, which would not be equaled in the Panama Canal
for a century to come, the very few and relatively unimportant accidents
which have occurred during the fifty years of operation of that waterway
are in every respect the most suggestive indorsement of the lock-canal
project which could be advanced.

The time of transit, in the opinion of the majority committee of the
Senate, would be somewhat longer in the case of a lock canal. This may
be so, though much depends upon the class of ships passing through and
their number. To the practical navigator the loss of a few hours would
be a negligible quantity compared with the higher tolls that will
necessarily be charged if an additional $100,000,000 is expended in
construction and an additional interest burden of at least $2,000,000
per annum has to be provided for. I understand that the actual value of
an hour or two in the case of commercial ships of average size would be
a matter of comparatively no importance in contrast with the
all-suggestive fact that the alternative project of a sea-level canal
would provide no navigation whatever across the Isthmus for probably ten
years more. If it is an advantage to gain an hour or two in transit ten
years hence by having no transisthmian shipping facilities for the ten
years in the meantime, then it might as well be argued that it would be
better to project a sea-level canal 300 feet wide at every point, so
that the commerce of the year 2000 may be properly provided for. But to
the practical navigator of the year 1916, who leaves the port of New
York for San Francisco by way of Cape Horn, a possible loss of two or
three hours or more would be many times preferable, if the Isthmus were
open for traffic, to a certain loss of from forty to fifty days to make
the voyage all around South America.

Upon the question of cost of maintenance the majority committee in their
report point out that the Board of Consulting Engineers did not submit
the details of any estimate of cost of maintenance, repairs, etc., but
they say that this factor was properly taken into account by the
minority favoring a lock canal. Now, there is probably no more important
question connected with the whole canal problem than this, for if the
annual expense of maintenance, to be provided for by Congressional
appropriations, should attain such an exorbitant figure as to make any
fair return upon the investment impossible, it is conceivable that the
most serious politi