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of the canal to commercial traffic, the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. has directed the establishment of a fort- nightly service from. Liverpool around South America. The route is to be from Liverpool to. the east coast of South America, thence through the Strait of Magellan :and up the west coast to Panama, and through the canal back to Liverpool. The first vessel plying in this service, the steamship Orcoma, is due to arrive at Balboa from south ports about July 3. If it should not be able to go through the canal within a few days after its arri- val, it will sail for Liverpool by way of the Strait of Magellan, but as soon as available the canal route will be used for the home voyage. The Orcoma is a freight and passenger vessel of 11,376 tons gross burden. The Luckenbach Steamship Co., with four steamers now plying regularly be- tween San. Francisco and Balboa, and six in irregular service along the Atlan- tic coast of North America, has been awaiting the opportunity to merge all ten into a regular line between San Francisco and New York. These are vessels of from 5,000 to 10,000 tons cargo capacity. Two of them, the J. L. Luckenbach and the San Mateo are under temporary: charter to the Panama Steamship Line, plying between New York and Cristobal, but their charters |: ANTICIPATION of the opening will the canal is- ye be revoked as soon as able that "the vessels .of these routes 0 i due at. age oe ee pened. The steamship Demara, 'may be' diverted to the! canal ihn Balboa from San Francisco about June 16, has been loaded with its cargo for Panama on top, so that if it can be put through the canal it can discharge its local freight quickly and proceed direct to New York with the bulk of its cargo. It is the present intention of the com- -- pany to make Balboa, instead of Colon, its point of tranferring freight. W. R. Grace & Co., now operating their Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Cecilia, and Santa Catalina, from New York to San Francisco around South America, will divert them through the canal as soon as possible. The Santa Clara, due to arrive from San Fran- Cisco on June 17, and allowed a week on its schedule for the discharge of AT . as --| 4 ==] cargo at Balboa, including about 4,000,- O00 feet of lumber for The Panama Canal, is chartered to go through the canal to New York. The same course, with less time for discharging at . Bal- boa, is scheduled for the Santa Catalina, due at Balboa on July 3. The time for this line between New York and San Francisco is now about 60 days, around the continent; it is anticipated that, by the use of the canal, it will be cut to 20 days. Bee The local representative of the Sal- vador Railway Steamship Line, recently established between Salina Cruz, Mex- ico, and Balboa, calling at the principal Central American ports, will send its vessels through the canal as soon as possible, to discharge at Colon for transfer to Atlantic vessels. This com- pany is operating the steamships Aca- jutla and Salvador, and a third vessel for this service is building in England. The management of the MHarrison Line has been keeping in touch with the canal situation and intends, as soon as possible, to divert through the canal the steamers now plying in its Magellan route, from Great Britain to ports on the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. This firm also operates a Panama route, making Colon and transferring cargo by way of the Panama railroad to Pacific lines, and a Tehuantepec route, in which the ser- vice has been suspended on account of the troubled condition there; it is prob- few months. The American-Hawaiian Line, operat- ing 26 steamships in Atlantic and Pa- cific trade, and already using the canal by having cargo lightered through, has advertised its intention of sending its vessels through the' canal as soon as possible. This line has been using the Tehuantepec route. Its vessels will ply between New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Hawaii. First Earnings of Canal Commercial use of The Panama Canal began on "May 18, when three barges loaded with sugar diverted from the Tehuantepec route by the American- _ Hawaiian Steamship Company, left Bal- boa in tow for Cristobal. Since that time barges have been going through the Canal in tow more or less regularly, and will probably continue to do so as long as the car shortage exists, or until the Canal is permanently opened for the passage of ocean going vessels. The total earnings in Canal tolls on cargo and ballast tonnage from the date above mentioned until the end of the month is placed at $7,356.12, divided as_ fol- lows: : Tons. Tolls. On cargo handled from Balboa @to: Cristobal... -. 3,276.00 $3,931.20 Cargo handled from Cris- tobal: to: Balboaw..2 . 184.39 22127 - Ballast tonnage Cristobal £0: Balboa. sic. oe 2,494.71 2993.65 = Ballast tonnage on _ barge No. 14, Paraiso to Balboa 175.00 210.00 Potalcs ties 6s ae 6,130.10 $7,356.12 The only. cargo handled from Cristo- bal to Balboa was a load of angle iron transported through the Canal on barge No. 15 on May 25. Under the existing arrangement, the Panama Railroal com- pany is charged with all tolls, and, in addition, pays for towage, but the lat- ter charge is confined as nearly as pos- sible. to. actual cost... 'The charge for tolls on cargo tonnage is $1.20 per net ton of 100 cubic feet; the tolls col- lectible on the net ballast tonnage is 60 per cent of the net cargo tonnage charge. At the annual meeting of the Wil- liam Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, the follow- ing officers and directors were re- elected: Henry S. Grove, president; Harry W. Hand, vice president and general manager; Charles T. Taylor, secretary and treasurer; Roland L. Howe, assistant secretary; George H. Carey, assistant treasurer. The di- rectors are H. A. Berwind, Samuel Dixon, Lincoln Godfrey, Henry S. Grove; Harry 'W. Hand, PF. 1 Mme Charles "E. Mather, George H. Mc- Fadden, William M. Potts, Carroll S. Smith and Albert 'Strauss. The Marine Iron Works, Toledo, has received contract for installing four new boilers in the Don Juan de Austria.