the
Tehuantepec Isthmus
RAILWAY
BY
SEÑOR DON MATIAS ROMERO
Mexican Minister at Washington
AND
MR. E. L. ÇORTHELL
Civil Engineer
the
Tehuantepec Isthmus
RAILWAY
BY
SEÑOR DON MATIAS ROMERO
Mexican Minister at Washington
AND
MR. E. L. CORTHELL
Civil Engineer
WASHINGTON
1894
THE TEHUANTEPEC ISTHMUS RAILWAY*
My desire to comply with the request of the editor to write an
article on the Tehuantepec. railway, now nearing comple¬
tion, has determined me to prepare a brief sketch on that
subject, which will, however, necessarily reflect the haste with which
it has been penned, and will express only my personal views thereon.
In writing these lines I am not guided by a spirit of either jealousy
or hostility toward the Nicaragua canal. I am persuaded that the
canal offering the best conditions will finally be the first built, and
therefore that any reasoning tending to disregard this circumstance is
idle. , If the Nicaragua canal offers the best conditions it will be the
first to be built, no matter what reasons or objections may be presented
in opposition to it.f
I believe that while Nicaragua would offer more facilities for a canal
than Tehuantepec, it would be easier to construct across the lat¬
ter isthmus a ship-railway, and that the opening of both routes, far
from conflicting with each other, would be favorable to the com¬
merce of the world as furnishing two different ways, each with especial
advantages for crossing the American continent. Not having myself
any pecuniary interest in these schemes, I see them from a higher
standpoint, considering only their usefulness to the whole world. I
also believe that neither work will obtain any pecuniary assistance
* The first edition ofthis article was published by the Engineering Magazine of New York»
in its number for March (1894), and in Spanish by the Universal^ a newspaper of the City oí
Mexico. The article was afterward corrected and completed, and as it is now published con¬
tains all the facts connected with the subject, some inaccuracies in the first edition having been
rectified.
t On February 8, 1888,1 gave to a reporter who interviewed me in reference to the merits
of the Tehuantepec route» as against the Nicaragua and Panama, the following memorandum of
an interview, which fully expresses my present views on that subject :
*'I have taken little interest in the fight and jealousies about the American isthmus, be¬
cause I believe that this question has to be decided only by its natural, geographical and com¬
mercial-bearings. There are three principal routes-across the isthmus, over which canals or
ship-railways have been projected, viz., Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, and Panama. If the present
needs of the world's commerce, or its future extraordinary development, require that the three
should be opened, ánd if this is at all practicable, they will be built, whatever may be the ob¬
stacles in the way. If one or two are impracticable, for their immense cost or other reasons, it
is riot likely that they will be-built whatever may be the wishes of the nations over whose ter¬
ritory the canal may pass. Mexico certainly would not mourn the'completion of any of the
other routes, because the opening of either will netessarily benefit the neighboring coun¬
tries, and in thjs respect,, whatever may be the issue of the question, all American nations will
be profited by the completion of any of the intended routes. We believe that we have in
Tehuantepec as good a chance for such a work as in any other part bf the isthmus, and we
wait patiently the result without shotvirig pettyjealousy or a spirit of opposition to the other
'schemes." .
3 " .
4
from the United States, because, in my opinion, in the present temper
of the people of this country, no money will be expended in any work
of public improvement outside of its own territorial limits.
Great importance has always been attached in Mexico to the sub¬
ject of interoceanic communication through Tehuantepec. As far back
as the time when Hernando Cortes conquered Mexico and passed
through Tehuantepec in his expedition to Honduras, he tried to find
a natural pass, like the Straits of Magellan, connecting the Atlantic
with the Pacific. Cortes then personally examined the isthmus of
Tehuantepec hoping to find that passage. Recognizing the important
geographical advantages of the isthmus, he believed confidently that
the time would come when a route would be established there between
the two oceans. The railroad now being built on the isthmus passes
through the lands which, on his application, were donated to him by
the emperor, Charles V., and which are now divided into three es¬
tates called La Venta, Chicapa and Tarifa, which constitute the Ha¬
ciendas Marquesanas, named so because Cortes had been made by the
emperor Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca. During the three centuries
of Spanish domination this project was in abeyance, because the policy
of the metropolis was opposed to all communication of the colonies
with the outside world, and the opening of an interoceanic canal was
in direct conflict with that policy.
Notwithstanding that fact,—and possibly in pursuance of that
policy, either to find out whether there was a natural passage between
the two oceans, for the purpose of closing it, or, if there was not such
a natural channel, not to open an artificial way, or perhaps desiring a
canal for the exclusive benefit of its navy,—the Spanish government
caused serious studies to be made with a view to finding a natural pas¬
sage or to ascertain whether one was practicable to connect the At¬
lantic and Pacific oceans through the American isthmus. Under
Philip II. in the sixteenth, and Charles III. in the eighteenth cen¬
turies, careful surveys were made which were remarkable for their
accuracy, taking into account the state of science at that time. A
complete survey of the Coatzacoalcos river was made in 1610, which
together with a map of that river was published in the June, 1882,
number of the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Madrid. The
voyage of Baron Humboldt to America at the beginning of this cen¬
tury again awakened great interest in this enterprise, as was exhibited
by the action of the Spanish Cortes after the Napoleonic wars.
When the independence of Mexico was accomplished, the first Mex¬
ican congress, by an act of October 14, 1823, organized an independent
province of the isthmus of Tehuantepec, which then, as at present,
comprised parts of the provinces, now states, of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz.
5
The Mexican congress which convened to frame the constitution,
adopted October 4, 1824, passed an act on November 4, 1824, provid¬
ing that the executive should call for proposals for the opening of a
route across the isthmus of Tehuantepec, and requesting the executive
to collect all necessary information to provide for the building of a
canal.
In my opinion the advantages resulting to Mexico from the inter-
oceanic communication were overestimated, since it was thought as
stated in the preamble of the grant made by Mexico to Don José de
Garay on March i, 1842, that "the opening of the Tehuantepec route
would make Mexico the center of the commerce and navigation of the
world." Without denying that such communication is bound to pro¬
duce results favorable to Mexico, especially in developing commerce and
industry on her coast line near the isthmus, I believe, nevertheless, that
such expectations were very much exaggerated, and my belief is based
on what has happened with the railway across the isthmus of Panama,
which has kept open for several years communication between the
two oceans. In my judgment the Central American States, in whose
ports ply the steamers running between San Francisco and Pana¬
ma, have been more benefited by that road than Colombia herself, or
even the State of Panama, as they have developed their agricultural
production and a prosperous traffic to their great advantage, giving
value to their lands, work to their people, and a remunerative result to
their enterprises, while no marked advantage has accrued to Colombia
or Panama. The same experience is shown in Egypt with the Suez canal.
But Tehuantepec has Some peculiar advantages which after a time
are bound to give it great importance. It not only possesses a health¬
ful climate and a fertile soil, but it is the indispensable pass of the
Inter-American railway which will extend from Canada to Tierra
del Fuego, and the interoceanic railroad over that isthmus will not be
isolated but will make of Tehuantepec an important commercial cen ■
ter. The Mexican Southern Railroad will connect Tehuantepec with
the City of Mexico by the way of Oaxaca, and the Cordova and Tux-
tçpec railroad will connect it with the capital by the way of Vera
Crux, and the Pan American railway will place it in communication
with North and Central and South America.
The protracted and bloody struggle sustained by Mexico in order
to shake off colonial principles and church rule, and to follow the path¬
way of progress, precluded for nearly twenty years any effort in the di¬
rection of interoceanic communication. However, as soon as there
was a respite in the civil struggle, the project was taken up again. On
March i, 1842, General Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, at that
time dictator of Mexico, granted a charter to Don José de Garay, to
6
open communication across the isthmus of Tehuantepec, by water as
far as practicable and for the rest of the way by rail, beginning the
work by a survey of the land and location of the road which was to be
done within eighteen months from the date of the contract. Señor
Garay entrusted the surveying work to Señor Don Gaetano Moro, an
able Italian engineer, who accomplished it very satisfactorily, this be¬
ing the first scientific survey of the projected road made after Mexico
achieved its independence.
The decree of March i, 1842, just alluded to, which was the first
concession made to Garay, provided for the opening of a road through
Tehuantepec, and entrusted the building of the same to Señor Garay.
That concession was enlarged by á new grant of land, given by a de¬
cree of February 9, 1843. Another decree of October 3, 1843,
provided for the establishment of a prison in Tehuantepec with 300
convicts to help in the construction of the road ; and still another
decree of December 28, 1843, extended for one year longer the term
of ten months agreed upon in the first grant to begin work on the
road after the survey was made. The term expired on June 30, 1845,
and that ended the Garay grant, for non-compliance with its pro¬
visions, for although he applied to congress for a new extension of the
time of the concession, which was granted by the house of repre¬
sentatives in December, 1845, it never was voted upon in the senate. But
on November 5, 1846, General José Mariano de Salas, president of
Mexico, acting under extraordinary powers, issued a decree ratifying
all previous concessions made to Garay, enlarged the land-grants and
extended for two years from the date of that decree the term for begin¬
ning the work. This decree was declared void and null by an act of
the Mexican Congress of May 22, 1851, to which reference will be.
made later, on the ground that the president in issuing it had exceeded
his powers.
Notwithstanding all these privileges granted to Garay by the
Mexican government, he did not even begin the work under the
time fixed, because he could not command the necessary capital.
During the progress of our war with the United States, in 1846-47,
Señor Garay sold his charter to Messrs. Manning and Mackintosh and
John Schneider of London,.who, after the war, sold it to a New York
company headed by Mr. Peter A. Hargous, but the Mexican govern¬
ment contended "that Garay's charter had been forfeited for want of
compliance with its conditions, and that all transfers made by him
were null and void, not only on that account, but also because the
permission of the government to transfer the grant had not been ob¬
tained. At the end of that war, by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
of February 2, 1848, the United States acquired an extensive coast on
7
the Pacific ocean, and it became necessary for them to have a
short way of communication between their Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Naturally it was thought that Tehuantepec offered the greatest advan¬
tages, although the United States, having foreseen that need, had
negotiated a treaty with New Granada, signed at Bogota December 12,
1846, in which passage across the isthmus of Panama was guaranteed
to them, with other very liberal concessions. For these reasons
the United States made great efforts to obtain from the Mexican gov¬
ernment a charter similar to the one they had from New Granada, and
they asked for it during the progress of the negotiations preceding the
treaty of peace ; but the Mexican government, fearing, not without
reason, a repetition in Tehuantepec of what had just happened in
Texas, did not deem it advisable to make the concession for building
the road to a company of citizens of the United States, and answered
that, as a grant was already in the hands of the Garay company, the
government had no right to dispose of the same.
This answer given by the Mexican plenipotentiaries who signed
the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo induced the parties in the United
States, interested in building the Tehuantepec railroad, to obtain the
cession of the Garay charter from Messrs. Manning and Mackintosh,
who, in their turn, considering themselves the successors of Sr. Garay,
were willing to and did sell their charter to a United States company,
who asked the guarantee of the United States government to build
the road.
This government requested Mexico to make a treaty for that pur¬
pose, and notwithstanding the reluctance of Mexico on this point, at
the request of the United States the Mexican ' plenipotentiary signed
on June 23, 1850, a treaty with Mr. Robert P. Letcher, the minister
from this country at the City of Mexico, by which both governments
guaranteed the neutrality of the isthmus, under certain conditions that
were considered sufficient to assure the autonomy and independence
of Mexico ; but the treaty was rejected by the United States senate,
and the United States government asked for a modification of the same,
and this request resulted in another treaty, signed January 25, 1851,
which was rejected in its turn by the Mexican senate.
The principal cause of the rejection of this treaty was that the
government of the United States contended that it guaranteed the
Garay charter, which, as already stated, had fallen into the iands of
United States citizens, while the Mexican government, far from ac¬
cepting that view of the case, declared the said concession forfeited,
and considered that it would be extremely dangerous for Mexican in¬
terests should that road be built by citizens of the United States.
The feeling of distrust against the United States which prevailed
8
in Mexico immediately after the war of 1846 and 1847 was strength¬
ened by reasons of some filibustering invasions of the border states of
Mexico, which occurred about that time, and which the United States
government could not prevent. As the people of Mexico did not un¬
derstand well the laws of the United States, the extent of personal
guarantees enjoyed here, and the feeble action of the federal govern¬
ment in the States, it was hardly believed that this government had
no power to prevent such invasions.
It is very satisfactory to notice the change in the relations between
Mexico and the United States since 1851. The Mexican government
at that period not only refused to grant to-' citizens of the United
States a concession to build a railway, but considered it dangerous for
engineers from that country to finish the survey which they were making
of the isthmus of Tehuantepec. Now, however, almost all the railway
concessions given by the Mexican government—and their number is
considerable—have been made to citizens of the United States. The
principal railways in Mexico, with only two exceptions—those running
from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico—have been built by companies
organized in the United States. The idea of permitting the passage of
United States troops into Mexican territory in pursuit of hostile Indians
was then considered as inacceptable ; indeed, according to a statement
of Mr. Letcher, the American minister, made to Señor Don Fernando
Ramirez, the secretary of foreign affairs of the Mexican government.
United States soldiers then appeared to be more objectionable in
Mexico than hostile Indians. Since then, however, that permission
has been freely granted and with satisfactory results. This shows that
the situation of distrust and even unfriendliness resulting from the war
of 1846-47 has given place now to one of mutual friendship and cor¬
diality, as a consequence principally of the change in the political
tendencies of the parties in the United States which, since the
abolition of slavery, do not seek to annex Mexican territory.
In view of the determination of the Mexican government not to
recognize the charter for the building of the road which had come to
the hands of a company of citizens of the United States, parties in¬
terested in the isthmus transit applied to the government of New
Granada, and received from the latter a liberal concession for the con¬
struction of a railroad across the isthmus of Panama. The construc¬
tion of that road was begun on April 18, 1850, and ended on January
20, 1855. The building of the Panama road made unnecessary, for
the time being, the construction of the Tehuantepec road, and this
circumstance, in my opinion, more than anything else, has been in the
way of building the Tehuantepec road.
The agitation produced by the treaties negotiated with the United
9
States about Tehuantepec, and the efforts of the parties to whom the
Garay grant had been transferred to have it recognized by Mexico
gave rise to a long and bitter discussion, with the result that the Mexi¬
can congress, on May 22, 1851, declared forfeited the charter granted
to Don José de Garay on the ground that its conditions had not been
fulfilled and that the last extension granted was not legal, as has been
stated before.
But the Mexican congress, awake to the necessity of opening a
means of communication, approved an act on May 14, 1852, request¬
ing the executive to promote the organization of a company to under¬
take the building of the Tehuantepec road, on the basis therein set
forth. Pursuant to that decree the executive branch of the govern¬
ment published, on July 29 of the same year, a notice inviting bids
for the building of the road, and, after considering those that were
presented, a contract was signed with Mr. A. G. Sloo and others, by
which it was agreed that within a year from the date of the contract a
plank road should be commenced, to be ended three years afterwards,
and then succeeded by a railroad, which should be completed within
the following four years. This contract was approved, with some
amendments, by an act of ihe Mexican congress of February 5, 1853.
The same act of May 14, 1852, provided that negotiations
with friendly powers should be opened with a view to make treaties
which should recognize the neutrality of the passage through the isth¬
mus, in case of war ; and by virtue of that provision a treaty was
signed at the City of Mexico on March 21, 1853, between the Mexican
plenipotentiaries and the United States minister, in which permission
was granted to the United States government to guarantee the neu¬
trality of the isthmus with armed force, when requested by the Mexi¬
can government, and for the free passage of United States troops from
one coast to the other. Special guarantees were given in the treaty
to the contract of Mr. A. G. Sloo and company ; but, for the reasons
already pointed out, the treaty was rejected by the Mexican congress,
and in consequence of this fact, and on account of the construction
of the Panama railroad having been commenced, the: Sloo company
could not fulfil their contract, and a decree of the President of Mexico,
dated September 3, 1857, was issued declaring the forfeiture of the
Sloo grant, for non-compliance with its provisions. ■
On September 7, 1857, the administration of General Comonfort,
acting under extraordinary powers, granted to the Louisiana Tehuante¬
pec Company, organized in New Orleans on July 30 preceding, a
charter for the construction of the" Tehuantepec route, making use of
the Goatzacoalcos river as far as it could be made nàvigable, and the
rest of the distance to be covered by rail." Work was; to begin within
lo
eighteen months after the date of the decree, the railway was to be
built at the rate of ten Mexican leagues (about twenty-six miles) per
year, and a carriage-road was to be opened at once. The latter was
partially opened, and in this way a stage-coach line was established in
1858 and 1859, in connection with ships running between New Or¬
leans and Minatitlan and between Ventosa and San Francisco, but
passengers had to travel a short distance by horseback before reaching
El Zuchil. The company agreed to pay Francisco P. Falconet $600,-
000 and interest, which had been deposited by the Sloo company with
the Mexican government in accordance with Article IV. of their con¬
tract, and therefore the Louisiana company was in fact the successor of
the Sloo company.
The grant of September 7, 1857, was liberally modified and ampli¬
fied by another decree issued at Vera Cruz by President Juarez on
March 28, 1859, and the extension of time then granted was again ex¬
tended by another decree, issued also at Vera Cruz on October 25,
i860. But notwithstanding these liberal grants the Louisiana Te-
huantepec Company could not even begin to build the road, and a
decree issued at the City of Chihuahua by President Juarez on October
15, 1866, declared the forfeiture of the concession made to the Louis¬
iana Tehuantepec Comany, owing to the non-fulfillment of its
obligations, and granted it to the "Tehuantepec Transit Company,"
which also failed to fulfill its obligations, after which the charter was
forfeited by a decree of August 26, 1867, issued at the City of Mexico.
The war of reform on the one hand, which lasted from 1857 to
i860, and the French intervention on the other, from 1861 to 1867,
as well as the bad financial situation of the world, had prevented the
building of the road, notwithstanding the several concessions success¬
ively made by the Mexican government ; but it was believed that with
peace restored to Mexico the principal drawbacks had disappeared, and
on October 6, 1867, a concession was granted—also by virtue of extra¬
ordinary powers vested by congress in the president—to Emile La
Sere, a native of New Orleans, or to a company that he might organ¬
ize. This concession was modified by an act of the Mexican congress
of January 2, 1869, which considerably amplified the privileges granted
to Mr. La Sere or his company, and extended the time fixed for the
completion of the work.
Another act of the Mexican congress, of December 14, 1870,
renewed and extended the time agreed upon in that concession, to
begin and finish the work, though the name of Emile La Sere was then
omitted, and also authorized the company to construct a canal from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. The time fixed to commence the work
of construction expired on February 2, 1871, but on the 9th the
11
United States steamer Nipsic arrived at Minatitlan, carrying on board
the engineers sent by the company under chief engineer I. J. Williams,
and work was begun on that day. The Mexican government decided
on January 24, 1871, that the work had been commenced within
the time allowed, as the steamer had been delayed by stress of weather,
for which the company was not responsible. An act passed by the
Mexican congress on May 22, 1872, renewed the concessions of
January 2, 1869, and December 14, 1870, and provided that the
time for building the road should be counted from January 2, 1872.
A further act of the Mexican congress of January 15, 1874,
extended for one year the time fixed in the grants of January 2, 1869,
and December 14, 1870, to build the railroad and the canal at
Tehuantepec. Another act of the Mexican congress of December 14,
1874, extended again for three and four years, respectively, the time
agreed upon in the two above mentioned acts, and granted besides to
the Tehuantepec Co. a subsidy of Í7500 for each kilometer of road
built. As the time, so often renewed, expired without any portion of
the road being built, the Mexican government declared on May 31,
1879, the La Sere Tehuantepec grant to have been ended.
On January 19, 1878, a contract was signed at the City of Mexico,
between the Secretary of Public Works and Mr. Hayden H. Hall,
representing Mr. Edward Learned of New York city, for the construc¬
tion of an interoceanic road at Tehuantepec, and on October 31,
1878, the contract was amended by common consent and submitted to
congress for its approval, and was approved by an act of the Mexican
congress of June 2, 1879, which gave a charter to Edward Learned,
a citizen of the United States, or to the company that he might
organize, to build the Tehuantepec road within three years and four
months from the date of the charter, and granted a subsidy of Í 7500 for
each kilometer of road built by the company and approved by the
Mexican government.
This act was amended by another act of the Mexican congress
of November 6, 1880, which authorized the Learned Company to
build the road from the Coatzacoalcos river to Lake Superior (Laguna
Superior) or over it or around it, as the survey should show to be
more convenient.
It appears from official reports made to the Mexican government
that the Learned Co. had completed in the year 1881, as follows: on
February 17, 1881, five kilometers of road, on May 15, seven kilo¬
meters, on August 7, fifteen kilometers, and that the company had only
thirty-five kilometers built when the grant was terminated.
On August 16, 1882, the Mexican government declared the for¬
feiture of the Learned grant, for non-compliance with its provisions,
13
and on December 20, 1882, Mr. George Tyng, representative of the
Learned Co., signed a contract with the Secretary of Public Works at
the City of Mexico, by which he conveyed to the Mexican government
all the property, rights and materials of the Tehuantepec railway in con¬
sideration of ^125,000, paid at once in Mexican silver dollars, and
Ji,500,000 payable in New York city in United States gold in install¬
ments, which was paid by me to Mr. William A. Booth, president of
the company.
The fact that so many liberal grants had been made to various
companies, and that none of them had been able to build the road,
which was supposed to be a very profitable undertaking, made some
believe that the Panama Railway Co. was at the bottom of the diffi¬
culty, and although this suspicion was in my opinion entirely ground¬
less, and not shared by the government, it very likely contributed to
decide public opinion to favor the idea that the government should
undertake the work on its own account. Congress, therefore, author¬
ized the executive on May 30, 1882, to undertake the construction,
by the nation, of the Tehuantepec railway, or to contract for its con¬
struction with a company.
On June 30, 1882, .the Mexican government appointed Don
Delfin Sanchez, a gentleman who had some experience as a railroad
builder in Mexico, for the purpose of buying all the material for the
road, and soon afterward he was furnished with ^600,000 to pay for
the material to be ordered.
On October 5, 1882, -a contract was signed by the Mexican
government with Sr. Sanchez, as contractor for the construction of the
road, on the basis of receiving $25,000 for each kilometer of road
built, the road to be finished on February 28, 1885, and on the nth
of that month Sr. Sanchez acknowledged to have received from the
Mexican government $701,000,011 account of the contract; but
the road was not built, and on April 25, 1888, the construction
contract was abrogated, the Mexican government agreeing to pay
Sr. Sanchez $562,910.50 as the value of the material and work done,
and $170,224.90 representing the profits which the contractor would
have to make if the work had been done.
By an act of December 14, 1878, the legislature of the state of
Oaxaca authorized its governor to contract with the Federal govern¬
ment for the construction of the Tehuantepec railroad, in conjunction
with the State of Vera Cruz or singly; and the legislature of Vera Cruz
approved a similar act, as the isthmus of Tehuantepec occupies terri¬
tory belonging to both states, but no action was taken under said acts.
By virtue of the authority conferred on the Mexican government
by the act of congress of May 30, 1882, the President authorized
IS
the issue in London, Berlin and Amsterdam, of a loan of 700,000,
with 5 per cent, interest secured by the mortgage of the road. The
bonds were sold to a syndicate of bankers at about 70 per cent., and
on August 28, 1888, a contract was signed at the City of Mexico
with the representative of Mr. Edward McMurdo, of London, for the
construction of 226 kilometers of the Tehuantepec road and the repair
of 108 kilometers which had been badly built, the work to be finished
within thirty months, and the whole proceeds of the loan were placed
at the contractor's disposal.
This contract was altered in some details by another contract signed
at the City of Mexico on October 15, 1888, which was approved
by an act of the Mexican congress of December 19, 1888.
Mr. McMurdo died in London before he could carry out his con¬
tracts, and his widow agreed with the Mexican government on Jan¬
uary 13, 1892, to abrogate the contract under certain conditions
specified therein and which were mutually accepted.
Congress again authorized the executive, by an act of December
• 18, 1891, to contract the construction of the road, and on February
27, 1892, a contract was signed at the City of Mexico with Messrs.
Chandos S. Stanhope, an English subject, J. M. Hampson and E. L.
Corthell, citizens of the United States, in which they agreed to finish
the work if available funds were sufficient in fifteen months from the
date of its commencement, and one additional month from the date of
the contract was allowed to begin the work, and to secure the fulfill¬
ment of the contract the Mexican government placed at the disposal
of the contractors $2,000,000, the balance of the proceeds of the
^¿'2,700,000 loan negotiated in Europe.
The net proceeds.of that loan were not sufficient to finish the road,
and soon after the expiration of the contract of February 27, 1892, a
portion of another loan of ^^3,000,000 contracted at the City of
Mexico, in November, 1893, was appropriated to that work, and on
December 6, 1893, a further contract was signed at that city, with
Mr. Charles S. Stanhope, for the construction of the fifty-nine kilo¬
meters of road unbuilt, which provided that the line shall be finished on
September 6th of this year, with an additional expense of $1,111,035,
and it is to be hoped that this last contract will be faithfully carried
into effect, and that the road will be finished during the present year.
This account would not be complete if I failed to mention that the
distinguished engineer, James B. Eads, conceived a project for build¬
ing a railway capable of transporting ships from one ocean to the other,
across the isthmus of Tehuantepec ; and to that end he made, on April
16, i88r, a contract with the Mexican government, which was ratified
by act of the Federal congress of May 28th of that year, and that
14
charter was modified and amplified by another contract signed at the
City of Mexico with the representative of Captain Eads on May 2,
1885, which was also approved by the Mexican congress with certain
alterations on December 15, 1885. In the first of these contracts it
was stipulated that the work should be finished within twelve years from
May 6, 1881, and that time was extended two years by the second con¬
tract. The Mexican government promised to pay the company as a
guarantee, ^18,750,000 at the rate of ^1,250,000 a year, to be event¬
ually refunded if the profits of the railway should exceed 1^3,750,000
per year, and in that case the sixth of that excess would be applied to
the payment of the subsidy. The company was authorized to build a
canal from Laguna Superior to the Pacific ocean, and it was further
granted a subsidy of 168 square kilometers of land for every foot in
depth of said canal. It was also granted 4200 square kilometers of land
if it should deepen the Coatzacoalcos river to 25 feet.
Unfortunately, the extraordinary character of the project and the
other difficulties to which I have alluded have not permitted the con¬
struction of this great work, but as a similar road is on the point of
being completed on the isthmus of Chignecto, which connects the pen¬
insula of Nova Scotia with the mainland in Canada, and will show the
practicability of the work, it is likely that this fact will pave the way
to the construction of a similar railway across the isthmus of Tehuante-
pec. The Chignecto ship-railway, which will connect the navigation
of the Bay of Fundy with the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, is 17 miles in
length and capable of carrying ships weighing 2000 tons. About
three-fourths have already been built.
The grants above mentioned have led to the making of surveys of
Tehuantepec several times. Besides the one made by Señor Moro, a
United States Company in 1850 sent Major J. G. Barnard, U. S. A.,
as chief of engineers, to make a survey of the Tehuantepec isthmus, and
although the condition of affairs which I have tried to sketch compelled
the Mexican government to order the suspension of the survey, it had
already been finished when Major Barnard was notified to leave the
work, and its results were subsequently published.
In 1870, during the administration of General Grant, another and
more complete and itnportant survey was made, as he wished to ascer¬
tain which of the three American isthmuses was the most desirable for
the construction of an interoceanic canal. He also appointed a commis¬
sion of able engineers, which decided in favor of the route through Nicar¬
agua. The surveying expedition sent to Tehuantepec under Capt. Shu-
feldt was accompanied by a corps of Mexican engineers, appointed by
the Mexican government, under the lead of Señor Don Manuel Fernan¬
dez Leal, an eminent engineer, who holds now the position of Secretary
IS
of Public Works. The Mexican commission made a thorough survey
and its reports and maps were published in Volume III. of the Annals of
the Department of Public Works of the Mexican Republic. The con¬
cession made to Captain Eads caused a more elaborate survey to be
made, not only of the railway, but also of the terminal points of the road.
The Mexican government sent a delegate. Señor Don Francisco de
Garay, to present the advantages of Tehuantepee at the International Con¬
gress on American Interoceanic Communications convened in 1879, at
Paris, at the suggestion of M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, but he could hardly
be heard because M. de Lesseps had decided in favor of Panama before
the meeting of the conference, without taking into consideration the
difficulties to be encountered. As M. de Lesseps was the promoter of
the congress, it was composed largely of his friends, and he obtained a
voto for Panama of 74 members, while only 14 voted against him and
7 refrained from voting. The Mexican delegate voted against Pan¬
ama. Those who did not vote, and who represented that the matter
had not been sufficiently discussed and that a majority of the members
were not competent to decide the difficult technical questions, were
Admiral Ammen and Señor Menocal, delegates from the United States,
Señor Don Manuel M. de Peralta, delegate from Costa Rica, and now
minister from that country to Washington, Señor Ordonez, delegate
from Colombia, and others. M. La Valley, the distinguished French
engineer who built the Suez canal, and who was a friend of M. de
Lesseps, did not vote for Panama.
After so many efforts resulting in failure, the Tehuantepec road is
now practically completed,and Mexico offers the result of all this work of
many years, and great expense to the commercial interests of the world.
The comparative advantages of the Tehuantepec interoceanic route
over the Panama route, in reference to geographical and commercial
features are great. Any map showing the two routes will prove in a
general way the geographical advantages of the Tehuantepec route in
reference to the coast-wise commerce of the United States, and in a
measure, its advantages in relation to the business of western Europe.
Admiral, then Captain, Shufeldt, of the navy of the United States, in
an official report made in 1871, thus forcibly expressed the commercial
advantages of Tehuantepec ; " Each isthmus rises into importance as it
lies nearer to the center of American (United States) commercial inter¬
ests. ' ' Other things being equal, the route which has the greatest advan¬
tages will lie nearest to what may be considered the axial line of the
world's commerce, which may be drawn on the globe between Hong¬
kong and Yokohama on the Asiatic coast across the Pacific ocean,
through San Francisco, across the United States to New York, and
across the Atlantic to Liverpool or Havre. Tehuantepec, of all the
i6
interoceanic routes, lies nearest to this "axial line." . In a direct line
the distance is 1200 miles between Tehuantepec and Panama, or about
as far as from New York to New Orleans.
Examination of a globe will show that shortest sail or steamer route
from eastern Asia to any point on the Pacific coast of the American
isthmus passes in close proximity to the shore line of Tehuantepec ; in
fact the shortest great circle from Panama to Hongkong will pass
through Tehuantepec, east of San Francisco, and nearly up to the
Aleutian islands. Even the shortest route from Panama to the Hawaii¬
an islands will pass close to Tehuantepec. It will at once be apparent,
therefore, that it will require almost a doubling of the above-mentioned
distance to cross the isthmus at Panama, particularly for all traffic of
the Pacific ocean seeking gulf ports. In a lesser degree the distance by
way of Panama to all Atlantic ports of the United States and Eastern
Europe will be largely increased over the Tehuantepec distance.
The following table of distance in statute miles between several
ports has been compiled at the Hydrographie Office, Bureau of Navi¬
gation, of the Navy Department^of the United States :
TERMINAL POINTS.
Via
Tehuantepec
Railroad.
Via
Nicaragua
Canal.
Via
Panama
Railroad.
New York to San Francisco
. 4,925
5,651
6,107
New York to Fuget Sound
5,647
6,524
6,855
New York to Sitka
6,347
7,113
7,555
New York to Bering Strait
7,788
8,524
9,101
New York to Acapulco
2,722
3,507
3,988
New York to Mazatlan
3,476
4,232
4,675
New York to Hongkong
11,597
12,313
12,645
New York to Yokohama
9,984
10,626
11,211
New York to Melbourne
11,068
11,357
11,471
New York to Auckland
9,345
9,745
9,813
New York to Honolulu
6,566
7,390
7,705
New York to Callao
4,661
4,312
3,873
New York to Guayaquil
4,141
3,774
3,303
New York to Valparaiso
6,370
5,774
5,337
New Orleans to San Francisco.
3,561
4,776
5,415
New Orleans to Acapulco
1,454
2,631
3,296
New Orleans to Mazatlan
2,027
3,357
3,983
New Orleans to Callao
3,393
3,436
3,181
New Orleans to Valparaiso '.
5,040
4,899
4,644
Liverpool to San Francisco
8,274
8,783
9,071
Liverpool to Acapulco
6,076
6,639
6,592
Liverpool to Mazatlan
6,714
7,364
7,640
Liverpool to Auckland
12,584
12,877
12,777
Liverpool to Guayaquil
7,379
' • 6,848
6,267
Liverpool to Callao
7,899
7,444
6,837
Liverpool to Valparaiso
9,356
8,906
8,301
Liverpool to Honolulu . .. .
9,80s
10,522
10,670
Liverpool to Yokohama
13,223
13,758
14,175
Liverpool to Melbourne
14,113
14,499
14,435
17
If a comparison is made with Tehuantepec on sixteen of the main
routes of commerce between the east and the west, the total saving by
Tehuantepec is over 125,000 miles. It will also be seen that the
■question of comparative distance also affects to an important degree
the entire interior of the United States, paiticularly the Mississippi
valley. It is only a little over 810 miles from the mouth of the Miss¬
issippi river to the eastern termînusof the Tehuantepec railroad. The
total distance by rail and water from Chicago to the Pacific ocean via
Tehuantepec is only 1875 miles.
The nautical conditions for sailing vessels are much more favorable
at Tehuantepec than at Panama. Navigators always avoid, if possible,
the region of calms on both sides of the Panama isthmus. These
■calms extend well into the Pacific ocean at Panama. Lieutenant
Maury and Captain Bent, both acknowledged nautical experts, are my
authority for this statement.
This advantage may be considered by some as of little importance
•on account of what is supposed to be the rapid substitution of steam
for sail, but, as far as the United States is concerned, the advantages of
good nautical conditions are important, and will be for many years, as
their sailing tonnage greatly predominates over steam. From the above
statement it is apparent that an interoceanic route established at
Tehuantepec will connect, at the best possible location, the eastern
and western coasts of the United States and Mexico, and will develop
a coastwise business of great magnitude and of vast importance to
both countries.
The climatic conditions are more favorable at Tehuantepec than at
Panama. The northeast trade-winds from the United States cross the
■Gulf of Mexico, making the climate of Tehuantepec healthful. I was
born and for many years lived at the city of Oaxaca, the capital of the
■state to which Tehuantepec belongs, and have been several times in
Tehuantepec, although I never resided there, and I can assert by per-
isonal knowledge that it has a healthy climate, taking in consideration
its latitude and altitude.
General Porfino Diaz, who has been the president of Mexico since
1877, with an interval of four years, is a native of the city of Oaxaca,
and he spent in Tehuantepec two of the most eventful years of his
life—1858 and 1859— as civil and military governor of that district,
and has had great interest in building that road. To his exertions is
due the fact that -that work is now nearing completion. It is to be
¡hoped that its results will be beneficial to the commerce of the world,
;and this will be a compensation for the many efforts, disappointments,
and great expense made, suffered, and borne by Mexico in carrying out
this great work of public improvement. Romero
Washington, March 10, 1894.
ADVANTAGES OF THE TEHUANTEPEC INTER-
OCEANIC ROUTE.
By Elmer L. Corthell.
Fifteen years ago, upon the sea end of the East jetty, extending
into the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi, the-
man who had conceived and successfully executed this great
work stood one day watching the passing ships. The bar, on which'
there had been only eight feet of water, had, at his command, yielded
to the current forces and had gone out into the depths of the gulf,
through a splendid navigable channel, sufficient for the largest ocean-
vessels. Turning from these ships and looking out across the gulf he
saw in imagination a low-lying land, 800 miles distant, and beyond it
the waters of the great Pacific. Awaking as from a reverie he said to
the writer: "We must next discharge the commercial volume of tho
Mississippi into the Pacific ocean." Then eight years of Captain
Eads's life were given to the stupendous task of conceiving and exe¬
cuting the plans for this work, and of convincing the civilized world
that ships could be taken overland from ocean to oaean. On his-
death-bed almost his last words were, " I cannot die ; I have not fin¬
ished my work." But his project did not die with him ; it is waiting
for another great genius and the proper time.
The other isthmian projects, which Captain Eads combatted and
the failure of which he predicted, have come to grief already. It is-
not intended here to combat either of them, but simply to state the-
conditions, advantages, and entire feasibility of the Tehuantepec isth¬
mus as a railway route, in the belief that the statement of the facts will
be enough to prove the wisdom of President Diaz, of Mexico, in tax¬
ing the resources of his country to open here an interoceanic route.
Mr. M. Romero in the March number of Engineering Magazine
skillfully draws the outlines and fills in one corner of the picture—
that part which relates to the efforts since the time of Cortes to find a
pathway at Tehuantepec for the commerce of the world. The present
writer proposes to fill in the remaining details and endeavor to make-
the picture complete and in harmony with that strong and growing
sentiment of this and other countries demanding the best possible
method of interchange of the world's products, across the American
isthmus, and particularly of connecting the eastern and western coasts-
of the United States via the isthmus.
The table of distances presented by Mr. Romero is so complete-
19
20
îthat the reader can by comparison see how much shorter is the
Tehuantepec route as compared with other isthmian routes, but a study
■of the geographical features of this route, as well as of those around the
southern extremity of South America, can best be made by means of the
map of the western hemisphere accompanying Mr. Romero's article. By
noting the trend of shores and continents he will discover that all lines
leading from any point on the Pacific coast of the American isthmus
by the shortest route to those countries lying along what Mr. Romero
-calls the "axial line of the world's commerce," will pass directly in
front of the harbor at Tehuantepec. The delusive maps which in our
■ childhood taught us the shape of the earth and the relations of the
countries to each other would lead us to suppose that the shortest line
between San Francisco and Yokohama or Hongkong is a line appar¬
ently parallel to the equator, whereas the shortest line, by nearly 500
miles, is the one that passes across the Pacific nearly up to the Aleutian
■islands near Bering straits. The trend of the entire Mexican and
Central American coast on the Pacific follows quite closely the shortest
great circle between Panama and Asiatic ports, so that the Tehuantepec
port on the Pacific has the advantage of the entire distance between it
and Panama,—over 1200 miles,—saying nothing of the additional
. advantage on the Atlantic side by being much nearer to the ports of
the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast of the United States, and west-
■ern Europe. Supplementing Mr. Romero's table there is given below
the distance of Panama over Tehuantepec in statute miles, in
respect to some of the principal ports to be affected by an interoceanic
¡.route :
New York and Hongkong 1048 miles.
New York and Auckland 468 miles.
New York and Melbourne 403 miles.
New York and Honolulu 1139 miles.
New York and San Francisco ¡ 1182 miles.
The physical conditions on the isthmus would require an entire
~paper to state them. There are doubtless many persons living who,
-early in the " fifties," under the impulse of the gold fever which took
so many to California, made the trip by way of Tehuantepec. A
company was organized to build a very good carriage-road (except in
the rainy season) through the wilderness and across the plains between
the head of navigation on the Coatzacoalcos river and Ventosa, the
harbor for the Gull of Tehuantepec on the Pacific. The pleasantest
.part of the route was between the gulf and Súchil, about seventy-five
Liverpool and San Francisco . ..
New Orleans and .San Francisco
New Orleans and Auckland
New Orleans and Honolulu
797 miles.
1854 miles.
1445 miles.
1980 miles.
21
miles, along the winding course of the great river Coatzacoalcos, whichj
was navigated by the stern-wheel steamboat Súchil. This river for¬
mally miles is wide and deep, its banks covered with a luxuriant
vegetation and many splendid varieties of forest trees. From Súchil
for about thirty-five miles the traveled road at that time, and now the
path, lies through a grand and primeval forest, with boughs so thickly
interlaced that for miles the sun, even at noonday, is shut out. Here-
are some of the most valuable woods in the world—the dark mahogany
of beautiful grain, the white mahogany, the Spanish cedar, and many
other fine woods. The writer has often seen a half dozen large vessels-
at once loading at Minatitlan with mahogany and Spanish cedar for the-
United States and Europe. Only such of these woods as lie convenient
to the navigable water-courses have been cut. Almost every kind of
tropical fruit grows on the Atlantic slope of this isthmus, including
bananas, plantains, oranges and lemons of the best varieties. There is-
no better country for coffee, tobacco, rice, and corn.
An interesting climatic feature is the sudden passing from the dense,
exuberant vegetation of the Atlantic slope to the plains and the rolling
pasture-lands of the Pacific. The climate, the soil, and the trees
change entirely and almost instantly after passing the Jumuapa river,
between the states of Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. From this point, towards-
the summit of the isthmus, the country is admirably adapted for graz¬
ing, and many great herds of cattle roam over these plains, everywhere-
so well watered by the mountain streams. After passing Chivela,
which is at the head of a valley leading down to the Pacific, the-
Tehuantepec railroad now runs, through a cafion and the valley of the-
Verde to the Pacific plains, which for thirty miles are nearly level,
with a sandy and clayey soil, with vegetation somewhat stunted, to-
the city of Tehuantepec on the left bank of the river of that name and
thence for a few miles to Salina Cruz, the Pacific terminus of the rail¬
way. The rainfall on the isthmus is varied ; on the Pacific slope it is-
very light and on the Atlantic very heavy.
The accompanying general map of the isthmus shows the route of
the projected ship-railway and that of the National railroad, the one-
starting from the mouth of the Coatzacoalcos river and the other from
Minatitlan, about twenty miles up the river. These routes are not
common except at one point, near Sarabia, where the railroad in its-
recent location goes through the pass found by the engineers of Cap¬
tain Eads and since- that time called the " Ship pass." Both have a.
common terminus at Salina Cruz, although it has been proposed to-
makë a terminus for the ship-failway on the lower lagoon.- The ship-
railway route to Salina Cruz is 'i 54 miles long, and that of the rail¬
road 190 miles.
22
Perhaps at this time it will be of interest to describe the engineer¬
ing features of the railroad, lately completed, in relation to which the
•efforts made by the Mexican government to furnish the necessary funds
have been so fully outlined by Mr. Romero. A carefully written
description is to be found in a paper by Mr. Manuel Rivera, C. E.,
one of the government inspectors on the railway. This paper was
•offered to the civil engineering division of the International Engineer¬
ing Congress, at Chicago, but too late for presentation. Following is
an abstract from this paper.
The line starts from the Bay of Salina Cruz, in the Gulf of
Tehuantepec, on the Pacific, following the windings of a narrow ravine
until it reaches the Zuleta pass, when it descends to Tehuantepec, a
■city of 15,000 inhabitants. Thence, in very easy lines, it passes
-across the Pacific plains to the foot of the ascent leading to the Chivela
plains on the table-lands. Through the Chivela canon the road is
mostly built in solid rock. The lateral cafions, or ravines, are crossed
by iron viaducts constructed by the Phenix Bridge Company, of Phila¬
delphia. At Chivela the elevation is 790 feet above the sea-level, but
there is a second summit to be overcome in crossing the Sierra de Niza
•Conejo (crazy rabbit), where the maximum summit is reached, 924
feet above sea-level. The maximum grade up to this point and in fact
-on the entire line is 2 per cent, and the curvature 200 meters (656
feet) radius, although in order to "join the rails" with as little loss oí
time as possible and with the least money there are temporary grades oí
2 and even 3 per cent, and some few curves of 100 meters (328 feet)
radius. The route across the table-lands lies through an ordinary roll¬
ing country, the maximum grade of the railroad being about 1.8 per
•cent, and maximum curvature about 600 feet radius. From the
Jumuapa river the road passes through a dense forest for many miles to
the Atlantic plains. The maximum grade on this slope is about 1.5
per cent. There are five large rivers to be bridged, the largest being
the Jaltepec on the Atlantic slope, one of the chief tributaries of the
Coatzacoalcos. The only tunnel on the line is about 300 feet in
length. The material for the roadbed is generally good. The cross-
ties and other timber were, obtained from the United States, those for
the Atlantic division coming from Pensacola or Mobile, and those for
the Pacific slope from the red-wood forests oí Oregon, but a large part
•of the iron-work was furnished by Great Britain. The rolling-stock
is partly American and partly English. Sixty miles from the mouth
•of the Coatzacoalcos is found suitable limestone rock for harbor-works.
At Coatzacoalcos there is a well-arranged and suitable terminal station
and yard, the buildings for warehouses and shops being of iron, with
corrugated roofs, manufactured in England.
23
There is no reason why, if some of the temporary sharp curves and
grades are improved, which can be done at comparatively small ex¬
pense, the road should not be operated economically and locomotives
haul a train of twenty or twenty-five cars its entire length. The local
business on (he isthmus will be very considerable after the line is
opened, as the richness of the soil and the variety of the products will
lead rapidly to the development of the country. Besides the railroad
telegraph there is a first-class telegraph line on iron poles across the
isthmus—a link in the important cable lines of the Mexican and South
American Telegraph Company.
In order to make the railroad valuable as an interoceanic route it
will be necessary to improve the two harbors. The terminus on the
gulf is at the mouth of the Coatzacoalcos river, which carries to sea
for several months of the year a large volume of fresh water. Its water¬
shed is about 6500 square miles. The rainfall is quite regular, in its
seasons and in its amount, so that it may be depended upon to give a
sufficient velocity for excavating and maintaining a deep channel
through the bar in the gulf at the mouth of the river. About five
miles below Minatitlan, on the opposite side of the river, the largest
tributary, the Uspanapa, discharges into the main river. Below the
mouth of this tributary at a point in the straight reach of the river,
where the width is about 1000 feet between banks, the average maxi¬
mum depth on the sections is about 70 feet and the cross sectional area
about 40,000 square feet. The magnitude of this river will be appre¬
ciated by a comparison of its area of cross-section with that of the
South Pass, Mississippi river, which is 24,000 square feet. It may be
said that there is inside of the headlands at the mouth of the river a
continuous harbor at least ten miles long. In the area immediately at
the mouth, and which will be used for harbor purposes, the 30-foot
channel is about 1000 feet wide and the 40-foot channel 850 feet.
The shore on the left bank of the river at the terminal is nearly
straight for about a mile. The river enters the gulf between two
headlands, one composed of sand dunes and the other of solid land
about 60 feet high. The persistent fresh-water flow excavates a deep
channel through the bar at the mouth of the river.
As to the sea forces available for maintenance, their magnitude and
constancy may be appreciated by their action on the outer slope of the
bar, preventing its advance, although there is poured into the sea by
the river during the rainy season, an immense amount of sedimentary
matter. This outer slope, if measured on the line of the proposed
channel and between the 18-foot and 44-foot curves is about i in
100, which is a steeper slope than that of any of the other large rivers
along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, except that of the South Pass
24
of the Mississippi as it existed before the jetties were built. These
conditions are very favorable for economical construction and main¬
tenance, since the combined action of the river and the sea, one
behind and the other in front eroding the bar, greatly reduces the
length of the works and the contents of the prism to b? excavated by
the currents. The plans proposed contemplate parallel jetties extend¬
ing 4500 feet from the shore to about 24 feet depth in the gulf ; the
distance between the jetties to be 800 feet. The material in the
permanent structure will be entirely of rock. As this harbor is to be
used for a great interoceanic traffic, where the largest class of vessels
will enter, a channel less in depth than that at New York or New
Orleans should not be considered.
As to the maintenance of these works it is believed that jetties,
constructed on the plans adopted—based upon an examination made
by the writer of the jetties at the mouth of the Maes, in Holland,
where there is at times a much more severe exposure to waves than at
any point on the Gulf of Mexico—will be able to withstand the waves
from the northers, which blow with great force across the gulf from
the Texas coast and are quite persistent during the winter. As the
question of the existence of wind or littoral currents for maintenance
of the channel and the erosion of the outer slope of the bar is such an
important one it should be stated that there is a pronounced and con¬
stant sea-current with a velocity of from one to three miles per hour
entering the Gulf of Mexico between the peninsula of Yucatan and
the island of Cuba ; this current hugs the shore line all the way along
the concave shore of the main land, past the mouth of the Coatza-
coalcos river. Vera Cruz, and Tampico.
An observation of the existing physical conditions justifies the be¬
lief that there will be a recession rather than an advance of the bar at
Coatzacoalcos. There is now upon this bar about 14^ feet of water,
and the depth is well maintained and has little variation. From sur¬
veys made by Captain Shufeldt, U. S. N. (1871), by the writer
(1881), and by Mr. Ripley (1892), there is shown to have been no
advance of this bar into the sea for twenty-one years past. The sea
and river forces have been in equilibrium, and the bar has decreased
in width about 400 feet. Inside of the harbor it is intended to build
a wharf, of creosoted timber and piles or of steel, 2000 feet long, par¬
allel to the shore. The slope of the bank into deep water is so steep
that this wharf need not be moré than 100 feet wide from the shore
line into deep water. It is intended to equip this wharf with the
necessary tracks, warehouses, and a complete hydraulic plant for hand¬
ling freight quickly and economically from the ship to the cars and
vice versa.
25
On the Pacific the harbor works will consist mainly of a break-
Tvater of broken stone coped with concrete blocks. Here the coast forms
SL succession of beautiful curves, whose arcs range from two to eight
miles in length. Between each pair of curves a rocky promontory ex¬
tends into the ocean. On the west of the curve at Salina Cruz, about
three miles in length, the promontory is over 200 feet high and con¬
sists of hard durable rock, made up of quartzite, syenite, and porphyry.
East of this promontory is a flat area of sandy formation with an eleva¬
tion of about 15 feet above low water extending along the beach three
miles to Ventosa. The sand of this formation is a coarse sharp grit of ex¬
cellent quality for making concrete. The bottom of the bay seems to be
of the same general character as the beach, no rock or clay having been
found in the soundings. The slope of the shore under water is quite
steep and deep water is therefore near at hand.
As the success of any improvement is largely dependent upon the
action of the waves and currents it was gratifying to ascertain that the
direction of the waves is almost normal, or at right angles, to the gen¬
eral direction of the coast, no matter from what direction the wind may
blow, and that the current is always eastward along the shore. There
is a constant surf upon the beach of sufficient magnitude to swamp any
small boat except during the prevalence of one of the strong northers
of winter, when but little surf exists. It will be necessary, therefore,
to form a protected and quiet harbor. All freight must now be put
ashore by small lighters, resulting in delay and in expense which is often
as great as the entire freight-rate of sailing vessels between San Fran¬
cisco and Liverpool around Cape Horn. To hope that vessels would
lie at a pier in such a sea would be idle, and the expectation that any
ordinary pier would stand such wave exposure would meet with early
disappointment in the loss of the pier, even should the waves permit
its construction.
It is estimated that the jetties and auxiliary works at Coatzacoalcos
harbor will cost about ^2,250,000, and the propolWd terminal wharf
and its equipment $¡60,000, the Salina Cruz breakwater ^2,700,000,
and the terminal piers and dredging ^385,000, making a total for
the harbors and terminals of $5,695,000 (gold). The contract for
railroad work terminated in September. What it will cost to make
the necessary betterments for interoceanic business in the way of
reducing grades, improving curves, widening cuts, proper ballasting,
•equipment, and other expenses, it is difficult to estimate. Probably
$2,000,000 would be sufficient to begin a good interoceanic traffic, so
that the total estimated cost after September for the harbors and rail¬
road, exclusive of interest during construction, would be about $8,-
•000,000 in round numbers.
20
The commercial features give rise to questions that are of great
moment and far-reaching. For fifteen years the writer has been chiefly
interested, next to his engineering work, in the study of the relation of
the American isthmus to interoceanic commerce. His investigation,
has been based upon the government statistics of commerce of the
United States, Great Britain, and other countries, reports of maritime
and other exchanges, and the United States consular reports from every
quarter, in order to learn what are the products and the imports of"
each country, and by which routes these are transported. Special study-
has been given to the development of the commerce of the Suez canal,.
which has revolutionized the commerce of the globe. All of this has
been done in order to arrive at an estimate of the commerce which would
fall to the Tehuantepee route when opened.
A special investigation has been made at my request by an acknowl¬
edged commercial expert—Mr. Thomas J. Vivian, in charge of trans¬
portation statistics of the United States census—who undertook the
task of answering, in the shape of a report, nineteen far-reaching ques¬
tions. The method and the scope of this inquiry and the valuable facts,
gathered, alone would make a magazine article of great interest. The
inquiry embraced the whole world. Commercial movements are in
such delicate equilibrium that a disturbance of any kind, an improve¬
ment of a route or the opening of a new one, may affect the entire com¬
merce and, with it, the industries of the world. Take the tea trade,,
for which the Suez canal and the transcontinental lines of the United
States are contending. In 1884 49,964,482 pounds of tea reached
the Atlantic coast of the United States from China via the Indian ocean,,
the Suez canal, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic, while 18,256,764
pounds came across the Pacific, via the transcontinental lines to the-
country east of the Missouri river. But the San Francisco route is-
gaining. In 1890 the amount of tea received via Suez had decreased
to 43,000,000 pounds, although the total amount handled had increased
enormously. At the same time the amount handled by rail had in¬
creased to 39,000,000 pounds. It is necessary, therefore, to study the-
increase, as well as the general movements on the various routes of the-
entire traffic of the world.
The aggregate commerce of the five principal maritime nations—the-
United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Spain—increased
20 per cent, in the last decade, the annual increase averaging 2 per¬
cent. Probably this rate would be diminished by including the-
returns from all other nations. It is safe to estimate the annual
increase of the commerce of the whole world during the present
decade at lyi^j^per cent., at least, and this figure is used in the estimates,
which follow. From the sources mentioned tables have been compiled.
27
showing the number and registered tonnage of vessels engaged in tradé'
between the ports of twelve countries and the ports of twenty distinct ,
countries on the Pacific and Indian oceans in 1890. Other tables,
show the commerce on still other routes. Analyses have been made
of the amount of freight constituting the transcontinental traffic
between the Pacific and points east of the Missouri river, with de-,
tails of the freight carried from seaboard to seaboard ; even the passen¬
ger traffic has been carefully investigated, that transported on certain
routes in 1891 being compared with estimates of the percentage and
number that would travel in 1896 via the Tehuantepec route, between
Australia, Honolulu, China, and Japan to Europe ; Pacific, Mexican
and Central American ports to Europe ; San Francisco to New York,
via Panama and vice versa, the westward movements, and other,
though perhaps less important, travel between Cuba and China via
New Orleans ; passengers via the Suez canal and local passengers from
all points on the western coast of Central and South America to points
east of the isthmus on the Gulf and Atlantic. The time required for
freight by various routes and the estimated time via Tehuantepec has
been carefully investigated.
As an illustration of the importance of this examination take the
following summary as between the representative terminii of New
York and San Francisco, in which is given the actual time consumed
in days and the distance in statute miles, equating the ocean and rail
distance by multiplying the latter by 3 ; although if the equation is
made on the basis of the real comparative cost 5 rather than 3 should
be used.
Routes.
Around Cape Horn ( by sail )
Via Straits Magellan (steam)
Via Transcontinental lines (fast freight)
Southern Pacific to New Orleans (rail). New Orleans
to New York (steamship, fast freight)
Via Tehuantepec
Number of
Days.
140
15,420
60
13,090
25
10,203
14
9-386
20
4,280
One of the most important reasons for opening the Tehuantepec
route will be seen by comparing the time and distance of the all-rail
routes with the time and distance of the half-rail and half-ocean routes
by way of New Orleans. In these simple figures lie the main reasons
why the Southern Pacific and Morgan line route via New Orleans has
been able to obtain from 75 to 90 per cent, of our entire transconti¬
nental traffic. Now, if the fact that this route is one-half water has
28
given it such an immense advantage over the all-rail lines, may we not
•expect that, by carrying this principle further and uniting the two
-coasts by a practically all-water route on the shortest possible line, we
may obtain some of the immense traffic between the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts and interior of the United States? May we not further
■expect from the new and extraordinary facilities given to this country
and particularly to the ports of the Gulf of Mexico we may develop an
entirely new coastwise traffic between the southern and eastern coasts
of the United Statesand Mexico and the Pacific?
Freight rates by all the various routes and of different classes of
freight have been studied for the purpose of determining a reasonable
■charge for transportation via Tehuantepec. The highest and lowest
freight-rates in 1891 on the eastern and western routes of the world
for representative cargoes have been followed in great detail for the
purpose of forming a reliable judgment. The varied questions of the
present increase of traffic on all the main routes between the various
countries and for various products have been investigated and these
results applied to the proposed route at Tehuantepec. The estimate
■of the commerce that will be handled by the National Railroad of
Tehuantepec has been based upon (i) the annual increase of the
world's commerce, (2) the traffic of the season of 1890-91, and (3)
the time fixed for opening up the route (1896). The traffic figures
are based on freight tonnage, the rates being on the basis of the weight
of commodities and not the registered tonnage of vessels. Instead of
■quoting a meridian of longitude as the boundary of the "attractive
influence" of the Tehuantepec route, the actual reports of shippers
and recognized facts, and the trend of commerce, have been taken to
:show the extent of this influence. It has been properly considered in
the estimate that the saving in distance and time by the Tehuantepec
route means that by a shorter route a larger number of voyages per
annum can be made and consequently greater return to the vessel-
owners on their investments and, in addition to this saving, an in¬
crease of annual earning capacity of vessels. By the use of the shorter
route there would be the saving in the wear and tear of craft by avoid¬
ing the stormy routes by Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, also
smaller cost of insurance and a general diminution of running ex¬
penses. It has also been taken into consideration that sailing-vessels
•could use this route, while it is impracticable for them to use the Suez
■canal on account of the impossibility of navigating the Red sea, or to
use the Panama route on account of unfavorable nautical conditions in
both oceans.
The writer contends that the great advantages—geographical,
physical, nautical and commercial—of the Tehuantepec route over
29
Cape of Good Hope, Suez canal, Cape Horn, Straits of Magellan^
Panama, Nicaragua and the transcontinental lines would enable it to-
divert to itself and create a combined aggregate tonnage of great
magnitude, and that this route can successfully compete with any of
those above mentioned, including Nicaragua, which is considered
(erroneously in the opinion of the writer) to possess great special
advantages. But the writer also knows that the Tehuantepee route
must, in order to compete successfully, be fully equipped in exten¬
sive terminal and wharf facilities and be operated on the lowest
possible grades permissible, with the easiest curvature, with a sufficient
equipment of rolling-stock and in close connection with its own
steamship line on the Pacific and the Atlantic, with harbors on both
sides accessible to the largest ocean vessels under all conditions of
weather.
On the above basis a summary of the detailed estimate shows that:
there may be reasonably expected in 1896 a total through traffic of
5,288,037 tons and that the gross receipts, with the addition of the
passenger business and the local traffic on the isthmus from the adja¬
cent and already rapidly-devejoping country, would amount to over
^10,000,000 (gold).
The importance to the United States and to all other maritime
nations to provide an interoceanic route, the approaches to which are
favorable for sailing vessels, cannot be overestimated. Mr. Romero-
has given a brief comparison of nautical conditions at various points
on the American isthmus which shows the impracticability of sailing
vessels using the more southern routes on account of persistent calms
and unfavorable winds in both oceans, and the entire practicability at
Tehuantepec, on account of favorable winds. The world's tonnage
that will be affected by an interoceanic route is larger in sail than in.
steam. In the fiscal year 1892-93 the fieet employed in trade be¬
tween European and United States Atlantic ports and between Austra¬
lasia and the Pacific coast was made up as follows :
In conclusion it should be stated that, by the wisdom and far-
seeing policy and the persistent efforts of the president of the Mexican
republic, not only the railroad, but the harbors, terminal facilities,
and sufficient equipment, and all that is above outlined will be pro¬
vided within the next three years. The opening of this interoceanic
route for the benefit not only of Mexico but of the world is one of
President Diaz's cherished objects. The question now is into whose
Steam. Sail.
Sail.
Register tonnage
Equal to cargo tonnage
2.535.2°2 3.958.891
3,250,000 6,400,000
3°
■ liands will this important route fall for operation and control.* Shall
it pass to Europeans or to citizens of the United States? The coun¬
try the citizens of which shall operate it will have for the next cen¬
tury a commercial advantage that cannot be overestimated. By whom-
' söever operated, this route is certain to effect a revolution more far-
• reaching and more important to the commerce and industry of the
world than that which followed the construction of the Suez canal.
♦This opinion of Mr. Corthell is not shared by Mexicans who believe their country
Avhich built the Tehuantepec railway ought to have exclusive control of it. M. R.