14 DOOCUMMETAY HISTORY OF THE F LOWRA CANAL

 Minimum potential tranust time savings to vessels that the canal would have
 effeted for the calendar year 1929 are a follows:

 Item Ho
 atsd syad
 Iad to United States o orts k United tates Atlantis ports...... .. 13m 1,8 462
 POust-had tm United 8tat u arts to Ted States Atlantil ports7--. 73S0 2,126
 lb-hind to Modes, MeM l l tad 8Ntates Adtoist parts...... --- a 14
 ouemabond km 3m 6 as eato i st"s A1ttn s ---- on. s
 12amad to Uwted GulfPrts m E "pe sam ------.-------- 38 272 1,=
 Outbomnd ktom United States olt ports to B anrope a C-anada. .. --4--- 747 1, 44HT
 S Todl (or a s dhp-yrms total t t time aig).......................... 2,88 m Ii,

 In other mods, te traffic for the year could have been handled b a fleet
 wxfijs***I th~nwtbeh4e00 be t ,t hly handh-it, mosuming that the. 32%
 vessels were ege solel in thm 618

 NAIGArTION
 22. The second fundamental question bearing on the economic feasibility of a
 trans-Florida ship canal has been stated to be: "At what cost does the commerce
 now move, and at what cost will it move after the improvement is effected?"
 The difference in these two costs is obviously the direct measure of the investment
 value of the waterway. But the determination of that difference requires a
 study of all the ships that earry the trade, their present sailing lanes and distances,
 and their operating costs. It neessitates a determination of the distances via
 the proposed waterway, the permissible speed therein, and the savings in time,
 f any, via the new proposed routes in comparison with the existing routes.
 23. Number qf sases and soyapss.-In 1929 there were 25,826 different vessels
 in the United States merchant marine-so-called American-flag vessels. Of
 these, 14414 vessels were in the Atlantic and Gulf trade and 4,865 vessels were
 registered for the foreign trade. Our foreign commerce is carried also in foreign-
 flg vesels, and in the foreign trade alone of the United States 5,221 different
 vewss sw le m d. Thayntsd and Alaed-that isn they.arrived and de-
 parted-59,543 tmes. The number of domestic or coastwise arrivals and
 departure is much greater, and according to the annual report of the Chief of
 Eniner appears to have numbered not less than 234,680 items; that is, inbound
 and/or outbound. From this vst list of vessels, entrances, clearances, arrivals,
 and departures it was determined that 1,971 different vessels entered the Gulf and
 made separate voyages, either inbound or outbound. Of the 1,971 different
 vessels entering or leaving the Gulf 1,487 vessels could have used the canal to
 advantage for a total of 10,341 voyages, either inbound or outbound.
 The information is summarized in the subjoined tables:
 TABLS I.-Potential transit, Gulf-Atlantic ship canal, calendar year 1929

 Registry Number weight
 ______________________ tons
(a) Voy between Gulf ports and ports in re A:
 A---....................................................... --------------------------------------------------- 9,
 rFonts Tels.........-...---........................-................ 2,067 17, 8,S'77
 Total....--- ---....................................................---------------------------------------------------5 0
(b) V between Gulf ports and Atlantic ports of the United States:
 Am Tendi -l-...............---.......................................... -,418 B,14,708
 Fonts Tomb ...... ----.....------------------------------------------- M 4,725616
 Totl----------..--..-.......--------------...................-----------------............................... 7, 08 8 1
(c) Total voyage n and out of Oulf ports of the United State:
 American esels-...-..............------------.................... ...... 7, 64,914,01
 Foreign Tes --l.....--.......-...--------------.... ............................... ,872 as,70,4
 Total.....................................--------------------............................... -------------------------------10,08 87,2,94
(d) Vocbetesn Mexico and Atlantic ports of the United States:
 2Alera n ni*........................................................... 224 i2,000,708
 r ...........------------------.........................................
 Totalcd..................................--..........---- ............. .... 2,614,01
(s) Orand total, aDl 192 potential voyagM:
 AmartTen vels----------------------.............-----------------------............................... 7,810 WSWto, b
 ioregm n els...........................................--...-........- 2.-1 I ,
 Total...............-------------.-------------------------- 10,341 04,U4 a4
 Nors.-Aerage cnal transit, 28 per day.