services were to be maintained by both governments jointly4 ,colombia was to police the zone1 with the help of the ,united ,states if necessary4 ,but the business terms were chiefly interesting to ,colombia4 ,the ,united ,states were to pay ,colombia a bonus of #g1jjj1jjj in cash1 and after fourteen years an annuity of #bej1jjj4 ,these terms1 which were not ungenerous1 the ,colombian minister at ,washington declined to accept4 ,a brilliant idea had1 indeed1 struck the statesmen of the ,colombian ,republic4 ,they had remembered that the concession to the ,panama ,company lapsed in ,october #aijd1 and that all its property that could not be carried away would revert to the ,colombian government4 ,only defer any agreement with the ,united ,states till then1 and the #dj1jjj1jjj to be paid to the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company by the ,united ,states would drop like a golden nest-egg into the empty exchequer of the ,colombian ,republic4 ,it was a brilliant idea1 but the ,colombian method of pursuing it was rather too crude and obvious4 ,in order to meet the ,colombian government the ,united ,states improved their offer1 considerably increasing the bonus and making other changes4 ,an agreement1 known as the ,hay-,herran ,treaty1 was actually arranged between the ,united ,states and ,colombia1 the latter represented by her minister at ,washington1 ,dr4 ,tomas ,herran4 ,this treaty1 before it became operative1 had to be ratified by the ,congress of ,colombia1 and the president of that state took care that a congress should be elected which would do no such thing4 ,meantime all kinds of influences1 secret and open1 were at work4 ,the ,german colonial party had become interested in the question1 and had conceived the possibility of ,germany1 rather than the ,united ,states1 succeeding to the ,french concession4 ,it is quite certain that the ,united ,states would have resisted any such proceeding1 if necessary by actual war4 ,there is little doubt1 also1 that the party in the ,united ,states which had supported the ,nicaraguan scheme were throwing every obstruction in the way of a satisfactory agreement between the big and the little republic4 ,the reader may guess what was the anxiety of the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company during all this diplomacy and intrigue4 ,they knew that the completion of the sale of its property to the ,united ,states depended on an agreement being concluded between that country and ,colombia2 and they also knew that unless they sold before ,october #aijd1 they would have practically nothing to sell1 because the franchise and possessions of the company would be forfeited to the ,colombian government at that date4 ,it would be better to sell on the best terms they could obtain to ,germany or anybody else before the fatal day arrived4 ,meantime the ,united ,states brought every force of argument and menace to bear on the ,colombian government4 ,secretary ,hay sent urgent dispatches to the ,american minister at ,bogota4 ,he reminded ,colombia that the decision to adopt the ,panama route was not irrevocable4 ,the ,spooner law authorized the ,american president to await only a reasonable time for an agreement with ,colombia4 ,having waited so long1 he was able and indeed bound to resume the ,nicaraguan project4 ,when the ,colombian ,congress duly rejected the ,hay-,herran ,treaty in ,august #aijc1 the ,new ,panama ,company became very seriously alarmed4 ,other offers of purchase were renewed1 and the situation became critical for the ,united ,states4 ,the ,american counsel for the company1 ,mr4 ,william ,nelson ,cromwell1 who had done his utmost to promote the agreement1 had the utmost difficulty in keeping his clients to their compact with the ,united ,states4 ,he made a hurried trip to ,paris1 where he said something which had the desired effect4 ,there is no reason to believe that ,mr4 ,cromwell took any part in the surprising events which were soon to alter the entire situation4 ,but he had heard the proverbial little bird1 and the tidings he passed on brought the ,new ,panama directors to the desired mood of patience and expectancy4 ,colombia meanwhile kept on marking time4 ,she suggested that a new treaty should be negotiated between the ,united ,states and ,colombia1 to be ratified by the ,colombian ,senate some time in #aijd4 ,that would have put the clock forward splendidly1 but the device was duly understood at ,washington4 ,in ,october a committee of the ,colombian ,senate reported to the ,senate a recommendation that no agreement should be concluded with the ,united ,states until the ,french concession had lapsed4 ,this recommendation was not acted upon by the ,colombian ,senate1 nor yet were any steps taken towards the negotiation of a new treaty4 ,the ,american government gave a generous interpretation to the reasonable time specified in the ,spooner ,bill1 and kept on waiting in the hope that the ,colombian ,congress would still change its mind and ratify the ,hay-,herran ,treaty1 whose terms1 as we have seen1 were liberal to the ,colombian ,republic4 ,but when the congressional session at ,bogota came to an end on ,october #ca1 #aijc1 without any further action over the ,hay-,herran ,treaty1 the ,americans concluded that the whole business was over so far as negotiations with ,colombia on the ,panama question were concerned4 ,obviously the only course was to turn to the ,nicaraguan alternative4 ,and the ,colombian government no doubt thought it had won the day by sheer force of astute statesmanship4 ,then came a coincidence more astonishing than any since the day when ,mr4 ,weller1 senior1 upset the ,eatanswill outvoters 7purely by accident7 into another canal4 ,the ,panama revolution broke out1 and the ,united ,states suddenly and without further difficulty obtained all they wanted of the isthmus4 ,and ,colombia8 ,she lost every stick and stone of the canal which was to have been hers in ,october #aijd1 never made a farthing on a ,panama deal1 got no thanks from ,germany or anybody else1 and lost a whole province into the bargain4 ,such were the results of very astute statesmanship at ,bogota4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,a ,,miniature ,,revolution4 ,it was not to be expected that ,panama1 one of the constituent provinces of the ,united ,states of ,colombia1 would be very enthusiastic about all this haggling and intriguing at ,bogota4 ,panama asked for nothing better than that a rich and powerful country like the ,united ,states should continue the ,french enterprise and carry it through4 ,the canal would run right through the province1 and would bring it into the main stream of the world's traffic and commerce4 ,no doubt the central government at ,bogota would skim off as much as possible of this new wealth and prosperity at the isthmus2 but even so1 ,panama would reap a great advantage from the running of this new and much-frequented highway of communication between east and west through its territory4 ,the dealings of the central government with the ,united ,states had roused a growing disgust and resentment at the isthmus4 ,the relations between the province of ,panama with ,new ,granada and its successor ,colombia had been very chequered ever since the revolt of the ,spanish colonies in ,central and ,south ,america in the early years of last century4 ,panama declared her independence in #ahba1 and allied herself at once with ,new ,granada4 ,but troubles began forthwith4 ,again and again the isthmian province seceded from ,new ,granada or ,colombia1 and was induced to return by promises of more favourable terms of union1 these always remaining unfulfilled4 ,in his annual message to ,congress in #aijc1 ,president ,roosevelt enumerated some fifty-three revolutions1 rebellions1 insurrections1 riots1 and other outbreaks that had occurred at the isthmus in fifty-seven years4 ,not long before these difficulties between the ,united ,states and ,colombia1 ,panama had received a new constitution which was far from satisfactory to the people of the province4 ,there was in truth little to be gained by a continued allegiance to the government at ,bogota4 ,some idea of the depths to which ,colombia had sunk through a long course of bad administration and corruption may be gathered from a passage in the official address of ,dr4 ,marroquin on his becoming vice-president of ,colombia in #ahih4 ,he said3-- ,hatred1 envy1 and ambition are elements of discord2 in the political arena the battle rages fiercely1 not so much with the idea of securing the triumph of principles as with that of humbling1 and elevating persons and parties2 public tranquillity1 indispensable to every citizen for the free enjoyment of what he possesses either by luck or as the fruit of his labour1 is gradually getting unknown2 we live in a sickly atmosphere2 crisis is our normal state2 commerce and all other industries are in urgent need of perfect calmness for their development and progress2 poverty invades every home4 ,the notion of mother country is mistaken or obliterated1 owing to our political disturbances4 ,the conception of mother country is so intimately associated with that of political disorders1 and with the afflictions and distrust which they engender1 that it is not unusual to hear from one of our countrymen what could not be heard from a native of any other country3 ,i wish ,i had been born somewhere else4 ,could many be found among us who would feel proud when exclaiming1 ,i am a ,colombian1 in the same way as a ,frenchman does when exclaiming1 ,i am a ,frenchman8 ,this was a cheerful pronouncement for a people to hear from the lips of a man who was just assuming high office in their midst4 ,it suggests some further reasons why the ,panamanians should have so readily asserted their independence once more when the negotiations between ,colombia and the ,united ,states fell through4 ,long before that happened1 before the ,colombian ,congress which was to deal with the ,hay-,herran ,treaty had assembled1 a much-respected citizen of ,panama1 ,dr4 ,manuel ,amador 7,guerrero71 had written to the ,colombian president warning him that serious consequences would follow at ,panama if that treaty were not ratified4 ,for answer the central government foisted on ,panama a candidate for ,congress who was well known as an enemy of the ,united ,states and of the isthmian canal scheme4 ,representations to the government at ,bogota were useless1 and ,panama saw the prospect of a canal being constructed through her territory fading into distance4 ,then it was that an eminent ,panamanian1 ,jose ,agustin ,arango1 a senator at the ,colombian ,congress of #aijc1 who had vainly urged the ratification of the ,hay-,herran ,treaty1 conceived the idea that ,panama might declare her independence and then make her own treaty with the ,united ,states regarding a trans-isthmian canal4 ,it soon turned out that the same idea had struck many others1 and a junta of zealous conspirators was quickly formed4 ,senor ,arango chanced to meet ,dr4 ,amador one day at the offices of the ,panama ,railroad1 and unfolded his revolutionary design to that gentleman4 ,the doctor proved highly sympathetic4 ,there was indeed no difficulty in finding adherents4 ,senor ,arango1 ,dr4 ,amador1 and ,c4 ,c4 ,arosemena undertook the conduct of the movement1 and among the other leaders were ,senor ,arango's sons and sons-in-law1 ,nicanor ,a4 de ,obarrio1 ,federico ,boyd1 ,tomas and ,ricardo ,arias1 and ,manuel ,espinosa4 ,a very important person1 ,general ,esteban ,huertas1 commander of the troops in ,panama1 was easily enrolled1 as were also alcaldes1 chiefs of police1 and other important officials4 ,the first thing to do was to sound official opinion in ,washington as to what treatment the revolted province might expect from the ,american government4 ,moreover1 revolutions cost money1 and supplies must be obtained from somewhere4 ,so ,dr4 ,amador and ,ricardo ,arias were deputed to go to the ,united ,states4 ,there they called on ,mr4 ,cromwell1 the counsel of the ,new ,panama ,company1 who gave them very little encouragement4 ,moreover1 they were carefully shadowed by ,colombian agents1 so that they were able to cable to their expectant friends at the isthmus only the single depressing word1 desanimado 7disappointed74 ,then ,dr4 ,amador called at the office of a ,panamanian friend and sympathizer1 ,joshua ,lindo1 and asked for counsel in his difficulties4 ,mr4 ,lindo at once suggested that the likeliest person to help was ,mr4 ,bunau-,varilla1 who had been chief engineer under the ,french ,canal ,company4 ,it is interesting to know that this gentleman had been a fellow-student of ,alfred ,dreyfus1 and had given effective help in the campaign which ended in that officer's liberation from the island prison not so very far from the isthmus of ,panama4 ,unfortunately1 said ,mr4 ,lindo1 ,mr4 ,bunau-,varilla was in ,paris2 but even as the friends deplored his absence the telephone rang1 ,mr4 ,lindo answered the call1 and lo6 ,mr4 ,bunau-,varilla announced his return to ,new ,york4 ,such a coincidence might well seem providential1 for ,mr4 ,varilla proved a friend in need and in deed4 ,he promised the necessary funds as well as other practical help1 and asked for only one return--that he might be appointed minister of the reconstituted ,panama to the ,united ,states for just so long a time as was necessary for the arrangement of the new treaty between the two countries for the construction of the isthmian canal4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that the next telegram sent home by the revolutionary agents was more cheerful4 ,it consisted of the single word esperanzas 7hopes74 ,dr4 ,amador now made some efforts to ascertain the sentiment and intentions of the ,united ,states government4 ,he called on ,mr4 ,hay1 the ,secretary of ,state1 at the state department4 ,now it is obvious that when a gentleman calls at a foreign office and announces himself as a conspirator against a government with which that office has friendly relations1 the visitor cannot expect much practical help and sympathy4 ,but the authorities at ,washington1 whose nerves were raw from the prolonged struggle with ,colombia1 would scarcely have been human if they had not felt a secret joy at a movement which promised such an ample retribution on ,colombia and so easy a settlement of the ,panama problem4 ,dr4 ,amador was politely informed that he must pay no more calls at the department4 ,but he had seen and heard enough to assure him that the ,united ,states would at least remain neutral1 and1 if the revolution succeeded1 would conclude a canal treaty with the new republic4 ,he felt that there were two very important conditions to be fulfilled4 ,firstly1 the revolution must be effected without bloodshed1 for public sympathy in the ,united ,states would be alienated by any fighting or violent disturbance4 ,the conspirators were also not without a certain natural solicitude for their own skins4 ,secondly1 there must be a brand-new government ready to take the place of the ,colombian administration so soon as this was abolished4 ,the scene now changes to the isthmus4 ,the conspirators were inclined at first to be sceptical about ,dr4 ,amador's report of the probable attitude of the ,united ,states1 but on ,november #b1 #aijc1 the arrival of the ,american gunboat ,nashville at ,colon reassured them4 ,the ,nashville had come1 as ,american men-of-war had frequently come in the past to ,colon or ,panama1 not to take sides with any party in a scrimmage1 but calmly and impartially to maintain order and keep transit open at the isthmus1 in accordance with treaty obligations4 ,the orders to the ,nashville1 as subsequently to the ,boston and the ,dixie1 were these3-- ,maintain free and uninterrupted transit4 ,if interruption threatened by armed force1 occupy line of railroad4 ,prevent landing of any armed force with hostile intent1 either government or insurgent1 either at ,colon1 ,porto ,bello1 or other point4#e ,a similar order was sent to ,rear-,admiral ,glass at ,acapulco1 who was to proceed to ,panama with the same object4 ,but the coming coup d'etat was known at ,bogota as well as at ,washington4 ,the date fixed for the outbreak was ,november #d4 ,general ,huertas was to be ready with his troops1 and the signal to be given by the blowing of bugles by the firemen4 ,but the ,colombian government at last decided to act1 and on ,november #c the steamer ,carthagena arrived at ,colon1 having on board ,general ,tovar with a force of about four hundred and fifty men4 ,the commander with three other resplendent warriors1 ,generals ,castro1 ,alban1 and ,amaya1 at once took train for ,panama2 while their troops1 many of whom had brought their wives1 camped out in the streets of ,colon4 ,these events were duly telephoned to ,panama4 ,the news reached ,dr4 ,amador and his friends at ten o'clock1 just an hour before the arrival of the ,colombian officers4 ,it was a crowded hour of glorious life for the conspirators1 some of whom found the excitement too much for their nerves1 disappeared from the scene1 and gave up the conspiracy business altogether4 ,but the leaders were of better mettle1 and while the trans-isthmian train was rapidly bringing the representatives of the established government to ,panama a good many plans were discussed4 ,the desperate nature of the occasion may be gathered from the fact that one of the proposals was to drug the ,colombian officers1 and when thus disabled convey them to durance vile4 ,in great perplexity ,dr4 ,amador sought ,general ,huertas2 but he had put on his dress uniform and gone to the station to meet his superiors4 ,so matters were to be allowed to take their own course4 ,at eleven o'clock a gush of glittering uniforms1 fifteen in all1 counting the generals and the staffs1 descended upon the ,panama platform4 ,one might almost have expected them to advance to the footlights and announce their arrival and intentions in a four-part chorus4 ,here obviously were the properties1 the stage scenery1 and the artistes1 principals and chorus1 of a first-rate comic opera4 ,in the harbour lay three ,colombian gunboats whose political views were not fully ascertained1 though it was thought the commanders had been won over to the revolutionary cause4 ,the new arrivals were welcomed by ,general ,huertas and conducted to headquarters1 while the conspirators1 no doubt with quickened pulses1 awaited subsequent events from a distance4 ,the ,colombian officers wished to be conducted forthwith to the fortifications and the sea-wall4 ,now this was precisely what ,general ,huertas1 whose heart beat loyally under his official gold braid to the cause of freedom and independence1 wished to avoid1 and for two reasons3 firstly1 it would have been easy for the federal generals to signal to the gunboats in the harbour and thus get command of the entire situation2 secondly1 on that same sea-wall there were some modern quick-firing guns1 behind which even fifteen men might quickly get the whole city at their mercy4 ,so ,general ,huertas determined that on the whole he would conduct his guests anywhere but to the sea-wall4 ,he suggested that there were better ways of spending the hot hours of the day than in going round fortifications in stiff and sweltering uniforms4 ,after luncheon1 followed by a little siesta behind sun-shutters1 would be a better time for the business of inspection4 ,the generals were probably both hot and hungry1 and they allowed themselves to be persuaded4 ,but even as they lunched their suspicions seemed to have awakened4 ,some one1 it is said1 warned them of the trap into which they had walked4 ,and moreover1 why did the ,bogota troops not arrive from ,colon8 ,what exactly happened is not recorded1 but it is a fact that the generals suddenly insisted on the ,panama troops being paraded and themselves being conducted to the fortifications4 ,general ,huertas made some excuse for leaving the luncheon room1 and outside the door found ,dr4 ,amador1 the respectable physician of ,panama1 now an arch-conspirator1 though without the black mantle and stiletto4 ,the contrast between these two men1 writes ,mr4 ,johnson1 was most striking4 ,the one was advanced in years1 venerable and stately in aspect1 and yet impetuous as youth4 ,the other was only a boy in stature and scarcely more than a boy in years1 yet at the time deliberate and dilatory4 ,the latter1 however1 quickly responded to the zealous initiative of the former4 ',do it1' exhorted ,dr4 ,amador in an impassioned whisper1 'do it now4' ,the business was soon over4 ,huertas ordered out his soldiers1 who knew well enough what was going to happen4 ,then1 as the military swells from ,bogota came on the ground1 the little general gave the order1 the rifles were levelled on the ,colombians1 and they were walked off to police headquarters and safely locked up4 ,then ,governor ,obaldia was also arrested and taken to prison1 but this was only a formality4 ,he was an ardent conspirator1 but as he represented the central government1 it was thought desirable to perform the symbolical act of arresting and deposing him4 ,he was at once released4 ,there was now no going back4 ,the next step was to announce the fact of the revolution to the gunboats1 in the harbour1 which were still a doubtful factor4 ,two of them1 the ,padilla and the ,chucuito1 remained silent2 but the third1 the ,bogota1 sent word that if the generals were not released by ten o'clock it would turn its guns on to the city4 ,the generals were1 of course1 not released1 so at ten o'clock the ,bogota launched three shells into the city4 ,one of these killed an unfortunate and innocent ,chinese coolie near the barracks1 and that was the only casualty that occurred during the whole course of the great ,panama revolution4 ,then the ,bogota1 that deed of slaughter accomplished1 steamed out of the harbour4 ,the next morning the gunboat ,padilla1 which had been considering the situation during the night1 suddenly made up its mind1 steamed in to a snug anchorage under the fortified sea-wall1 and hoisted the flag of free and independent ,panama4 ,the ,padilla might have been called upon to make good its new allegiance1 for a report was spread that the terrible ,bogota was returning to bombard1 this time to good purpose4 ,so a letter was drawn up by the consuls of the ,united ,states1 ,great ,britain1 ,france1 ,germany1 ,italy1 ,spain1 ,holland1 ,ecuador1 ,guatemala1 ,salvador1 ,denmark1 ,belgium1 ,cuba1 ,mexico1 ,brazil1 ,honduras1 and ,peru1 protesting against the bombardment of a defenceless city without due notice to the consular corps as contrary to the rights and practices of civilized nations4 ,what answer the justly enraged commander of the ,bogota would have returned to this rather representative address cannot be known1 for the ,bogota1 no doubt unnerved by the sensation of casting three live shells into a live town1 never returned to witness the devastation it had wrought4 ,what in the meantime was occurring at ,colon8 ,why had the #dej ,colombian soldiers not flown to the rescue and vengeance of their captured officers8 ,the explanation is simple1 though perhaps unexpected--they could not pay their railway fares6 ,after the departure of the generals for ,panama on ,november #c1 ,colonel ,torres1 who had been left in charge of the government troops1 demanded a special to take them across the isthmus4 ,the superintendent of the line intimated that specials were procurable1 but that fares must be paid4 ,and the fares of #dej persons ran into money1 in fact nearly #b1jjj in gold1 or quite a little wheelbarrowful of the depreciated ,colombian silver4 ,anywhere but in ,panama or ,ruretania the plea of state necessity1 which in presence of the #dej needed no demonstration1 would have procured some concession from the railway authorities4 ,but the railway rules provided for no such emergencies4 ,no fare1 no journey--that was the immutable railway law1 and ,colonel ,torres had to lead his men back to their street encampments4 ,it is one of the many remarkable coincidences at this juncture that the telegraphic and telephonic system also broke down1 the wires refusing to transmit any messages from ,colon to the officers at ,panama4 ,at last1 on ,november #d1 ,colon received the news of the revolution and the impounding of the ,colombian officers4 ,some little impatience then appeared among the ,colombian troops4 ,they actually threatened to seize the railway and go across in spite of regulations4 ,also it was rumoured that ,colonel ,torres1 losing for a moment his self-command1 threatened to kill every ,american citizen in ,colon unless his fellow-officers were at once liberated4 ,at any rate1 that rumour was duly reported to the commander of the ,nashville1 who1 on the strength of it1 at once landed fifty bluejackets to preserve the peace of the town4 ,the commander also wrote to the alcalde of ,colon and the chief of the police1 giving the gist of an official order he had received from ,washington4 ,the order pointed out that to allow the passage of ,colombian troops from ,colon to ,panama would excite a conflict between the forces of the two parties1 and would thus interrupt the free and open transit of the isthmus which the ,united ,states was bound to maintain4 ,the commander had therefore instructed the superintendent of the railways to afford carriage to the troops of neither party4 ,never was officer so outrageously impeded in the performance of his obvious duty as ,colonel ,torres4 ,and right in the middle of the situation thus created the ,carthagena1 which had brought the ,colombian troops to ,colon1 sailed demurely home4 ,in a few days there assembled some nine or ten vessels of the ,united ,states navy at ,colon or ,panama4 ,on ,november #d it was announced that the ,united ,states would permit the landing of no forces hostile to ,panama within fifty miles of the city of ,panama or anywhere at all on the ,caribbean coast4 ,was not the ,united ,states government compelled by treaty obligations to preserve peace1 the paying of fares1 and free and uninterrupted transit at the isthmus8 ,how unreasonable to suggest that the great and grown-up republic was protecting and taking the side of the little baby republic which had just been born at ,panama6 ,but the #dej soldiers encamped with their wives in the streets of ,colon were becoming an inconvenience1 and it was highly desirable to remove this substantial lump of grit from the machinery of revolution4 ,the commander of these troops himself helped to effect that object4 ,he1 in fact1 offered to take his little army away in return for a satisfactory honorarium4 ,the ,panama treasury fortunately contained at that time a sum of #adj1jjj in debased ,colombian coinage1 worth about #ef1jjj in gold4 ,a little of this might well be expended on clearing the country of the ,colombian troops4 ,the commander accepted #h1jjj in gold1 and quickly bundled the loyal troops and their spouses on board the ,royal ,mail steamship ,orinoco for passage homewards4 ,he himself did not propose to return home and report himself4 ,his scheme was to go to ,jamaica and spend his suddenly acquired wealth in that loveliest of the ,antilles4 ,then a cruel thing happened4 ,the #dej got wind of the bargain their commander had made with the ,panama government1 and by a swift logical process concluded that the #h1jjj which had been paid for their departure belonged to themselves as well as to their commander4 ,so they laid hands on the hapless officer and took all the money from him4 ,we may imagine the annoyance of the gentleman who had betrayed his country1 dishonoured his name1 and then lost the tip which had made it all worth while4 ,his subsequent proceedings are nowhere recorded4 ,just after the ,colombian troops had set sail homewards a special train arrived at ,colon bringing the captive generals1 who had promised to go home without further fuss4 ,they left ,colon on ,november #ab1 so that they had plenty of time to contemplate the beginnings of the new regime in ,panama4 ,all kinds of reports began to arrive about the intentions of the government at ,bogota4 ,a naval expedition was said to be on the way from ,buenaventura1 but the ,united ,states navy had instructions to take care of any experiments of that sort4 ,then the news came that a land expedition was approaching along the isthmus4 ,that would have implied a real triumph of original exploration4 ,it would have meant clearing a road for troops through impenetrable jungle1 through which it is hard to cut the narrowest track by means of the machete or the long ,spanish cutlass4 ,the untamed ,san ,blas ,indians1 who permit no white man to spend a single night in their territory1 would have mobilized against the invasion1 and so would the wild cats and anacondas and monkeys1 who share with the ,indians the sovereignty of that tangled wilderness4 ,the revolution was an accomplished fact1 and ,colombia could do nothing but accept the inevitable and reflect on the disappointment of her golden dreams4 ,the revolutionists had been ready with their constitutional arrangements4 ,the municipal council of ,panama had met immediately after the coup d'etat4 ,it was unanimously voted that ,panama should be a free and independent republic1 and a provisional ministry was at once appointed4 ,these proceedings were ratified the same afternoon at a mass meeting of the people of ,panama held in the cathedral square4 ,a formal manifesto was also issued1 constituting a declaration of independence and a justification of the revolt4 ,it opens magniloquently3 ,the transcendental act that by a spontaneous movement the inhabitants of the isthmus of ,panama have just executed is the inevitable consequence of a situation which has become graver daily4 ,it goes on to set forth the grievances of ,panama under the ,colombian connection and the events which had led to the revolution4 ,it ends in an almost pathetic note3-- ,at separating from our brothers of ,colombia we do it without hatred and without any joy4 ,just as a son withdraws from his paternal roof1 the isthmian people in adopting the lot it has chosen have done it with grief1 but in compliance with the supreme and inevitable duty it owes to itself--that of its own preservation and of working for its own welfare4 ,we therefore begin to form a part among the free nations of the world1 considering ,colombia as a sister nation1 with which we shall be whenever circumstances may require it1 and for whose prosperity we have the most fervent and sincere wishes4#f ,by ,november #g the new government had settled down so steadily to its work1 and so obviously commanded the adherence of the whole people1 that it received formal recognition from the ,united ,states in these words3-- ,as it appears that the people of ,panama have1 by unanimous movement1 dissolved their political connection with the ,republic of ,colombia and resumed their independence1 and as there is no opposition to the provisional government in the state of ,panama1 ,i have to inform you that the provisional government will be held responsible for the protection of the persons and property of citizens of the ,united ,states1 as well as to keep the isthmian transit free1 in accordance with the obligations of existing treaties relative to the isthmian territory4 ,we need not dwell upon the desperate efforts made by the ,colombian government to retrieve the situation4 ,a respected ,colombian1 ,general ,reyes1 was sent to ,washington to offer to revive the old ,hay-,herran ,treaty1 with modifications greatly in the ,american interest1 if the ,united ,states would help to restore ,colombian sovereignty at the isthmus4 ,but all was in vain4 ,colombia must lie on the bed she had made1 and before the end of the year the new republic had been recognized by all the leading ,powers of the world4 ,the new government was true to the undertaking on the strength of which ,mr4 ,bunau-,varilla had given his help and support to the movement4 ,on ,november #g he was appointed minister of ,panama to the ,united ,states1 and on ,november #ah the ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty#g was signed at ,washington1 which finally placed the ,united ,states in a position to begin the work of canal construction at the isthmus4 ,,footnotes3 #e ,see ,four ,centuries of the ,panama ,canal1 p4 #ahh 7,w4 ,f4 ,johnson74 #f ,for full text of declaration see ,appendix ii4 #g ,appendix iii4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the ,,levels4 ,by the ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty the ,united ,states guaranteed and undertook to maintain the independence of the ,republic of ,panama4 ,the new republic granted to the ,united ,states in perpetuity the use1 occupation1 and control of a strip ten miles wide and extending three nautical miles into the sea at either terminal1 with all lands lying outside of the zone necessary for the construction of the canal1 and with the islands in the ,bay of ,panama4 ,the cities of ,panama and ,colon were not embraced in the canal zone1 but the ,united ,states assumed their sanitation and1 in case of need1 the maintenance of order therein4 ,all railway and canal property rights belonging to ,panama and needed for the canal passed to the ,united ,states1 including any property of the railway and canal companies in the cities of ,panama and ,colon4 ,the works1 property1 and personnel of the canal and railways were exempted from taxation in the cities of ,colon and ,panama as well as in the actual canal zone4 ,free immigration of the workers and free importation of supplies for the construction and operation of the canal were granted4 ,provision was made for the use of military force and the building of fortifications by the ,united ,states for the protection of the transit4 ,the ,united ,states were to pay #aj1jjj1jjj down on exchange of ratifications and an annuity of #bej1jjj1 beginning nine years from the same date4 ,it will be noticed that the ,united ,states enjoyed in the canal zone all the rights1 though not the name and title1 of sovereignty4 ,the treaty was finally ratified on ,february #bf1 #aijd1 and four days later the first ,isthmian ,canal ,commission1 consisting of seven members1 was appointed by ,president ,roosevelt to arrange for the conduct of the great enterprise4 ,careful instructions were given to the commission4 ,the ,isthmian ,canal ,commission were authorized and directed3-- ,first4--,to make all needful rules and regulations for the government of the zone1 and for the correct administration of the military1 civil1 and judicial affairs of its possessions until the close of the fifty-eighth session of ,congress4 ,second4--,to establish a civil service for the government of the strip and construction of the canal1 appointments to which shall be secured as nearly as practicable by merit system4 ,third4--,to make1 or cause to be made1 all needful surveys1 borings1 designs1 plans1 and specifications of the engineering1 hydraulic1 and sanitary works required1 and to supervise the execution of the same4 ,fourth4--,to make1 and cause to be executed after due advertisement1 all necessary contracts for any and all kinds of engineering and construction works4 ,fifth4--,to acquire by purchase or through proper and uniform expropriation proceedings1 to be prescribed by the commission1 any private lands or other real property whose ownership by the ,united ,states is essential to the excavation and completion of the canal4 ,sixth4--,to make all needful rules and regulations respecting an economical and correct disbursement and an accounting for all funds that may be appropriated by ,congress for the construction of the canal1 its auxiliary works1 and the government of the canal zone2 and to establish a proper and comprehensive system of bookkeeping showing the state of the work1 the expenditures by classes1 and the amounts still available4 ,seventh4--,to make requisition on the ,secretary of ,war for funds needed from time to time in the proper prosecution of the work1 and to designate the disbursing officers authorized to receipt for the same4 ,the work of this commission was not wholly satisfactory1 and in ,april #aije another was appointed1 which was ordered to meet at ,panama quarterly1 the first commission having conducted its operations from ,washington4 ,the first two and a half years of the ,american occupation were spent mainly in preparing for the great task4 ,one very important question had now to be finally decided4 ,the battle of the routes was over1 and now began the battle of the levels4 ,we have seen that the ,french began with the idea of a tide-level canal4 ,the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company had changed to the lock or high-level plan1 but the ,french had not advanced in their work to the point when the one or the other scheme must be definitively adopted4 ,the excavation they had carried out was all available for either type of canal4 ,but the ,americans had now to come to a decision4 ,a few more words about the main physical features of the isthmus are necessary for the reader to understand the nature of the problem4 ,the two most important factors in the problem1 as we have seen1 are1 firstly1 the river ,chagres with its tributaries1 the ,trinidad1 ,gatun1 and twenty others2 and1 secondly1 the range of low hills on the ,pacific side through which any canal from ,colon to ,panama must pass4 ,the river ,chagres is a great mountain torrent which enters the ,caribbean ,sea a little west of ,colon4 ,the canal follows its course inland for about #bf miles1 when the river valley turns sharply north-east and the canal continues straight on to the ,pacific4 ,the ,chagres is not a river to be despised4 ,the rainfall on the isthmus is very heavy1 especially on the ,atlantic side1 where #adj inches per annum have been recorded4 ,the isthmian rivers are all liable to quickly-swelling floods1 the ,chagres at ,gamboa having been known to rise #ce-a_/b feet in twenty-four hours4 ,the two different types of canal involve equally different methods of dealing with this formidable stream4 ,it must either be harnessed to the work or firmly and finally shut off from any interference with the canal4 ,de ,lesseps1 who had chosen the tide-level scheme1 proposed to turn the ,chagres and other rivers into diversion channels1 so that they could get safely to the sea without crossing the line of the canal or having any connection with it4 ,this would have involved a work of excavation and construction scarcely less gigantic than the building of the canal itself4 ,on the other plan1 the ,chagres and its tributaries would be made the feeders of the upper reaches of the canal4 ,so far from being politely shown off the premises1 the question rather was whether they would be able to supply sufficient water all the year round for the needs of the canal4 ,then this harnessing of the ,chagres meant the taming of its waters in a huge artificial lake1 in which the impetuous current would be quenched and through which the dredged channel of the waterway would run4 ,the ,new ,panama ,company had recommended the construction of a huge dam for this purpose at ,bohio towards the ,atlantic end of the canal1 and this plan had been adopted by the first ,american ,isthmian ,commission1 which issued its report in #aija4 ,i may add that the ,spooner ,act1 which authorized the construction of a canal1 also contemplated a lock or high-level waterway4 ,as we shall see1 ,bohio was not in the end adopted as the site of the big dam1 but ,gatun1 where it is now constructed1 with its concrete spillway carrying away the overflow waters of the lake down the old ,chagres channel to the near ,atlantic4 ,i need not say that these were two very different ways of caring for the ,chagres and its affluents4 ,the tide-level canal would also1 of course1 be supplied with sea-water1 while the high-level will be a fresh-water canal4 ,colonel ,goethals1 the chief engineer of the canal1 anticipates rather a curious result from this latter circumstance4 ,he thinks the bed of the upper reaches of the canal will in course of time be quite paved with the barnacles washed by the fresh-water from the bottoms of the great ocean-going vessels passing through the canal4 ,the second physical feature is the hill country or the ,continental ,divide which the canal enters near the point where the ,chagres ,river crosses its course4 ,here runs the famous ,culebra ,cut1 the nine-mile-long artificial canyon1 the biggest excavation in the world4 ,now the highest elevation of these hills along the centre line of the canal was #cab feet above sea-level4 ,the bottom of the canal at the cutting is #dj feet1 so that the vertical depth of the cut on the centre line is #bgb feet4 ,the engineers of the tide-level scheme would have had not only to excavate #he feet deeper--that is1 to #de feet below sea-level--but to make the cutting immensely wider in order to avoid the danger of disastrous landslides4 ,this would have meant an enormous amount of additional work1 as well as expense4 ,nevertheless1 the controversy between the two principles was very warmly and equally sustained4 ,it may be mentioned that ,mr4 ,bunau-,varilla was an especially ardent advocate of the tide-level scheme4 ,in fact1 he was not for calling the waterway a canal at all2 he would have christened it the ,straits of ,panama4 ,however1 a decision was necessary1 and in #aije a board of consulting or advisory engineers was appointed1 mainly to consider whether the canal should be constructed at high-level or sea-level4 ,five members were appointed by ,european governments1 and the president was ,major-,general ,george ,w4 ,davis1 formerly of the ,united ,states army4 ,the instructions given to this board by ,president ,roosevelt will afford a very clear idea of the problem it had to solve3-- ,there are two or three considerations which ,i trust you will steadily keep before your minds in coming to a conclusion as to the proper type of canal4 ,i hope that ultimately it will prove possible to build a sea-level canal4 ,such a canal would undoubtedly be best in the end1 if feasible2 and ,i feel that one of the chief advantages of the ,panama route is that ultimately a sea-level canal will be a possibility4 ,but while paying due heed to the ideal perfectibility of the scheme from an engineer's standpoint1 remember the need of having a plan which shall provide for the immediate building of a canal on the safest terms and in the shortest possible time4 ,if to build a sea-level canal will but slightly increase the risk1 then1 of course1 it is preferable4 ,but if to adopt the plan of a sea-level canal means to incur a hazard1 and to insure indefinite delay1 then it is not preferable4 ,if the advantages and disadvantages are closely balanced1 ,i expect you to say so4 ,i desire also to know whether1 if you recommend a high-level multi-lock canal1 it will be possible1 after it is completed1 to turn it into or substitute for it1 in time1 a sea-level canal without interrupting the traffic upon it4 ,two of the prime considerations to be kept steadily in mind are3 ,first4--,the utmost practicable speed of construction4 ,second4--,practical certainty that the plan proposed will be feasible2 that it can be carried out with the minimum risk4 ,the quantity of work and the amount of work should be minimized as far as possible4 ,there may be good reason why the delay incident to the adoption of a plan for an ideal canal should be incurred2 but if there is not1 then ,i hope to see the canal constructed on a system which will bring to the nearest possible date in the future the time when it is practicable to take the first ship across the isthmus--that is1 which will in the shortest time possible secure a ,panama waterway between the oceans of such a character as to guarantee permanent and ample communication for the greatest ships of our navy and for the larger steamers on either the ,atlantic or the ,pacific4 ,the delay in transit of the vessels owing to additional locks would be of small consequence when compared with shortening the time for the construction of the canal or diminishing the risks in its construction4 ,in short1 ,i desire your best judgment on all the various questions to be considered in choosing among the various plans for a comparatively high-level multi-lock canal2 for a lower level1 with fewer locks2 and for a sea-level canal4 ,finally1 ,i urge upon you the necessity of as great expedition in coming to a decision as is compatible with thoroughness in considering the conditions4 ,the board went to the isthmus and investigated the subject with great care4 ,in ,january #aijf they issued three reports4 ,a majority of eight to five pronounced in favour of the sea-level scheme as the only one giving reasonable assurance of safe and uninterrupted navigation4 ,such a canal1 it said1 can be constructed in twelve or thirteen years' time2 the cost will be less than #bej1jjj1jjj2 it will endure for all time4 ,the minority were just as confidently in favour of a high-level canal4 ,they concluded3-- ,in view of the unquestioned fact that the lock canal herein advocated will cost about #ajj1jjj1jjj less than the proposed sea-level canal2 believing that it can be built in much less time2 that it will afford a better navigation2 that it will be adequate for all its uses for a longer time1 and can be enlarged1 if need should arise1 with greater facility and less cost1 we recommend the lock canal at elevation #he for adoption by the ,united ,states4 ,the third report was made by the chief engineer1 ,mr4 ,stevens1 who1 quite apart from all considerations of expense1 was strongly in favour of the high-level plan4 ,the three reports were considered by the canal commissioners1 a majority of whom ultimately agreed with the minority of the advisory board4 ,they admitted that a sea-level canal was ideally the best1 but considered that the cost of making such a canal sufficiently wide would be prohibitive4 ,they declared therefore for a lock canal at an elevation of #he feet above sea-level4 ,they gave their decision thus3-- ,it appears that the canal proposed by the minority of the board of consulting engineers can be built in half the time and at a little more than half the cost of the canal proposed by the majority of the board1 and that when completed it will be a better canal1 for the following reasons3 #a4 ,it provides greater safety for ships and less danger of interruption to traffic by reason of its wider and deeper channels4 #b4 ,it provides quicker passage across the isthmus for large ships or a large traffic4 #c4 ,it is in much less danger of damage to itself or of delays to ships from the flood-waters of the ,chagres and other streams4 #d4 ,its cost of operation and maintenance1 including fixed charges1 will be less by some #b1jjj1jjj or more per annum4 #e4 ,it can be enlarged hereafter much more easily and cheaply than can a sea-level canal4 #f4 ,its military defence can be effected with as little or perhaps less difficulty than the sea-level canal4 #g4 ,it is our opinion that the plan proposed by the minority of the board of consulting engineers is a most satisfactory solution of an isthmian canal1 and therefore we recommend that the plan of the minority be adopted4 ,in ,february #aijf the president referred the question for final decision to ,congress4 ,in his message on the subject he spoke thus3-- ,it must be borne in mind that there is no question of building what has been picturesquely termed the ,straits of ,panama--that is1 a waterway through which the largest vessels could go with safety at uninterrupted high speed4 ,both the sea-level canal and the proposed lock canal would be too narrow and shallow to be called with any truthfulness a strait1 or to have any of the properties of a wide1 deep water strip4 ,both of them would be canals1 pure and simple4 ,each type has certain disadvantages and certain advantages4 ,but1 in my judgment1 the disadvantages are fewer and the advantages very much greater in the case of a lock canal substantially as proposed in the papers forwarded herewith2 and a careful study of the reports seems to establish a strong probability that the following are the facts3 ,the sea-level canal would be slightly less exposed to damage in the event of war2 the running expenses1 apart from the heavy cost of interest on the amount employed to build it1 would be less2 and for small ships the time of transit would probably be less4 ,on the other hand1 the lock canal1 at a level of #hj feet or thereabouts1 would not cost much more than half as much to build1 and could be built in about half the time1 while there would be very much less risk connected with building it1 and for large ships the transit would be quicker2 while1 taking into account the interest on the amount saved in building1 the actual cost of maintenance would be less4 ,after being built1 it would be easier to enlarge the lock canal than the sea-level canal4 ,the law now on our statute books seems to contemplate a lock canal4 ,in my judgment a lock canal as herein recommended is advisable4 ,if the ,congress directs that a sea-level canal be constructed1 its direction will1 of course1 be carried out4 ,otherwise1 the canal will be built on substantially the plan for a lock canal outlined in the accompanying papers1 such changes being made1 of course1 as may be found actually necessary4 ,in ,june #aijf ,congress finally decided for a high-level canal1 and the controversy was officially closed4 ,but the friends of the sea-level scheme were by no means silenced4 ,whenever any serious difficulty occurred in the construction of the canal on the lock principle their voices were heard again4 ,in fact1 the conflict cannot be said to have ended until #aiji1 and even then it is not certain that the sea-levellers modified their convictions4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,man ,,and ,,the ,,gnat4 ,almost at the beginning of their great task the ,americans were faced with a problem which involved the success or failure of the whole enterprise4 ,i have said something about the climate and health conditions at the isthmus4 ,it is fairly certain that yellow fever and malaria would have wrecked the ,french undertaking even if there had been no other obstacles to its success4 ,it is not less probable that if the ,americans had been in no better a position to wage war with these plagues1 their work at the isthmus would also have been in vain4 ,the ,french had built excellent hospitals and provided efficiently for the comfort and recovery of those who were stricken with these diseases4 ,but being totally ignorant of the sources and method of transmission of malaria and yellow fever1 they could do nothing effectual in the way of prevention and eradication4 ,they could only take the individual victim when they found him and do their best to cure him4 ,they still believed that malaria was produced by climatic conditions1 by marshy emanations1 mists1 and so forth4 ,the fleecy clouds which gather round the isthmian hills in the rainy season were given the very undeserved title of the white death by the ,french workers at the isthmus4 ,yellow fever1 again1 was just as mistakenly attributed to the climate1 and especially to filthy ways of living4 ,it is not surprising that1 with these misconceptions1 medical skill should have been almost useless during the ,french occupation1 and that the employees at the isthmus should have died in their thousands4 ,but since the days of the ,lesseps company1 science had thrown a flood of light on the nature of these tropical scourges and the secret of their transmission4 ,as these medical and scientific pioneers made a ,panama ,canal possible1 though their names are not directly linked with its construction1 we may look back for a few moments at their triumphs of discovery4 ,the credit for first discovering that malaria is not due to poisonous emanations or contagion but is carried from people infected with the disease by the anopheles mosquito belongs to ,major 7now ,sir7 ,ronald ,ross1 formerly of the ,indian ,medical ,service1 who devoted himself to this subject during the last years of the #aith century4 ,by a series of experiments he proved that malaria is due to the presence in the human blood of an organism which is conveyed from person to person by this mosquito1 and that the mosquito is harmless unless it has become infected with the germ by biting a person who has caught malaria4 ,the value of this discovery was soon shown by practical applications4 ,major ,ross was engaged by the ,suez ,canal ,company to deal with the malaria which had become firmly established at ,ismailia1 a little town of #aj1jjj inhabitants on that canal4 ,no fewer than #b1ejj cases had been supplied in one year by this small population4 ,the new methods founded on the new discovery proved so effectual that in three years the disease was stamped out1 and there has been no relapse ever since4 ,the same results were achieved at ,port ,said4 ,now1 if malaria is thus caused by mosquito bite1 there was some a priori reason for thinking that yellow fever might be transmitted in the same way4 ,at any rate the insect was again laid under a very grave suspicion4 ,the opportunity for studying this further question was afforded during the ,spanish-,american war1 when a serious outbreak occurred among the troops occupying ,havana1 in ,cuba4 ,the doctors were quite unable to deal with this most terrible of all diseases4 ,knowing nothing whatever of its cause1 their treatment of it could be only experimental and casual4 ,so a board of inquiry was formed consisting of four army surgeons serving in ,cuba--,walter ,reed1 ,james ,carroll1 ,jesse ,w4 ,lazear1 and ,aristides ,agramonte4 ,the experiments were begun in ,june #aijj1 and continued into the next year4 ,of these four1 ,dr4 ,agramonte was not liable to the disease1 and ,dr4 ,reed was called away on duty to ,washington4 ,the other two determined to experiment on their own persons rather than risk the lives of other people4 ,dr4 ,carroll first allowed himself to be bitten by the mosquitoes1 not the anopheles but another variety known as the stegomyia4 ,he fell ill with a bad attack of yellow fever1 which very nearly cost him his life4 ,later1 in the yellow fever hospital1 ,dr4 ,lazear deliberately allowed a mosquito to feed on his hand4 ,in four days he was down with the disease in so acute a form that he died of it--a true martyr1 if ever there was1 to the cause of science and the welfare of mankind4 ,these and other experiments proved conclusively that yellow fever1 like malaria1 is transmitted by mosquito bites1 but it was still uncertain how soon after biting an infected person the mosquito becomes itself harmful and how soon a person stricken with malaria is able to infect a healthy mosquito4 ,so further experiments were necessary1 and volunteers were invited to offer themselves for this service4 ,everybody in the army knew what had happened to ,doctors ,carroll and ,lazear1 but in spite of this plenty of willing martyrs appeared4 ,the first to present themselves were two young soldiers from ,ohio1 ,john ,r4 ,kissinger and ,john ,j4 ,moran4 ,dr4 ,reed talked the matter over with them1 explaining fully the danger and suffering involved1 and stating the money consideration offered by ,general ,wood4 ,both young men declared that they were prepared to undergo the experiment1 but only on condition that they should receive no pecuniary reward4 ,when he heard this declaration1 ,dr4 ,reed touched his hat with profound respect1 saying1 ,gentlemen1 ,i salute you6#h ,kissinger took the disease from the mosquito bites1 and recovered4 ,a room was prepared for ,moran1 a sort of mosquito den into which fifteen gnats1 all suffering from yellow fever1 had been admitted4 ,major ,reed describes what happened3-- ,at noon on the same day1 five minutes after the mosquitoes had been placed therein1 a plucky ,ohio boy1 ,moran by name1 clad only in his night-shirt and fresh from a bath1 entered the room containing the mosquitoes1 where he lay down for a period of thirty minutes4 ,within two minutes of ,moran's entrance he was being bitten about the face and hands by the insects1 that had promptly settled down upon him4 ,seven1 in all1 bit him at this visit4 ,at #d4cj p4m4 the same day1 he again entered and remained twenty minutes1 during which time five others bit him4 ,the following day1 at #d4cj p4m41 he again entered and remained fifteen minutes1 during which time three insects bit him2 making the number fifteen that had fed at these three visits4 ,on ,christmas morning1 at #aa a4m41 this brave lad was stricken with yellow fever1 and had a sharp attack1 which he bore without a murmur4 ,but still the demonstration was not complete4 ,it was necessary to prove by equally undeniable evidence that yellow fever is not conveyed by contagion with the clothes and persons of infected people4 ,these experiments were even more trying and heroic than those which preceded4 ,a small wooden hut1 #ad by #bj feet1 was prepared1 and into this was stored a large amount of bedding and clothes which had been used and worn by persons suffering from the fever4 ,the building was carefully guarded against the intrusion of mosquitoes1 and a temperature of seventy-six degrees1 with a sufficient moisture1 maintained4 ,for twenty consecutive days ,dr4 ,clarke and his men went into this room1 handled1 wore1 and slept in the contaminated clothing1 although the stench was so offensive as to be almost appalling4 ,they emerged from the ordeal in perfect health1 proving beyond possibility of dispute that the disease was not contagious1 and that the mosquito was the sole method of transmission4 ,when distributing the credit for the new channel of world-traffic through the isthmus of ,panama1 let us not forget ,dr4 ,lazear who sacrificed his life and the many others who cheerfully risked their lives to establish truths and facts without which the construction and continued operation of the canal would almost certainly have been impossible4 ,one mosquito may look very much like another1 but the stegomyia and the anopheles differ in many important respects4 ,the latter finds its most favourable breeding-places in stagnant pools of fresh water1 such as are left by the heavy rains of the isthmus4 ,it is essentially a gnat of the country-side4 ,the stegomyia1 on the other hand1 inclines to a more frivolous town life4 ,cisterns and tanks and other receptacles for storing water are his favourite haunts4 ,in length of life and power of flight the species also differ1 though these details are not yet fully ascertained4 ,the stegomyia is said to live three months4 ,dr4 ,cornish states that it becomes dangerous only by attacking man during the first three days of yellow fever1 and that1 even then1 twelve days elapse before its bite is infectious4 ,six days after a man has been bitten by an infected stegomyia he falls ill with yellow fever1 and for the next three days he is capable of transmitting it to the healthy mosquito4 ,mr4 ,bishop informs us that if there is no fresh case of yellow fever within a period of sixty days after the latest one in an epidemic1 it is a safe conclusion that the disease has been stamped out1 because there is no mosquito alive to carry the parasite4 ,after a period of ninety days all doubt on the subject is removed4#i ,if a community1 therefore1 which has thus got rid of its last case of yellow fever could be completely isolated1 yellow fever could never possibly return4 ,it could only be reintroduced from outside4 ,it should be possible1 with a proper system of sanitation and quarantine1 to free any district entirely from this awful scourge4 ,the case of the anopheles and his little contribution to human suffering is very different4 ,whereas the victim of yellow fever either dies or gets better and quickly ceases to be a source of infection to the mosquito1 the victim of malaria seldom dies of the disease1 but he remains infectious to the anopheles for three years4 ,the disease does not simply attack new-comers or white people4 ,natives of the isthmus and the ,west ,indies are subject to it1 and1 indeed1 seem to be in a chronically malarious condition4 ,it is said that #ej per cent4 of the population of the isthmus were found in #aijd-e to have the parasite of malaria in their systems4 ,it is difficult to estimate or imagine the part played by this widespread malady on conditions of life and civilization within the tropics4 ,sir ,ronald ,ross1 the greatest living authority on the subject1 made some interesting remarks in an address at the ,royal ,colonial ,institute in ,january of this year4 ,he said3-- ,nothing has been more carefully studied of recent years than the existence of malaria amongst indigenous populations4 ,it often affects every one of the children1 probably kills a large proportion of the new-born infants1 and renders the survivors ill for years2 only a partial immunity in adult life relieves them of the incessant sickness4 ,here in ,europe nearly all our children suffer from certain diseases--measles1 scarlatina1 and so on4 ,but these maladies are short and slight compared with the enduring infection of malaria4 ,when ,i was studying malaria in ,greece in #aijf1 ,i was struck with the impossibility of conceiving that the people who are now intensely afflicted with malaria could be like the ancient ,greeks who did so much for the world2 and ,i therefore suggested the hypothesis that malaria could only have entered ,greece at about the time of the great ,persian wars4 ,one can scarcely imagine that the physically fine race and the magnificent athletes figured in ,greek sculpture could ever have spent a malarious and splenomegalous childhood4 ,and1 conversely1 it is difficult to imagine that many of the malarious natives in the tropics will ever rise to any great height of civilization while that disease endures amongst them4 ,i am aware that ,africa has produced some magnificent races1 such as those of the ,zulus and ,masai1 but ,i have heard that the countries inhabited by them are not nearly so disease-ridden as many of the larger tracts4 ,at all events1 whatever may be the effect of a malarious childhood upon the physique of adult life1 its effects on the mental development must certainly be very bad1 while the disease always paralyzes the material prosperity of the country where it exists in an intense form4 ,the isthmus of ,panama was beautifully adapted to the breeding of the anopheles and the widest dissemination of malaria4 ,in fact1 the canal zone taken over by the ,americans was perhaps the most malarial strip of territory in the world4 ,the heavy rains leave the country covered with those marshes and pools from which these little ghostly insects are always rising in swarms1 ready to carry the germs of disease from the sick to the healthy and thus perpetuate and extend the domain of this distressing malady4 ,the reader will notice that1 as the yellow fever victim is only infectious to the mosquito for three days1 while the malarial person can convey the poison for three years1 it is a much more practical problem to eradicate yellow fever than to stamp out malaria4 ,it is true the causes of malaria are now fully known and the only effective methods of propagation ascertained4 ,if one could isolate all malarial patients1 including all who are capable of transmitting the disease1 in buildings screened with fine copper-gauze to keep out the mosquitoes and thus gradually diminish the area of infection to vanishing point1 it would not be necessary to deal with the breeding-places of the mosquitoes1 and man and the gnat might live together in perfect amity4 ,but with fifty and even seventy per cent4 of the people malarially infected1 such a heroic course is obviously impossible1 and one can hope only to diminish to a considerable degree the prevalence of the disease4 ,the first two and a half years of the ,american occupation of the isthmus was spent in looking round and preparing for the great work4 ,it soon became evident that the most pressing and immediate task was one of cleaning up and sanitation4 ,in ,july #aijd1 ,colonel ,w4 ,c4 ,gorgas1 whose name will always be associated with the triumphs won over disease at the isthmus1 became the head of the department of sanitation under the ,canal ,commission4 ,he quickly recognized that everything depended on the efficiency and success of his own department4 ,the experience of our predecessors1 he wrote1 was ample to convince us that unless we could protect our force against yellow fever and malaria we would be unable to accomplish the work4#aj ,when the ,americans took over1 yellow fever1 though present1 was quiescent1 but the figures began almost at once to mount up4 ,in ,december #aijd there were six cases on the isthmus and one death4 ,in ,january #aije there were nineteen cases and eight deaths1 seven and one respectively among the canal employees4 ,in ,may there were thirty-three cases1 twenty-two on the canal1 with seven deaths in all1 including three employees4 ,in ,june there was an alarming advance4 ,sixty-two cases occurred on the isthmus1 thirty-four of them among the employees4 ,there were nineteen deaths1 six on the canal4 ,something like a panic then set in among the ,americans engaged on the canal works4 ,many threw up their positions1 and the homeward-bound steamers were filled with employees fleeing from this real yellow peril4 ,in the annual report of the ,commission for #aije we read3-- ,a feeling of alarm1 almost amounting to panic1 spread among the ,americans on the isthmus4 ,many resigned their positions to return to the ,united ,states1 while those who remained became possessed with a feeling of lethargy or fatalism1 resulting from a conviction that no remedy existed for the peril4 ,there was a disposition to partly ignore or openly condemn all preventive measures4 ,the gravity of the crisis was apparent to all4 ,this loss of moral tone was the most dangerous symptom of all4 ,a feeling of let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die gained possession of the canal workers1 and in the indifference of despair many tore down the nettings over the windows of the canal building and began to neglect all the sanitary precautions enjoined on them by the department4 ,evidently a calamity was in prospect which would have brought to an end1 perhaps for ever1 ,american canal ambitions at the isthmus4 ,the restoration of public confidence and sense of responsibility seems to have been due largely to ,mr4 ,charles ,e4 ,magoon1 governor of the canal zone4 ,he set himself to rebuke and remove the morbid bravado then prevailing4 ,he began by frankly and publicly declaring that he1 personally1 was afraid of the fever1 and that in his opinion all non-immunes who professed not to be afraid were 'talking rot6' ,then he ordered all the window-screens to be repaired and kept in place1 and announced that if any man was caught leaving them open or tearing holes in them1 something uncommonly unpleasant would happen to him4 ,now when a man of ,judge ,magoon's mental and physical stature admits that he is afraid1 any lesser man is a fool to say he isn't2 and when a man of ,judge ,magoon's resolution gives an order and prescribes a penalty for its violation1 that order is very likely to be obeyed4#aa ,illustration3 ,clinedinst--,washington1 ,d4,c4 ,,col4 ,,william ,c4 ,,gorgas1 ,medical ,dept41 ,u4,s4 ,army1 ,head of the ,department of ,sanitation1 ,ancon4 ,governor ,magoon arrived at the isthmus in ,may #aije1 just as the yellow fever epidemic was reaching its climax4 ,from that moment he and ,colonel ,gorgas1 to whom he gave the most complete support1 set themselves to fight the fever4 ,the first thing to do was to get all the patients within screened buildings1 whether the hospital or their own homes1 so that no stegomyia mosquitoes could saunter in and take the poison4 ,then the towns of ,colon and ,panama were handed over to a campaign of spring-cleaning such as the world has never witnessed4 ,then the canal building was thoroughly fumigated with pyrethrum powder or sulphur1 and not simply the official building but every single house in the city of ,panama was similarly disinfected4 ,dust and refuse were everywhere burnt4 ,a very efficient system of inspection was adopted1 and a rigid quarantine enforced against all foreign places whence the yellow plague could be imported into the zone4 ,but more important than the immediate expedients were the more permanent sanitary improvements carried out in ,colon and ,panama4 ,these towns were repaired with brick or cement1 and provided with what they had never yet enjoyed1 a proper system of drainage4 ,waterworks were also constructed outside the towns1 and a supply of pure water made available for every household4 ,hitherto water had had to be stored during the dry season in tanks and cisterns1 in which the stegomyia mosquito revelled exceedingly4 ,these were now no longer necessary1 and stagnant water1 wherever it collected in the town1 was drained away4 ,in order to expedite these splendid reforms1 ,governor ,magoon withdrew the workers from the canal and concentrated all efforts on the sewers and waterworks4 ,so speedily was the work carried forward that the water was turned on for public use from the main in the ,cathedral ,plaza on ,july #d4 ,the results of this drastic campaign were soon apparent in the dwindling of the yellow fever returns4 ,in ,july there were still forty-two cases and thirteen deaths on the isthmus1 with twenty-seven cases and ten deaths among the employees4 ,august showed a great improvement1 with twenty-seven cases and nine deaths on the isthmus1 and twelve cases and only one death on the canal4 ,the improvement continued through ,september1 ,october1 ,november1 and in ,december only one case was reported on the isthmus and one on the canal4 ,three months having elapsed since the last case1 and1 therefore1 every stegomyia which could possibly be infected with malaria having departed this life1 the epidemic was entirely past and over4 ,as ,i have pointed out1 there cannot possibly be any return of it under these conditions unless the infection is brought from without4 ,and if any new cases are at once isolated and screened from afternoon calls of the mosquito1 the outbreak may be easily and infallibly suppressed4 ,we may say1 therefore1 that the yellow spectre at the isthmus has been shorn of all its terrors4 ,malaria is1 however1 a very different proposition4 ,a corresponding crusade has been carried on for six years against the little anopheles gnat1 the little criminal who carries the malarial poison4 ,his happy breeding-grounds are in open country marshes and pools1 and there is no lack of these in the canal zone4 ,it was impossible to deal with the entire three-quarters of a million acres of that territory1 but wherever the canal workers were settled determined war was waged against the mosquitoes4 ,it should be remembered that the anopheles can fly only about a hundred or two hundred yards4 ,the jungle was therefore cleared away for a few hundred yards round each village and settlement1 marshes and pools in this area were drained off1 and into all the ditches where stagnant water had collected oil was poured1 which so effectually turns the mosquito's stomach that it never recovers4 ,some #a1bjj acres of the zone were thus treated1 and of course the regulations as to house-screening applied to malaria no less than to yellow fever4 ,the employees were also supplied freely and generously with quinine4 ,the result has been not the eradication of malaria1 but the reduction of the cases to about one-third the number at which they stood in #aijf4 ,yet even so1 among the #dj1jjj employees on the canal during the year ending ,june #cj1 #aiab1 there were #g1jjj malaria cases in the hospitals1 with #cb deaths1 #bb of these being white people4 ,the heavy rainfalls at the isthmus will probably prevent the complete sanitation of the country in this respect1 for the simple reason that the destruction of the anopheles mosquito or the eradication of the malarial germ can never be complete4 ,there will always be people going about with the malarial organism in their blood1 and always anopheles mosquitoes ready to become infected with it and to carry the infection about4 ,but1 as we have seen1 much can be done by the means described to reduce the ravages of the disease4 ,in #aijf1 out of a working force of #bf1jjj1 there were #ba1gci cases of malaria4 ,we have seen how this figure had been brought down in #aiab4 ,in #aijf it was almost certain that any white person coming to reside at the isthmus would catch malaria4 ,now it is quite possible to live there in perfect health1 quite free from any malarial infection4 ,it may be useful to mention that the entire death-roll among the employees on the ,panama ,canal and railway from the ,american occupation down to ,june #cj1 #aiab--that is1 about eight years--was #e1ada1 of whom #bhd were ,americans4 ,of this total1 #d1aai died of disease and #a1jbb from violence or accident4 ,during the same period #di ,american women and #hg ,american children died4#ab ,sir ,ronald ,ross1 as ,i have said1 was told by the ,british ,consul at ,panama in #aijd that the ,french lost in the nine years of their occupancy some #ej1jjj lives1 principally from malaria and yellow fever4 ,this may be an over-estimate1 but there is no doubt that the ,american figure shows an enormous improvement on the ,french4 ,it is easy to conclude that what has been done in sanitation at the isthmus of ,panama may be done anywhere else in the tropics1 where malaria and yellow fever prevail4 ,that may be true1 but we must also remember that the work of ,panama had behind it all the wealth and resources of a mighty republic of #ij1jjj1jjj citizens4 ,the expenditure on these hygienic purposes at the isthmus has been enormous1 though not a penny has been wasted4 ,down to the end of ,december1 #aiab1 the total outlay of the ,department of ,sanitation was #ae1ejj1jjj4 ,waterworks1 sewers1 etc41 accounted for another #b1ejj1jjj1 so that we get a grand total expenditure on sanitation of #ah1jjj1jjj4 ,this will certainly rise to #bj1jjj1jjj before the canal is finished1 so that for the ten and a half years of its construction there will have been an annual expenditure for all health purposes of #a1ijj1jjj4 ,it is not likely that there will be many tropical areas of this kind with so large a sum available for the luxury of scientific sanitation4 ,again1 it must be noticed that the administration had special advantages at the isthmus4 ,it exercised something like military authority4 ,it had absolute powers of deportation1 and could enforce its regulations as it pleased4 ,and in considering the statistics it must also be borne in mind that not only the physical but the moral and mental health of the work-people at the isthmus was promoted in every way4 ,we shall look into the life of the ,panama construction camps in the next chapter4 ,the social interest and amusement provided for the employee must have counted for something beside the sewering and screening and mosquito-hunting4 ,all the same1 the success achieved at ,panama is full of hope and promise for tropical life in the future4 ,colonel ,gorgas writes encouragingly3-- ,i think the sanitarian can now show that any population coming into the tropics can protect itself against these two diseases 7malaria and yellow fever7 by measures that are both simple and inexpensive2 that with these two diseases eliminated life in the tropics for the ,anglo-,saxon will be more healthful than in the temperate zones2 that gradually1 within the next two or three centuries1 tropical countries1 which offer a much greater return for man's labour than do the temperate zones1 will be settled up by the white races1 and that again the centres of wealth1 civilization1 and population will be in the tropics1 as they were in the dawn of man's history1 rather than in the temperate zone1 as at present4 ,apart from the question of disease1 it is far from certain that the white man can ever remain as fit1 as capable of bodily labour1 in equatorial regions as in his native temperate conditions1 or that his descendants will also maintain the same standard of health and strength4 ,ordinary non-professional opinion would perhaps discount ,colonel ,gorgas's forecast as a little too optimistic4 ,,footnotes3 #h ,sanitation of the ,isthmus4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,b4 ,bishop in ,scribner's ,monthly1 ,february #aiac4 #i ,scribner's ,monthly1 ,february #aiac1 p4 #bdh4 #aj ,journal ,american ,medical ,association1 ,july #f1 #aijg4 #aa ,four ,centuries of the ,panama ,canal4 #ab ,see ,scribner's ,magazine1 ,february #aiac1 p4 #bea4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,life ,,at ,,the ,,isthmus4 ,before we go on to describe the canal and its method of construction1 we must look at the sort of social life and civil administration which has prevailed since the ,americans arrived4 ,construction camps in tropical climes are not usually distinguished for order and good morals4 ,the ,americans determined to make an exception at ,panama4 ,they had a perfectly free hand and the enjoyment of all sovereign rights at the isthmus1 and were able to construct a brand-new little state on the most approved and ideal principles4 ,we have seen what instructions were given by ,president ,roosevelt to the first commission4 ,an entire administrative system had to be established within this little plot #aj miles wide and #ej long4 ,laws had to be framed and civil government established1 with all the needful accessories of judicial courts1 police force1 fire-brigades1 customs and revenue service1 post-offices1 public works and financial department4 ,the administration carried what is known as paternalism to all lengths4 ,that is1 it did all the catering and providing itself1 and left little or nothing to private companies4 ,of course1 everything had to be imported1 for the little territory itself produced nothing4 ,whole villages and settlements with all the accessories of social life had to be built along the line of works4 ,over #b1jjj structures1 including offices1 hospitals1 hotels1 messes1 kitchens1 shops1 storehouses1 and living quarters1 were constructed1 and more than #a1ejj buildings taken over from the ,french1 which were made available by necessary repairs4 ,colonel ,goethals gives us a brief insight into the work of the ,commissary ,department of the ,panama ,railroad3-- ,the ,commissary ,department of the ,panama ,railroad ,company was enlarged until it is now #aiaa a great department store1 supplying to the employees whatever may be necessary for their comfort and convenience4 ,manufacturing1 cold-storage1 and laundry plants were established1 and turn out each day about #ij tons of ice1 #ad1jjj loaves of bread1 #b1djj rolls1 #bej gallons of ice-cream1 #a1jjj pounds of roasted coffee1 and #g1ejj pieces of laundry4 ,four or five refrigerator cars1 loaded with meats1 vegetables1 and such fruits as can be obtained1 are sent out on the night freight to distant points1 and every morning a supply train of about #af cars1 of which number six to eight are refrigerator cars1 leaves ,cristobal at #d4cj to distribute foodstuffs and laundry to the local commissaries along the line1 where the employees make their purchases1 and where the hotels1 messes1 and kitchens secure their supplies for the day4 ,a graphic and representative picture of one of the construction settlements along the canal was given by the correspondent of ,the ,times at ,panama4#ac ,he chose ,emperador1 or ,empire1 as the typical village4 ,this is the headquarters of the central division of the construction work1 and is situated about halfway along the great ,culebra ,cut4 ,the correspondent writes3-- ,according to the census just completed1 it contains #g1aeb inhabitants1 of whom #a1geg are whites1 #c1gja negroes1 #a1efi mestizos1 #aja ,chinese1 and #bd ,east ,indians4 ,north of the main street is a section called the native town1 apparently because it is inhabited by natives of other countries than ,panama1 but really because here was situated the native hamlet alongside which the ,french built their construction camp in #ahha4 ,it is occupied by the part of the population not employed by the government1 and here are the ,american saloons1 the ,spanish cantinas and restaurants1 ,chinese shops1 ,east ,indian fancy-work shops1 and negro tailoring and shoemaking places4 ,on the south side of the ,american settlement are the labour camps1 consisting of barracks and eating-places4 ,all the buildings are of wood1 constructed to last not over ten years2 and none are large1 excepting the administration buildings and the club-house4 ,on three sides of the village are the huts of the labourers who prefer the half-jungle life with its freedom2 and here1 with discomfort and squalor and liberty1 is the only picturesque part of the settlement2 all else is orderly1 of one pattern1 almost smug4 ,on the fourth side the village is limited by the canal itself4 ,in the centre of the village is the commissariat1 where the canal and railroad workers buy their food and clothing4 ,here congregate every morning the housewives of the village to do their shopping1 and at night1 after work1 the men1 to complete the family purchases4 ,there is a similar store in each canal village--eighteen in all4 ,the commissariat does away with the middleman's profit and buys in such large quantities1 and for cash1 that it obtains the lowest prices1 while the many ways in which the materials purchased can be used prevent waste4 ,if there is cause for complaint on the part of any class in the canal workers1 that class is the bachelors1 for they are discriminated against in the matter of quarters4 ,but good provision is made for their meals1 at the so-called hotels for the white employees1 and the messes and kitchens for ,spanish and negro labourers4 ,another remarkable evidence of how the canal administration stands in loco parentis to all its work-people is that it has provided twenty-six churches and maintains fifteen ministers of religion4 ,this is interesting because it shows how the state1 when conducted on common-sense principles1 may provide for religious instruction without causing any offence or inflicting any injustice4 ,the administration treated all denominations with perfect impartiality4 ,of the fifteen ministers it supported1 four were ,episcopalian1 four ,baptist1 three ,roman ,catholic1 one ,wesleyan1 and one ,presbyterian4 ,but this was not the entire provision of churches and chapels on the isthmus4 ,there were fourteen other churches not under direct government control1 but assisted by the government in many ways4 ,of the forty in all1 thirteen were ,episcopalian1 seven ,baptist1 seven ,roman ,catholic1 two ,wesleyan1 and eight undenominational4 ,as ,i have pointed out1 the moral sanitation of the isthmus was cared for as well as the physical4 ,for example1 in ,september #aije1 a man living in the canal zone was charged with running a roulette table4 ,he pleaded that he owned a concession from the ,republic of ,panama4 ,that excuse was not allowed1 and he was sentenced to fine and imprisonment for transgressing one of the canal zone laws4 ,gambling1 which had always been one of the ,panamanian vices1 was quite forbidden within the zone4 ,remembering the descriptions given of the state of morals at the isthmus during the ,french occupation1 one cannot help being struck with the contrast afforded by the ,american regime4 ,criticisms of the canal scheme1 of climatic and social conditions in the zone1 appeared in the early days from time to time4 ,mr4 ,johnson quotes an example which is so amusing as to bear repetition3-- ,a land as feverish to the imagination as to the body is ,panama4 ,it is a land making a fitting environment to the deeds of conspiracy1 piracy1 loot1 cruelty1 and blood that have principally made its history for centuries4 ,this gloomy1 ,god-forsaken isthmus is a nightmare region4 ,one descriptive writer has truly said of it that it is a land where the flowers have no odour1 the birds no song2 where the men are without honour and the women without virtue4 ,he is not far wrong4 ,the birds1 brilliant as is their plumage1 have no musical notes4 ,the dense forests teem with bright-hued parrots1 parroquets1 and other birds1 which squeak and scream but do not sing4 ,there are beautiful orchids to be found in the swamps and jungles--fair to look upon1 but they have no odour4 ,the oranges have green skins instead of golden1 the plantains must be fried to make them fit to eat1 the reptiles and insects are often venomous1 and myriads of parasites are ever ready to invade the human body and bring disease and death4 ,in the atmosphere itself is something suggestive of the days of the old pirates and their fiendish cruelties and orgies4 ,there is no life in the air2 it is depressing1 damp1 miasmatic1 and intensely hot4 ,for a great part of the year thunder-showers succeed each other all day long and half the night1 with sheet lightning all around the horizon after dark4 ,there is practically no twilight1 day passing almost instantly into night4 ,it is no wonder that this uncanny land has made its residents degenerate into plotters1 revolutionists1 murderers1 and thieves4 ,its aspect is one of darkness1 treachery1 and curse4 ,president ,roosevelt had something to say on these recurring criticisms in a message to ,congress in ,january #aijf4 ,he wrote3-- ,from time to time various publications have been made1 and from time to time in the future various similar publications1 doubtless1 will be made1 purporting to give an account of jobbing or immorality or inefficiency or misery as obtaining on the isthmus4 ,i have carefully examined into each of these accusations which seemed worthy of attention4 ,in every instance the accusations have proved to be without foundation in any shape or form4 ,they spring from several sources4 ,sometimes they take the shape of statements by irresponsible investigators of a sensational habit of mind1 incapable of observing or repeating with accuracy what they see1 and desirous of obtaining notoriety by widespread slander4 ,more often they originate with or are given currency by individuals with a personal grievance4 ,the sensation mongers1 both those who stay at home and those who visit the isthmus1 may ground their accusations on false statements by some engineer who1 having applied for service on the commission and been refused such service1 now endeavours to discredit his successful competitors1 or by some lessee or owner of real estate who has sought action or inaction by the commission to increase the value of his lots1 and is bitter because the commission cannot be used for such purposes1 or on the tales of disappointed bidders for contracts1 or of office-holders who have proved incompetent1 or who have been suspected of corruption and dismissed1 or who have been overcome by panic and have fled from the isthmus4 ,every specific charge relating to jobbery1 to immorality1 or to inefficiency1 from whatever source it has come1 has been immediately investigated1 and in no single instance have the statements of these sensation mongers and the interested complainants behind them proved true4 ,the only discredit adhering to these false accusations is to those who originate and give them currency1 and who1 to the extent of their abilities1 thereby hamper and obstruct the completion of the great work in which both the honour and the interest of ,america are so deeply involved4 ,it matters not whether those guilty of these false accusations utter them in mere wanton recklessness and folly1 or in a spirit of sinister malice to gratify some personal or political grudge4 ,the soundness and purity of the canal zone administration has long ago been established beyond all question and cavil4 ,the ,americans have given an example to the world how a great work of this kind1 involving the gathering together of a large multitude of workers from many races and nations1 may be carried on without those moral and physical evils which have marked too many enterprises of the kind4 ,in fact1 the way in which the ,americans have arranged and controlled the life of the canal zone stands quite as much to their credit as the skill and determination they have shown in the actual construction of the canal4 ,but we have said nothing yet about the workers themselves on the canal4 ,the ,americans1 on taking over the work from the ,french1 found about #gjj ,west ,indian negroes engaged in excavating the ,culebra ,cut4 ,from this contingent as a nucleus a much larger army of workers was built up4 ,the numbers rapidly grew4 ,in ,december #aije there were #e1jjj employees2 in #aijf1 #bd1jjj2 in #aijh1 #ca1jjj2 the highest figure being reached in #aiaj1 when there were #ej1jjj workers available for duty4 ,of the employees1 speaking roughly1 one-seventh have been white ,americans1 all1 of course1 skilled workers1 one-seventh ,european labourers1 and five-sevenths ,west ,indian negroes4 ,the ,british ,west ,indies1 especially ,barbados1 have continued to be the main source of labour supply4 ,but the ,west ,indian at the outset left a great deal to be desired in his work and efficiency4 ,in #aije complaints were made on the subject by the chairman of the canal commission to the ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,in #aijf the chief engineer reported3-- ,the criticisms of the character of the common labour which were made in last year's report still hold good4 ,our labour consists almost entirely of ,west ,indian negroes1 and their efficiency is very low1 although we have a few of this class who are fairly steady workers--by this it is meant that they average to work all the time1 but the great body of them do not4 ,the majority work just long enough to get money to supply their actual bodily necessities1 with the result that1 while we are quartering and caring for twenty odd thousand of these people1 our daily effective force is many thousands less4 ,preliminary steps have been taken toward securing a large number of ,spanish labourers direct from the north-west provinces of ,spain1 also for the securing of a trial shipment of ,cantonese ,chinese1 as it is believed that the introduction of labourers of different nationalities will be beneficial4 ,the ,chinese project was frustrated through the influence of trade unions in the ,united ,states1 backed up by representations from the ,pacific coast states4 ,the ,west ,indian labourer quickly began to earn a better report4 ,it was found that his inefficiency was largely due to insufficient and improper food4 ,he speedily improved when turned on to the generous and nourishing diet provided in the zone4 ,in order to be certain that he had the full advantage of the provided meals1 the price of them was very wisely deducted from his wages4 ,moreover1 the ,american foremen soon began to learn that the men from ,barbados1 ,trinidad1 and elsewhere were ,british subjects and could not be treated as though they were southern state coons4 ,with a better understanding and more sympathetic treatment of the black employees1 much more work was got out of them1 and a good deal of the credit for the building of the ,panama ,canal is due to the #cj1jjj workers#ad who have been recruited mainly from the ,british islands in the ,west ,indies4 ,but the southern ,european contingent has been found to be excellent material4 ,it was thought that the work-people of ,spain1 ,italy1 and ,greece would take more easily to navvying work in the tropics than people from more northerly regions of the temperate zone4 ,the results were1 on the whole1 satisfactory4 ,the ,greeks were1 it is true1 not equal to the ,italians or the ,spaniards1 and very few of them were recruited for canal work4 ,the ,italians1 also1 though several thousands of them were engaged1 proved rather hard to handle4 ,they were bitten with collectivist ideas1 and inclined to act on trade union lines4 ,the ,spaniard was1 in every way1 the most satisfactory workman introduced from ,europe4 ,he was taken in an unsophisticated state directly from his village in ,galicia or ,castile4 ,he was tractable and orderly1 and quick and ready to learn4 ,hard labour under the tropical sun and in the hot damp of the isthmus seemed to have no exhausting or enervating influence whatever upon him4 ,the ,spaniard shows no sign of settling down on the isthmus4 ,he either goes home with his savings or on to railway work in ,brazil4 ,some #i1jjj have been directly recruited1 but this number does not include all the ,spanish labourers whose muscle has helped to the completion of this great work4 ,a word or two should be said about the wages earned on the canal4 ,the ,west ,indian recruit was offered #f-a_/b;d4 an hour for common labour and an eight-hour day1 in addition to free quarters1 medical care1 and repatriation4 ,meals were supplied to him at the rate of #as4 #b-a_/b;d4 per day4 ,later the pay of all not under contract was reduced to #e;d4 per hour1 and the price of the three meals to #as4 #a-a_/b;d4 ,negro artisans1 such as carpenters1 masons1 blacksmiths and others1 of whom there were some #e1jjj employed in connection with the canal works1 received pay varying from #h;d4 to #bb;d4 per hour4 ,there were in #aiab #d1djj negro artisans receiving #h;d4 an hour or more1 while #djj received #as4 an hour1 and the work was constant4 ,the ,european labourer1 in addition to free quarters1 received #a4fj per eight-hour day1 and more for overtime work4 ,he was charged #dj cents a day for his three meals1 which left him a minimum net wage per day of #a4bj1 or a little less than thirty shillings a week4 ,many1 however1 received more1 and a good number of ,spanish work-people must have gone home with a nice little nest-egg in their pockets4 ,the skilled labour was done almost entirely by ,united ,states employees1 though the gold roll1 as it was called1 included at first some ,europeans4 ,the pay was excellent1 the social life1 with its gymnasia1 billiard-rooms1 concerts and so forth1 attractive1 and the commissariat1 with its three good meals at a fixed charge1 quite up to the standard of a good hotel4 ,the billets on the isthmus were therefore popular1 and about #g1jjj ,americans on an average have been in employment there4 ,as ,i have pointed out1 the responsibility for the construction of the canal was vested in the ,president of the ,united ,states1 who acted through an executive commission resident in the canal zone4 ,the work was organized in a large number of departments1 each responsible for a big task4 ,these were excavation and dredging2 locks and dams2 machinery and buildings 7also responsible for paving and other improvements in ,colon and ,panama72 labour1 subsistence1 and quarters2 material and supplies2 sanitation 7responsible also for hygiene in ,panama and ,colon1 which towns are technically outside the zone72 civil administration2 the ,panama railroad4 ,there were also some smaller divisions1 such as accounts and an office of a purchasing officer in ,washington1 nearly all the supplies for the canal being obtained in the ,united ,states4 ,it should be added that the ,republic of ,panama is responsible for the policing of the two big towns1 but the department of civil administration of the ,panama ,canal ,commission employed #bjj police1 #hh of which were native ,west ,indians4 ,this busy hive of labour will soon present a very different aspect4 ,with the approach of the canal to completion the numbers of the workmen will gradually be reduced4 ,a drastic process of sifting and selection will be carried out among the ,americans employed on the works4 ,only about #b1ejj men will be necessary to operate the canal1 when it is in full working order4 ,these will be established at the locks and other important points4 ,in fact1 the canal authorities recommend a complete depopulation of the isthmus except1 of course1 the terminal cities and the operating stations on the canal4 ,otherwise1 they think1 a large expense for sanitation will be necessary which might thus be avoided4 ,but the question of defence must not be forgotten4 ,it will certainly be found advisable to maintain a pretty large ,american garrison at the isthmus1 and to the population we have mentioned perhaps even #h1jjj ,american troops must be added4 ,the busy scenes still prevailing in the canal zone will now soon have disappeared like a dream1 and the future traveller who looks from the ship-rail over the shining waters of ,gatun ,lake or beyond to the vast and silent tropical forest will have difficulty in reconstructing the spectacle which the narrow lands presented during the ten strenuous years of construction4 ,,footnotes3 #ac ,the ,times1 ,september #bf1 #aiab4 #ad ,this is the figure of official recruiting4 ,very many more came to the isthmus of their own accord4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,construction4 ,we may now begin to consider the canal itself1 the problems which its designers had to solve1 the methods of construction1 and the features of the completed work4 ,as we have seen1 the first two and a half years were a time mainly of preparation for the titanic enterprise of excavation and construction4 ,in fact1 it might have been better if the work during that period had been entirely restricted to scavenging1 sewering1 and so forth4 ,the labourers were hurried a little too fast to the isthmus1 before the isthmus was properly cleaned up to receive them4 ,hence the yellow fever panic and difficulties which might have been avoided4 ,the people of the ,united ,states were responsible for this over-haste at the start4 ,the great thing1 they cried1 is to make the dirt fly4 ,they wanted evidence that the steam-navvies were actually at work in the bed of the canal and that the task was well in hand4 ,in fact1 the public at home took an interest in the canal operations which was sometimes embarrassing4 ,some newspaper man at the isthmus would report an accident or unforeseen difficulty1 probably with a good deal of exaggeration1 an anxious excitement sprang up among the people1 and special commissions had to go to the isthmus in order to investigate the true state of affairs and if possible restore confidence at home4 ,as the reader knows1 the ,americans had no clean slate on which to write at ,panama4 ,they succeeded two ,french companies which had been at work for twenty years4 ,true1 the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company which succeeded the ,lesseps ,company had not greatly perspired over the undertaking4 ,it had kept a certain amount of work going1 chiefly in order to maintain its concession4 ,all the same1 the ,french had ploughed a pretty deep furrow between ,colon and ,panama1 and much of the work they had done was fortunately available whichever type of canal should be adopted1 high-level or tide-level4 ,they had carried out a good deal of dredging for the channel through the tidal flats at either end of the canal1 and they had made a very visible impression on the continental divide at what is known as the ,culebra ,cut4 ,altogether the ,french companies excavated #ha1edh1jjj cubic yards4 ,the ,americans inherited from their predecessors a large amount of machinery and tools1 in addition to a great deal of work well done4 ,much of the machinery1 even of the ,lesseps ,company1 was found to be in serviceable condition1 and operations could be continued with it1 though the extent and efficiency of the plant was1 of course1 as time went on1 greatly increased4 ,the main problem which the ,american engineers had to solve was how to deal with the ,chagres ,river4 ,on the tide-level scheme1 that violent and capricious stream1 which in the rainy season was navigable for half its length of #ajj miles1 would have had to be diverted into another channel or ponded back in its upper waters by a high dam at ,gamboa1 some of the overflow of which might perhaps have been permitted to pass into the canal4 ,but1 as we have seen1 the ,chagres would have to be utilized and at the same time controlled if the high-level plan was adopted4 ,a river which is capable of rising #ce-a_/b feet in twenty-four hours needed a great deal of regulation and discipline before it could be used as the feeder of the upper reaches of a lock canal4 ,the only way to do this was to diffuse its waters over a vast artificial lake which it would keep full1 but in which its floods and current would be effectually tamed4 ,this could only be done by a huge dam intercepting the course of the river in its lower reaches1 at some point before it entered the ,caribbean ,sea4 ,when the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company changed its plans and decided for an elevated waterway1 it was intended to construct such a barrier at ,bohio1 a point much higher up stream than ,gatun1 the site ultimately chosen by the ,american engineers4 ,the ,isthmian ,canal ,commission which reported in #aija1 also arranged for a dam at ,bohio to control the ,chagres ,river4 ,on this plan the river would have been intercepted much higher up1 and the artificial lake would have been much smaller4 ,but when the ,americans finally decided on the high-level type in #aijf1 the site of the proposed dam was shifted from ,bohio to ,gatun1 nearer the river's mouth1 which involved the inundation of a much vaster area of country4 ,this position for the dam was first suggested by a ,french engineer1 ,godin de ,lepinay1 who1 in a paper read before the congress of engineers in ,paris in #ahgi1 advocated a lock canal with a dam controlling the ,chagres ,river at ,gatun4 ,this1 then1 was the biggest problem peculiar to the high-level scheme1 for the cutting through the continental divide1 though an even more titanic labour1 would have had to be accomplished whatever type of canal had been adopted4 ,no feature of the construction has been subject to so much criticism and anxious solicitude as this ,gatun dyke4 ,on it depends the maintenance of ,gatun ,lake and the supply of water for the canal4 ,if the dam fails1 everything fails4 ,the real cause of the difficulty was the foundation upon which this big artificial hill had to be laid4 ,the great dam at ,assouan in ,egypt is based upon the eternal granite1 upon which masonry of natural stone is built4 ,it is1 therefore1 part and parcel of the solid framework of our planet1 and will probably last as long4 ,the ,gatun dam is1 however1 founded upon the alluvial deposits of the ,chagres ,river4 ,this alluvium consists of gravel firmly cemented with mud and clay1 and is unquestionably water-tight4 ,these deposits go down in places to a depth of #bhj feet before the solid rock is reached4 ,the dam had1 therefore1 to be laid down on the top of them4 ,now this foundation1 though water-tight1 is soft4 ,it would have been impossible to place upon it a massive structure of rock or concrete4 ,the deposits would have given way under its weight4 ,the only plan was to dump down in the valley an earthen dam1 making it very broad so as to distribute the weight over as large a space as possible of the alluvium underneath4 ,a steep slope would have been impossible1 for the weight of the central portion would have pushed the clay and gravel outwards1 and the whole mass would have subsided4 ,the earth-dam was to block the valley through which the ,chagres had hitherto flowed uninterruptedly to the sea4 ,this valley is a mile and a half wide1 and this is1 therefore1 the length of the dam4 ,its base is #b1ajj feet wide4 ,it is #cih feet through at the surface of the water1 #ajj feet wide at the top1 and was to be #aae feet above sea-level4 ,the last figure has1 it seems1 been brought down to #ajd feet1 which will be an advantage1 as the weight upon the foundations will be proportionately less4 ,in the middle of the dam the level of the lake is controlled by a channel called the spillway1 with walls and floor of concrete1 by which the surplus waters will be sluiced off into the old bed of the ,chagres ,river and so passed on to the sea4 ,the entrance to this channel is closed with falling gates or doors4 ,this safety-valve will no doubt be capable of dealing with the biggest and quickest rise of the lake-level that is ever likely to take place4 ,it can pass off #acg1jjj cubic feet of water a second1 the water issuing at a speed of #ce feet a second4 ,but1 to complete the security1 the big culverts of the mighty ,gatun locks close by can be turned open1 and #agj1jjj cubic feet a second carried off there4 ,indeed1 as regards the ,gatun ,lake the anxiety1 if there be any1 is that the water-supply will be insufficient rather than dangerously excessive4 ,the level of the lake is to be kept at #he feet above mean sea-level--that is1 the dam1 or a considerable length of it1 will be exposed to what is called a head of water of #he feet4 ,the lake itself will be #afd square miles in extent4 ,there have been many rational anxieties on the sufficiency of the dam4 ,a certain ,american senator1 however1 who visited the works during the construction1 worried himself rather unnecessarily on this last figure4 ,colonel ,goethals was showing a congressional delegation round the works1 and in the course of the survey they came to the dam with the broad expanse of water behind it4 ,colonel1 he said1 how is it that so small a body of earth as the ,gatun dam can hold in check such a tremendous body of water as the ,gatun ,lake8 ,the chief engineer explained that the pressure of a body of water is determined by its height and not by its volume4 ,the inquirer seems not to have been satisfied with the statement of this hydrostatic law4 ,senator ,knox1 afterwards ,secretary of ,state1 then came to his aid4 ,senator1 he said1 if your theory were true1 how could the dykes of ,holland hold in check the ,atlantic ,ocean8 ,this was a clincher1 and the sceptic joined in the laugh at his own expense4 ,all the same1 the ,gatun dam has two extremely responsible and heavy duties to perform4 ,it has to withstand the horizontal thrust of a head of #he feet of water so as not to be carried bodily down the ,chagres bed into the ,atlantic4 ,and it has to block up the valley so effectually that the water of the lake shall not percolate through at any point4 ,there is every reason to believe that1 in spite of all alarums and excursions during its construction1 it will fulfil both these requirements4 ,its composition and construction may be briefly described4 ,two bulwarks of big rocky fragments were built up on either outer line or toe of the structure4 ,this rough material was obtained from the lock site1 or ,mindi1 or the ,culebra ,cut twenty-six miles away4 ,the area between these piles is filled with silt1 and water pumped into it by hydraulic dredges from the ,chagres valley4 ,the surplus water is carried off through pipes4 ,the sodden silt remains and is packed down and consolidated by atmospheric pressure4 ,such a hydraulic fill is impervious to water1 the thrust or head of which is very quickly lost in the minute interstices or pores of the material4 ,it will be seen how such a structure differs from a dam of concrete or stone masonry4 ,it is porous1 while at the same time impervious to water4 ,the future traveller through the ,panama ,canal will probably never guess the immensity of the labour that has gone to the building of the ,gatun dam4 ,already1 indeed1 it looks so much like a part of the natural landscape that it might well escape special observation altogether4 ,yet nothing less than #ba1ade1ica cubic yards of material were laid down--enough to make a wall of earth three feet high and three feet thick reaching nearly halfway round the world4 ,the spillway itself contains #bbe1dhe cubic yards of concrete4 ,it will be noticed that in the dam proper there is no core of masonry or puddled chalk or clay whatever4 ,it was at one time intended that there should be4 ,i have alluded to the alarmist rumours that were raised again and again at ,panama and created much uneasiness in the ,united ,states4 ,these were especially concerned with the great dam1 and that word must have frequently been on the lips of the engineers in more than one significance4 ,every possible test was applied to determine the exact character of the underlying materials1 to ascertain whether there was any connection between the swamp areas to the north and south through the deposits in the gorges which the earthwork was to bridge1 to prove the ability of the material below to support the structure1 and to find out whether suitable material for the dam could be found in its neighbourhood4 ,as the result of all these investigations1 wrote ,colonel ,goethals1#ae it may be briefly stated that the underlying material is impervious to water2 that it possesses ample strength to uphold the structure that will be placed upon it1 and1 the subsoil being impervious1 that there is no connection between the swamps above and the sea below4 ,in order to make assurance doubly sure1 ,colonel ,goethals planned the dam so as to include triple interlocking steel sheet-piling across the valley1 driven down to bedrock1 and decided to carry the dam to a height of #ace feet4 ,even so1 the news of a collapse was wired home1 and this so impressed ,president ,roosevelt that he sent a commission of engineers to the isthmus accompanied by ,president-elect ,taft4 ,the investigations had a different result from what had been expected4 ,instead of being dissatisfied with the size and strength of the dam1 the engineers declared that it was being built too high and that the steel piling was unnecessary4 ,it must be admitted1 therefore1 that the efficiency of the ,gatun dam has been subjected to the most rigorous tests1 and that no further anxiety on the subject need be felt4 ,with the blocking of the ,chagres outlet at ,gatun1 the waters of the lake have gradually accumulated until they cover an area of #afd square miles4 ,not only the ,chagres itself but its tributaries1 the ,trinidad and others1 are thus ponded back4 ,the reservoir extends up a number of long and winding arms1 and is thus very irregular in shape4 ,the bed of the channel itself was cleared of brushwood and trees1 but the rest of the valley was thickly overgrown4 ,as the waters rose1 therefore1 and gradually submerged this primeval forest1 a rather dismal spectacle was presented of decay and destruction4 ,the lake has1 indeed1 completely altered the aspect of the country4 ,villages and even small towns1 whose names had come down from the days of the old navigators1 lie buried for ever beneath the waters of ,lake ,gatun4 ,even now the great expanse of water with its wooded islands looks like a natural feature of the landscape rather than yesterday's creation of engineering enterprise4 ,the vessels in transit will1 of course1 keep to the dredged and buoyed channel1 but the channel will itself be invisible1 and the traveller1 after tossing on the restless ,caribbean ,sea1 will enjoy the full sensation of a cruise over a landlocked fjord or lake4 ,lake ,gatun is indeed twice the size of ,lago ,maggiore and four-fifths the size of ,lake ,geneva4 ,the journey from ,gatun to ,bas ,obispo1 where the waterway again assumes the appearance of a canal and enters the ,culebra gorge1 is #bb miles1 but the same #he-;foot level is maintained right to the locks at ,pedro ,miguel1 where the waters of ,lake ,gatun are again retained by a dam connecting the walls of the lock with a hill to the west4 ,the rest of the lake is held in by the natural configuration of the country1 the only outlets being at the ,gatun spillway and1 of course1 through the locks4 ,but we must not overlook the main purpose of the lake1 which is to supply the water for the canal and the lockages4 ,for this purpose everything1 of course1 depends on the rainfall at the isthmus1 and the question arises whether this may be relied upon to replenish the canal with the needful water-supply4 ,colonel ,goethals estimates that in an average dry season #eh lockages1 or transits of the canal1 per day would be possible1 which is a greater number than the twenty-four hours of the day would permit1 allowing vessels to follow each other at intervals of one hour4 ,happily1 a resource is still left if the supply of water should show signs of proving insufficient4 ,at ,alhajuela1 on the ,chagres ,river1 some nine or ten miles above ,obispo1 there is an excellent site for a dam1 forming a reservoir where some of the surplus water of the rainy season could be stored and supplied to the canal as required in the dry months4 ,details of the construction of such a dam were prepared in connection with a former canal-scheme1 and would be available in case of need4 ,,footnotes3 #ae ,the ,national ,geographic ,magazine1 ,february #aiaa4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,culebra ,,cut4 ,the most famous section of work on the canal has been that at the vertebra or continental divide1 which runs along the isthmus on the ,pacific side and had to be pierced through by any canal running from ,colon to ,panama4 ,this tremendous work1 known as the ,culebra ,cut1 from the name of one of the hills1 extends for nine miles from ,bas ,obispo to ,pedro ,miguel4 ,mr4 ,bryce has truly said1 referring to this section1 that never before on our planet have so much labour1 so much scientific knowledge1 and so much executive skill been concentrated on a work designed to bring the nations nearer to one another and serve the interests of all mankind4#af ,the bottom of the canal in the cut1 as in the channel through ,lake ,gatun1 is #dj feet above sea-level4 ,the highest elevation of the original surface of the ground above the centre line of the canal was #cab feet above sea-level1 so that the total excavation along this saddle was #cab minus #dj1 or #bgb feet4 ,this was1 however1 not actually the highest point of excavation4 ,gold ,hill1 close to the canal line1 is #ecd feet above sea-level1 and from the top of this hill a new and steeper slope had to be made4 ,the surface of the water is #he feet above sea-level1 and so is #bbg feet below the original saddle at its highest elevation4 ,we have already noticed that a tide-level canal would have involved an excavation #he feet deeper1 and the width of the cutting would have had to be immensely wider4 ,the slides and breaks which have rendered the ,american excavation so much more difficult lead one to suppose that the tide-level cutting might have proved impracticable4 ,all the work at ,culebra performed by the ,french was available for their successors4 ,the ,french companies accounted for #ah1fdf1jjj cubic yards of material on this section4 ,they had already cut down #aeb feet below the original surface at its highest elevation1 and the cliff they had cut in the face of ,gold ,hill was #cgd feet in vertical height4 ,it is well to mention such figures1 as some people imagine that the ,french wasted all their time and resources at ,panama4 ,it may be added that the bottom width of the channel adopted by the ,french engineers was #gd feet1 whereas that of the ,american canal will be #cjj feet4 ,many descriptions have been given by visitors of the spectacle presented in this long and deep gash through the mountains during the progress of the excavations4 ,from these and the numerous photographs taken at that stage the traveller will be able to reconstruct the scene--the two hundred miles of railroad construction track1 laid down tier above tier at different levels2 the thousands of men busily at work2 the roar and smoke of the dynamite tearing the rock into fragments2 the mighty steam-shovels like great dragons burying their iron teeth in the surface of the bank1 engulfing a huge mouthful1 then swinging round and belching it all into the dirt trucks1 to be carried off to the dumping-ground at ,gatun near the ,atlantic or ,balboa at the ,pacific end of the canal4 ,at ,culebra1 ,colonel ,goethals made the dirt fly to the full satisfaction of public opinion in the ,united ,states4 ,all sorts of devices and machinery were employed to hasten and economize the process4 ,for example1 there was the ,ledgerwood ,unloader4 ,railway trucks provided with flaps were used1 these flaps making a single platform of the whole train4 ,at the rear of the train was a plough which could be drawn by a wire rope attached to a drum carried on a special car in the fore part of the train4 ,when the train arrived at the dumping-ground the drum was started1 and the plough1 advancing from the rear1 swept the #cbj cubic yards and rock from the sixteen cars in seven minutes4 ,then there was a track-shifter1 invented by an employee on the isthmus1 which lifted and relaid the railway lines as the spoil-tracks had to be shifted4 ,this powerful engine raised the track and ties clear of the ground and deposited them from three to nine feet sideways4 ,the spoil trains were treated with all the respect which is accorded to the fastest mail trains of the day on an ,english main line4 ,they followed one another from the cutting at intervals of three minutes1 and any delay1 of course1 balked the mammoth steam-shovel of its gluttonous meal on the stones and rubble of the mountain-side4 ,any cause of delay was at once reported by telephone to the superintendent of transportation at ,empire1 and the obstruction was immediately dealt with4 ,by this persistent concentration on the main object the dirt has been made to fly not only more speedily but more cheaply4 ,one of the most serious causes of anxiety and difficulty along the canal line were the slides and breaks which kept occurring in the ,culebra ,cut4 ,to use a condensed ,americanism1 the sides would not stay put4 ,large masses of material would slide or move from the banks into the excavated area1 closing off the drainage1 upsetting the steam-shovels1 and tearing up the tracks4 ,a very unpleasant phenomenon was the lifting of the shovels in the bottom of the canal due to the bulgings of the earth there4 ,it is not necessary to enter into the distinction between slides and breaks1 or into the learned disquisitions that have been written about them4 ,it is sufficient for us to note that they added immensely to the amount of material which had to be got out of the ,culebra gorge4 ,colonel ,goethals tells us that of the #ad1cbe1hgf cubic yards removed during the year #aiji1 #hhd1ecj cubic yards1 or #f per cent41 were due to slides2 that in #aiaj of #ad1iba1gej cubic yards removed1 #b1fdi1jjj1 or #ah per cent41 came from slides or breaks that had previously existed or that had developed during the year4 ,it might have been imagined that these discouraging additions to the work would have seriously delayed progress on the canal and put forward the date of its completion4 ,but able and economic organization triumphed over all these lets and hindrances4 ,at the beginning of the ,american excavations the engineers estimated that #ajc million cubic yards of dirt had still to be removed1 and that this work would take nine years to accomplish4 ,but that estimate of material proved to be greatly below the mark4 ,enlargements of the canal and the unforeseen collapses in the ,culebra ,cut brought up the total to #aie million cubic yards4 ,it is a remarkable evidence of the efficiency and economy of the ,american organization that this immense task will have been completed in about six years of actual full-swing work4 ,some idea of the way in which ,colonel ,goethals made the dirt fly may be gathered from the fact that in the first five years of his directorship1 down to ,april #aiab1 he removed #afj million cubic yards of material4 ,if all this material1 writes ,mr4 ,showalter1 could be placed in a solid shaft of the shape of the ,washington ,monument1 with a base as large as an average city block1 it would tower more than six miles skyward1 overtopping the earth's loftiest mountain peak by more than a mile4 ,again1 if it were to be loaded on to the big ,lidgerwood dirt cars used on the canal1 it would make a string of them reaching over two and a half times around the earth1 and requiring a string of engines reaching from ,new ,york to ,sac ,francisco to move them4 ,it is indeed a remarkable achievement that1 while the amount of material to be removed was increased by about #ij per cent41 the time of removal was cut down by #cj per cent4 ,nor has the increase of the work added to the estimate of cost4 ,the total cost of the completed canal was fixed in #aijh at #cge million dollars4 ,yet1 in spite of the increased excavations1 enough of this sum1 it is calculated1 will be left over to build a new breakwater1 and perhaps a big storage reservoir at ,alhajuela on the upper reaches of the ,chagres ,river4 ,in the ,culebra ,cut1 despite the landslides1 the cost of excavation has actually been reduced by more than one-third4 ,illustration3 ,culebra ,cut1 from ,west ,bank1 showing ,shovels at ,work4 ,the pessimists have of course been busy with these landslides in the ,cut4 ,they predicted that the canal along this section would always be exposed to danger from that source4 ,but here1 too1 every precaution has been taken4 ,the engineers have given a much lower slope to the sides of the canal1 which is therefore wider at the top than had been originally planned4 ,the slopes will also be sown with creeping grasses and other plants1 which will bind down the surface soil4 ,when the forty-five feet of water are in the canal1 the bottom will be held down by the weight1 and the bulgings no longer take place4 ,moreover1 any earth that1 in spite of all precautions1 still manages to slide into the canal should be easily dealt with by the big #bj-;inch suction dredges1 which can be brought up through the locks and set to work4 ,so we need not trouble much about the stability of things along this nine-mile section through the ,culebra ,mountains4 ,here as elsewhere it is possible to give only a very general idea of the difficulties which were encountered and overcome in the course of construction4 ,the drainage of the ,cut during the work was in itself a heavy and important task4 ,it was necessary to keep out the water of the surrounding country and to rid the excavated area of water collecting in it4 ,a system of diversion channels1 carrying off the ,obispo ,river and its tributaries1 effected the first object1 and the second problem was solved by gravity drains and pumps4 ,on the whole1 this mighty trench through the isthmian hills is not only the biggest thing to the credit of a nation which delights in bigness1 but the greatest achievement of its kind the world has ever seen4 ,,footnotes3 #af ,south ,america1 p4 #bf4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,locks4 ,the ,panama ,canal belongs to the age of concrete4 ,all other vast works of construction1 such as the ,pyramids of antiquity and the ,assouan ,dam of to-day1 have been built of live natural rock4 ,at ,panama everything--locks1 wharves1 piers1 breakwaters--has been constructed of concrete4 ,the ,americans have not only built these incomparable piles of masonry2 they have manufactured the material out of which they are built4 ,this circumstance makes the rapid completion of the canal all the more wonderful4 ,not less than four and a half million cubic yards of artificial stone have been produced for the built portions of the canal and its accessories4 ,this amount of concrete1 we are informed1 would make an ordinary sidewalk nine feet wide by six inches thick reaching more than twice round the earth4 ,the broken stone which is one of the ingredients of concrete was quarried and transported from ,porto ,bello--a name famous in the annals of ,west ,indian romance--#bj miles to the east of ,colon2 while the sand came mostly from ,nombre de ,dios1 also a celebrated place #bj miles further to the east1 the ,atlantic terminal of the old paved trans-isthmian road along which the ,spanish mule convoys brought the silver of the ,incas from ,panama4 ,millions of yards of stone came from ,porto ,bello4 ,hundreds of bargeloads of sand came from ,nombre de ,dios and from islands in the ,atlantic and ,pacific4 ,myriads of barrels of cement were shipped from the ,united ,states to ,cristobal1 an outskirt of ,colon1 thence carried by barges to ,gatun or by railway to the ,pedro ,miguel and ,miraflores lock sites4 ,dozens of mighty mixers were ready to receive these diverse materials4 ,each of these could accommodate ten tons of sand1 cement1 crushed stones1 and water4 ,this indigestible mixture the machine would toss and churn round for a minute or so in its interior and then belch it all out in the shape of unhardened artificial stone4 ,the belief in concrete among the builders of the ,panama ,canal has been almost a superstition4 ,they invented a sort of cement gun to shoot sand and water against the sides of the ,culebra ,cut1 so as to form a coating of solid artificial rock1 but the experiment rather deserved than achieved success4 ,of course all such structures as lighthouses were built wholly of concrete1 and it is reported that even barges were constructed of this adaptable material4 ,as regards concrete and its nature and behaviour nothing was taken for granted4 ,every means was taken of testing such important matters as the effect of sea-water on this material1 the time it takes for these huge masses of artificial stone to settle1 and many other questions on the answer to which the permanence and stability of the locks and the entire waterway would depend4 ,the ,panama ,canal1 writes ,mr4 ,showalter1 is the greatest effort man ever has made1 and perhaps ever will make1 to simulate the processes of geologic ages1 and do in days what ,nature required unreckoned years to accomplish4 ,these remarks about concrete naturally lead us to the subject of the ,panama locks1 the magnificent stairway at ,gatun1 the single-step locks at ,pedro ,miguel 7or1 as the worker quickly ,anglicized it1 ,peter ,magill71 and the double-step flight at ,miraflores4 ,the most impressive of these is the colossal duplicated three-step flight at ,gatun1 up which the vessel in transit is lifted from the end of the sea-level seven-mile-long entrance channel through ,limon ,bay to ,gatun up to the surface of ,gatun ,lake1 #he feet above the level of the sea4 ,this giant staircase has been constructed in a cutting through the hill which retains at this end the waters of the artificial lake4 ,a tremendous amount of excavation1 upwards of #e1jjj1jjj cubic yards1 was necessary1 and the locks1 which are constructed entirely of concrete1 contain about #b1jdf1ajj cubic yards of that material4 ,the chambers of all the locks in the canal will have a usable length of #a1jjj feet and a width of #aaj feet4 ,these dimensions should prove large enough for the largest ships not only existing but likely to be constructed for many years to come4 ,they satisfy the requirement of the ,spooner ,act that the canal shall be of sufficient capacity and depth to afford convenient passage for vessels of the largest tonnage and greatest draft now in use1 and such as may reasonably be expected4 ,more than #ie per cent4 of the ships now afloat are less than #fjj feet in length1 so that a good margin is allowed4 ,we may be certain that the ,american government has given the closest attention to the question of the length and breadth of the lock-chambers1 for the canal1 we must remember1 is primarily a military passage for the purpose of transferring1 if need be1 the entire ,american fleet from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific seaboard4 ,the locks of the ,kiel ,canal1 it may be added for purposes of comparison1 have an available length of #dib feet and a width of #hb feet4 ,the vessel1 then1 in order to gain the level of ,gatun ,lake from the ,atlantic entrance1 has to pass through a flight of three successive locks4 ,the maximum lift is #cb feet1 or about four feet higher than at any other locks now in use4 ,all the locks along the ,panama ,canal are duplicated--that is1 there are two parallel sets with a common centre-wall--so that two ships could be simultaneously put through both flights in the same or in opposite directions4 ,this double-tracking is in itself one of the many precautions taken against accidents at the locks4 ,there are no locks in the world where these precautions are so minute and numerous4 ,it is all of course in the interests of the owners to inspire the maximum of confidence in maritime circles4 ,complete efficiency in the operation of the canal1 absolute safety for the vessels and cargoes entrusted for ten or twelve hours to its keeping1 are the elementary conditions of success4 ,each lock through which the vessel passes is equipped with two pairs of mitre gates--that is1 double swinging doors--the biggest lock-gates in the world2 but in all cases the uppermost locks have a second pair of gates1 so that if some unruly vessel were to ram open one set of gates there would still be another set ready to receive it4 ,but even this is not all4 ,heavy chains are stretched across the channel with the ends attached to hydraulic paying-out machinery4 ,these chains and their attachments are capable of bringing to a dead stop a vessel of #aj1jjj tons moving at the rate of five miles an hour4 ,and still the precautionary devices are not exhausted4 ,let us suppose that all these barriers were broken down1 though such a disaster is almost beyond the bounds of things possible4 ,at the head of each flight of locks there are provided great cantilever swing-bridges which can be thrown across the channel in case of accident4 ,from these bridges a series of nickel-steel wicket girders could be let down4 ,the lower ends of these girders would drop into a sort of sill at the bottom of the rushing waters4 ,the girders would then act as small perpendicular runways1 down which large steel sheets on rollers would be let down1 gradually damming back the escaping waters4 ,and lastly1 in order to avoid all recourse to these emergency contrivances1 it is ordained that no vessel shall enter any chamber of any locks under its own steam4 ,nearly all the accidents that happen in locks are due to the vessels being worked independently of the lock authorities when passing through4 ,captains may be as anxious as possible to avoid mistakes1 but there is many a slip possible between an order and its fulfilment4 ,so the lock operators are not going to be responsible for the safety of a vessel which is not entirely under their own control4 ,none will be allowed to negotiate the locks under its own motive-power4 ,a series of electric towing-stations will be set up on the side walls of the locks4 ,when a vessel approaches it will be brought to a standstill outside the locks4 ,then four of these towing engines will be fastened to it by means of hawsers--two at the stem1 in order to draw the vessel into the locks1 and two at the stern1 to check its speed and bring it to a standstill when necessary4 ,and this control will of course be exercised all through its passage to the upper or lower levels4 ,we should certainly not hear of any accidents in the lock-chambers of the ,panama ,canal4 ,illustration3 ,gatun ,locks1 looking ,south-,west1 showing ,north ,end of the ,locks4 ,it is expected that a vessel will be passed through the three locks at ,gatun in about fifty minutes1 though some delay may be caused in the approach4 ,on the ,atlantic side the water of the canal will be smooth1 and the ship will be in some degree sheltered from the winds1 so that there should be no difficulty in the approach from that direction4 ,coming from ,lake ,gatun to the locks the vessel may experience a little rough water1 though there is seldom a great force of wind there1 and the lake will be free from currents4 ,as regards the ,pacific side1 the ocean there fully corresponds with its name4 ,it is always calm1 and not the slightest difficulty may be anticipated from either winds or waves or currents4 ,over thirty miles away at the southern extremity of the ,culebra ,cut the vessel in transit will be lowered from the high-level lake #cj feet down to the surface of another artificial lake much smaller in content1 held at a surface-height of #ee feet above sea-level4 ,these are the single-step duplicate locks known as the ,pedro ,miguel or ,peter ,magill4 ,the construction of these locks required #ggj1jjj cubic yards of cement4 ,on the west side of these locks is the other dam which1 with the mighty ,gatun dam at the other end1 holds up the waters of ,lake ,gatun4 ,this smaller dam is also of earth1 and is about #a1djj feet long and #dj feet wide at the top4 ,it is subjected to a maximum head of water of #dj feet1 but the average is from #be to #cj feet4 ,the length of the lake1 which is known by the pretty name of ,miraflores1 between the ,peter ,magill and the next set of locks1 is about #b1jjj yards1 and the lake itself covers about #a1bjj acres4 ,its waters are held up at #ee feet above sea-level by two dams at the ,miraflores locks4 ,these are the third and last set of locks for a ship proceeding from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific4 ,they are in two steps1 or1 to use the more technical expression1 two in flight1 and they drop the vessel from the ,miraflores ,lake at #ee feet elevation down to sea-level4 ,it must be noticed1 however1 that the fluctuations in the tide of the ,pacific end are about #bj feet1 and that the height of the lake is given for mean tide4 ,in other words low water during spring tides is #aj feet below the average sea-level4 ,the maximum lift for these locks therefore will be #fe feet4 ,there are two dams holding up the waters of the ,miraflores ,lake1 one to the west of earth1 and one to the east of concrete4 ,the former is #b1cjj feet long and #dj feet wide at the top4 ,the average head to which it is subjected is #cj feet1 the maximum #dj4 ,its construction is similar to that at ,gatun4 ,the concrete dam is about #ejj feet long1 and is provided with regulating works similar to and of the same dimensions as those at ,gatun1 the crest in this instance being #ci feet above mean tide-level1 with seven openings1 allowing a discharge of #g1ejj cubic feet per second4 ,the locks themselves will require #a1cab1jjj cubic feet of concrete4 ,i should add that these dams at ,pedro ,miguel and ,miraflores are1 unlike their big brother at ,gatun1 founded upon the solid bedrock4 ,there has1 therefore1 been no question as to their permanence and stability4 ,moreover1 as will have been noticed1 the pressure of water is only about a half of that at ,gatun4 ,the relaying of most of the old ,panama railroad was proceeding pari passu with the construction of the canal4 ,two sections of the old line1 one from ,colon to ,mindi at the ,atlantic end1 the other from ,corozal to ,panama at the ,pacific end1 could be used for the new4 ,all the rest had to be built4 ,the greater portion of the old track was1 indeed1 submerged beneath the waters of ,lake ,gatun4 ,the line is also being doubled throughout almost its entire length4 ,it was originally intended to carry the line through the ,culebra ,cut along a berm #aj feet above the water surface1 to be left for this purpose during the excavations of the channel2 but the slides interfered with this project1 and a new line to the east of the ,cut was selected4 ,the heavy embankments along the railway were among the most useful and convenient dumps for the material taken out of the ,culebra cutting4 ,as a great part of the railroad passes through the lake1 culverts of reinforced concrete are provided to equalize the water on both sides of the embankments4 ,south of ,miraflores the new railway passes through a tunnel #hjj feet long1 and a striking feature of the canal is a steel bridge across the ,chagres ,river near ,gamboa1 almost a quarter of a mile long4 ,we need not dwell on the excavations of the tidal stretches of the canal on the ,atlantic and ,pacific ends or through ,lake ,gatun4 ,a good deal of the ,french work was available at the tidal levels1 but a vast amount of excavation had still to be done by steam-shovels as well as dredges1 rocky elevations being found in both channels4 ,below the ,miraflores locks a million and a half cubic yards of rock had to be removed4 ,there will be some tidal current at the ,pacific end1 but as the sea-level section here will be #ejj feet wide1 the current will never run faster than about one foot per second4 ,the sea is practically tideless at the ,atlantic terminal1 the variation being only #b4e as a maximum1 whereas at the ,pacific it is #ba4a4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,completed ,,canal4 ,we may now begin to consider the canal as a whole and in its completed state4 ,from deep water in ,limon ,bay1 #da-;foot depth at mean tide1 to deep water outside ,panama1 #de-;foot depth at mean tide1 is just about #ej miles4 ,the greater part of the canal is at high elevation1 only #ae miles of it being at sea-level4 ,we shall note the varying depths and widths of the channel when we take our imaginary journey along it4 ,here it is enough to say that the minimum width will be #cjj feet1 the minimum depth #da feet1 the breadth and depth being1 however1 for the greater portion of its course1 greater than these dimensions4 ,its highest point above sea-level1 as the reader already knows1 is #he feet--that is1 #he feet at the surface of the water1 and #dj feet at the canal bottom4 ,the depth along this stretch is therefore #de feet4 ,the ,panama ,canal1 though not so long as the ,kiel and ,suez ,canals1 is very much broader and deeper4 ,suez is #ajh feet wide and #ca feet deep as minima2 ,kiel1 #gb feet and #bi-a_/b feet4 ,the ,manchester ,ship ,canal is #abj feet by #bf feet4 ,in length ,panama1 with its #ej miles1 comes third1 ,suez being #ij1 ,kiel #fa1 and ,manchester #ce-a_/b miles long4 ,during the building of the canal the department of construction and engineering was arranged in three divisions--the ,atlantic1 embracing the engineering construction from deep water in the ,caribbean ,sea to include the ,gatun locks and dam2 the central division1 extending from ,gatun to ,pedro ,miguel2 and the ,pacific division1 from ,pedro ,miguel to deep water in the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,for the ordinary student1 however1 the channel divides naturally into four sections1 the ,atlantic level1 the lake1 the cutting1 and the ,pacific section 7in two levels separated by locks74 ,the invisible channel of the waterway begins at the mouth of ,limon ,bay1 about eight miles from ,gatun locks4 ,limon1 also known as ,colon or ,navy ,bay1 is about three miles wide and three and a half miles long from north to south4 ,it is shallow1 from three to seven fathoms deep1 and seems to be steadily growing shallower4 ,this is not surprising1 as it is fully exposed to the northers1 which blow with terrific force from the ,caribbean1 and no doubt carry into the bay a good deal of detritus from the bottom of the sea4 ,the heavy rains of the isthmus must also scour the land perpetually down into the bay4 ,on the east side of the bay is the flat ,manzanillo ,island1 a mile long by three-quarters broad1 on which stands the city of ,colon4 ,this town1 which was once known as ,aspinwall1 owes its existence to the ,panama ,railway1 of which it is the northern or ,caribbean terminus4 ,its position on the railway gave it an advantage over the old town of ,chagres1 a little distance along the coast to the west1 which1 though once a flourishing port1 has now fallen on evil days4 ,near ,colon is ,cristobal1 the new ,atlantic terminal of the canal4 ,illustration3 ,gatun ,upper ,lock1 looking ,north from ,lighthouse4 ,without some protection the entrance to the canal would have been exposed to the extremely violent storms which occur in the ,caribbean during the winter months4 ,during these storms vessels cannot lie safely in ,colon harbour1 and could not safely enter or issue from the canal4 ,so a breakwater two miles long has been run out from ,toro point in an easterly direction1 covering the extremity of the canal4 ,a glance at the map will suggest a thought that this barrier will not provide sufficient protection1 and that another breakwater will have to be run out from the eastern shore4 ,such a further protection will be provided if the need should arise4 ,at this point then1 west of ,colon and at the mouth of ,limon ,bay1 our vessel enters the buoyed submarine channel of the canal and speeds onwards along the first section of the waterway1 #ejj feet in bottom-width and #da feet deep1 towards the locks at ,gatun4 ,but the locks are not yet visible4 ,it is not until the fifth mile--that is1 at ,mindi--that a bend of the canal opens that gigantic structure to view1 and by that time the vessel has left the broad waters and is enclosed within banks4 ,the experience which awaits the traveller who has looked forward with some excitement to see the world's greatest wonder of to-day has been vividly imagined by ,mr4 ,bryce4 ,our late ,american ,ambassador writes3-- ,the voyager of the future1 in the ten or twelve hours of his passage from ocean to ocean1 will have much variety4 ,the level light of the fiery tropic dawn will fall on the houses of ,colon as he approaches it in the morning1 when vessels usually arrive4 ,when his ship has mounted the majestic staircase of the three ,gatun locks from the ,atlantic level1 he will glide slowly and softly along the waters of a broad lake which gradually narrows toward its head--a lake enclosed by rich forests of that velvety softness one sees in the tropics1 with vistas of forest-girt islets stretching far off to right and left among the hills2 a welcome change from the restless ,caribbean ,sea which he has left4 ,then the mountains will close in upon him1 steep slopes of grass or brushwood rising two hundred feet above him as he passes through the great ,cut4 ,from the level of the ,miguel lock he will look southward down the broad vale that opens on the ocean flooded with the light of the declining sun1 and see the rocky islets rising1 between which in the twilight his course will lie out into the vast ,pacific4 ,at ,suez the passage from sea to sea is through a dreary and monotonous waste of shifting sand and barren clay4 ,here one is for a few hours in the centre of a verdant continent1 floating on smooth waters1 shut off from sight of the ocean behind and the ocean before--a short sweet present of tranquillity between a stormy past and a stormy future4 ,the ,gatun locks1 each chamber of which is a sort of canyon of cement1 will almost oppress the imagination with the sense of immensity4 ,at the foot of the locks the vessel will surrender its own volition and entrust itself wholly to the canal operators4 ,it will be attached to the electric apparatus ashore and gently towed into the lock-chambers4 ,in less than an hour it should have climbed the three gigantic steps and be afloat on the surface of the lake1 #he feet above sea-level4 ,the traveller might fail even to notice of himself the great dam which abuts on the locks to the west4 ,he may be surprised to hear that the whole being of the canal depends upon that earthwork1 and that with the ,culebra ,cut it absorbed the greater part of the labour and skill and solicitude of the canal-builders4 ,the ,gatun dam has indeed been so adopted and transfigured by ,nature that it appears only a part1 and not a very conspicuous part1 of the landscape4 ,nor would our traveller1 without previous information1 guess the history of the great expanse of water which stretches to right and left up many a distant arm or loch and round many a picturesque island1 and over which his vessel1 once more resuming its own power and control1 begins to advance4 ,the buoys alone indicate that the channel1 the true and well-wrought link between the two oceans1 still holds its course through the bed of the lake4 ,mr4 ,bryce has pointed out what a pleasant interlude in a long ocean journey will be afforded by this placid glide of #bb miles over the inland lake from ,gatun to ,gamboa4 ,the bottom widths through the lake are #a1jjj feet for #af miles1 #hjj feet for #d miles1 and #ejj feet for about #c miles4 ,at ,gamboa the vessel enters the eight-mile section of the ,culebra ,cut4 ,here again1 though the traveller in future days will need no reminding of the enterprise represented by this tremendous trench driven through the backbone of the isthmus1 he will have to imagine the busy scene during the days of construction which will then have disappeared4 ,he must try to reproduce what was little less than a manufacturing town at ,gorgona1 just near the entrance to the ,cut1 where stood the machine shops1 boiler shops1 smith shops1 car shops1 pattern shops1 where repairs of all kinds were made and machines of all sorts and sizes constructed4 ,he should think of that model residential town to the west of the ,cut where the chief engineer and his assistants lived1 surrounded by the quarters of the men1 each dwelling protected with its fine wire netting to exclude the mosquitoes1 the whole settlement scrupulously clean and bright with well-kept lawns and flowerbeds4 ,all this will have passed away with the crowds of workers who interrupted for a dozen years the stillness of the primeval forest4 ,nature and silence will in a large degree have resumed their sway1 but the world will not forget the debt it owes to that conquering industrial army which divided the land here in order to unite the nations4 ,through the cutting the bottom width of the canal is #cjj feet4 ,having accomplished the eight or nine mile passage through the deep gorge1 the vessel reaches the end of the high-level section at the ,pedro ,miguel locks4 ,here she is gently lowered #cj feet down to the bosom of little ,miraflores ,lake1 held at #ee feet above sea-level4 ,the length of this subsection is about a mile and a half1 and it ends at the ,miraflores locks1 where the ship is lowered by two steps to the level of the ,pacific4 ,then follows the last stage of this eventful transit--the eight-mile tidal section along which the vessel glides between low swamps to her own element of deep sea-water beyond the new port of ,balboa1 west of ,panama1 whose wharves are being constructed from the waste material of the inland excavations4 ,the new breakwater which runs out from ,balboa to ,naos ,island suggests wind and storm4 ,but eternal calm reigns along these shores1 and the object of the breakwater is to protect the line of the canal1 not from heavy seas1 but from the silt-bearing currents from the east which set at right angles to the channel4 ,constant dredging was necessary to prevent the bed of the canal becoming filled with this sediment4 ,the dyke has proved very effectual for this purpose4 ,such is the ,panama ,canal which has for so many centuries been the desire of the nations1 and which is now one of the permanent geographical features of the globe4 ,it is so well and truly constructed that nothing short of an earthquake could ever seriously damage it4 ,the question naturally arises whether this ultimate danger needs to be seriously considered4 ,panama is rather suspiciously close to a region where geological conditions are not remarkable for stability4 ,the earthquake at ,kingston a few years ago was as destructive a calamity as those of ,messina and ,san ,francisco4 ,costa ,rica1 too1 almost an isthmian country1 enjoys a very bad reputation for this kind of friskiness4 ,panama1 however1 seems happily to lie outside the zone of such disturbances4 ,slight earthquake shocks have been felt1 probably only the reflections of severer shocks elsewhere4 ,but there is no record or tradition of a really serious convulsion4 ,there is1 indeed1 one visible and reassuring evidence of the self-possession of the earth's surface in this region4 ,to the east of the modern city of ,panama is the site of old ,panama1 of which the lofty tower of the old cathedral--a pathetic and picturesque object--is still standing4 ,this shows that there has been no serious earthquake here for the greater part of four centuries4 ,still1 the danger--great or small--does exist1 and it threatens a high-level canal1 with its elaborate lock-machinery and masonry1 far more than it would have affected a canal at sea-level4 ,no very severe convulsion might be necessary to throw one of these locks out of gear1 and the entire canal1 therefore1 out of operation for a considerable time4 ,but against such perils there is no guarding1 and every precaution having been taken against foreseeable and preventable dangers1 all else must be left to the disposal of that ,providence which by his strength setteth fast the mountains1 who laid the foundations of the earth1 that it should not be removed for ever4 ,illustration3 ,gatun ,upper ,lock--,west ,chamber4 ,it seems incredible that the canal should ever be in danger of injury or destruction from the attack of any civilized ,power1 because all nations are apparently interested in its preservation4 ,what1 then1 is the meaning of these slopes which are being prepared for forts and batteries at either end of the canal8 ,with the two great forts at the two ends of the canal1 writes ,mr4 ,showalter1 fitted with four #ad-;inch guns1 six #f-;inch guns1 and twelve #ab-;inch mortars1 with twelve companies of coast artillery1 one battery of field artillery1 four regiments of infantry1 and one squad of cavalry1 there is not likely to arise a time when these fortifications1 backed up by the ,american navy1 will fail to command a proper and wholesome respect from other nations4 ,yet if the object were simply to maintain the neutrality of the canal1 the best course would seem to have been to leave the canal entirely unfortified1 as is the case at ,suez1 and trust to the moral influence of the great ,powers and their common interest in keeping the canal free and open to the world's traffic4 ,obviously the idea of making the canal zone a big military camp and arsenal is not so much to police the passage as a great international waterway1 but to defend it and the zone as a position of immense strategic importance to the ,united ,states4 ,president ,hayes1 in a message to the ,senate in #ahhj1 spoke of the canal as the great ocean thoroughfare between our ,atlantic and ,pacific ports1 and virtually a part of the coastline of the ,united ,states4 ,the words ,i have italicized seem to show that the ,united ,states regard the new passage rather as wholly proprietary1 like those of ,kiel and ,corinth1 than as international in status1 like the ,suez ,canal4 ,in the ,hay-,pauncefote ,treaty there is no specific reference to fortification4 ,the only allusion to the defence of the canal occurs in the second subsection of the third clause3 ,the ,united ,states shall be at liberty to maintain such military police along the canal as may be necessary to protect it against lawlessness and disorder4 ,the ,hay-,bunau-,varilla ,treaty is rather more specific in its provisions on this subject1 though even that instrument seems scarcely to have contemplated an armament and garrison on the large and permanent scale intended at the isthmus4#ag ,england has1 however1 acquiesced in the proposed fortification4 ,the decision is not likely to be challenged in any other quarter4 ,the ,united ,states have built the canal with their own money and enterprise4 ,they are more closely and immediately interested in the passage than any other ,power1 and so long as they fulfil their undertaking to afford equal treatment in tolls and other respects to the commerce of all nations1 nobody is likely to protest against the presence of ,american men and guns at the isthmus4 ,indeed1 there is some force in the plea that the complete neutralization of the canal would be inconsistent with ,american control and operation4 ,in time of war the ,americans would have had either to refrain from using the canal for their warships 7an unthinkable proposition7 or to permit their enemy or enemies to use it on equal terms4 ,this would have meant a rather painful experience for the ,american engineers1 managers1 workmen1 and others on the isthmus4 ,they would have been obliged to put the enemy's vessels through the canal1 and thus commit a sort of legalized treason against their own government by giving aid and comfort to the enemy4 ,so it comes to this--that the canal will be neutral at all times except when the ,united ,states are themselves a belligerent4 ,then it will become part and parcel of the sovereign dominions of the great ,american ,republic4 ,but the ,united ,states will have to stand all the ulterior possibilities of this position4 ,if they were at war the canal would be at once liable to attack4 ,in fact it would invite attack as a very vulnerable point in their armour4 ,it has been truly said that the canal zone will have all the disadvantages1 without any of the advantages1 of an island4 ,it will be entirely dependent on imported supplies and isolated from the centre of ,american power4 ,if the ,american fleet lost the command of the sea even for a short time1 the enemy could land troops at any part of the isthmus1 march them against any point of the extended canal line and inflict on the ,united ,states a wound in a very sensitive1 if not a vital region4 ,so that instead of simply doubling the efficiency of the existing ,american fleet1 by enabling it to be transferred swiftly and bodily from the western to the eastern coast1 it may rather add to the naval responsibilities of the ,states and compel a considerable increase in their sea-power4 ,to ,englishmen1 however1 this development of the power and resources of the ,united ,states ought to bring no feelings but those of pleasure and satisfaction4 ,in view of the great secular struggle between ,east and ,west for supremacy in the ,pacific1 which some people think will fill the pages of future world history1 anything that strengthens the position and prestige of ,anglo-,saxondom as the main guardian of ,western ideas and principles should be welcome to all the members of that race4 ,it is estimated that the fortification of the canal will cost about #ab1jjj1jjj4 ,this added to the #cge1jjj1jjj1 the estimated cost of construction1 will bring the entire bill up to the round and goodly sum of #djj1jjj1jjj or ,l#hj1jjj1jjj4 ,this puts all other expenditure on artificial water-channels into the shade1 as the ,suez ,canal cost only ,l#ai1jjj1jjj1 the ,manchester ,ship ,canal ,l#ae1jjj1jjj1 and the ,kiel ,canal ,l#h1jjj1jjj4 ,as regards this expense and the possibilities of revenue returns1 ,colonel ,goethals has written an interesting passage3-- ,much has been said and predicted as to the commercial value of the canal to the ,united ,states4 ,in this connection it must be remembered that the commercial shipping of this country never required the canal4 ,the trip of the ,oregon in #ahih settled the question of the advisability of constructing an isthmian canal1 and had the canal been built at that time1 thereby saving that trip around the ,horn1 there is no question that it would have been agreed generally that the canal1 even at an expenditure of #cge1jjj1jjj1 was worth while4 ,in whatever light the ,panama ,canal is viewed1 it will have paid for itself if in time of war or threatened war a concentration of the fleet is effected without that long1 tedious1 uncertain route followed by the ,oregon4 ,it will practically double the efficiency of that fleet1 and1 notwithstanding the fact that we are a peaceful nation1 our outlying possessions make the ,panama ,canal a military necessity1 and it must be so recognized4 ,from this point of view the debt should be charged to the account which necessitated its construction1 and whatever revenues are derived from other sources are so much to the good4 ,the traffic that will utilize the canal depends upon the tolls that will be charged1 and the ,president has asked the ,congress for legislation which will enable the establishment of rates4 ,there is another policy which1 if adopted1 will have a material bearing on the revenues of the enterprise4 ,through the ,panama railroad a large expenditure of money has been made for providing the present working forces with supplies of all kinds4 ,though the railroad has been reimbursed for this plant through fixed charges on sales1 it should not be abandoned1 but utilized for furnishing shipping with its needed supplies4 ,suitable coaling plants should be erected for the sale of coal to vessels touching at or passing through the canal4 ,in addition1 since oil is now used on a number of ships plying in the ,pacific1 such fuel should also be on hand for sale by the canal authorities4 ,the extensive machine shops now located at ,gorgona must be moved before the completion of the canal1 and they should be established in connection with a dry dock that will be needed for commercial purposes1 and utilized as a revenue producer for the canal4 ,this policy also needs ,congressional action4 ,with properly regulated tolls1 and with facilities for fully equipping1 supplying1 and repairing ships1 the ,panama route would offer many advantages and bring to it a sufficiently remunerative return to pay1 not only the operating expenses1 but to gradually absorb the debt which the ,united ,states has incurred by its construction4 ,we shall return to the question of tolls in a later chapter4 ,illustration3 ,pedro ,miguel ,locks1 from ,hill on ,east ,bank4 ,,footnotes3 #ag ,see ante1 page #ga4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,panama ,,and ,,the ,,isthmus4 ,it may be convenient to deal here with a few detached questions before inquiring into the commercial and maritime changes likely to be produced by the canal4 ,the reader understands the position of the ,united ,states at the isthmus4 ,they control a zone of territory ten miles wide running across from ,panama to ,colon4 ,these two towns are1 however1 not included politically1 though they are geographically1 within the zone4 ,this narrow strip of territory with its precious canal runs right through a foreign country in which the social and political conditions existing must be a matter of importance to the canal-owners4 ,one cannot help wondering how long this state of things is likely to continue4 ,panama1 the youngest of the ,south and ,central ,american republics1 is no better than the rest in its governmental principles4 ,indeed1 the republic had scarcely got into being when it was threatened with a military revolution4 ,a pompous and polysyllabic self-importance1 coupled with a levantine standard of business and financial ethics1 scarcely promises a long continuance of the present political relations with a great republic which is not likely to see its achievement at the isthmus in the smallest degree prejudiced or endangered4 ,some interesting little details of ,panamanian manners have been reported4 ,for example1 ,chinese immigration is forbidden by law1 yet1 strange to say1 most of the retail trade of the isthmus is in ,celestial hands4 ,this is because the law against immigration gave the opportunity for the formation of a syndicate with the collusion of the authorities1 by which ,chinese were introduced at a rate of #bjj entrance fee4 ,the judicial standards which prevail in this little ,bumbledom may be gathered from another story4 ,the mate of a ,british ship was recently sentenced to twelve years' hard labour for manslaughter1 because he was held responsible on no evidence whatever for the loss of a ship and the lives of several relatives of those serving on the jury4 ,it is scarcely to be expected that a people for whom ideals and standards of this kind are good enough will take much trouble to develop their country4 ,an efficient and responsible administration might make a good deal of these narrow lands between the two oceans1 a territory of #cc1jjj square miles1 larger1 that is1 than ,scotland or ,ireland4 ,it is perhaps as well that the construction of the canal has not made many ,panamanian fortunes or produced any great boom in trade4 ,otherwise the withdrawal of the industrial army from the zone might have had the effect produced when the ,french canal works were shut down4 ,a grievous famine desolated the whole country4 ,this is not likely to happen again4 ,the zone has been largely an independent and detached enclave1 such as never existed during the ,french occupation1 when the ,panamanians became dependent for work and wage on the industrial invaders4 ,the ,american canal employees have done very little shopping in ,panama and ,colon1 because they could buy every necessity and luxury duty-free in the ,united ,states government stores4 ,some trade may be lost owing to the departure of the workers1 but it is hoped that this will be more than replaced by the growing stream of tourists who will come to visit the big ditch1 and increased business brought by the shipping which will pass through the canal4 ,with a little thrift and enterprise the ,panamanians might have profited much more from the long period of construction4 ,they might have supplied the zone with a good many more articles4 ,as it was1 the only contribution the country made to the zone or to the towns was about #bh1jjj head of cattle killed annually4 ,the country is almost entirely dependent on imported supplies1 only a small fraction of which it pays for by exports4 ,here is a little instructive table of the ,panamanian commerce3-- ,imports4 ,exports4 #aijh ,l#a1efa1cfb ,l#cfe1daj #aiji ,l#a1gea1bfa ,l#cjj1die #aiaj ,l#b1jjh1fgi ,l#cec1hff #aiaa ,l#a1ihj1dhh ,l#agi1idaah ,the excess of imports over exports looks rather alarming1 but it is adequately explained by the ,british ,consul at ,colon as a measure of the commercial value to ,panama of its transit trade and of the trade with canal employees and tourists4 ,the great bulk of the imports is consumed in the two towns of ,panama and ,colon1 for1 as in most of the ,south ,american republics1 the interior is undeveloped and therefore self-supporting1 being still in the pack-mule stage of civilization4 ,in #aiaa the imports into ,panama from the ,united ,states amounted to ,l#a1jbd1ehi1 from the ,united ,kingdom to ,l#ded1eda1 and from ,germany to ,l#bbc1hde4 ,france1 ,italy1 and ,spain exported to ,panama smaller quantities4 ,the exports from ,panama to the ,united ,states amounted in #aiaj to ,l#cja1fhd 7#aiaa1 first six months1 ,l#aej1iij72 to the ,united ,kingdom1 to ,l#cc1jee 7#aiaa1 first six months1 ,l#ae1iba71 with smaller values to ,germany and ,france4 ,the reader will be interested to learn what sort of things ,panama exports4 ,here1 then1 is a list of the principal exports for #aiaj1 the last full year available3-- #aiaj4 ,l ,bananas ,bunches #c1fdc1ijj #ahd1beg ,cacao ,kilos #ah1jba #idj ,cocoanuts #f1cje1bch #ca1ecd ,cocobolo #a1bjc1ebb #g1acb ,gold #b1gdh #bf1iie ,hides #efg1ded #af1igc ,horns #f1hic #a1daj ,ivory ,nuts #b1ajb1gdc #bf1ebg ,mother-of-pearl shell #fbe1jjh #aj1ahc ,rubber #f1cje1bch #ca1ecd ,sarsaparilla #cb1eec #b1jii ,skins #beg1gdj #d1gej ,tortoise shell #c1hbi #c1ccd ,the ,united ,fruit ,company has now1 in the province of ,bocas del ,toro1 #cb1jjj acres of bananas under cultivation and #a1jjj acres planted in cacao1 with about #afe1jjj trees2 the bananas being exported to the ,united ,states1 and the chocolate to the ,united ,states and ,europe4 ,there should be a considerable increase in rubber production during the next few years1 as #aej1jjj rubber trees have been recently planted in this province1 and these will soon be ready for tapping4 ,nearly all the rubber exported at present is taken from the wild trees growing in the virgin forests of this province4 ,a curious article of exportation is the ivory nut1 or tagua1 which in value now comes next after bananas4 ,these nuts are collected by ,indians on the ,caribbean coast1 brought to ,colon1 and there bought by merchants and shipped to ,new ,york and ,hamburg4 ,they are used to make the big buttons which are now so fashionable1 and probably a good many ,english girls who are wearing coats made in ,germany1 are carrying about a number of these ivory nuts which not long ago were lying on the tropical shores of the ,caribbean4 ,the timber exports from ,panama would grow rapidly with proper exploitation4 ,exports of mahogany1 cedar1 and cocobolo have already begun4 ,the gold exports come mainly from the mines of the ,darien ,company1 a ,french company which has been working for years4 ,the whole isthmus is strongly under suspicion of gold4 ,all the streams show evidence of it1 and prospectors are always searching the ,darien country and the provinces of ,los ,santos and ,veraguas for the saint-seducing metal4 ,no other minerals are worked in the isthmus4 ,there are coal-deposits of a sort in the canal zone1 but the coal is of no commercial value4 ,the only railway at present existing in the republic is that between ,colon and ,panama1 the entire stock of which is owned by the ,united ,states government1 and is worked as a company under the laws of the state of ,new ,york4 ,this line1 which has had to be largely reconstructed owing to the course of the new canal1 was opened in #ahee4 ,it is rather surprising that it should not have been more extensively employed for traffic between the ,atlantic and ,pacific coasts of ,america4 ,as a matter of fact1 it was the main highway of transcontinental traffic until #ahfi1 when the ,missouri ,river was first linked up with the ,pacific coast by the ,union and ,central ,pacific ,railroads1 and the first continuous line across the ,states came into existence4 ,after that date the traffic fell off very rapidly4 ,the causes of this decline are various4 ,to begin with1 the great trunk-lines across the ,states competed ruthlessly with the old isthmian route1 getting control of the ,pacific ,mail ,steamship ,company1 which was for long the only regular line between the west coasts of the ,united ,states and ,panama4 ,then the ,french and ,american construction work has seriously interfered with the route by limiting the amount of commercial freight that could be handled across the isthmus4 ,another cause of depression has been the opening of the ,tehuantepec route in ,south ,mexico4 ,in #aijf the ,american-,hawaiian ,steamship ,company made an agreement with the ,tehuantepec ,national ,railway1 which runs across the isthmus1 and withdrew its vessels from the old ,magellan route1 establishing regular services between ,new ,york and ,puerto ,mexico on the ,atlantic side1 and on the ,pacific between ,salina ,cruz1 the ,pacific terminal of the canal1 and the west coast ports of the ,united ,states and ,hawaii4 ,the route so organized was opened in #aijg1 and has proved very successful1 chiefly owing to the enormous increase in the sugar exports from ,hawaii4 ,the intercoastal traffic by ,tehuantepec from ,new ,york to ,pacific ports advanced from #aad1ijj tons in #aijf to #bie1hjj tons in #aiaa1 and from ,pacific ports to ,new ,york from #cb1jjj tons in #aijf to #afb1ejj in #aiaa4 ,all this competition hit the ,panama route very badly4 ,the ,atlantic to ,pacific traffic by that railroad rose from #be1iad tons in #aijf to #df1cid tons in #aiaj1 and the ,pacific to ,atlantic from #bd1icg tons to #cb1dhb tons between the same years4 ,but in #aiaa there came a sudden expansion to #if1dbj tons 7,atlantic to ,pacific71 and to #aae1ejh tons 7,pacific to ,atlantic71 owing largely to the development of shipping services on both isthmian terminals4 ,in fact1 the commercial freight has had to be seriously held up and restricted in the interests of canal construction and the shipment of canal material4 ,the reader will perhaps ask whether the ,tehuantepec route is likely to compete seriously in the future with the ,panama ,canal4 ,the distance from ,new ,york to ,san ,francisco is #a1jaf nautical miles less via ,tehuantepec than via ,panama1 and from ,new ,orleans #a1egc miles less4 ,the difference to ,honolulu in favour of the ,tehuantepec transit is almost exactly the same4 ,but the difference in time will be a good deal less than these figures indicate4 ,the cargo has to be transferred from shipboard to railroad on one side of the isthmus of ,tehuantepec and retransferred on the other4 ,this means on the average about four days' delay4 ,at ,panama1 a vessel can pass through the canal in half a day1 or1 reckoning other causes of detention1 coaling1 etc41 the total isthmian transit should not take more than one day4 ,then there is the question of expense4 ,the cost of transferring freight at ,tehuantepec could not be less than #b4ej per cargo ton4 ,a ,panama toll of #a4bj per vessel ton1 net register1 would be equivalent to about #j4fj per cargo ton1 giving ,panama an advantage of #b over ,tehuantepec4 ,and the inconvenience and damage resulting from transhipment1 from which a through service through the canal is free1 will also be a considerable point in favour of the waterway4 ,it is not likely1 however1 that ,tehuantepec will be ruined by the opening of the canal4 ,considerable short-distance coasting trade is sure to continue along that route1 and it will share in the general benefit of the developments which await ,isthmian and ,central ,america4 ,has ,panama any danger to fear from its old rival the ,nicaraguan canal project8 ,the ,united ,states seems to have forestalled this possible challenge of ,panama's monopoly of water transit over the isthmus4 ,just as ,i write comes the news of a new treaty between the ,united ,states and ,nicaragua1 securing to the former1 for the payment of #c1jjj1jjj1 the exclusive rights to construct a canal through ,nicaraguan territory4 ,the ,united ,states are reported also to have obtained under the treaty possession of ,fonseca ,bay1 one of the few places on the west coast of ,central ,america affording ample deep water facilities4 ,moreover1 the ,colombian ,charge d',affaires in ,london recently made the following communication to the press3-- ,i have received from my government the following information respecting certain propositions made to ,colombia by the government of the ,united ,states1 which the government of ,colombia has not accepted4 ,the ,american propositions were as follows3 #a4 ,that ,colombia should grant the ,united ,states an option for the construction of an interoceanic canal1 starting from the ,gulf of ,uraba on the ,atlantic to the ,pacific ,ocean1 through the region of the ,atrato ,river4 #b4 ,that ,colombia should give to the ,american government the right to establish coaling stations in the islands of ,san ,andres and ,providencia1 which are located in the ,caribbean ,sea4 #c4 ,in consideration of the above1 the ,united ,states to pay to ,colombia #aj1jjj1jjj and to use their good influence for the settlement of pending differences between ,colombia and ,panama4 ,also to grant ,colombia preferential rights for the use of the canal and the settlement by arbitration of the claims of ,colombia against the ,panama ,railroad ,company4 ,the government of ,colombia declined to accept the above proposals1 insisting1 at the same time1 that all questions pending between ,colombia and the ,united ,states should be settled by arbitration4 ,it is evident that the ,united ,states are not going to permit any competitive canal scheme in ,central ,america if they can help it4 ,what will be the effect of the opening of the canal on ,panamanian prosperity8 ,the local merchants fear that the system of state-supply1 which has prevailed in the zone during the constructional period1 will be continued after completion and extended to the shipping which will pass through the canal1 and that coal and ship-chandlery will become ,american government monopolies4 ,much depends on whether the ,panamanian merchant will be allowed to import freely through ,colon and compete in the supplying of the ships in transit4 ,no serious development can be expected in ,panama until the country is better provided with railways4 ,the only other line in contemplation is one from ,empire1 on the ,culebra ,cut1 to ,david1 a town close to the ,pacific near the far western frontier1 in the province of ,chiriqui4 ,this line would be #bhi miles in length1 and branches from it are proposed to ,anton1 #e miles1 and to ,los ,santos1 about #fg miles4 ,it is pretty safe to prophesy that the blue streak through the isthmus of ,panama will have a gradual but sure effect on the politics of ,central ,america4 ,the need to protect the canal1 and to surround it with orderly conditions1 social and political1 will compel a good many states to put themselves to amendment or force the big republic responsible for the canal to provide them with good government whether they like it or not4 ,if the ,united ,states had to intervene in ,cuba in order to put down anarchy or misrule1 they may be persuaded by an even stronger necessity to intervene in the affairs of ,central ,america in the defence of the ,panama ,canal4 ,it would be no surprise1 especially after recent events in ,mexico1 if the south-western frontier of the ,states gradually advanced down the broad and narrow isthmus until it reached and passed the line of the canal4 ,this would be quite in accordance with the law which makes it almost inevitable that a great and well-governed ,power should absorb weaker states along its borders1 especially when these are unable to keep their houses in order4 ,there is always the danger that foreign ,powers will intervene in the affairs of these republics in the interests of their bondholders1 and this would compel in turn the intervention of the ,united ,states in order to make good the ,monroe doctrine1 which is directed against any such foreign interference in ,american affairs4 ,in order to avoid these complications ,mr4 ,taft actually proposed not long ago to refund the debts of ,honduras and ,nicaragua1 placing the custom-houses under the control of ,american officials4 ,the object was partly to secure loans advanced by ,american bankers1 but partly also to satisfy ,european bondholders and to make the politics of these republics more stable4 ,nothing came of this significant project4 ,but ,i should not care to ensure1 except at a very high premium1 the permanence of the political arrangements now existing in these regions when the ,panama ,canal is in working order and becomes more and more essential to the safety and prosperity of the great republic4 ,the canal may in the long run be not virtually but actually a part of the coastline of the ,united ,states4 ,,footnotes3 #ah ,six months4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,new ,,ocean ,,highways4 ,i have already mentioned that ,england and ,europe gained much more from the opening of the ,suez ,canal than the ,united ,states4 ,before the ,suez ,canal was opened1 the voyage both from ,liverpool and from ,new ,york to ,asia and ,australia was made via the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,liverpool had then an advantage over ,new ,york of #dhj miles in the journey to all ,asiatic and ,australian as well as ,east ,african ports4 ,when the ,suez ,canal was opened the route to ,asia was via the ,mediterranean and ,red ,seas for both ,liverpool and ,new ,york4 ,but ,new ,york is #c1bjg miles from ,gibraltar1 while ,liverpool is only #a1bhc1 so that ,liverpool has had an advantage of #a1ibd miles instead of #dhj1 as formerly1 on the voyage to ,asiatic ports4 ,in other words1 ,liverpool gained a competitive benefit of #a1ddd miles from the opening of the ,suez ,canal4 ,now let us take the voyage to ,australia from ,new ,york and ,liverpool4 ,from ,new ,york the journey is still made via the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 but from ,liverpool chiefly via ,suez4 ,liverpool is #a1fbb miles nearer than ,new ,york to ,australia via ,suez1 but only #dhj miles nearer round the ,cape4 ,liverpool therefore has owed a competitive pull of #a1adb miles over ,new ,york to the ,suez ,canal4 ,let us remember1 therefore1 that the ,suez ,canal has largely diminished the advantage which the western route sought by ,columbus and his successors would once have conferred upon ,england and ,europe in the voyage to the ,far ,east4 ,the opening of the ,panama ,canal will readjust the balance which was tilted against the ,united ,states when the ,suez ,canal was opened in #ahfi4 ,the ,united ,states will gain far more than the western ports of ,europe from the new highway through the ,american isthmus4 ,speaking broadly1 ,suez was a ,british1 ,panama is an ,american proposition4 ,there are so many facts and figures in connection with the changes in distances and sea-routes as the result of the construction of the ,panama ,canal that it may save the reader's attention to lay down a few more obvious effects in succession4 ,we can then go on to look at the subject in closer detail4 #a4 ,the canal reduces the distance between ,new ,york on the eastern and all ports on the western seaboard of ,america north of ,panama by #h1dae geographical miles4 ,the saving from ,new ,orleans is much greater4 #b4 ,liverpool is brought #f1jdf miles nearer to all ports on the western seaboard of ,america 7of course including ,canada7 north of ,panama4 #c4 ,the saving between ,new ,york and the ,pacific ports of ,america south of ,panama depends how far south those ports are4 ,but on the average the shortening of distance is #d1gji miles4 ,the saving varies from #h1dae miles at ,panama to about #a1jjd miles at ,punta ,arenas1 the strange little town on the ,straits of ,magellan4 ,new ,orleans and the ,gulf ports benefit still more4 ,illustration3 ,,ocean ,,routes #d4 ,liverpool is brought on an average about #b1fjj miles nearer to ,pacific ports of ,america south of ,panama4 ,the shortening of distance varies from #f1jdf miles at ,panama itself down to zero at a point between ,punta ,arenas and ,coronel 7the most southerly commercial port of ,chile74 #e4 ,all the ,pacific ports of the ,americas are1 via ,panama1 #b1gei miles nearer to ,new ,york than to ,liverpool4 #f4 ,the ,panama ,canal will not bring any port in ,australia or the ,east ,indies1 nor any ice-free port in ,asia or ,asiatic islands1 nearer to any ,european port4 ,of all ports on the western ,pacific coasts1 only those of ,new ,zealand and a few very chilly ones in ,siberia will be brought nearer to ,liverpool4 #g4 ,all of ,asia and all of ,australia1 with the exception of ,new ,zealand1 will be nearer ,europe by way of the ,suez ,canal than by way of the ,panama route4 #h4 ,nearly all ,japan1 ,shanghai1 ,hong-kong1 the ,philippines1 ,new ,guinea1 all ,australia 7save a far western strip71 and all ,new ,zealand are brought nearer the ,atlantic and ,gulf ports of the ,united ,states and the ,atlantic ports of ,canada4 #i4 ,the relative distances from ,new ,york and ,liverpool to the ,atlantic coast of ,south ,america 7nearly all way down71 to ,africa1 and to ,asiatic ports south of ,hong-kong are unchanged4 #aj4 ,it is ,new ,york and not ,liverpool which is now nearer to ,yokohama1 ,sydney1 and ,melbourne4 ,wellington1 in ,new ,zealand1 formerly equidistant between the two great ports1 is now #b1gci miles nearer to ,new ,york than to ,liverpool4 ,sydney1 which was formerly over #a1ejj miles nearer ,liverpool 7via ,suez7 than ,new ,york 7via ,cape of ,good ,hope71 now becomes #b1dbd miles nearer ,new ,york 7via ,panama7 than ,liverpool 7via ,suez74 #aa4 ,nearly the whole of the ,atlantic seaboard in the ,old ,world and the ,new is brought nearer to the ,pacific ports of the ,united ,states and ,canada4 #ab4 ,the ,panama ,canal cannot invade the main traffic field of the ,suez route--the countries of ,southern ,asia1 ,east ,africa1 the ,red ,sea1 and the ,persian ,gulf4 ,the competitive region of the two canals lies east of ,singapore4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,isthmus ,,of ,,panama ,the reader will gather from the last proposition that the scene of the new battle of the routes will lie in the ,western ,pacific1 and this probably will also be the scene of the main industrial and commercial competitions of the future4 ,it is in these regions1 ,australasia and the countries along the ,pacific ,asiatic coasts1 that the traffic zones of the ,suez and ,panama ,canals touch or overlap4 ,the positive effect on relative distances from ,american and ,european ports is of great importance to commercial developments in these regions4 ,let us look at the geographical results of the ,panama ,canal a little more closely4 ,on pages #beb1 #bec are two tables transcribed from the official report of #aiab on ,panama ,canal ,traffic and ,tolls1 by ,mr4 ,emory ,r4 ,johnson4 ,the following tables are given by ,dr4 ,vaughan ,cornish3-- ,reduction miles ,new ,york to-- 7geog474 ,yokohama by ,suez #ac1efd by ,panama #i1hce #c1gbi ,shanghai by ,suez #ab1ead by ,panama #aj1hee #a1fbi ,sydney by ,cape of ,good ,hope #ac1feh by ,panama 7via ,tahiti7 #i1heb #c1hjf ,melbourne by ,cape of ,good ,hope #ac1jhc by ,panama 7via ,tahiti7 #aj1dbg #b1fef ,wellington1 by ,straits of ,magellan #aa1dad ,n4,z4 by ,panama #h1hgb #b1edb ,hong-kong by ,suez #aa1fee by ,panama #aa1gdd ,manila by ,suez #aa1fja 7,philippines7 by ,panama via ,san ,francisco #af and ,yokohama #aa1ehe by ,panama1 ,honolulu and ,guam #aa1gbi ,comparative distances 7in nautical miles7 from ,new ,york and ,liverpool to ,new ,zealand1 ,australia1 ,philippines1 ,china and ,japan1 via ,suez and ,panama ,canals4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,new ,york via ,liverpool via ,difference ,panama ,canal4 ,suez ,canal4 in favour ,to ---------------------------------------- ---------of ,suez -1 ,ports of ,call4 ,distance4 ,ports of ,call4,distance4,panama 4 ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,wellington,panama and #h1hea ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,tahiti ,king ,george ,sound1 and ,melbourne #ab1hhi #d1ach ,sydney #i1haa ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,king ,george ,sound1 ,adelaide1 and ,melbourne #ab1bce #b1dbd ,adelaide ,panama1 ,tahiti1 #aj1ijd ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,sydney1 and and ,king ,melbourne ,george ,sound #aa1adb #bch ,manila ,panama1 ,san #aa1edh ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,francisco1 and and ,singapore #i1gja -#a1hdg ,yokohama ,hong-kong #aa1chc #i1ghe -#a1eih ,shanghai #aj1hci ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,singapore1 and ,hong-kong #aj1fcg -#bjb ,tientsin #aa1bdh ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,singapore1 ,hong-kong1 and ,shanghai #aa1cgg #abi ,yokohama ,panama and ,san #i1gih ,francisco #aa1fgh #a1hhj ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,distances 7in nautical miles7 from ,liverpool via the ,panama and ,suez routes to ,australia1 ,new ,zealand1 the ,philippine ,islands1 ,china1 and ,japan4 ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,in favour ,to ,suez ,route4 ,distance4 ,panama ,route4 ,distance4of ,suez -1 ,panama 4 ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,adelaide ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,panama1 ,tahiti1 and ,king ,sydney1 and ,george ,sound #aa1adb ,melbourne #ac1dgh -#b1ccf ,melbourne ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,panama1 ,tahiti1 ,king ,george and ,sydney #ab1iff -#a1cab ,sound1 and ,adelaide #aa1fed ,sydney ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,panama and ,king ,george ,tahiti #ab1che -#aej ,sound1 ,adelaide1 and ,melbourne #ab1bce ,wellington,aden1 ,colombo1 #aa1dbe #a1efd ,king ,george ,sound1 and ,melbourne #ab1ihi ,manila ,aden1 ,colombo1 ,panama1 ,san and ,singapore #i1gja ,francisco1 and ,yokohama #ad1abb -#d1dba ,hong-kong #i1ghe #ac1ieg -#d1agb ,tientsin ,aden1 ,colombo1 #ac1hbb -#b1dde ,singapore1 ,hong-kong1 and ,shanghai #aa1cgg ,yokohama ,panama and ,san #aa1fgh ,francisco #ab1cgb -#fid ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,as figures are rather confusing and difficult to retain in the memory1 let us find a more graphic way of indicating this zone in the ,western ,pacific where the chief conflict of canal and commerce is likely to take place in the future4 ,let us mark out a block of sea and land between the lines of latitude #dj deg4 north and #dj deg4 south and the lines of longitude #abj deg4 east and #afj deg4 east of ,greenwich4 ,this zone includes ,japan and ,korea1 ,shanghai and the ,philippines1 ,new ,guinea1 and all ,australia except the farthest western coastline4 ,new ,zealand lies outside it4 ,now along its western margin1 the ,suez and ,panama routes to ,new ,york are equal in length4 ,along its eastern margin1 which lies outside ,japan and ,australia 7not ,new ,zealand71 and only traverses the scattered islets of the ,pacific1 the ,suez and ,panama routes to ,liverpool are equal in length4 ,now look down an imaginary line near the centre of the zone but running rather west of north and east of south4 ,along this line all places are the same distance from ,new ,york and ,liverpool by ,panama and ,suez respectively4 ,can we1 then1 roughly forecast the changes in ocean trade-routes which will result from this new channel of communication between ,east and ,west8 ,for this purpose we may divide the world traffic into three parts--firstly1 that part of it which the canal is almost certain to secure2 secondly1 that for which it will have to fight with competitive routes2 thirdly1 that which it will have no chance of securing4 ,as regards the first1 ,panama will almost certainly attract most1 if not all1 the traffic which flows from the eastern ,american and ,gulf ports to ,hawaii and the west coast of ,north and ,south ,america1 and of the traffic from the ,united ,kingdom and the west of ,europe to the whole western seaboard of ,america4 ,we have already seen the regions where the ,panama ,canal will have to compete with the existing routes4 ,roughly1 they comprise ,pacific ,asia1 a part of the ,east ,indies1 and ,australasia4 ,these regions represent an enormous volume of traffic from which ,panama will have to try to detach as large a share as possible4 ,the third part is the main traffic-field of ,suez--that is1 ,southern ,asia1 ,east ,africa1 the ,red ,sea1 and the ,persian ,gulf4 ,no efforts on the part of ,panama1 no reductions of canal tolls1 could possibly lure any of this traffic from its determination to ,suez2 the competitive region of the two canals lies all east of ,singapore1 and the greater part of the commerce of that region with ,western ,europe will still continue to move via ,suez4 ,the question of tolls at ,panama is1 of course1 very important in its bearing upon the future popularity of the canal4 ,it would certainly not have done to make the ,panama charges higher than those at ,suez4 ,these latter have been reduced as from ,january #a1 #aiab4 ,they are now #f4be francs 7#a4bjf7 per net ton for loaded vessels4 ,the passenger tolls are #aj francs a passenger above twelve years of age1 and #e francs for each child from three to twelve years old4 ,if these figures had been exceeded at ,panama the traffic there would have suffered4 ,on the other hand1 the attempt to attract traffic by a great reduction on tolls would have involved a loss on the assured traffic between the eastern and western coasts of ,america which would have more than counterbalanced the probable gain4 ,mr4 ,taft's proclamation fixing the ,panama tolls will be found at the end of the book4 ,it will be seen that the charge of #a4bj is almost identical with the ,suez toll4 ,there are1 however1 to be no passenger tolls at ,panama4 ,it must not be forgotten that the ,suez ,canal could very well afford to lower its charges to meet the new competition4 ,a dividend of #cj per cent4 leaves a considerable margin for this purpose4 ,illustration ,and we must remember that tolls1 however important1 are not by any means the only determinants of traffic-routes4 ,all sorts of commercial and freight considerations come into play4 ,for example1 the shortest way from ,japan to the eastern coasts of ,north ,america will be via ,panama4 ,fully loaded vessels will certainly go that way4 ,but the ship that leaves the land of the cherry blossom only partly loaded and wanting to make up a full freight may choose the route past ,asia and through the ,suez ,canal as being more likely to serve that object4 ,then the cost of coal is an important point4 ,other things being equal1 shipowners will select the routes by which coal is cheapest and the coaling stations nearest each other4 ,with plenty of cargo coming along and good freight rates it is desirable to reserve as little bunker space as possible4 ,i cannot go into this question at any great length1 but in the competition with the ,suez route it will be quite as important to have abundant and cheap coal at ,colon 7the pun is accidental67 and ,panama as to keep the transit dues moderate4 ,but we have not yet exhausted the motives which may help to prompt the choice of one route rather than another4 ,there is the question of climatic conditions--storms and winds and currents4 ,in this respect ,panama should have a decided advantage over ,suez4 ,the ,red ,sea1 as everybody knows1 is red hot4 ,this is not good for some sorts of cargo1 and so terrible is the heat at times that the stokers are said to be unable to maintain the steam at full pressure4 ,this may involve an appreciable delay in the #a1caj-mile run from ,suez to ,aden4 ,moreover1 from a temper and character point of view1 the ,north ,pacific and ,caribbean are distinctly superior to the ,indian ,ocean and the ,north ,atlantic4 ,the deliverance which the ,panama ,canal will afford to many vessels and steamship lines from the perils and savageries of ,cape ,stiff1 as the sailors call the ,horn1 or the reefs and currents of ,magellan's ,straits1 is in itself one of the blessings of the new route4 ,travellers tell us that the biggest ocean rollers in the world are found on the ,pacific coast of ,america just a little north of the southern straits4 ,for these reasons insurance rates via ,panama are likely to be lower than those round the far south of the ,american continent4 ,there is good reason to believe that the ,panama ,canal will pay its way without imposing any new burden on the taxpayers of the ,united ,states4 ,it will probably not produce the dividends of the ,suez ,canal4 ,it will have cost four times as much1 and is unlikely for many years to command quite as large a volume of traffic4 ,the increase in the traffic at ,suez has been enormous during the last fifteen years1 owing largely to the development of the resources of the ,far ,east with the help of western capital4 ,the net tonnage of vessels passing through the canal in #aiaa was #ah1cbd1gid1 and the total passengers were #bge1fea4 ,all forecasts of the traffic via ,panama must1 of course1 be speculative1 but it may be mentioned that the net register tonnage of vessels that might have advantageously used a ,panama ,canal in #aiaj is officially estimated at #h1cbh1jbi4 ,before discussing the more economic and commercial results likely to follow from the opening of the canal1 there are one or two subsidiary questions we may consider4 ,is the ,panama ,canal likely to be used by sailing vessels8 ,the prevailing idea is that it will be no more practicable a route for such craft than the ,suez ,canal4 ,winds1 tides1 and currents have much more to say to the sailing vessel than to the steamer1 and the terminals of the canal1 especially on the ,pacific end1 are not always easy of approach to wind-driven ships4 ,one effect of the opening of the ,panama ,canal will be to hasten the decline of these old-fashioned and more beautiful craft4 ,it must not be imagined that the windjammer or limejuicer1 in the sea-going vernacular1 has already nearly disappeared from the seven seas4 ,a great deal of the world's commerce is still carried on in such vessels4 ,they still battle their way round the ,horn laden with the timber of ,oregon or ,british ,columbia and the nitrates of ,chile4 ,but the unsuitability of the ,panama transit for sailing vessels will unquestionably lead to their quicker decline4 ,it is interesting to see how steam has gradually ousted sail in the world's shipping4 ,in #ahgc-d the sea-going sail tonnage of the world was #ad1ahe1hcf tons4 ,this declined to #aa1fcf1bhi in #ahhh-i2 to #h1fic1gfi in #ahih-i2 and to #f1dab1baa in #aiaj-aa2 while steam tonnage increased from #d1cbh1aic in #ahgc-d to #da1jfa1jgg in #aiaj-aa4 ,for many reasons1 climatic and economic1 we may safely assume that the ,panama ,canal will be confined exclusively to steam circles4 ,steamers will be substituted for the limejuicers in every canal-using line1 and the snowy canvas will be banished to other regions4 ,hitherto1 such freights as coal1 lumber1 grain1 nitrate of soda1 and sugar have been considered specially suited for sail transportation1 because they are shipped as full vessel cargoes and do not require rapid transportation or delivery4 ,but even such cargoes are certain to be largely transferred to the steamship when it is realized that the ,panama ,canal is no road for sailing vessels4 ,another interesting question is the probable effect of the canal on the ,american mercantile marine4 ,the ocean-going merchantmen of the ,united ,states engaged in the foreign trade are practically non-existent1 though the coasting trade1 which includes the trade of ,hawaii and the ,philippines with the ,united ,states1 is strictly reserved to ,american vessels1 ships flying foreign flags being entirely excluded4 ,but these latter1 which are in the main ,british1 carry on all the foreign trade of the ,united ,states with ,south ,america1 ,new ,zealand1 ,australia1 ,northern ,china and ,japan4 ,it is almost unbelievable that in #aijh there was not a single steamship flying the flag of the ,united ,states between the ,united ,states ports and those of ,brazil1 the ,argentine1 ,chile1 or ,peru4 ,the mails from ,new ,york and the other ,atlantic ports of the ,american republic go1 or went until quite recently1 via ,europe1 though ,new ,york is #cgj miles nearer ,brazil1 etc41 than the ,old ,world coasts4#ai ,the reasons for this want of a foreign-trade mercantile marine are chiefly the greater cost of shipbuilding in the ,united ,states and the requisitions with regard to wages and food of the ,american trade-unions4 ,the result of the high standards of comfort thus imposed has been that the cost in wages and food to run ,american ships under ,american conditions across the ,pacific is double that in ,european or ,japanese steamers4 ,it is scarcely to be wondered at1 therefore1 that some people in the ,united ,states regard the ,panama ,canal as a very disinterested gift from the ,united ,states to humanity at large1 especially perhaps to ,great ,britain and ,japan--as an example of altruism run mad4 ,but while the ,united ,states may not be ready to reap the full advantage of the canal at the start1 it is highly probable that its opening will lead to a rapid growth in the ,united ,states merchant service4 ,a larger coasting fleet will be required with larger vessels1 and this will lead to a general development of the larger classes of shipbuilding4 ,at present no vessels are permitted to fly the ,american flag unless ,american-built4 ,a large number of ,american-owned vessels are therefore registered under the flags of some foreign nation4 ,as the ,united ,states begins to compete in cheapness and efficiency of shipbuilding with other countries1 the chief motive for this foreign registration will be removed4 ,great ,britain cannot expect to be the chief carrier of ,united ,states trade for ever4 ,this is indeed one of many directions in which the opening of the ,panama ,canal may tend rather to the disadvantage than to the benefit of the ,united ,kingdom4 ,there is no reason why the ,united ,states should not build up a mercantile marine as swiftly as ,germany and ,japan have done4 ,england will have to consider seriously this and many other probable effects of the canal closely touching her most important interests4 ,i will conclude this chapter with an interesting little fact which may already have occurred to the reader4 ,from the moment the ,panama ,canal is opened it will be possible for the first time to sail all round the world from ,england wholly in the northern hemisphere and without crossing the ,equator4 ,who will be the first circumnavigator along the all-northern trail8 ,,footnotes3 #ai ,many persons may have expected these countries to be much nearer ,new ,york4 ,they do not realize that nearly all ,south ,america lies east of ,north ,america4 ,washington is on the same meridian as ,callao on the coast of ,peru4 ,antofagasta and ,iquique1 the chief nitrate ports of ,chile1 have the longitude of ,boston4 ,the eastern point of ,brazil lies #b1fjj miles east of ,new ,york1 and is equidistant from ,new ,york ,bay and the ,english ,channel4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,canal ,,and ,,the ,,americas4 ,the likely effects of the ,panama ,canal on international commerce and the development of the world's resources is so big a subject that one can do little more than indicate the larger probabilities4 ,the influence of the canal on the ,british ,empire must be left to another chapter4 ,here we shall have to consider mainly the case of the ,united ,states1 the country which stands to gain far more than any other from this new link between ,east and ,west4 ,the most obvious result of the new event1 as it was the main object of the canal's construction1 must be the immensely quickened all-sea communication between the eastern and western coasts of ,north ,america4 ,the motive for the building of the canal was military rather than commercial4 ,it was rendered necessary by painful experience during the ,spanish-,american ,war of the effects of the #ad1jjj-mile sea journey between the two seaboards of the republic4 ,but the commercial results will not be the less important because they were not foremost in the object and motive of the canal-builders4 ,it is pretty clear that what we may call the main developmental effect of the canal will be felt along that ,pacific coast of the ,americas which has been so long shut out from the great centres of industrial enterprise in the ,new ,world and the ,old4 ,we are so accustomed to regard the ,united ,states as a fully developed and fully equipped country that we forget how slowly her population and industries advanced westward from the ,atlantic coasts4 ,even now it cannot be said that the railroad communications between the east and the ,pacific states beyond the great mountain-divide of the ,rockies are fully equal to the carriage of the produce which is or should be exchanged between east and west4 ,the transcontinental lines have scarcely yet furnished a cheap and satisfactory connection between the ,pacific coast states and their largest and most natural markets4 ,hitherto the railways have had to compete with only three alternative routes3 7#a7 the all-sea route round ,cape ,horn for sailers1 and through ,magellan ,straits for steamers2 7#b7 the route via ,panama1 with railroad transit over the isthmus2 7#c7 the route via ,tehuantepec1 with railroad transit over that isthmus from ,puerto ,mexico on the ,gulf to ,salina ,cruz on the ,pacific4 ,the new canal will be a much more formidable competitor4 ,it is highly important that the industries of the ,united ,states should have the benefit of this healthy tug-of-war between railroad and canal1 and the government is perfectly justified in keeping that competition open1 even to the length of forbidding the use of the canal to ships owned1 controlled1 or operated by railway companies4 ,there is no fear that the ,panama ,canal1 even if it prospers exceedingly1 will ruin the transcontinental railroads4 ,the report of the ,isthmian ,canal ,commission in #aija made some interesting remarks on this subject1 and they are as pertinent to-day3-- ,the competition of the canal will affect1 first1 the volume and rates of the through business of the ,pacific railroads1 and secondly1 the amount of their local traffic4 ,at the beginning of their existence these railways depended almost entirely upon their through traffic2 but their chief aim throughout their history has been to increase the local business1 which is always more profitable than the through traffic2 and although the great stretch of country crossed by them is still in the infancy of its industrial development1 the local traffic of some1 if not all1 of the ,pacific roads has already become of chief importance4 ,a vice-president of one of the railway systems states that since #ahic the increase in business of the transcontinental lines has not come from the seaports1 but from the development of the intermediate country4 ,the canal can certainly in no wise check the growth of this local traffic1 and the evidence strongly supports the belief entertained by many persons that the canal will assist largely in the industrial expansion of the territory served by the ,pacific railways4 ,if this be true1 the proximate effect of the isthmian canal in compelling a reduction and readjustment of the rates on the share of the transcontinental railway business that will be subject to the competition of the new water route1 will be more than offset by the ultimate and not distant expansion of the through and local traffic1 that must necessarily be handled by rail4 ,it seems probable that the increase in the population of the country1 and the growth in our home and foreign trade1 will early demonstrate the need of the transportation service of both the canal and the railways4 ,the reduction of freight through the use of the canal is sure to give a big stimulus to many leading industries of the ,pacific states4 ,one of the most important is the lumber industry4 ,california and ,oregon are very rich in forests of pine1 spruce1 cedar1 and redwood1 the last being much in demand in ,atlantic countries4 ,a good deal of this timber is exported to ,europe and the eastern states1 and it has all to be carried in sailing ships round ,cape ,horn4 ,it is calculated that the opening of the ,panama ,canal will reduce the freight by #ej per cent41 which means that all this ,pacific coast timber will be correspondingly increased in value4 ,the exports eastwards are sure to advance rapidly with the new means of transport4 ,grain1 wine1 and fruit will benefit1 and the manufactured goods from the industrial states of the east will flow through the same channel to the western states in an ever-increasing volume4 ,every staple industry of the ,united ,states will feel the new stimulus1 and ,england and ,europe generally are certain to feel the pressure of this new competitive power of the ,american republic4 ,in cotton and iron goods especially the exports from the eastern and southern states are bound to forge ahead4 ,manufactured cotton goods exported from the southern states have had to be carried by rail to the western ports1 and thence by steamer to ,china and ,japan1 or else eastward by the ,suez ,canal1 sometimes even via ,england or ,germany4 ,we may imagine what a boon the ,panama ,canal will be to this trade1 and how conveniently it will lie for the ,gulf ports and all their raw and manufactured exports4 ,american iron and steel will also be immensely strengthened for competition with those of ,england and ,europe in the markets of ,china1 ,japan1 ,british ,australasia1 and along the coast of ,south ,america4 ,we need not describe in detail effects which are likely to be felt over the entire range of ,american industry4 ,the ,united ,states appears1 indeed1 to be on the verge of tremendous developments4 ,in a paper read before the ,royal ,colonial ,institute1#bj that well-known physical geographer and economist1 ,dr4 ,f4 ,b4 ,vrooman1 gave us a hint of further ,american enterprises in civil engineering1 after the ,panama ,canal is opened3-- ,the isthmian canal is but a part of the greater ,american waterways project4 ,as soon as this is finished it is possible that the ,united ,states will start in a large way with the project of the artificial canalization of the ,mississippi with its #af1jjj miles of already navigable waters and a drainage basis of #a1bhj1jjj square miles4 ,the cutting-through of an ocean-ship canal to the ,great ,lakes will make seaport towns of the ,canadian cities on the ,lakes ,ontario1 ,erie1 and ,superior4 ,the ,saskatchewan and the ,red ,river can be canalized for #a1jjj miles1 and a short haul from ,winnipeg will open the whole ,saskatchewan valley from near the foot-hills of the ,rocky ,mountains--downstream1 but for this short portage--all the way to the ,gulf of ,mexico1 and thence to ,panama and the ,pacific ports4 ,every transcontinental freight-rate in ,canada and the ,united ,states will be reduced1 and perhaps some in the middle interior4 ,as this great southern movement starts up the industries of the southern states will receive a new impulse4 ,the ,gulf of ,mexico and the ,caribbean ,sea will spring into a new life1 together with the ,west ,indies and ,central ,america and the vast and fertile interior drained by the ,orinoco and the ,amazon4 ,,central ,,and ,,southern ,,america4 ,but there are no countries which will hear the call of the canal so nearly and clearly as those of ,central and ,southern ,america4 ,it is astonishing how that forty-mile wide land barrier between the two oceans has isolated all the western shore of the continent4 ,the ,panama ,canal ,railroad has done very little to modify the situation4 ,the ,pacific coast of ,america has looked westwards over its waste of waters1 and has scarcely been reached by the industrial and economic forces at work behind it in the ,old and ,new ,worlds4 ,its trade has been carried on mostly with ,europe1 and especially ,england1 in sailing vessels that have plodded round the distant ,horn4 ,an interesting example of this geographical and commercial detachment of the west coast of ,central and ,south ,america is furnished by the port of ,mazatlan in ,western ,mexico4 ,from this place there are considerable exports of logwood and mahogany4 ,but thirty times as much of this lumber has gone to ,europe as to the east of the ,american continent4 ,on the opposite or eastern side of ,mexico is ,tampico1 where the returns of trade are just the reverse1 the ,united ,states being the largest customer for its exports4 ,despite the old ,spanish paved roads across the isthmus at ,panama1 by which the silver and pearls of ,peru and the ,pacific were conveyed to ,nombre de ,dios and ,porto ,bello1 for shipment to ,spain1 despite the sixty years of the little ,panama ,railway1 the ,american continent even in its narrowest parts has been something like an impenetrable screen between east and west4 ,four centuries of continued agitation and effort to get the water through show how seriously this physical divorce has been felt1 and give an earnest of the large results which are sure to follow the completion of the task4 ,there have been other reasons for the backward development of western ,south ,america4 ,to begin with1 the ,spanish1 not a progressive and pioneering race1 laid their hands on these countries four hundred years ago1 and have held them politically or racially ever since4 ,this would not in itself have kept out the ,anglo-,saxon or the ,german4 ,but these countries have not yet been greatly needed as an outlet of the surplus populations of ,europe4 ,even the ,united ,states is very far from being filled up1 and ,canada is likely to be giving away farms for many years to come4 ,the ,teutonic race1 to which above all others the trusteeship of ,western civilization is committed1 has left these ,spanish ,americas1 with their revolutions coming almost as frequently and regularly as the seasons1 comparatively unvisited4 ,as yet the ,north ,european emigration to the southern continent has been mainly confined to ,argentina and ,southern ,brazil4 ,in one respect the isthmian breakwater has been profitable to these states of the ,pacific coast4 ,it has sheltered them largely from the negro element which has spread so widely over the ,west ,indies and the southern ,united ,states4 ,but ,japan and ,china are already there1 and the yellow will be laid on more and more thickly unless these countries are brought quickly within the zone of ,western ideas and enterprise4 ,and that process is likely to begin with the opening of the canal4 ,the backwardness of these regions is indeed almost unbelievable4 ,most people think of them as producing mainly nitrates and revolutions4 ,but their possible resources and products are illimitable1 and are only awaiting the organized capital of the ,west to be made available for human service4 ,as yet these ,latin republics are in their middle ages of development4 ,there are few railways1 only one continuous transcontinental line having been completed between ,valparaiso1 through ,mendoza1 to ,buenos ,aires4 ,their internal communications are carried on mainly by the pack mule1 as they have been since the days of ,pizarro and ,valdivia4 ,each country1 of course1 has a foreign trade1 but the people of the interior1 the ,indians or mixed breeds1 live in isolated communities which are self-sufficing1 raise their own food and make their own simple manufactures1 knowing little or nothing of the products of foreign countries4 ,the whole coast and its hinterland is engaged almost solely in what are known as extractive industries--that is1 in mining or agriculture4 ,the exports consist mainly of foodstuffs and raw materials1 nitrate1 ores of copper1 silver1 and gold1 grain1 sugar1 cotton1 cocoa1 coffee1 wool1 hides1 rubber1 and woods4 ,with these the people pay for their manufactured goods1 and these come mainly from ,europe1 and chiefly also from the ,united ,kingdom4 ,the mineral wealth of the northern parts1 especially the ,andean plateau1 is still enormous1 though vast quantities have been extracted4 ,for centuries the ,andes furnished the civilized world with most of the bullion used for its current coinage4 ,between #afcj and #ahjc ,peru alone sent out ,l#bej1jjj1jjj worth of silver4 ,bolivia has contributed ,l#hjj1jjj1jjj worth2 the famous mines of ,potosi alone accounted for ,l#fjj1jjj1jjj worth of this metal4 ,the nitrate works of ,chile are in the hands of ,englishmen and ,germans1 and ,american and other foreigners hold the sugar plantations of ,peru4 ,but1 as ,i have said1 the range of production is enormous and only awaits the stimulus of imported capital4 ,to give one example of the variety of products1 it is said that the ,aconcagua valley in ,chile would alone furnish annually from its vineyards #a1jjj1jjj gallons of claret1 if the grapes were not used to produce a local drink named chica4 ,there is no sign of the exhaustion of any of the natural products of these regions4 ,even the nitrate of soda1 that most valuable of fertilizers1 though it is being shovelled out at a great rate1 covers about #bbj1jjj acres1 or about #djj miles from north to south1 and is sufficient to last for a very long time to come4 ,nitrate1 minerals1 wheat1 barley1 wool1 hides--these are the main exports of the ,pacific west1 the returning imports being cotton goods1 machinery1 steel rails1 woollens1 coal1 and all sorts of miscellaneous manufactures and supplies4 ,but1 as ,i said1 the trade has been almost wholly with ,europe1 ,england enjoying a very predominant position4 ,the ,united ,states have competed with ,europe at great disadvantages4 ,the trade has been mostly carried on in sailing vessels4 ,now such craft1 to get from ,new ,york to ,south ,america1 have been obliged to sail eastwards almost as far as the ,canaries in order to catch the trade winds and weather ,cape ,st4 ,roque on the coast of ,brazil4 ,the sailing vessel from ,europe1 on the other hand1 sails right past the ,canaries1 and can give the ,american ship ten days' start in the journey to any part of ,south ,america south or west of the most easterly point of ,brazil4 ,if the reader will turn back to the chapter on the new distances he will see how the little streak of blue water at ,panama will alter all this4 ,take one little fact to illustrate the change4 ,callao1 on the coast of ,peru1 is1 before the opening of the canal1 farther by steam from ,new ,york than is the ,south ,pole1 but the ,panama ,canal will bring the city #a1jjj miles nearer to ,new ,york by steam than ,san ,francisco will then be4 ,the canal will reduce the distance from ,new ,york to the ,chilean nitrate port of ,iquique by #e1aci miles 7nautical71 to ,valparaiso by #c1gdg1 to ,coronel 7farther south7 by #c1bif1 to ,valdivia 7about #a1jjj miles north of ,magellan's ,straits1 nearly at the farthest southern limit of the commercially important part of western ,south ,america7 by #b1ijj4 ,take ,iquique1 an important ,north ,chilean nitrate port4 ,by ,panama this place is #d1jjd miles from ,new ,york1 but #f1egh from ,liverpool4 ,their respective distances via ,magellan were #i1adc and #i1eaj4 ,it looks1 therefore1 as though the ,united ,states1 with its new advantages1 which begin when the first vessel is passed through the ,panama locks1 would have a good chance of securing for the future the main share of the ,south ,american trade4 ,its cotton1 iron and steel goods1 electrical machinery1 etc41 will be able to compete on very different terms with those of ,england and ,germany4 ,cotton manufactures have reached ,chile and the other countries of ,pacific ,south ,america by a rather absurdly roundabout route4 ,the raw cotton has been grown in the southern parts of the ,united ,states1 carried to ,europe for manufacture1 and brought back to ,south ,america via the ,straits of ,magellan4 ,these goods will1 we may be sure1 tend in future to go direct from the ,american factories via ,new ,york1 ,charleston1 or ,new ,orleans1 without trans-shipment1 thus saving about #g1jjj miles of transportation4 ,a very small part of the ,american trade with these countries has passed by the ,panama railroad4 ,the rates charged by the steamers which have picked up the goods for the west coast at ,panama have been kept so high as to be practically prohibitive4 ,it has actually been cheaper to send goods from the ,united ,states by way of ,england or ,germany--that is1 a journey of #ad1jjj miles--than by way of ,panama1 a journey of three or four thousand4 ,one of the surest results1 then1 of the ,panama ,canal opening will be a rapid development of the ,pacific coasts of ,america1 especially of ,south ,america1 and a great expansion of trade between these countries and the ,united ,states4 ,the effect of the canal on the ,atlantic coasts and hinterland of ,south ,america will naturally be less striking4 ,there has never been much interchange of trade between the two coasts of the southern continent1 for the simple reason that their products are not complementary but mostly identical4 ,most of the trade of the eastern coast states is with the countries of the ,north ,atlantic4 ,but some trade to the more northerly and tropical parts of this coast is certain to flow through the canal4 ,lumber from the ,pacific coasts of ,north ,america is used in ,atlantic ,south ,america1 and a part of this trade1 which is likely to grow in extent1 will be passed through the canal4 ,it should be noticed1 however1 that the temperate reaches of the eastern coast of ,south ,america farther to the south will be nearer the ,pacific coasts of the ,united ,states and ,canada via the ,horn and the ,straits of ,magellan owing to the big easterly projection of ,brazil4 ,we must leave the probable effects of the ,panama ,canal on the ,british possessions in ,america to another chapter4 ,it has not been possible to deal with prospective commercial developments in great detail4 ,only some general idea could be given of the vast changes and developments in progress4 ,on the day on which ,i am writing the ,washington correspondent of ,the ,times summarizes the meaning and effect of the ,panama ,canal in three rather formidable words4 ,he says it symbolizes commercial ,pan-,americanism4 ,the canal is going to help ,america to keep its trade more to itself4 ,it represents in commerce and economics what the ,monroe doctrine represents in politics4 ,it will immensely assist the ,united ,states to become the chief industrial supplier of the great continent1 with the other states mainly as agricultural or mining annexes4 ,one incident in the furthering of this ambition was the attempt to conclude a treaty of reciprocity with ,canada1 the effect of which1 as ,mr4 ,taft admitted1 would have been to make ,canada such an annexe of the republic4 ,the ,canadian people1 however1 realizing the ulterior political and commercial effects of such a treaty1 refused to ratify it4 ,canada1 in fact1 belongs to another political and economic system4 ,she gives valuable trade-preference to the manufactures of the mother-country in the ,old ,world1 and there is happily no reason to believe that she will abandon the ,imperial ideals for the objects of continental ,pan-,americanism4 ,after all1 the citizens of ,canada and the ,united ,states are mostly of the same stock1 speaking the same language and cherishing the same great traditions4 ,the two branches of the ,anglo-,saxon family ought to be able1 while each maintaining its own life and growth1 to remain happily side by side1 sharing in the new prosperity which the world owes to this latest achievement of the great republic4 ,,footnotes3 #bj ,march #ai1 #aiab4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,canal ,,and ,,the ,,british ,,empire4 ,one of the most important results of the ,panama ,canal1 one which is likely to have the largest influence on future political history1 seems scarcely to have been noticed by writers on this subject4 ,i have shown how much nearer ,australia and ,new ,zealand are brought to ,new ,york than to ,liverpool1 owing to the isthmian passage4 ,they are brought of course proportionately nearer to the eastern provinces1 which are also the governmental headquarters of ,canada4 ,but the moving away1 so to speak1 of these great countries from ,england1 and their closer approximation to the great and growing branches of the ,anglo-,saxon stock in ,america1 has the effect of locating the centre of gravity of the ,english-speaking races more firmly and permanently than ever in the ,new ,world4 ,when ,canada1 ,australia1 and ,new ,zealand have grown for another quarter of a century1 and the ,united ,states have reaped for so long the advantage in wealth and power of the new waterway1 the little islands of the ,united ,kingdom may begin to appear as a detached and distant fragment1 rather than as the heart and hearth1 of the ,british ,empire and the ,english-speaking world4 ,in the eighteenth century1 when the ,english plantations in ,america began to develop their manufactures and had increased rapidly in population1 the question was discussed in ,england how long she could continue to control an oversea empire1 likely to be in time more populous and prosperous than the home-country itself1 from these far-away islands of the ,old ,world4 ,it was actually suggested at that time that the ,king of ,england should carry his crown and throne where the most part of his subjects were congregated4 ,that suggestion is not likely to be repeated4 ,we have found a way of harmonizing local self-government with imperial unity4 ,but the position of ,england in her empire is sure to be greatly modified as time goes on1 and the ,panama ,canal1 by bringing these vast and undeveloped continents and isles of the far south-west so much nearer to ,north ,america than to the imperial centre1 cannot fail to have some influence in this direction4 ,from a commercial point of view1 its effect will be to increase the value and importance of those trade preferences which ,australia gives the home country in her markets4 ,probably no single country in the world1 certainly no portion of the ,british ,empire1 stands to gain so tremendously from the opening of the canal as ,british ,columbia4 ,england has not yet realized what enormous resources are locked up in this province of the furthest west1 which looks out from a hundred harbours to the ,pacific and across to the awakening ,east4 ,the long haul across the continent1 the interminable sea-trail round the ,horn1 twice crossing the equator1 kept ,british ,columbia1 until lately1 outside the thought and interest1 not only of ,englishmen1 but even of the ,canadians of the administrative ,east4 ,even with the gradual filling of the empty middle and west1 geography would have continued to be against ,british ,columbia4 ,but the ,panama ,canal makes all the difference4 ,this province will no longer look vaguely and dreamily to the western sea-spaces and a still half-slumbering ,orient4 ,she will suddenly find herself at one end of a sea-route which will shorten her distance from ,new ,york by #h1dae miles and from ,liverpool by #f1jdf miles4 ,her timber and other produce will no longer toil wearily in the holds of the windjammer down the whole length of ,northern1 ,central1 and ,southern ,america4 ,there at ,balboa1 less than halfway down1 is the entrance of the long-desired short-cut to the world-centres of progress and enterprise4 ,the electric thrill of this new circuit will be felt not only along the havens and fjords of the ,british ,columbian coast1 but nearly a thousand miles inland4 ,we may say that almost the whole western half of ,canada1 where the golden wheat frontiers are ever advancing1 will face about and henceforth look west instead of east4 ,all the corn and produce of ,alberta and ,western ,saskatchewan will flow1 not eastwards as heretofore1 but to the ,pacific shores1 there to be shipped for transit via the canal to the southern and eastern ,united ,states1 to the north and east of ,south ,america1 and to the ,old ,world over the ,atlantic4 ,even the eastern and western fronts of the ,dominion will feel the grip of a new link1 which may serve important naval and defensive interests for ,canada4 ,the new ,pacific outlet will have many advantages over the eastern4 ,for one thing1 it is always ice-free1 whereas the eastern route is icebound for five months in the year4 ,even now1 ,i understand1 it is appreciably cheaper in winter to send wheat from ,calgary to ,liverpool by ,vancouver than by ,st4 ,john's1 ,new ,brunswick4 ,the freight-rate between ,british ,columbian and ,united ,kingdom ports should be at least halved when the canal is in operation4 ,of all cities in any clime or hemisphere1 ,vancouver seems to stand most surely on the threshold of a new and mighty future4 ,she will have greatness thrust upon her4 ,her citizens are preparing for the spacious days that are about to set in4 ,a ,great ,vancouver will probably arise from the nine local municipalities1 to provide an area and administration worthy of the dawning era4 ,dr4 ,f4 ,b4 ,vrooman eloquently voiced the sentiment of the great port and of ,british ,columbia at a recent luncheon of the ,progress ,club at ,vancouver4 ,he said3-- ,we are on the verge of nothing less than a revolution of the world's commerce1 and industry1 and finance1 which now1 as sure as fate1 are destined to be transferred to the lands of the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,it is not only revolution4 ,it is such a revolution as never has been and never again can be foreordained before chaos primeval for this twentieth century of the ,christian era1 for there are no more hemispheres to cut in two4 ,there are no more oceans1 with half the water area on the world and twenty million square miles more than all the land surface of the globe1 to be suddenly transferred into the arena of world trade4 ,there are no more continents with the widest reaches1 the richest resources1 and the densest populations of the world to be awakened and developed after ,asia has achieved its resurrection4 ,therefore ,i say to you that there has got to be one port at least in the ,british ,empire big enough to be equal to the greatest opportunity the world ever offered any city since time began4 ,and if that city is not destined to be ,vancouver1 it will be for one1 and for only one1 reason--because the men of ,vancouver have been too timid and feeble1 too shortsighted and too little to take hold of what the good ,god has offered them4 ,i have already alluded to the question of coal in connection with the new canal4 ,all the new routes will have to be cheaply and abundantly coaled1 or they will be at a great disadvantage in the competition for traffic with ,suez4 ,the ,isthmian ,canal ,commission of #ahii-aija pointed out that the coaling stations at ,san ,francisco1 ,seattle1 and ,vancouver will in the future bear about the same relation to the route via the ,panama ,canal to the ,orient as the coaling stations at or near the ,suez ,canal bear to the route from ,europe via ,suez to the ,orient4 ,among the ,pacific ,islands1 at ,colon and ,panama1 and among the ,west ,indies coal will have to be stored in big quantities for the tramps and liners and warships which will soon be drawn along these seaways by the new canal4 ,british ,columbia has coal illimitable1 and this interest alone ought to be quickly and mightily developed in the coming years4 ,happily there are men of imagination and public spirit in this great ,pacific province of the empire who understand what the canal means to it in future wealth and welfare1 and are preparing its people to take advantage of the new opportunities4 ,let an eloquent ,british ,columbian1 ,dr4 ,vrooman again1 open for us the broad and bright prospect3-- ,new markets will be found on the ,atlantic for ,british ,columbia lumber and paper4 ,this new large demand will increase the price4 ,but the saving of freight is an enormous item4 ,the present freight-rates from ,vancouver to ,liverpool are sixteen dollars per #a1jjj feet4 ,the canal will give ,british ,columbia a rate of about eight dollars per #a1jjj feet4 ,this difference per #a1jjj will add to the value of ,british ,columbia timber destined for ,europe4 ,but it is for more reasons than this that ,british ,columbia is destined to be a vast ,imperial industrial workshop4 ,while her agricultural and horticultural possibilities are far beyond what is generally supposed1 ,british ,columbia is in natural resources and raw materials of industry one of the richest areas on the globe4 ,but above all is she rich in mechanical power--water-power and coal4 ,these are about to be opened up and developed4 ,their development soon will be beyond computation1 for1 roughly speaking1 there is not an investment in ,british ,columbia to-day which will not be directly increased in value by the new canal2 but also much indirectly in the impetus given to development4 ,this one thing--this canal--costing us nothing--will double1 quadruple1 and quintuple values out there in a few brief years4 ,with easier access will come new trade1 and new demands will create new products1 and soon the innumerable water-powers of ,british ,columbia will start the wheels of a thousand new industries4 ,the illimitable resources of the province will be opened up1 developed1 and utilized at home or shipped abroad4 ,the value of every town lot and of every acre of land of the #cie1jjj square miles of the province will be greatly enhanced2 town sites will be hewed out of the forests1 and the forests themselves--every stick of wood of their #ahb1jjj1jjj acres of forest and woodland--will be increased in value directly1 by reason of cheaper shipping alone1 to the extent of several dollars per #a1jjj feet2 and in the items of lumber and wood-pulp alone the ,panama ,canal will make as a free gift to ,british ,columbia considerably more than the ,united ,states is spending on the whole canal4 ,the mines of ,british ,columbia1 which have already produced over ,l#gj1jjj1jjj1 will leap forward with renewed prosperity4 ,her fisheries1 which have produced ,l#ba1jjj1jjj1 will be more extensively developed and1 let us hope1 be made again a ,british asset--since they are wholly in the hands of the ,japanese1 who not only send their earnings home to ,japan1 but are criminally wasteful in their methods4 ,the coal deposits of the province1 which promise to be the most extensive in the world1 will1 with immense deposits of iron1 be opened to the world's markets4 ,it is said that the coal-fields of one small district in the ,kootenay are capable of yielding #aj1jjj1jjj tons of coal a year for over seven thousand years1 and a new district has been discovered within a twelvemonth which the provincial mineralogist told me on ,christmas ,eve was the most important economic discovery ever made in ,british ,columbia1 where there are known to be #a1jjj square miles of the best of anthracite1 and which is probably the richest known anthracite district in the ,new ,world west of ,pennsylvania4#ba ,the references to coal are especially interesting in this passage4 ,it is an evidence of the public alertness in this matter that the ,british ,columbian government has just appointed a special commissioner to investigate and report upon all circumstances and conditions incident to the production and sale or other disposition of coal in ,british ,columbia4 ,it may be certain1 therefore1 that the opening of the canal will be followed by a rapid growth of exports from ,canadian ports1 serving a thousand miles of hinterland1 many of the vessels returning laden with the manufactures of the eastern ,united ,states and ,europe1 both streams of traffic flowing through the isthmian canal4 ,but we must not overlook the growth in passenger traffic4 ,the sea-passage round by the canal from ,europe to the ,pacific states of ,north ,america will be much cheaper and to many people more pleasant than the fatiguing transcontinental railway journey4 ,fresh brain and muscle will enter ,canada by its western portals1 new needs will arise1 new industries spring up1 a new aeon of progress and enterprise begin on the far ,pacific slopes when the first vessel mounts and descends the mighty steps of this wonder-working isthmian highway4 ,,the ,,west ,,indies4 ,but there is another region of the ,british ,empire which will benefit only less1 if less at all1 than the ,pacific province of ,canada4 ,the ,west ,indies will feel at once the throb of a new life and interest when the canal is thrown open to the world's traffic4 ,these pearls of ocean1 the oldest of ,england's oversea possessions1 have lain hitherto in what the ,americans call a dead end4 ,they are thrown across the entrances to a land-girt sea1 the ,mediterranean of the ,new ,world1 from which there has hitherto been no exit to the west or the south1 but only a return by the same passages to east and north4 ,a glance at a map will show how these islands1 the ,greater and ,lesser ,antilles1#bb cluster round the ,atlantic end of the canal and beset all the possible sea-routes from east and north and south-east4 ,every vessel that makes from the ,atlantic for the canal entrance or quits the canal for the ,atlantic will have to pass through this star-thick storied archipelago4 ,the islands naturally fall into two groups1 with the names ,i have just mentioned4 ,the ,greater ,antilles1 lying further to the west and north-west1 consist of ,jamaica1 the ,bahamas1 and the ,turks and ,caicos ,islands1 these last being administered by ,jamaica4 ,to this group belongs1 geographically and historically1 the mainland colony of ,british ,honduras1 a territory rather larger than ,wales1 whose great value ,england has scarcely begun to appreciate4 ,the ,lesser ,antilles1 stretched like a jewelled coronet round the eastern entrance to the ,caribbean1 consist1 north to south1 of the ,virgin ,islands1 ,st4 ,kitts and ,nevis1 ,antigua1 ,montserrat1 ,dominica 7these forming the ,leeward ,islands ,confederation71 ,st4 ,lucia1 ,barbados1 ,st4 ,vincent1 ,grenada1 ,trinidad1 and ,tobago 7the ,windward ,islands74 ,with this group goes naturally ,british ,guiana1 on the continent east of the ,spanish ,main1 a territory much larger than ,great ,britain1 which should also begin to develop its vast resources more adequately when the canal is opened4 ,these islands1 being largely inhabited by black people1 cannot be entrusted with complete self-government like purely white communities4 ,they are under various forms of what is known as crown colony government4 ,for example1 ,trinidad and the ,windward ,islands are under the complete control of the ,british ,colonial ,office1 while ,barbados and ,jamaica enjoy a large measure of self-rule4 ,but this division into a large number of small governments without any connection with each other is extremely expensive1 and proposals have been made for a federation of the ,british ,west ,indies either in one great system1 including them all1 with ,british ,honduras and ,guiana thrown in1 or in two systems embracing respectively the ,greater and the ,lesser ,antilles4 ,england1 it must be confessed1 has treated her splendid ,west ,indian empire very badly4 ,in order that she might have sugar dirt-cheap at home she allowed the great staple product of the isles and mainland1 cane-sugar1 to be brought to the verge of ruin by the competition of ,european bounty-fed beet-sugar4 ,happily there was a statesman of strong imperial sympathies in ,england1 ,mr4 ,joseph ,chamberlain1 who arranged the ,brussels ,sugar ,convention with certain ,powers of ,europe1 all of which agreed to suppress their own bounties and to impose countervailing duties on bounty-fed sugar imported from countries outside the convention4 ,this gave the ,west ,indies a fairer chance of competition1 and they quickly felt the benefit4 ,but the convention was always opposed in ,england by certain industries in which sugar is used and is therefore wanted as cheap as possible1 and notice has recently been given1 despite the protests and alarms of the ,west ,indies1 that ,england intends to withdraw from the convention4 ,and this1 too1 without any sort of compensation for the sugar-islands1 which had begun to rely upon the protection against unfair competition afforded by that instrument4 ,england has withdrawn her garrisons and1 what is still more serious1 almost her entire navy from the ,west ,indies4 ,when the terrible earthquake occurred at ,kingston in ,jamaica in #aijg1 there was no ,english ship-of-war anywhere near to render help and to maintain order1 and this duty had to be performed by vessels of the ,american fleet4 ,five days after that disaster the correspondent of ,the ,times wrote3 ,it is difficult to describe the sense of humiliation with which an ,englishman surveys ,kingston harbour this evening--two ,american battleships1 three ,german steamers1 a ,cuban steamer1 and one ,british ship2 she leaves to-night1 and the white ensign and the red ensign will be as absent from ,kingston harbour as from the military basins of ,kiel and ,cherbourg4 ,and this is what ,england calls ruling the waves and being mistress of the seas6 ,later in the same year she had another lesson4 ,rioting broke out in ,st4 ,lucia1 once1 but no longer1 an important naval base4 ,it was a whole week before an ,english cruiser arrived1 though a ,dutch man-of-war1 the ,gelderland1 was anchored in the spacious harbour of ,castries1 ,st4 ,lucia's capital4 ,this1 one must allow1 is a slovenly way of conducting a great empire4 ,if these methods are pursued after the ,panama ,canal is opened1 the results will be disastrous4 ,a complete change will have to be made in the attitude of ,england and the ,colonial ,office to the ,british ,west ,indian ,islands4 ,for these islands1 instead of being tucked away in a sort of cul-de-sac1 or inland lake1 will henceforth be thrown right across or alongside the main highways of the world's ocean-traffic4 ,look again at the map and see how the most direct sea-route from ,new ,york1 the eastern states and ,canada to ,colon and ,cristobal comes down through the ,windward ,passage1 between ,cuba and ,haiti1 and then right past the eastern end of ,jamaica1 quite close to the magnificent bay on which ,kingston stands4 ,look again and see how the routes from ,liverpool1 ,southampton1 and the ,old ,world pass through the ,lesser ,antilles1 either ,leeward or ,windward1 further east4 ,the most direct of these trails passes through the ,virgin ,islands1 the most northerly group1 and one of these is said to possess a harbour of which a good deal might be made4 ,but this is not by any means the only line of approach to the entrance of the canal4 ,a more southerly route near ,barbados or ,trinidad might be chosen1 and certainly would be chosen by vessels intending to call at ports along the old ,spanish ,main4 ,trinidad will indeed lie right across the direct route from ports on the ,pacific coasts of the ,united ,states and ,canada1 as well as from the ,far ,east1 to ,brazil and the ,atlantic coast of ,south ,america--a trade which may well grow to very large proportions1 considering the vast undeveloped resources of the ,orinoco and ,amazon basins4 ,valuable deposits of petroleum have also been discovered in ,trinidad1 and this should add greatly to the wealth and importance of that island as oil replaces coal for fuel4 ,oil-bunkering stations will be wanted at many points in the ,west ,indies4 ,trinidad and ,kingston seem likely to benefit most from the traffic to and from ,cristobal1 the new ,atlantic terminal of the canal4 ,both are splendidly equipped by ,nature to act as coaling and repairing stations as well as centres for the distribution of goods4 ,kingston has a superb harbour1 and so also has ,port of ,spain 7the capital of ,trinidad7 in the ,gulf of ,paria1 a natural landlocked harbour in which the fleets of the whole world could lie in safety--and1 it is important to add1 outside the hurricane zone4 ,trinidad lies right athwart the mouths of the ,orinoco ,river4 ,the years that are coming will see a tremendous development of the resources of these rich tropical basins1 and ,port of ,spain is a natural port of exit and entry for the trade of regions where ,raleigh sought the fabled ,manoa or ,el ,dorado4 ,it is too soon to try to indicate in detail the effects which the ,panama ,canal is likely to have on the trade and production of the islands themselves4 ,the sugar industry is reviving under the influence of the ,treaty of ,reciprocity concluded between a large number of the islands and the ,dominion of ,canada4 ,probably the sugar for the tea-tables and apple-tarts of ,vancouver1 and a good many places far to the north and east1 will be brought from the ,west ,indies to ,vancouver4 ,but the islands will benefit more directly and immediately through the immense growth of traffic in the ,caribbean ,sea1 the supply of coal and other necessities to this increased shipping1 and in general through the publicity the islands will enjoy1 which will mean a growing invasion of globe-trotters1 and consequently a big development of agricultural resources and an influx of new capital4 ,an almost certain and immediate result of the new route1 ,i may say in passing1 will be a large increase of the tourist traffic to ,england and ,europe from the western coasts of ,north and ,south ,america4 ,when the fares are lowered1 and the traveller can do the journey wholly by water1 without the trouble of changing from railroad to steamer1 we may be sure that a rapidly growing tide of passengers will set eastwards as well as westwards through the canal4 ,but1 to return to the ,west ,indies1 every nation is preparing to develop or establish in these regions harbours and coaling-stations and other facilities for its trade4 ,for example1 a ,danish company proposes to establish connection between ,copenhagen and ,san ,francisco through the island of ,st4 ,thomas1 one of the ,virgin group4 ,at ,st4 ,thomas1 by the way1 is shown the castle of ,edward ,teach1 or ,blackbeard1 the very beau ideal of a skull and crossbones pirate who1 according to ,tom ,cringle's ,log1 wore a beard in three plaits a foot long1 and a full-dress purple velvet coat1 under which bristled many pistols and two naked daggers over eighteen inches long1 and who had generally a lighted match in his cocked hat with which he lit his pipe or fired a cannon1 as the occasion demanded4 ,one of his favourite amusements when he got half-slewed was to adjourn to the hold with his compotators1 and1 kindling some brimstone matches1 to dance and roar as if he had been the devil himself1 until his allies were nearly suffocated4 ,at another time he would blow out the candles in the cabin and blaze away with his loaded pistols at random right and left4444 ,he was kind to his fourteen wives as long as he was sober1 and never murdered above three of them4 ,this very improper1 but picturesque1 gentleman was run down at last by ,h4,m4 frigates the ,lime and the ,pearl to a creek of ,north ,carolina1 where1 with thirty men in an eight-gun schooner1 he made a desperate fight for life1 killing and wounding more than the number of his own crew1 and dying where he fell1 faint with the loss of blood1 overcome by superior numbers alone4 ,whether ,blackbeard ever inhabited the castle at ,st4 ,thomas may be questioned1 but the island ought to benefit from the canal1 as it lies right across the main entrance to the ,caribbean from the ,atlantic4 ,the ,german steamship lines are awake to the new opportunities1 the ,hamburg-,amerika preparing for the new emigrant traffic between ,europe and ,western ,america4 ,germany1 it is said1 is negotiating for a coaling-station in ,hayti1 which1 with its two negro republics1 stands to profit immensely from the new conditions4 ,no one has troubled much about this splendid island of late4 ,it has had a dark and terrible history4 ,discovered by ,columbus1 who called it ,hispaniola1 it was occupied by the ,spanish adventurers who found alluvial gold there4 ,then it became the headquarters of the buccaneers who succeeded to the gallant and courtly sea-rovers of the ,elizabethan period and became formidable about the year #afcj4 ,one of these buccaneers was that ,henry ,morgan who sacked the old town of ,panama in #afga1 and then became quite a respectable character1 governor of ,jamaica1 and dubbed knight by ,charles ,,ii4 ,it was in ,hispaniola1 or ,hayti1 that this species of ,western viking got their name4 ,the island had been depopulated by the ,spaniards1 but the cattle and hogs they had introduced became wild and repopulated the land in their own kind4 ,thus ,hispaniola became a splendid provisioning base for the ships of the buccaneers4 ,they hunted the cattle and preserved the meat1 smoke-drying it in the ,indian fashion4 ,this industry was called boucanning1 and from it the buccaneers were named4 ,hispaniola was the mother colony of the ,spanish ,empire in the ,west ,indies which has now wholly disappeared1 very unfortunately for ,spain in view of the enhanced value these islands will now soon acquire4 ,in #agie it was ceded to ,france1 and soon afterwards the emancipated slaves gained possession of the island1 and after a period of anarchy and bloodshed established their independence4 ,it is divided into two negro and mulatto republics1 ,hayti and ,san ,domingo1 and1 as might have been expected1 has sunk to the lowest depths of possible human degradation4 ,fetishism1 human sacrifice1 and even cannibalism prevail in this sea-girt ,paradise1 placed right among the possessions of the most civilized ,powers of the world and now across the main ocean routes from the ,west to the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 and the ,old ,world4 ,can anybody believe that beautiful ,hispaniola1 an island #cj1jjj square miles in extent1 whose economic and strategic value will be increased a hundredfold in the years that are coming1 will long remain under this blighting shadow of ignorance and barbarism8 ,here certainly the ,panama ,canal will work a beneficent political change4 ,france1 too1 is beginning to look up her possessions and opportunities in the ,caribbean4 ,here her two islands1 ,martinique and ,guadeloupe1 are placed most conveniently for her ships coming westwards from ,havre1 ,bordeaux1 and ,st4 ,nazaire1 while ,tahiti and ,new ,caledonia will pass them on over the ,pacific to the ,far ,east4 ,m4 ,gilquin1 writing in ,la vie ,maritime1 says3-- ,in ,martinique1 ,guadeloupe1 ,new ,caledonia1 and ,tahiti our commerce--that is to say1 exports and imports together--was1 in the year #aiji1 ninety millions of francs2 this rose to one hundred and twenty-two millions in #aiaj1 and it is probable that when we get the figures for #aiaa they will be found to be even more favourable4 ,it is certain that with the opening of the ,panama ,canal a great increase in traffic will take place1 and possessing1 as we do1 ports so advantageously placed on the principal lines of route1 we should benefit extensively by that development of traffic between ,europe and the western coasts of both ,north and ,south ,america4 ,in order that we may reap the benefit1 however1 of the situation of our colonial harbours1 it is necessary that these be taken in hand at once and rendered fit for the commerce they will be called upon to handle4 ,and what is ,england doing to prepare for the new epoch in these regions where she has planted her flag on so many rich and beautiful islands1 strung like pearls of necklace and tiara over these warm tropical seas8 ,we hear of ,jamaica providing a new site for coaling and ships' repairs near ,kingston1 of harbour improvements at ,port of ,spain 7,trinidad7 and ,st4 ,george 7,grenada71 of oil-bunkering stations at ,barbados and ,st4 ,lucia4 ,all this is good1 but ,england will have to enter upon a very different policy for the future with regard to her ,west ,indian empire4 ,she must show that she values her priceless inheritance in and round the ,caribbean2 that she is determined to maintain her position1 to promote her commerce1 and to further the interests of all her subjects in these regions4 ,what the ,west ,indies need in order to be able to take the new opportunity by the forelock are organization and combination4 ,schemes have been proposed for federalizing the constitution of the islands--placing them1 that is1 under a strong central government for those purposes that are common to them all4 ,there are many difficulties in the way of such proposals4 ,the nearest island of the ,greater ,antilles is #a1jjj miles away from the nearest of the ,lesser1 so that ,nature seems to have pronounced for the present against any federal scheme embracing all the islands4 ,but space is always shrinking4 ,wireless telegraphy and aeroplanes may make #a1jjj miles an inconsiderable distance for such political purposes4 ,the ,leeward ,islands have already been organized under a single federal government1 and it ought to be possible to extend the system4 ,moreover1 the islands and the colonies on the continent are learning the value of common consultation and action in such matters as quarantine1 and they meet together in annual agricultural conferences4 ,we need not wait for a formal and complete federal constitution4 ,some central council for consultation on the best means of taking advantage of the new opportunities1 some central fund for promoting common objects1 such as advertising the wonderful attractions of the islands and preparing for the birds of passage that will soon be coming from every civilized country in the ,old and ,new ,world--all this is possible now4 ,it is important1 too1 that the ,west ,indian colonies should have some assembly or council through which they can address the ,imperial ,power with a single voice4 ,england can give these colonies invaluable help4 ,she can assist them to develop those steamship and telegraphic communications between the islands which are still so inadequate4 ,she can indicate the best locations for harbours1 coaling and repairing stations1 and the other facilities which the new traffic will require4 ,in view of the certain growth in wealth and prosperity1 the colonies ought to be able by contributions among themselves to provide a substantial fund for objects they can carry out in common for the advantage of each and all4 ,some valuable information and very practical suggestion will be found in the report of the ,west ,indian ,commission presided over by ,lord ,balfour of ,burleigh which was issued in #aiaj4 ,besides recommending a system of reciprocal trade preference between ,canada and the ,west ,indies1 the commissioners made important proposals with regard to steamship and telegraphic communications4 ,they favoured the public ownership and operation of the ,west ,indian cables and possibly of the whole system northward to ,halifax4 ,they wrote3-- ,the single cables now connecting ,halifax with ,bermuda and ,bermuda with ,jamaica ought either to be duplicated or supplemented by wireless4 ,a cable should be laid between ,bermuda and ,barbados1 with a branch to ,trinidad1 and perhaps another to ,british ,guiana4 ,the cables which run from ,jamaica to the eastern islands and ,british ,guiana1 sometimes single and sometimes duplicate1 are very old4 ,the bed of this part of the ,caribbean being trying for cables1 we believe it would be found advantageous in most cases not to renew them1 but to replace them by wireless installations4 ,if these were well arranged1 they might form a satisfactory connection between the eastern islands and ,jamaica and an alternative route to ,bermuda1 and render unnecessary duplication of the suggested ,bermuda-,barbados cable4 ,while it is desirable to connect ,british ,honduras with ,jamaica1 we consider that the probable volume of traffic would not warrant the cost of a cable4 ,we therefore recommend the employment of wireless for this purpose4 ,small installations should also be supplied to the outlying ,leeward and ,bahamas ,islands4 ,england will have to foster the welfare of her possessions in these regions as she has never done before4 ,the ,brussels ,convention forbade her to give any preference to sugar produced in her own dominions4 ,but she is about to step out of that agreement1 and will be at liberty1 if she thinks fit1 to encourage by preferential favours the one great staple for which these colonies can find no substitute4 ,there may be differences of opinion on the fiscal question1 but surely everybody must agree that the naval power and political prestige of the ,british ,empire must be represented in the ,caribbean ,sea by something rather more impressive than two small and obsolete cruisers4 ,if ,england is to maintain her position against the severer competition she will now have to face1 if she is to get her share of the new commerce now in prospect1 she will have to give her traders1 and shippers1 and merchants all the confidence and encouragement which her flag should inspire4 ,one or two well-equipped naval bases1 a squadron of up-to-date cruisers for police and patrol work in the ,caribbean and down the ,pacific coasts of ,america1 are indispensable4 ,there must be no more earthquakes and destructions of ,british cities with never a ,british vessel to bring the sorely-needed help1 no more riots in ,british islands with only a ,dutch warship standing helplessly by4 ,both ,british ,columbia and the ,west ,indies have complained with reason of the absenteeism of the ,british fleet from their shores4 ,the necessity for concentrating all our naval power in the ,north ,sea to meet the ,german menace has no doubt been the cause of these withdrawals from the outer sea-marches of the empire4 ,but at any cost this wrong will have to be righted in the future4 ,the ,west ,indies and ,british ,columbia are just the two portions of the empire which the ,panama ,canal may benefit most and most immediately1 and they have a right to expect the support and co-operation of the imperial government wherever it can be given4 ,all the ,powers of the world will be afloat on the ,caribbean and along the ,pacific sea-trails to ,balboa4 ,let the white ensign return to these seas and shores as an earnest to all that the same national spirit that won for ,england her political and commercial supremacy avails to maintain it now and in the new era which is just dawning4 ,,footnotes3 #ba ,from the already-quoted paper read before the ,royal ,colonial ,institute1 ,march #ai1 #aiab4 #bb ,marco ,polo1 following ,aristotle's nomenclature1 had given the name of ,antilla to an island off the eastern coast of ,asia4 ,the name was transferred by ,columbus1 or ,peter ,martyr1 to the islands of the ,caribbean4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,the ,,new ,,pacific4 ,some readers may perhaps think that these forecasts of the results of running a canal through the isthmus of ,panama are somewhat exaggerated4 ,it is sufficient to point out to such a critic how different the course of ,american and world history might have been if ,nature had left a practicable channel between the two ,americas4 ,the effect of erecting an artificial passage there in these days may be even greater than at present we can imagine4 ,some of these results will be apparent at once2 others may take decades or even centuries to materialize4 ,many of the commercial and political results which have followed the construction of the ,suez ,canal were quite unforeseen in #ahfi4 ,we may be similarly mistaken in our forecast with regard to the ,panama ,canal4 ,mr4 ,bryce suggests that if a dozen experts were1 in #aiad1 to write out and place in the libraries of the ,british ,museum and of ,congress their respective forecasts bearing on this subject1 sealed up and not to be opened till ,a4,d4 #bjjj1 they might make curious reading in that year4 ,we may venture to predict that the results of ,panama will be much more profound and revolutionary than those of ,suez4 ,the ,panama ,canal1 says ,mr4 ,bryce1 is the greatest liberty man has ever taken with ,nature4 ,it will involve a far greater shifting of centres of gravity1 political and commercial1 a more radical readjustment of ideas and points of view than the ,suez ,canal4 ,as the past four hundred years have belonged to the ,atlantic1 the present century and others to come may belong to the ,pacific4 ,that area of #gj1jjj1jjj square miles may become the main theatre of the rivalries--commercial1 political1 and racial--of the most powerful nations of ,east and ,west4 ,some believe that the world is advancing to that loud and fateful day when ,east and ,west will fight out their long difference in some naval and aerial ,armageddon on and above this miscalled ,pacific4 ,without straining our imaginations to this extent1 we may well observe that the canal brings ,eastern and ,western civilizations into much closer contact and competition than before4 ,mr4 ,kipling has informed us that ,east is ,east and ,west is ,west1 and never the twain shall meet2 and a still earlier author1 desiring to give the penitent sinner the uttermost consolation1 declared that the ,lord removes his transgressions from him as far as the east is from the west4 ,the new canal rather diminishes the force of such similitudes4 ,it is not simply that the east of ,canada and the ,united ,states1 as representing ,western civilization1 is brought much closer to ,china and ,japan2 that the passage from ,west to ,east which the early navigators vainly sought is now thrown open4 ,the important thing is that the ,pacific is going to be the scene of commercial and political rivalries in which the slowly awakening people of ,china and the already wide-awake people of ,japan will take part4 ,all the ,pacific ,ocean westward to #afj degrees of longitude east of ,greenwich is brought nearer to ,england and the western coasts of ,europe4 ,the entire ocean right back to the western extremity of ,australia is brought closer to the governmental and industrial centres of the ,united ,states and ,canada4 ,english people have been thinking ,atlantically up to now4 ,the ,pacific1 held at an unimaginable distance by a broad continent or an abyss of ocean1 has been known to them chiefly through stories of adventure among its coral islands familiar to their childhood4 ,yet ,england is the greatest ,pacific ,power in the world4 ,british ,columbia alone has a ,pacific sea-front longer than the ,united ,states1 and holds #chc1jjj square miles1 an area as large as ,france and ,spain put together4 ,and yet the population of that vast and fertile province is only #acd1jjj4 ,and what of the lonely continent that bounds this oceanic abyss in the far south-west8 ,australia1 without ,new ,zealand1 is about #c1jjj1jjj square miles in extent1 and has to-day a white population of about #d1fjj1jjj1 or about #d1gjj1jjj people all told4 ,the northern part of this mighty island-continent1 known as the ,territory1 #efj miles wide1 #ijj miles long1 and #ebc1fbj square miles in extent1 a region of great potential wealth1 has a total ,european population of #a1bgd6 ,and to the north and north-west there are a billion 7#a1jjj1jjj1jjj7 brown and yellow people1 packed together in crowded islands and territories1 whose mere overspill would quickly fill that delectable island-continent to the south where ,england has done so little to make good her nominal title to sovereignty by actual and effective settlement4 ,such a possession1 an empire in itself1 held so precariously and offering such a ceaseless temptation to swarming land-hungry hordes1 is rather a weakness than a strength to ,england on the threshold of the new era4 ,and from all this ,pacific region and its adjuncts where she has secured all the empty and desirable plots and pegged out so many claims for posterity1 she has had to withdraw her fleets1 as ,rome had to draw in her legions from the outer provinces to defend the central heart of her empire4 ,we may hope that this ,north ,sea danger1 so embarrassing and disastrous in its strategic needs to a power like ,england1 whose empire is scattered over every ocean and continent1 may disappear through the growth of better relations between the ,german and ,anglo-,saxon branches of the ,teutonic race4 ,to that stock more than any other is committed the defence of ,western and ,christian ideas1 and the great issues of the future may compel a ,pan-,teutonic alliance1 embracing the ,british and ,german ,empires and the ,united ,states4 ,england has two responsibilities in the ,pacific--the one to herself and her empire1 and the other to ,christendom and ,western civilization4 ,if she is true to the former1 she cannot well be false to the latter4 ,she must bring her fleets back to this great ocean and assert an influence in its politics proportionate to her territorial domains and the extent of her commerce in those regions4 ,but there are objects more important than the interests of any single ,power4 ,the entire coast of the ,pacific from ,behring ,straits to the ,horn1 and round south by ,new ,zealand and ,australia1 must be kept white--reserved1 that is1 for the ,occidental and ,christian races4 ,perhaps the ,united ,states may one day so far modify the ,monroe doctrine as to welcome ,germany to a sovereign foothold among the unstable politics of ,south ,america1 in order to strengthen still more the outposts of ,christian civilization in the ,western hemisphere4 ,it is possible to talk great nonsense about what is called the yellow peril4 ,no sensible person imagines that the nimble ,japanese1 the inscrutable ,chinaman1 and the subtle ,hindoo are suddenly going to rise as one man and throw down the gage of challenge to ,christianity and the ,west4 ,east1 like ,west1 has its own political and religious divisions2 nevertheless it is impossible to foresee what the results of the ,oriental resurgence may mean1 and ,england and the ,united ,states1 and perhaps ,germany1 may some day have a joint responsibility in the ,pacific compared with which their rivalries among themselves may seem trifling and irrational4 ,but ,i do not wish to end this little book with presages of future discord4 ,we must all hope that the ,panama ,canal will prove a new and powerful influence for peace1 that it will bring even ,east and ,west together1 not in strife and suspicion1 but in friendship and a better mutual understanding4 ,there is surely a human interest and sympathy transcending even those racial divisions which may seem most insuperable4 ,the great nation which has given this splendid gift to the world should ask no better or more selfish reward than that it may contribute to the welfare and progress of humanity at large4 ,,appendix ,i4 ,,the ,,isthmian ,,canal ,,convention 7,,commonly ,,called ,,the ,,hay-,,pauncefote ,,treaty71 #aija4 #a4 ,the high contracting parties agree that the present treaty shall supersede the aforementioned 7,clayton-,bulwer7 convention of ,april #ai1 #ahej4 #b4 ,it is agreed that the canal may be constructed under the auspices of the government of the ,united ,states either directly at its own cost1 or by gift or loan of money to individuals or corporations1 or through subscription to or purchase of stock or shares1 and that1 subject to the provisions of the present treaty1 the said government shall have and enjoy all the rights incident to such construction1 as well as the exclusive right of providing for the regulation and management of the canal4 #c4 ,the ,united ,states adopts as the basis of the neutralization of such ship canal the following rules substantially as embodied in the ,convention of ,constantinople1 signed the #bhth ,october1 #ahhh1 for the free navigation of the ,suez ,canal2 that is to say3 ,first4--,the canal shall be free and open to the vessels of commerce and of war of all nations observing these rules1 on terms of entire equality1 so that there shall be no discrimination against any such nation or its citizens or subjects in respect of the conditions or charges of traffic1 or otherwise4 ,such conditions and charges of traffic shall be just and equitable4 ,second4--,the canal shall never be blockaded1 nor shall any right of war be exercised nor any act of hostility be committed within it4 ,the ,united ,states1 however1 shall be at liberty to maintain such military police along the canal as may be necessary to protect it against lawlessness and disorder4 ,third4--,vessels of war of a belligerent shall not revictual nor take any stores in the canal except so far as may be strictly necessary2 and the transit of such vessels through the canal shall be effected with the least possible delay in accordance with the regulations in force1 and with only such intermission as may result from the necessities of the service4 ,prizes shall be in all respects subject to the same rules as vessels of war of the belligerents4 ,fourth4--,no belligerent shall embark or disembark troops1 munitions of war or warlike materials in the canal except in case of accidental hindrance of the transit1 and in such case the transit shall be resumed with all possible despatch4 ,fifth4--,the provisions of this article shall apply to waters adjacent to the canal1 within three marine miles of either end4 ,vessels of war of a belligerent shall not remain in such waters longer than twenty-four hours at any one time except in case of distress1 and in such case shall depart as soon as possible1 but a vessel of war of one belligerent shall not depart within twenty-four hours from the departure of a vessel of war of the other belligerent4 ,sixth4--,the plant1 establishment1 buildings and all works necessary to the construction1 maintenance and operation of the canal shall be deemed to be parts thereof for the purpose of this treaty1 and in time of war1 as in time of peace1 shall enjoy complete immunity from attack or injury by belligerents1 and from acts calculated to impair their usefulness as part of the canal4 #d4 ,it is agreed that no change of territorial sovereignty or of international relations of the country or countries traversed by the before-mentioned canal shall affect the general principle of neutralization or the obligation of the high contracting parties under the present treaty4 #e4 ,the present treaty shall be ratified by the ,president of the ,united ,states by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate thereof1 and by ,his ,britannic ,majesty2 and the ratifications shall be exchanged at ,washington or at ,london at the earliest possible time within six months from the date thereof4 ,,appendix ,,ii4 ,,the ,,panama ,,declaration ,,of ,,independence1 #aijc4 ,the transcendental act that by a spontaneous movement the inhabitants of the isthmus of ,panama have just executed is the inevitable consequence of a situation which has become graver daily4 ,long is the recital of the grievances that the inhabitants of the isthmus have suffered from their ,colombian brothers2 but those grievances would have been withstood with resignation for the sake of harmony and national union had its separation been possible and if we could have entertained well-founded hopes of improvement and of effective progress under the system to which we were submitted by that republic4 ,we have to solemnly declare that we have the sincere and profound conviction that all the hopes were futile and useless1 all the sacrifices on our part4 ,the isthmus of ,panama has been governed by the ,republic of ,colombia with the narrow-mindedness that in past times was applied to their colonies by the ,european nations--the ,isthmian people and territory were a source of fiscal resources and nothing more4 ,the contracts and negotiations regarding the railroad and the ,panama ,canal and the national taxes collected in the isthmus have netted to ,colombia tremendous sums which we will not detail1 not wishing to appear in this exposition which will go down to posterity as being moved by a mercenary spirit1 which has never been nor is our purpose2 and of these large sums the isthmus has not received the benefit of a bridge for any of its numerous rivers1 nor the construction of a single road between its towns1 nor of any public building nor of a single college1 and has neither seen any interest displayed in advancing her industries1 nor has a most infinite part of those sums been applied toward her prosperity4 ,a very recent example of what we have related above is what has occurred with the negotiations of the ,panama ,canal1 which1 when taken under consideration by ,congress1 was rejected in a summary manner4 ,there were a few public men who expressed their adverse opinion1 on the ground that the isthmus of ,panama alone was to be favoured by the opening of the canal by virtue of a treaty with the ,united ,states1 and that the rest of ,colombia would not receive any direct benefits of any sort by that work1 as if that way of reasoning1 even though it be correct1 would justify the irreparable and perpetual damage that would be caused to the isthmus by the rejection of the treaty in the manner in which it was done1 which was equivalent to the closing of the doors to future negotiations4 ,the people of the isthmus1 in view of such notorious causes1 have decided to recover their sovereignty and begin to form a part of the society of the free and independent nations1 in order to work out its own destiny1 to insure its future in a stable manner1 and discharge the duties which it is called on to do by the situation of its territory and its immense richness4 ,to that we1 the initiators of the movement effected1 aspire and have obtained a unanimous approval4 ,we aspire to the formation of a true republic1 where tolerance will prevail1 where the law shall be the invariable guide of those governing and those governed1 where effective peace be established1 which consists in the frequent and harmonious play of all interests and all activities1 and where1 finally1 civilization and progress will find perpetual stability4 ,at the commencement of the life of an independent nation we fully appreciate the responsibilities that state means1 but we have profound faith in the good sense and patriotism of the ,isthmian people1 and we possess sufficient energy to open our way by means of labour to a happy future without any worry or any danger4 ,at separating from our brothers of ,colombia we do it without hatred and without any joy4 ,just as a son withdraws from his paternal roof1 the ,isthmian people in adopting the lot it has chosen have done it with grief1 but in compliance with the supreme and inevitable duty it owes to itself--that of its own preservation and of working for its own welfare4 ,we therefore begin to form a part among the free nations of the world1 considering ,colombia as a sister nation1 with which we shall be whenever circumstances may require it1 and for whose prosperity we have the most fervent and sincere wishes4 ,jose ,agustin ,arango1 ,federico ,boyd1 ,tomas ,arias4 ,,appendix ,,iii4 ,,the ,,panama ,,canal ,,convention 7,,commonly ,,called ,,the ,,hay-,,bunau-,,varilla ,,treaty71 #aijd4 ,the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,republic of ,panama being desirous to insure the construction of a ship-canal across the isthmus of ,panama to connect the ,atlantic and ,pacific ,oceans1 and the ,congress of the ,united ,states of ,america having passed an ,act approved ,june #bh1 #aijb1 in furtherance of that object1 by which the ,president of the ,united ,states is authorized to acquire within a reasonable time the control of the necessary territory of the ,republic of ,colombia1 and the sovereignty of such territory being actually vested in the ,republic of ,panama1 the high contracting parties have resolved for that purpose to conclude a convention and have accordingly appointed as their plenipotentiaries-- ,the ,president of the ,united ,states of ,america1 ,john ,hay1 ,secretary of ,state1 and the government of the ,republic of ,panama1 ,philippe ,bunau-,varilla1 ,envoy ,extraordinary and ,minister ,plenipotentiary of the ,republic of ,panama1 thereunto specially empowered by said government1 who after communicating with each other their respective full powers found to be in good and due form1 have agreed upon and concluded the following articles3 ,article #a4 ,the ,united ,states guarantees and will maintain the independence of the ,republic of ,panama4 ,article #b4 ,the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states in perpetuity the use1 occupation and control of a zone of land and land under water for the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of said canal of the width of ten miles extending to the distance of five miles on each side of the centre line of the route of the canal to be constructed2 the said zone beginning in the ,caribbean ,sea three marine miles from mean low water mark1 and extending to and across the isthmus of ,panama into the ,pacific ,ocean to a distance of three marine miles from mean low water mark1 with the proviso that the cities of ,panama and ,colon and the harbours adjacent to said cities1 which are included within the boundaries of the zone above described1 shall not be included within this grant4 ,the ,republic of ,panama further grants to the ,united ,states in perpetuity the use1 occupation and control of any other lands and waters outside of the zone above described which may be necessary and convenient for the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the said canal or of any auxiliary canal or other works necessary and convenient for the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the said enterprise4 ,the ,republic of ,panama further grants in like manner to the ,united ,states in perpetuity all islands within the limits of the zone above described and in addition thereto the group of small islands in the ,bay of ,panama1 named ,perico1 ,naos1 ,culebra1 and ,flamenco4 ,article #c4 ,the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states all the rights1 power and authority within the zone mentioned and described in ,article #b of this agreement and within the limits of all auxiliary lands and waters mentioned and described in said ,article #b which the ,united ,states would possess and exercise if it were the sovereign of the territory within which said lands and waters are located to the entire exclusion of the exercise by the ,republic of ,panama of any such sovereign rights1 power or authority4 ,article #d4 ,as rights subsidiary to the above grants the ,republic of ,panama grants in perpetuity to the ,united ,states the right to use the rivers1 streams1 lakes and other bodies of water within its limits for navigation1 the supply of water or water-power or other purposes1 so far as the use of said rivers1 streams1 lakes and bodies of water and the waters thereof may be necessary and convenient for the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the said canal4 ,article #e4 ,the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states in perpetuity a monopoly for the construction1 maintenance and operation of any system of communication by means of canal or railroad across its territory between the ,caribbean ,sea and the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,article #f4 ,the grants herein contained shall in no manner invalidate the titles or rights of private landholders or owners of private property in the said zone or in or to any of the lands or waters granted to the ,united ,states by the provisions of any ,article of this treaty1 nor shall they interfere with the rights of way over the public roads passing through the said zone or over any of the said lands or waters unless said rights of way or private rights shall conflict with rights herein granted to the ,united ,states1 in which case the rights of the ,united ,states shall be superior4 ,all damages caused to the owners of private lands or private property of any kind by reason of the grants contained in this treaty or by reason of the operations of the ,united ,states1 its agents or employees1 or by reason of the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the said canal or of the works of sanitation and protection herein provided for1 shall be appraised and settled by a joint commission appointed by the governments of the ,united ,states and the ,republic of ,panama1 whose decisions as to such damages shall be final and whose awards as to such damages shall be paid solely by the ,united ,states4 ,no part of the work on said canal or the ,panama railroad or on any auxiliary works relating thereto and authorized by the terms of this treaty shall be prevented1 delayed or impeded by or pending such proceedings to ascertain such damages4 ,the appraisal of the said private lands and private property and the assessment of damages to them shall be based upon their value before the date of this convention4 ,article #g4 ,the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states within the limits of the cities of ,panama and ,colon and their adjacent harbours and within the territory adjacent thereto the right to acquire by purchase or by the exercise of the right of eminent domain1 any lands1 buildings1 water rights or other properties necessary and convenient for the construction1 maintenance1 operation and protection of the canal and of any works of sanitation1 such as the collection and disposition of sewage and the distribution of water in the said cities of ,panama and ,colon1 which1 in the discretion of the ,united ,states1 may be necessary and convenient for the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the said canal and railroad4 ,all such works of sanitation1 collection and disposition of sewage and distribution of water in the cities of ,panama and ,colon shall be made at the expense of the ,united ,states1 and the government of the ,united ,states1 its agents or nominees shall be authorized to impose and collect water rates and sewage rates which shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of interest and the amortization of the principal of the cost of said works within a period of fifty years1 and upon the expiration of said term of fifty years the system of sewers and water works shall revert to and become the properties of the cities of ,panama and ,colon respectively2 and the use of the water shall be free to the inhabitants of ,panama and ,colon1 except to the extent that water rates may be necessary for the operation and maintenance of said system of sewers and water4 ,the ,republic of ,panama agrees that the cities of ,panama and ,colon shall comply in perpetuity with the sanitary ordinances whether of a preventive or curative character prescribed by the ,united ,states1 and in case the government of ,panama is unable or fails in its duty to enforce this compliance by the cities of ,panama and ,colon with the sanitary ordinances of the ,united ,states the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states the right and authority to enforce the same4 ,the same right and authority are granted to the ,united ,states for the maintenance of public order in the cities of ,panama and ,colon and the territories and harbours adjacent thereto in case the ,republic of ,panama should not be1 in the judgment of the ,united ,states1 able to maintain such order4 ,article #h4 ,the ,republic of ,panama grants to the ,united ,states all rights which it now has or hereafter may acquire to the property of the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company and the ,panama ,railroad ,company as a result of the transfer of sovereignty from the ,republic of ,colombia to the ,republic of ,panama over the isthmus of ,panama1 and authorizes the ,new ,panama ,canal ,company to sell and transfer to the ,united ,states its rights1 privileges1 properties and concessions1 as well as the ,panama ,railroad and all the shares or part of the shares of that company2 but the public lands situated outside of the zone described in ,article #b of this treaty now included in the concessions to both said enterprises and not required in the construction or operation of the canal shall revert to the ,republic of ,panama except any property now owned by or in the possession of said companies within ,panama or ,colon or the ports or terminals thereof4 ,article #i4 ,the ,united ,states agrees that the ports at either entrance of the canal and the waters thereof1 and the ,republic of ,panama agrees that the towns of ,panama and ,colon shall be free for all time1 so that there shall not be imposed or collected custom-house tolls1 tonnage1 anchorage1 lighthouse1 wharf1 pilot1 or quarantine dues or any other charges or taxes of any kind upon any vessel using or passing through the canal or belonging to or employed by the ,united ,states1 directly or indirectly1 in connection with the construction1 maintenance1 operation1 sanitation and protection of the main canal1 or auxiliary works1 or upon the cargo1 officers1 crew1 or passengers of any such vessels1 except such tolls and charges as may be imposed by the ,united ,states for the use of the canal and other works1 and except tolls and charges imposed by the ,republic of ,panama upon merchandise destined to be introduced for the consumption of the rest of the ,republic of ,panama1 and upon vessels touching at the ports of ,colon and ,panama and which do not cross the canal4 ,the government of the ,republic of ,panama shall have the right to establish in such ports and in the towns of ,panama and ,colon such houses and guards as it may deem necessary to collect duties on importations destined to other portions of ,panama and to prevent contraband trade4 ,the ,united ,states shall have the right to make use of the towns and harbours of ,panama and ,colon as places of anchorage1 and for making repairs1 for loading1 unloading1 depositing1 or transshipping cargoes either in transit or destined for the service of the canal and for other works pertaining to the canal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,article #bc4 ,if it should become necessary at any time to employ armed forces for the safety or protection of the canal1 or of the ships that make use of the same1 or the railways and auxiliary works1 the ,united ,states shall have the right1 at all times and in its discretion1 to use its police and its land and naval forces or to establish fortifications for these purposes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,appendix ,,iv4 ,,panama ,,canal ,,toll ,,rates4 ,by the ,president of the ,united ,states of ,america1 ,washington1 ,november #ad1 #aiab4 ,a ,,proclamation4 ,i1 ,william ,howard ,taft1 ,president of the ,united ,states of ,america1 by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the ,act of ,congress1 approved ,august twenty-fourth1 nineteen hundred and twelve1 to provide for the opening1 maintenance1 protection and operation of the ,panama ,canal and the sanitation and government of the canal zone1 do hereby prescribe and proclaim the following rates of toll be paid1 by vessels using the ,panama ,canal4 #a4 ,on merchant vessels carrying passengers or cargo one dollar and twenty cents 7#a4bj7 per net vessel ton--each one hundred 7#ajj7 cubic feet--of actual earning capacity4 #b4 ,on vessels in ballast without passengers or cargo forty 7#dj7 per cent4 less than the rate of tolls for vessels with passengers or cargo4 #c4 ,upon naval vessels1 other than transports1 colliers1 hospital ships1 and supply ships1 fifty 7#ej7 cents per displacement ton4 #d4 ,upon army and navy transports1 colliers1 hospital ships and supply ships one dollar and twenty cents 7#a4bj7 per net ton1 the vessels to be measured by the same rules as are employed in determining the net tonnage of merchant vessels4 ,the ,secretary of ,war will prepare and prescribe such rules for the measurement of vessels and such regulations as may be necessary and proper to carry this proclamation into full force and effect4 ,,the ,,end4