THE PANAMA CANAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15130, 26 January 1917, Page 5

THE PANAMA CANAL.

MANY VICISSITUDES. HOPES FOR FUTURE SUCCESS, i Up to date the Panama Canal is a net • loss to its owner, the United States, i from the standpoint of earning money, i says a writer in the Brooklyn Eagle. Yet it would not be fair to make the statement that the canal is aVfailufei The canal will only be a failure if slides of earth and rock continue to block its channel so frequently and for such long periods as to make its operating ! expenses exceed its revenues.. During ■ the first year of its operation the canal 1 demonstrated the fact that it can be operated at a small profit at least. 1 During the second year the balance went to the wrong side of the ledger because 1 the canal was in operation only I've ' months of the twelve. For seven months i it was blocked to all travel by slides. The canal looked like a much bigger ' success during. its first year than its , second, and this despite the fact that i it was opened to traffic, although rut ■ formally, just after the European war ■ began. The war disturbed channels of i trade, and had its chief effect in driv- . ing German commerce from the seas. i Prior to the war and the opening_pf the ! i canal it Was the expectation of the > canal officials that a very important , part of the tonnage handled by the interocean waterway would be owned by ' the Hamburg-American line of Geri many. That line made greater prepara--1 tions for the use of the canal than any ■ other steamship company. Yet not a~ ton of Hamburg-American freight has passed through the canal. The war cut ’ it all off. GOOD FIRST YEAR. Notwithstanding the fact that this canal opened almost simultaneously ' with a commerce disturbing and destroy- , ing war, it did surprisingly well during ! its first fiscal year, which ended June . 30, 1915. During thd first year the . canal showed a net earning of ,£44,051. . This represented the excess of tolls col- , ■ lected over the cost pf operation and ; maintenance, plus overhead charge. - During tlje next year, which ended > June 30, 1916, the crash came. The ■ ; canal had only been running two ; months and a half of the second year ■ when the Gaillard cut at Culebra be- ■ came totally blocked by a big slide i north of Gold Hill. The slide came on ' 1 September 18. Not a vessel made the 1 transit of the isthmus until April 15, L 1916, a period of seven months. During ■ this time, of course, the canal revenues ' ceased entirely. But the expenses went ‘ up tremendously, because of the neces- ‘ sity* of reopening the waterway. When , ‘ the year was up, the canal handling ' ships for only five months of the period, ,=■ ; there was a net loss of £919,984. TROUBLES RENEWED. The however, were not at the end of their troubles v when they opened Gaillard cut after seven months . of hard labour. They had another slide , 1 . , to deal -with very recently. There was , a renewal of old troubles at Uucaracha. The channel was . blocked from August , 30 to September 7, of. this year. For the first two years of operating , the canal the account stands thus:— Expenses £2,224,575 Revenue £1,350,642 Loss ' £873,933 , ; It must be borne in mind tha,t the ex- ,4 , ..pauses, operation, maintenance and , overhead charge do not include interest , on the canaf bonds which were sold to pay part of the cost of construction.