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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



nearer Hongkong and Manila than either 

 New York or New Orleans via Panama. 



It may therefore be expected that 

 while the canal will give us decided ad- 

 vantages in the trade with western Amer- 

 ica and increase the share which we have 

 of that trade, we are not justified in ex- 

 pecting marked changes in the share 

 which we shall get of any part of the 

 Orient except that with Japan and Aus- 

 tralia and New Zealand. 



However, the Panama route so much 

 shortens the distance to the western coast 

 of America, both from eastern America 

 and western Europe, that we may ex- 

 pect to see most of the trade with west- 

 ern America go via Panama, except per- 

 haps in case of European commerce with 

 the southern ports on the west coast of 

 South America. 



effect of the) canal, on our domestic 

 Trade; 



i 



One of the most important results of 

 the opening of the canal will doubtless be 

 found in its effect upon the movements 

 of merchandise between the eastern and 

 western sections of the United States. 

 This trade is already very large. 



While exact figures are not available, 

 the data at hand seem to justify an esti- 

 mate of about 3 million tons per annum 

 of freight moved by rail and about a 

 half million tons by water from the At- 

 lantic Coast section to the Pacific Coast 

 section, and about an equal amount from 

 the Pacific Coast section and Hawaii to 

 the Atlantic Coast section. The sums 

 paid as freight charges on these 7 million 

 tons moved between the Atlantic and Pa- 

 cific Coast sections are estimated at from 

 250 to 300 million dollars per annum. 



Only about one-fourth of the tonnage 

 which now moves westward across the 

 Rocky Mountains originates east of Buf- 

 falo and Pittsburgh, while most of the 

 remaining three-fourths originates in the 

 Mississippi Valley, which is the great 

 producing section of the country and 

 rapidly increasing its production of man- 



ufactures, which are the most important 

 factor in the west-bound traffic. Of the 

 east-bound traffic across the Rockies, a 

 large share originates near the Pacific 

 coast, especially the fruits, vegetables, 

 fish, wine, barley, and lumber ; but only a 

 part of this reaches the Atlantic coast, a 

 considerable share being consigned to the 

 communities of the Mississippi Valley. 



At present the railway rates between 

 the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific 

 coast are but little if any less than for 

 the entire distance across the continent, 

 but this will probably be somewhat modi- 

 fied when the steamship rates via Pan- 

 ama become sufficiently low to attract the 

 Mississippi Valley trade toward the At- 

 lantic and Gulf ports. In the actual cost 

 of transportation between the eastern 

 and western sections it may be expected 

 that there will be a marked reduction in 

 the tonnage rates charged. 



The water rates between New York 

 and San Francisco, even with the pres- 

 ent handicap of transferring to the Pan- 

 ama or Tehuantepec railways and re- 

 transferring to steamer, are from 20 to 

 60 per cent of those charged by the rail- 

 ways, and about one-third of this present 

 water rate is paid for the transferring 

 across the Isthmus. 



To sum up, it seems probable that the 

 Panama Canal will carry most of the 

 freight passing between the eastern coast 

 of the United States and the western 

 coast of Latin- America, and that the 

 shorter distances and lower rates which 

 it offers will greatly increase that trade; 

 that the trade between the eastern and 

 western sections of the United States will 

 be greatly increased and transported at a 

 much lower charge per ton ; that it will 

 sufficiently shorten the distances to Japan, 

 northern China, Australia, and New Zea- 

 land to increase steamship service and 

 materially increase the traffic with those 

 countries, and that the European coun- 

 tries will use the canal in most of their 

 traffic with western America and in ex- 

 ceptional instances with northern Asia, 

 Australia, and New Zealand. 



