General DAVIS. The approaches for the Suez entrance are wider. I have forgotten how much, but I think 500 feet. You might say they have two harbors Senator MORGAN. Are there any gates at either of the harbors? Senator MORGAN. The tide rises 7 feet, I believe. General DAVIS. Between 7 and 8 feet. Senator MORGAN. In the Mediterranean? General DAVIS. No; in the Red Sea. Senator MORGAN. How much in the Mediterranean? General DAVIS. About 2 or 3 feet; something like the tide in Limon Bay. I arrived at Suez in the night, and at daylight in the morning there were half a dozen vessels anchored there ready to go on. A tug came along with a lighter and inquired whether we had an electric lighting apparatus on board. We had; it was a Government transport. They then took out of their lighter a square box 6 or 7 feet square and hoisted it to the bow and made it fast to the stem of the ship and about 5 or 6 feet above the water. In it was a man sitting on a stool. In front of him was a searchlight, and he was connected with the pilot on the bridge by signals. When our turn came we were given a number, and a large piece of canvas bearing the number in large black figures was hung over the ship on each side and we started into the canal, I should say about half a mile behind the ship ahead of us and half a mile behind us was another vessel, and in that way we went on through. The signals were made that we were coming. They knew our number at the telegraph stations. They could see it hanging over the side of the ship. Those big letters were 10 feet long. The manager, like a train dispatcher, directed that such a vessel come into a turning-out place and that ours could proceed, or that ours should go into a turning-out place and another vessel should pass, just as the case might be, and so they went on through, night and day. Ninety-seven per cent of all the vessels traversing the Suez move just the same at night as in the daytime. There is no difference. They have such a system of electric lighting that there is no trouble. If a vessel comes without its own electric-light plant a little donkey engine is put on the deck, and that donkey engine moves a dynamo that supplies electricity, and when the ship gets to the end of the canal they take off the donkey engine and take off the dynamo, and the ship goes on her way. It is a perfectly simple thing. Port Said, as you know, is a great coaling station. Almost every vessel takes coal there. At Suez, the Red Sea entrance, no coaling is done. And so with the Panama Canal, at Colon will be the coaling station. Panama will never be a coaling station. Coal is occasionally brought to Panama from Australia. Australia has a very good coal; indeed, much better than any Japanese coal, and much better than any of our own coal on the west coast. Some of the Australian coal rates pretty close to our Pocahontas coal-pretty near it. While I was at Panama there was a sailing vessel of 3,000 or 4,000 tons that came from Sidney with a cargo of coal for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and lay there until her cargo was taken out by lighter, and then she went on her way, INCREASING SIZE OF SHIPS. A study of the Suez statistics throws much light upon this subject, for the average size of the vessels using this-the largest and most important maritime waterway in the world-is constantly growing, as may be seen from the following tabulation derived from Senate Document 20, Fifty-eighth Congress, first session: If increase in size of ships navigating this canal continues to augment at the same rate as for the last ten years, which is 28 per cent, then the average of Suez vessels in 1915 will be 4,225 tons, and for 1925 will be 5,524 tons. But these statistics show something more, which is the increasing use of the canal by large ships. In 1890 the number of vessels passing drawing more than 24.6 feet was 145, while in 1895 there were 228, or an increase in five years of 57 per cent. Again, in the same period the number passing in 1890 of over 25.3 feet draft was 44, while five years later it was 85, showing a gain of over 93 per cent in the size of the users. We thus see that the draft, and therefore the tonnage of the 24.6-foot vessels plying the Suez route, is increasing more than three times faster and the 25.3 vessels over five times faster than the average augmentation. The reason why the Suez management are continually increasing the transit capacity of this waterway is thus made very manifest. These shrewd business men see plainly that their canal will become a second-class route unless it is enlarged. It requires no prophetic vision to see that the Suez Canal by 1950 will have a channel 40 feet deep, 300 feet wide, and with curves flattened to minimum radii of 10,000 feet, and can we doubt that Panama will have the same or greater dimensions? With equal prism and curvature, it will be much more convenient, because only half as long. Now, as respects the financial side of Suez, and as concerns these figures of estimates, cost and maintenance, I would say that the data I have is derived from certain telegrams or from a certain telegraphic correspondence which was had in the month of March, the present month, with Mr. Quellennec, who was a member of this Board of Consulting Engineers, and who is the chief engineer of the Suez Canal. The telegraphic correspondence was conducted by Mr. Shonts, the chairman of the Commission, at my suggestion, and the answers are all sent to Mr. Shonts, and I have the originals in my hand. It is perhaps not necessary to read them all now, because I have tabulated what they say in a paper here which has been used by myself in preparing the arguments I have laid before you respecting maintenance. There is one item that has been referred to there, and which is a very PC-VOL 3-06- -17 important one, as applying to the whole problem of the Panama Canal or any other interoceanic canal. The CHAIRMAN. Are those telegrams long? General DAVIS. Not very long. The CHAIRMAN. Then they might go in the record. General DAVIS. I will be glad to insert them. The CHAIRMAN. There is no objection to it? General DAVIS. No, sir. They were sent at my request by Mr. Shonts, who very courteously attended to the correspondence for me, and they have been sent to me, and I see no reason why they should not be printed as part of the record. The telegrams referred to are as follows: QUELLENNEC, [Cablegram.] ISTHMIAN CANAL AFFAIRS, OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION, General Davis would be greatly obliged for telegraphic information respecting Suez. Average costs last three years: First, permanent improvements, like widening, deepening, etc.; second, maintenance and operation, including repairs, renewals, dredging (total cubic meters); third, separate figures of cost, maintenance, and operation of all turn-outs, including services, equipment, repairs, giving number of turn-outs. Please reply collect. SHONTS. [Cablegram.] SHONTS, Washington: PARIS, March 9-8. 57 a. m. Average annual expenses Suez Canal last three years: First, permanent improvements, 3,836,000 francs, including repairs; 2,620,000 cubic meters excavated in dry or by dredging. Second, maintenance, 3,410,000 francs, including repairs; 2,610,000 cubic meters dry and dredging operation, 3,117,000 francs, including repairs; renewals, 1,500,000 francs; buildings and waterworks maintenance and operation, including repairs, 850,000 francs. Please explain exact meaning of word "turn-outs." QUELLENNEC. QUELLENNEC, Suez Canal, Paris: [Cablegram.] ISTHMIAN CANAL AFFAIRS, General Davis requests I wire you as follows: "Turn-outs" mean sidings. Information Davis desires to answer criticisms that cost maintenance of siding for sea-level canal would be large item. Your answer understood to mean that all permanent improvements, including excavations, cost three million eight hundred thirty-six thousand francs, and all maintenance, including dredging, etc., repairs, renewals, buildings, waterworks, and their operation reached total of eight million seven hundred seventy-seven thousand francs. How much, if any, part this last amount should be charged to permanent improvements? SHONTS. [Cablegram.] SHONTS, Washington: PARIS, March 13-9.10 a. m. No particular expense of maintenance operation for turn-outs other than those respecting signal and telegraph stations with which ten turn-outs out of twenty-three are provided by such stations, operation of which costs annually about three hundred thousand francs, would be necessary even if there were no turn-outs. Turn-outs are no cause of expense neither for company nor for ships. Mooring of ships to let others pass entails but a delay of one hour and half on the whole time of passage of seventeen hours. Three million eight hundred thirty-six thousand francs is total cost of permanent improvements, including all kind of works, especially dredging in soft and rocky material, repairs, etc.; also engineering employees, etc. Eight million eight hundred seventy-seven thousand francs is total cost of maintenance and operation; namely, first, five million seven hundred sixty thousand francs for maintenance, including all kind of works, especially dredging, repairs, renewals, buildings, waterworks, and their operations, also engineering employees, etc.; second, three million one hundred seventeen thousand francs for operations of canal. In other words, for transit of ships, including pilots, telegraph, signals, launches, tugs, operations, and repairs of the same, measurement of ships, also marine officials, employees, etc. Besides these expenses there are, moreover, general expenses as follows: In Egypt, for representative of company, financial service, legal department, etc., four hundred ninety thousand francs, and for sanitary service one hundred eighty-eight thousand francs; at Paris, for direction financial service, legal and accounting department, one million one hundred thirty-four thousand francs.. No part of cost of maintenance to be charged to permanent improvements, discrimination. being already made in accounts. QUELLEN NEC. QUELLENEC, Suez Canal, Paris: [Telegram.] ISTHMIAN CANAL AFFAIRS, OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D. C., March 15, 1906. Cable names, dimensions, draft, three largest vessels passing Suez since nineteen four. Do largest ships move at night, and their average time transit? What was total number vessels with gross and net tonnage passing nineteen five. SHONTS. [Cablegram.] SHONTS, Washington: PARIS, March 17-9.07 a. m. Grosser Kurfurst, 560 feet long, 62 broad, 26 feet 3 inches draft. Good Hope, 520 long, 78 broad, 26 feet 3. Terrible, 539 long, 72 broad, 26 feet 3. Largest vessels can move at night, their average time transit almost same as average transit all vessels, which was 17 hours 41 minutes in 1905. Total number vessels passed, 4,116; gross 18 million tons, net 13 millions. QUELLENNEC. I have a memorandum here, "Suez Canal, cost of enlargements, maintenance, and operation, average per annum for last three years-1903, 1904, and 1905." Permanent improvements, which have been going on almost ever since the canal was opened, during these three years are described as respects their cost by this remark: Consisting of widening, deepening, and so forth, which includes 2,620,000 cubic meters--equal to 3,426,960 cubic yards of excavations in earth and rock, excavations by dredges and other methods, including excavation of rock under water, engineering labor, and so forth; total expenditure per annum, 3,836,000 francs, equaling $767,000. Senator DRYDEN. That is not charged to the cost of the canal! General DAVIS. No; although it is in our railroad parlance a betterment, and is a legitimate charge against the property, for of course the property is worth that much more. But here, instead of floating bonds and raising that much money on loans, for this work they take it out of their earnings, and that amount for the last three years was $767,000 annually. That will be completed some day and then it will be a question of whether still further enlargements may not be necessary; but so far as we now know their programme only consists of connecting up these existing passing places and deepening the canal to 34.4 feet. The next item is maintenance and operation, which includes dredging to maintain channel, amounting to 2,610,000 cubic meters, or 3,413,880 cubic yards. Also renewals, repairs, buildings, waterworks with their operation; also engineering employees, as follows: Dredging, repairs and renewals, 3,410,000 francs, or $682,000. Buildings and their repairs, including waterworks and maintenance, 2,350,000 francs, or $470,000. Transit, which includes pilots, telegraph, telephone, lighting, launches, tugs, operation and repairs, measurement of ships, marine officials, 3,117,000 francs, or $623,000. General expenses, including representatives near Egyptian Government, financial service, legal department in Egypt, 490,000 francs, or $98,000. Sanitary service, 180,000 francs, or $36,000. Expenses in Paris, financial, legal, and accounting, 1,134,000 francs, or $226,800. For all expenses connected with betterments and maintenance and operation, administration, and so forth Senator MORGAN. Since the canal was first opened? General DAVIS. No; the average for the last three years. The |