OCR Text |
Show v &7Jc5rs72d?' iV7 K6 Copyright. 1915, by The International Srndlcate. How theCanal Is Expected Ex-pected To Further the Interests of "Made in America" eVER since the days of Balboa the traderB of the world have been anxiouB to have the narrow nar-row strip of land which divided the Atlantic from the Pacific at the j Isthmus of Panama removed. For more than three centuries men have dreamed and planned for this great feat, and now that it has been accomplished accom-plished our country may look forward to an increasing business with the Latin-Americas. Heretofore the com- j mere of these countries haa been mainly with Europe only one out of! every eight dollars spent by thorn In i foreign countries coming to the United 1 States the other stevon goeB to 1 Europe. The American exporter by the aid of the canal will be placed in i a position to change the course of at least a great part of this trade to his advantage. But even with the cheaper and quicker transportation via the Canal the manufacturer must not expect ex-pect this result to follow in a day. Many of the industries of the South American countries were developed by 1 money from Europe. Nearly every large firm on the Continent has a branch office at the Pacific ports, and those who have no branches send specially spe-cially tralnod travelling salesmen who carry a line of goods which caters to the local taste. Furthermore, thesa men understand the system of credits which prevail in Latin America and xtt authorized to comply with these requirements a system entirely different dif-ferent from that of the United States or Europe. Not only will the Canal enlarge our foreign commerce but It will cheapen Copyright, 1911?, br The International Syndicate. The Evolution of the Mine From"Bush-nell's From"Bush-nell's Turtle" To the Present Day Destroyer. CHE present titanic struggle Involving In-volving nearly the whole of Europe has brought to light the use of powerful destructive Implement Im-plement showing that the art of offensive of-fensive and defensive warfare has kept pace with the advance of the i nations In other things which contribute contrib-ute In time of peace to their increased happiness, wealth and comfort. These , engines of devastation are in a measure meas-ure no respecters of persons or prop- 1 erty and hew out their pathways of haoc. misery' and death In defiance of the teachings of civilization and the mandates of International law. The mine, the hidden Instrument of destruction, is demonstrating Its power for Its presence Is difficult to locate and its deadly work almost Impossible Impossi-ble to prevent, especially upon the high seas Tlrst Used in 1585. The mine is by no means a new contrivance for it dates back to the n . .. .... 1 1 cl.-.r , .., .1 Tl account of its use In naval warfare during the siege of Antwerp In 1985, when floating mines were set off against the Spaniards with no little , succc-sb. The next mention made of the mine in history was its use in 1628 by the English at the siege of La Rochelle. This time the mine did little damage and "top sea" fighting was moro successful. "Bushnell's Turtle." It was during the American Revolution Revo-lution that the real ancestor of this diabolical destroyer made its debut. About thus time David Bushnell. a graduate of Yale College, constructed what was known as "Bushnell's Tur- I tie" The affair was shaped like u "round elarn" and was large enough for a man to sit inside and work pedals ped-als like those of a sewing machine, This kept the paddle whech working and served as the motive pow r of the boat. A keg filled with gunpowder was held in place at the exterior walls and was Ignited With a fuse at the 1 Psychological moment. The man then Peddled away to save himself. The xporimt-nt wis tried several times and one night came near being successful. suc-cessful. A Br.tlsh cruiser was anchored anch-ored ofT Staten Island and the "turtle" stf rttd un a night raid. The k-g of gunpowder went of with a great nolle, but owing to a miscalculation miscalcu-lation of distance it did DOC lilt th-trulser th-trulser but threw up a great mass of the transportation of raw material to our factories by shortening the distance dis-tance over which these products must travel and by the saving of the cost of double handling. "Where once tho distance by water between New York and San Francisco, our two great seaports, sea-ports, was thirteen thousand miles, it is now only about five thousand miles. It will thus reduce the cost of transportation between these two seaports sea-ports fully one-third. Added to this is the ability to send traffic through from coast to coast without unloading and reloading and will eliminate the loss of time which formerly was occasioned oc-casioned by tho Irregular steamship connections as well as avoiding the damage to goods which sometimes occurs oc-curs in double handling. An Act of Congress of Aurust 24th, 1912, ln-so-far as It dealt with coastwise coast-wise trade was supposed to be beneficial benefi-cial to our merchant marine In that it exempted from the levy of tolls vessels engaged in the coastwise trade of the United States. But this legislation legis-lation was thought by many to be In violation of some of our treaties with foreign countries, and on June 15th 1914. this particular provision of the Act of 1912 was repealed and ships of all nations, whethor engaged In coastwise or International trade, pay the same tolls under like conditions 1 The law at present affords ample pro-taction pro-taction to the shipper for the Canal toll law forbids any railroad to be directly interested In any ship passing through the Canal carrying freight in competition with that railroad. This provision was put In o prevent railroads rail-roads from controlling steamships using the Canal and by this control fixing rates which would prevent competition com-petition with tho railroads themselves Ships Can Save Money. The average cost of transferring carpo across Panama, including the , loading and unloading charges at the terminals, was about three dollars per cargo ton. The toll charges are from 1 76 cents to $1.25 per net vessel ton It must be understood that the tolls ! are based upon the vessel's tonnage and not upon the cargo carried. A vessel's ton Is one hundred cubic feet of epaco, while a cargo ton is two thousand pounds or forty cubic feet. From this It will be seen that vessels can carry between two and three tons of cargo for each net vessel ton. In actual service vessels averago nearly two tons of freight per net vessel tonnage. ton-nage. Thus the toll fixed Is from forty to sixty cents, according to the kind of cargo carried, for each ton of freight. While this may seem a high rate when paid In bulk, for the average ship will pay from $5,000 to The Mine in BjRSTTI water and gave the British a scare Robert Fulton Inventor. Robert Fulton was tho next man to take up mines, and after ho had destroyed a number of derelict vessels ves-sels in the French harbor ho tried to sell his Invention to tho French but they had "conscientious scruples about BUCh a terrible contraption" and refused to use It. England likewise declared that they would not have-such have-such a terrible machine In thoir military mili-tary equipment Fulton then gave up the invention and. returning to Amer-i Amer-i a, devoted his time to steamboats Samuel Colt, another American, several years latfr devolved a scheme-by scheme-by which submarine mines might be exploded by electricity a forerunner of our present coast defense. During the Crimean War the English Eng-lish f oi got their scruples and tried the mine but with little success. Russia 3 8 I I i had better luck and did explode a; j mlno under the British ship "Merlin,"! ! but owing to tho small charge there I was not much damage done. During the Civil War mines again came Into tho warfare and several Federal gunboats gun-boats woro destroyed by the Confederates Confed-erates by tho means of beer barrels j filled with powder. About this time the European countries coun-tries began to study the submarine question, and soon started manufacturing manu-facturing them for themselves. Next imi? the Spanlsh-Amorlcan war Mines were laid In Ihe various Spanish Span-ish harbors, but they seem to hav been valueless, as Dewey's ships passed directly over their largest mine field In going Into Manila Bay. Japanese-Russian War. The real value of the submarine mlno as a destroyer was shown in 1 tho Japancse-Rubalan war when by I pjgjjBS1 $10,000 for its twelve-hour trip through the Canal, the ship owner is saving money on the maintenance of his ship as well as In the time he gains. Ho can also fill the epaco he was compelled to use for coal and food with cargo by recoallng and buying buy-ing supplies at Panama. Tho west coast of South America 1b cleaning up, especially Guayaquil, which was regarded as such a pest hole of disease that shippers passed it by. But now all .'s changed, and In a short time tho fevers prevalent there will be a thing of the past, and that port expects to reap Increased trade from the Canal. Chllo. too. Is getting ready for a larger business along that route. On the Atlantlo side as well all sorts of Improvements are going on. At Jamaica tho British Government Is planning a groat coaling station. Denmark is making extensive plans in the way of shipping facilities at the Island of Bt Thomas. All along the east coast of South America there is a rejuvenation in commercial affairs. Much to Learn. The American business man must learn that catalogues printed in English Eng-lish sent to the majority of theso countries are about as useful as a poem written In Chinese would be to the average American. Doing business busi-ness through a native Interpreter usually ends In delay and annoyance. One Is surprised to rind that the trav- tho use of torpedoes and floating mines Japan practically annihilated tho Russian fleet In tlio Far East. England up to that time scorns to have had very little faith In mines, for in 1903 that country decided to cut them out of her defenso equipment, equip-ment, Tho reeults In Japan, however, how-ever, changed her mind and eho bo-gan bo-gan the manufacture of tho latest types and sent her experts to various places to learn bow to make them moro deadly. Germany's naval experts ex-perts were "on the Job" as well, and they soon cam to the conclusion that floating submarine mines on tho high soas were a necessary part of warfare. war-fare. After tho torpedo attack on Port Arthur by the Japanese tho Russian realized that something must be done 1ISI8 oiling salesman sent to these countries by England and Germany are men of i splendid education who are able to 3peak several different languages with fluency. The United States must meet this competition as well. A vigorous attack on the markets of the Pacific countries with the Panama Canal as an aid is sure to change the commercial commer-cial map of the world during the next two or three decades. Tho United States Is entering upon a new era in foreign trade. Tho transition trans-ition In our commercial development of the past twenty-five years, which has transformed us from a foodstuff and raw material exporter Into a manufacture exporter is forcing upon . us the noed of other markets where wo hope to place millions of dollars worth of "Made In America" during tho next few years. Tho great engineering engi-neering feat at Panama Is opening tho pate to this great commercial garden now within our reach. First Use of Canal. The first use of the Canal for commercial com-mercial purposes was made several months before the Panama Railroad ships had gone through the locks. Owing to the troubles In Mexico the Mexican National Railway stopped running and it was impossible to get tho sugar which had come up from Hawaii across tho Isthmus of Tehaun-tcpec, Tehaun-tcpec, so It was brought to Panama and sent through the Canal on barges. The Canal was opened for commer- and done quickly, or tho Japanese troops might land (which they did ' later on) and In order to protect the : port a mlno layer ship was sent out ' to placo mechanical mines in Talien Bay. Two or three days later it was discovered that onu of the mines had broken loose from its moorings and a ship was sent out to destroy It, but j the vessel accidentally struck the mine and was blown up. A cruiser was sent to investigate and was also badly dam-' dam-' aged. Later more mines were laid j but they were no at a proper depth land did not prevent the Japanese from landing. The Japanese were more successful, i as the Russian flagship "Petropav-J "Petropav-J lorsk." with Admiral Makaroff and a crow of seven hundred mon went down a few minutes after tho ship cial traffic on August 15th, 1914. when! two of the big steamers operated by the Panama Railroad wero sent through as a test. Both of those, the Ancon and the Cristobal, are large cement ce-ment carrying steamers and their pas-sago pas-sago through Culebra Cut was looked forward to with no little Interest owing to the troublesome Cucaracha slide. However, they passed through without a hitch. Tho "Kroonlands," a 13.075-ton vessel, was locked through the Canal on February 2nd and she was carrying a party of American business men to South America. During a period of six months, four' hundred and ninety-six vessels other than canal vessels, launches, etc.. which are not counted, passed over the bridge of water carrying a total of 2.367,244 tons of cargo. It Is interesting in-teresting to note the route of theso vessels. Thoso going from the Pacific coast to Europe numbered sixty-six, while only slxtcon came from Europe to the Pacific coast Sixty-nine were bound from South America to Europe, while thlrty-ono were on their way from Europe to South America. Two came from the Far East, bound for the Atlantic coast. Of tho United States coastwise steamers nincty-sevon wero east bound,, and one hundred and nine were west bound The tolls leicd for thp.t period amount to $2,126.S32. Adding this to the toll collected on barges prior to August 15th. 1914. the total levy up to February 15th. 1915. brings the Canal earnings up to $2,138,442.92. It Is estimated that It will require at least $19,000,000 00 per annum to make the Canal commercially self-supporting. self-supporting. This total Is made up of 53,500,000 for operating and maintenance mainte-nance expenses; $250,000.00 for Zone sanitation and government; $250.-000 $250.-000 00 to meet tho annuity payable to Panama beginning with 1913 $11.-250,000.00 $11.-250,000.00 to pay three per cent Interest In-terest on the $375,000,000.00 Invested In the Canal, and $3,750,000.00 for an amortization fund of one per cent, per annum upon the cost of the Canal. This amount does nt Include the cost of maintaining troops on the Zone, which will probably cost another $10,000,000.00. From this It will bu seen that some years must elapse be- - r struck a mine This caused a panic In tho entire Russian fleet, tho officers offi-cers declaring thero had been a submarine sub-marine attack. After this both nations na-tions strewed the sea with mines out-sido out-sido of territorial waters with the result re-sult that lung alter tho war was over one occasionally heard of a ship being be-ing blown up by ono of these floating mines. Tho Chinese wero tho greatest sufferers for thoy lost a large number num-ber of small craft. Hitgue Laws Broken. It was this d'xnger to shipping even after tho war was over which lod tho Haguo to take up tho mine question and to pass articles prohibiting tho mining of the high seas. Article 1 which reads as follows: "It is forbidden to lay auto-i auto-i matic contact mines along the enemy's en-emy's coasts or ports with tho solo object of intercepting com-I com-I mercial navigation." It has been violated with impunity. It seems that In the present war each 1 nation Is a law unto Itself and tho rights of neutrals have been entirely overlooked. Types of Miuc9. The mines used at present are of three types first, ground mines, which are usually of largo dimensions and em fore the Canal wjll be a paying proposition propo-sition as a Canal. Undo Sam Shop Keeper. The providing of coal for passing ships is one of the problems which the Canal authorities mast solve, and in order to meet this the United States Government has authorized canal colliers col-liers with a capacity of twelve thousand thou-sand tons. They can deliver Ave nun- . dred thousand tons per year at the j Isthmus. The Navy Department de- ! clares that there must never be lesi ' than one hundred thousand tons at the Atlantic terminus and fifty thousand thou-sand tons at the Pacific terminus. Tht Government will purchase the coal for this purpose and keep It in concrete storage basins. Half of the coal can bo kept under water (for use In ease of war) while the other half can be used for commercial and Government vessels. The Atlantic storage basin has a capacity of two hundred and ninety thousand tons, while the Pacific Pa-cific plant has a capacity of one hundred hun-dred and sixty thousand tons. Similar facilities will be provided for furnishing vessels with fuel oil. Two largo tanks are to be Installed at each end of the Canal, also a pipe line across the Isthmus. L, j Tho Government will keep control of the terminals water frontage and transportation by land and water across the Canal. There will be dry docks, repair shops, two powerful floating cranes with a capacity of two hundred and fifty gross tons, and even stores where Uncle Sam will be the shop-keeper. Vessels may obtain fold storage and general articles of food at reasonable prices cheaper than they can be purchased of private concerns on tho Isthmus, due to tht fact that all goods Imported for use In the canal workings come In duty free, while a merchant must pay the regular duty. The ships can have their laundry done while they are passing through the Canal. By going Into this whole-salo supply business the Gov. eminent hopes to make the new waterway popular. Ship owners will soon understand that they will be free from extortion. tt The Panama Canal was constructed to further tho cause of "Made !a America." i laid directly on the bottom; second, mchored mines, which are attached by a cable to a weight on the bottom ind are- designed to float at a prede-termlned prede-termlned depth so that they can btt -r .ouched and exploded by passing ships. The third type are the ones which are dropped on the surface of the water. Tho majority of the mines planted during this war aro of the COnd type and are so arranged as 'o be discharged automatically when -.truck by a passing ship. Sometimes hese break loose from their moor-.rigs moor-.rigs and are cast upon some coast. The type of mine now so popular In coast defense Is what Is known ai fixed mine, and whole channels are strewn with them. They are con-i con-i ted with a secret station on shore and the oporator may blow up a hos-tile hos-tile ship by simply pressing a button. This mode of coast defense has been accepted by all nations. Audaedous Sank. Many ships have been sunk by the floating mines, but the greatest loss was the British dreadnought "Auda clous," which struck a mine off tho j north coast of Ireland and was sunk 1 This great vessel was one of England's newest ships and was of the four of the King George V. class, and was built at tho cost of $13,000,000.00. She was among the fleet which was i lying off Great Britain ready to make I a dash should the German fleet at-1 at-1 temp: to come Into tho open sea. The mine haa taken lt3 toll from the German Ger-man ships as well, while a few neutral neu-tral vessels have paid the penalty for venturing Into the hornets' nest-Mines nest-Mines have not been confined to the waters of tho North Sea. for they aro to be found In the Baltic, Adriatic j and Black Seas as well, in the Far East at Kiao Chow they have been none the less deadly in their action. Land Mines. The land mine is still another type which Is being used In Europe. The first one dated back to 1503, during I the slego of Castello del 'Uoro In the I Bay of Naples, which a French garrl-I garrl-I son had succeeded in holding for three ! years against tho combined Spanish and Napoleonic forces. At last tho Spanish captain, Pedro Navarro, made 1 a gallery Into tho rocks which he stowed with powder It was exploded 1 and many of the besiegers were hurled : Into tho sea, and there was an imme-' imme-' dlate capture of tho place. From time to time this mining un- . der the enemy's camps or fortress ! continued. Engineers of all ages have ' worked and planned this tunnelling : until today It is well nlgn perfect, and the tunnelling under each other's , trenches and blowlns them up has bw-Icome bw-Icome common in Europo and frequently fre-quently whole companies are burled i beneath tons of earth as the result. sis i |