St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-12-02

government turned willing ear to
the idea of Eads.
The idea of Eads is that wherever a
canal can be dug to float a ship, rail-
road can be built to carry ship and,
strange and novel as the idea sounds
upon its first mention, the most sober
minded and competent engineers of
this country and of England declare
that it is scientifically sound and quite
practicable
The Tehuantepec project is already
well advanced, and under circum
stances that promise speedy success.
The concession which the Mexican gov
eminent gave to our fellow country
man is the most liberal that any gov
eminent ever granted to private in
dividual. 1t exempts his company
from taxes and duties of all kinds, gives
him right of way and full control of
tolls and regulations. AS one of the
few opponents of the bill in the Next
can Congress put it, the grant made
Eads sovereign of the isthmus in place
of Mexico, which had abdicated. Its
importance to us consists in the fact
that the charter permits the company
to discriminate in favor of the COM
merce of any nation which aids in
building the work. If this provision is
made use of, it may open to us way
of building up that ocean commerce of
! which we mourn the loss.
Our country, which possesses the
largest coast-line and the finest har-
bors in the world, and which, i'll its
lusty and adventurous youth, ranked
/ sa.nnI nulx- 70 tho r,nfhar fpU in
the strength of it's merchant marine
and navy, has fallen so far to the rear
that it hardly carries one twenty fifth
part of its own foreign commerce. We
| have lost our vessels, our seamanship,
our prestige, our naval strength, and
those substantial profits which flow
from ocean transportation and from
the industries connected with it. The
most liberal of all people toward for
eigners i'll all other respects, we have
sunk to the level of the old Spanish
exclusiveness in Mexico with regard to
our coastwise trade, and we do not al
low an Italian, or a Norwegian, or an
Englishman, to trade along our coast
well knowing that, if we allowed them
to compete with us, we would be drlv-
en- out of the competition. The prob
lem of remedying this disgrace and re-
| storing our commerce to its natural posi-
ton is one which craftsmanship and
self-interest have both failed to solve.
If the building of the Tehuantepec ship
railway should open the way to Il sOlu-
ton of it, it would be worth more to
us than the fifteen millions we offered
thirty years ago for the mere right OF
| This 10 th.4 SiIaratinn which
leads the projectors of the enterprise
to count on the aid of this nation. II
the worlds commerce can be carried
across the isthmus more cheaply than
around Cape Horn, it will go there !; il
it can be carried more cheaply in Amer
lean bottoms than in English bottoms
it will go III American bottoms and il
is question in which American CAPT
talists and American citizens all have
an interest, namely, to discover wheth-
er rebate of thirty five or fifty pei
cent. on transit dues would enable lis
to compete with England-Our chie1
OmpetitOr-wh at the same time
permitting the company to make
enough money to earn interest on Its
cost. This is the question which was
before Congress last winter, and which
will be submitted to its wisdom again
next winter Harper's Magazine fol
November.