Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 January 1910 — “Get Ready For the Panama Canal." [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

“Get Ready For the Panama Canal."

By JOHN BARRETT.

Director of the International Bureau

of American Republics.

- - —I ■ ■ HE Panama canal will be complete in five years, and 2! J - yet the United States is DOING LITTLE TO GET. o 'J * READY FOR IT. o I the great industrial interests should *’ I BEGIN TO STUDY INTIMATELY THE FIELD OF •►***♦**❖❖•> TRADE LYING BEYOND THE CANAL, AND THE NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BE SYSTEMATICALLY IMPROVING OUR RIVERS AND HARBORS SO THAT THE WATER AS WELL AS LAND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES OF THE 4 UNITED STATES WILL ENABLE IT TO COMPETE SUCCESSFULLY WITH OTHER NATIONS USING THE CANAL. « « at Directly south from the canal is a coast line of five thousand miles, reaching from Panama to Patagonia, upon which practically debouch Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, all countries of vast potentialities and conducting now in their isolated location an annual foreign commerce valued at three hundred million dollars. The canal, opened, will MAKE THIS GROW IN TEN YEARS TO ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR. TWICE THE COST OF THE CANAL. Northwest from the canal, or from Panama to San Diego, is another coast line of three thousand miles upon which debouch the five Central American republics and Mexico and a foreign trade worth now one hundred million dollars. There are, then, in short, eight thousand miles of resourceful coast line now doing against heavy odds a foreign trade of four hundred naillion dollars and representing twelve different countries which WILL SUDDENLY BE PLACED INTO OLOSE PROXIMITY WITH THE UNITED STATES WHEN THE CANAL IS COMPLETED, only five years from now. Certainly the United States must begin to “GET READY FOR THE PANAMA CANAL”