On the other hand, ocean transportation by way of the Isthmean Canal, collecting by tolls enough to pay the cost of repair—say one dollar per ton transit, or one cent per ton per mile for fifty miles—would be but one-fourth the average rate per ton per mile for the three thousand miles of transportation on the Pacific Railroad.
Passengers will always take the quickest route. Valuable packages of goods, gold, and silver, and even teas and small packages of costly silks, will be transported by the railroad. The Pacific coast and the interior country lying between the head of navigation of the tributaries of the Mississippi, will receive the commodities of the East chiefly through the port of San Francisco.
The following table shows the relative distances of San Francisco and London from Oriental ports:
═══════════════╤═════════╤═════════════╤══════════════╤═════════ ORIENTAL PORTS.│ LONDON, │SAN FRANCISCO│ SAVING BY │SAVING BY │VIA SUEZ.│ DIRECT. │SAN FRANCISCO.│ LONDON. ──────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼───────── │ MILES. │ MILES. │ MILES. │ MILES. Melbourne │ 11,281 │ 7,902 │ 3,379 │ Yokohama │ 11,504 │ 7,520 │ 6,984 │ Shanghai │ 10,469 │ 5,555 │ 4,914 │ Hong Kong │ 9,669 │ 6,355 │ 3,314 │ Manila │ 6,939 │ 6,135 │ 3,504 │ Singapore │ 8,239 │ 7,785 │ 454 │ Penang │ 7,856 │ 8,165 │ │ 306 Calcutta │ 7,946 │ 9,665 │ │ 1,719 Ceylon │ 8,646 │ 9,378 │ │ 2,732 ───────────────┴─────────┴─────────────┴──────────────┴─────────
From the above table it is evident that England will have a formidable rival for the trade of the East in the Pacific ports, and the interior which they will be called on to supply.
It is manifest that an intermarine canal is not impracticable to American talent and energy. It can undoubtedly be executed by international coöperation. It is demanded by the common interest, commercial, political, and social, of all peoples. It is supported by humanitarian considerations, immediate in their influence, broad and practical in their relations to the interests of society.
The chief obstacle to its execution is its cost, which would be nearly double that of the Suez Canal. Mr. Kelly estimates that 3,090,000 tons would pass through the American canal yearly. Assuming that its total cost will be 150 millions of dollars, the revenue from tolls, at the rate of one cent per ton per mile, would amount to nearly twenty per cent. of the entire outlay.