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Show PREPARING FOR CMIJPENING I I German Shipowners Foresee Need of More Ships and Place Orders. EXPECT TRADE BOOM Great Changes in Trade Conditions Con-ditions Expected Big Maritime Mar-itime Industry Profit. I Berlin, Vox 26 Germany, above Mall other foreign nations, expects to i profit by the opening of the Panama Canal .Maritime experts here point I out that while the United States nat-' nat-' urally will receive the greatest ad-J ad-J vantage, owing to its lack of ships It i will not be In a position to profit by I the great increase In the earning I trad which the German shipowners I have foreseen and prepared for. Orders placed b three of the lead-I lead-I Ing German companies for new vessels ves-sels designed particularly for serire hi wav of Panama, large Increases of capital stock by the same companies, an.l the announcement that the four hie lines now running to the Orient. Australasia and the Pacific coasts of North and South America will be di verted to pass through the canal as soon as it Is open to commerce, speak ! plainly of the Importance attributed In this country to the new waterway. German authorities say that the i effect of the opening of the canal will i manifest itself chiefly in a great com-mercial com-mercial b on In western Canada and the Pacific Toast states, from which !iiiiiinc interests generally . i 1 1 profit, pro-fit, in increased freights as a result of the opening of hitherto undeveloped undevel-oped or slightlj deeloped states on the western coast of S.iuth America I stored with raw material; in the di- orcion and expansion of the streams Ol European emigration to regions on , the Pacific Coast well suited to settlement set-tlement but of which the European emigrant hitherto has had slight knowledge; and, finally, In the oppor-' oppor-' tunit nitered to the Industries of the 1 mien Mates to compete under nign-ly nign-ly favorable conditions n the markets of the Orient western South America Australia and New' Zealand Though reluctant to venture definite defi-nite prophesies In view of the dier-gence dier-gence of expert opinion. Count Ernst I W Kc-ventiow the welll.non German Ger-man naval writer and student of American Am-erican conditions, reviewed the subject sub-ject recently, as follows "There is no doubt but that the United States will derive the greatest great-est benefit from the canal. Further more, there will follow great changes In exis.ing American trade conditions The most Important result from the j German standpoint, is that the Ara-I Ara-I erican East and the American W est , will be brought much nearer to each other. The distance between San Francisco and New York will be shortened more than 8,000 miles "The west of the United States will experience a strong business and commercial com-mercial development. The immigration immigra-tion from Europe will probably turn itself far more than before to the Pacific Coa9t, now that the imml giants are not deterred by the expense ex-pense Of the railroad journey from New York. That separation of the East from the West of the United states existing up to the present in the business field will gradually dls appear, making the United States a commercial and ouslness whole and In this way much stronger. San Francisco will lose Its present importance im-portance for the East-Asiatic trade but in return score a great gain through its new position in the trade with the western United States and with the western states of South America Am-erica Here, on the west coast of South America lies the greatest im portance of the canal for the United States, and this importance- will manifest mani-fest Itself not only economically but probably in the political field as well The canal will make the United States a ery dangerous compel Iter of all nations that engage in com merce with the South American and Central American states, for Its position posi-tion will become, through the canal, even more fa. orable than it was The same is true as to the Far East and Australia The canal w also prove the strongest competitor of the American Am-erican railroads "The canal will bring an interesting political Importance to tho West Indies In-dies aud the Tonga Islands, which are owned by Great Brilain, France and Denmark. In so far an these IB-lands IB-lands already possess harbors their Importance will be augmented, either as maritime bases or as ports of call, and their ecouoruk positions and their commerce will be preatly increased. in-creased. It Is possible, t'o, that this development may create new polltl cal constellations and thereby give occasion oc-casion for International frlctiou. ' One cannot yet say what the plans of the great shipping companies will I be- Naturally these companies will I Keep their ja.n? secret as long as I possible. A very Important factor , for the 1'nlted States, and. Indeed, for all America, Is. in my opinion, the immigration from China and Japan. Ja-pan. One cannot doubt that the Panama Pan-ama canal will divert this Immigration Immigra-tion to the pastern part of the Amrl- j can continent, whereas It has hereto-i fore been chiefly confined to the west Here, too, the purely economic significance sig-nificance of the canal is complicated , with an earnest political fa t..r, ami the Issue which has heretofore been known only as 'the Callfornian ques , tlon' Will make Itself known lu iho Kast Possibly the yellow population of the Hawaiian Islands will lucrease still moro rapidly, for the- Islands will undoubtedly enjoy an Immense benefit from the Panama Canal Profit to Germany. "So far as Germany Is concerned, the main significance of th canal for our shipping Interests lies In the fact ' that It will make It possible to reach the West in a tar snorter period of j time. Commerce between the Ger , man harbors and San Francisco will i Increase, as soon an iho necessary vessels are available. German industry indus-try will, In all likelihood, gain a new and very fruitful market in the West In like' manner, importation of the products of the American West Into Germany will Increase Trade between be-tween the German harbors and the western harbors ot South America, already al-ready of evergrowing prooprtlons, cannot fail to be gTeatly increased. German Kast Asian services mii probably prob-ably be run as extensions of the lines to the Pacific coast. In other reepi i IB, however, the Suez canal will continue to )e the shortest and moftl advantageous advan-tageous route for German ships ply-Ihl- t'. 1-Jast Asia and India, and only where the German Kast Asian and German West American lines can bo linked up to advantage win ih. pan-ama pan-ama canal come Into consideration as a route between German and Basl As ian harbors. Which route would be the more advantageous can be i i ler mined in each case only by experience, No Drawbacks. "All in all, it can be said that the Panama canal will be highly advantageous advan-tageous to German commerce, but It similes b no means a reversal of conditions or a new epoch for the German maritime Industry. On the othr hand, the canal will have none of the economic or other drawbacks for Germany, which It will have for other nations, for example. Great Urltain and Japan. "The full economic significance of the Panama Canal will make itself apparent only gradually At first we may exiect a h-t competition between be-tween a number of steamship lines. Tho survivors will hae the commerce com-merce In their hands Only the fittest fit-test will survive. Apparently all the great toam'sMp companies of the world are preparing for this battle "Facing, as it does, both oceans' concludes Count Reventlow, "the Tinted States will profit doubly from the opening of the canal connecting them, but it needs above all. to take advantage of this, ships and lots of them The Pacific, however, will never become the rival of the Atlantic, Atlan-tic, an ocean of e,Qual Importance. The world and its commerce.wlll continue con-tinue to center around the Atlantic, the commercial center of gravity will never bo moved to th- Paclfli though a second center may be created there. In my opinion the most Itn- portant results of the canal will be I manifested In the political consequences consequen-ces which will ensue when the bust ness worlds, the Industrial life of the East and West the North and South 'of the American continent are drawn 1 nearer, perhaps even Joined firmly Into an economic whole." Effect on World. A Ballin, general director of the , Hamburg-American line, says that it Is almost impossible to foresee the effect of the opening of the canal upon up-on tho commerce of the world The plans of his company include a line ' from New York to Valparaiso via the canal, for which at least one 16.500-ton 16.500-ton steamer was contracted for some time ago. A new service- from China ami .lapan to Honolulu, Portland, Se- i attle and Sau Francisco has been Instituted lu view of the expected boom on the T'ailfk Coast. The capital cap-ital of the company was last -ar I Increased by $G, 250,000. Three of the smaller Hamburg companies are equipping themselves ' to get their share of the expected new business. The German Austral lan and the Cosmos lines have decided decid-ed to establish a Joint service to Hon- ! olulu, which will be routed through the canal as soon as it is finished and tho South American Shipping company has increased Its capital by $2,500,000 to build two big triple-crew triple-crew Ft earners The Hamburg-American's big rhai.l the North German Uoyd of Hremen, has made no announcement yel regarding re-garding Its Panama plans, but lis I managing director, Philip Heinekin. ha, spoken so optimistically about I the great openings for German Com-! Com-! merce on the west coast ol America that there Is no doubt of the company's com-pany's Intention to be nowise behind 1 tlie Hamburg c -nipank - Mi 1 1 1 1 i -I kin believer that the canal will open la big market lu the Orient for steel. Iron, woolens, cottons and other pro-j pro-j ducts of American Industry, but thai the United States, owing to lack of ships, will be in no condition to tflko advantage of It The lines to the I southern ports of the I'niied Siai- . J by hlch the company has endeavored endeav-ored to divert the stream of emigra don from the overcrowded industrial North to the agricultural South of the 1'nlted States will be extended, he Indicates, to Pacific ports throueh the canal. oo |