New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-27
4 TIMELY INVESTIGATION.

Senator Cullom's resolutions respecting the
purchase of American railways by the Canadian
Pacific are timely and judicious That foreign
monopoly has engaged in a most formidable
warfare upon rival American lines which are
regulated by the Interstate act, and has sue
ceeded in diverting American commerce from
national channels. Legislation is urgently re-
CURED in defence of American interests men
aced by the Canadian Pacific, which in effect
is the Dominion Government on wheels. The
investigation called for by the resolutions
ought to have been ordered several months ago.
The Democratic Administration has been de-
liberately surrendering American trade to this
foreign monopoly, and Congress has done moth
ing to protect national interests.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was laid
through a trackless wilderness by the ex-
penditure of an enormous Government sub
sidy. As originally designed, it was ruinous
speculation, the country through which it
passed being sparsely populated and local
traffic being insignificant. 1t was a political
railway planned as means of binding to-
gether the provinces of the Dominion. When
it was completed the Canadian officials per-
ceved the advantage of putting it on sound
financial basis az the expense OF the United
States. Their first step was to secure control
of a line of steamers plying between Vancouver
and San Francisco, and to obtain authority
from Washington to ship goods under bond
by way of Winnipeg to Chicago, Newly ork
and other American cities without payment OF
duty This privilege was granted as a gratmty,
and the Canadian Pacific was at once enabled
to cut under the American continental lines,
whose business was regulated by the Interstate
act At the same time four steamers, aided
by an enormous subsidy from Great Britain
and Canada, were to compete with an Amerl-
can line in carrying merchandise across the
Pacific from China and Japan. so as to force
the Yankees to import their tea from Winni-
peg. Having thus opened way for formd-
able competition with American railways and
commerce. the foreign monopoly made arrange
ments for tapping the United States at many
points along the frontier and diverting business
to the Canadian trunk line. Railways were
projected across Northern Maine, through the
Adirondacks, and along the northern shore
of Lake Superior. The Sault Ste. Marie hay
ing been bridged, the new railways running
to Duluth and Minneapolis have been pur-
chased as feeders for the Canadian Pacific.
It is folly for the Americans to close their
ewes to the fact that Canada, with the assist
ance of Great Britain, is becoming every year
"a more formidable competitor for the commerce
of the continent. Her political railway has
snatched from the American trunk lines much
of their transportation business and along the
border its feeders are running directly into our
markets. On the Atlantic seaboard New-Eng-
land fishermen are harassed and denied their
commercial rights, while on the Pacific war
fare is boldly declared upon American COM
merce, and Esquimaut is fortified as place
d'armes and an open menace TO San Francisco.
The Senators have acted wisely in ordering
an investigation that will direct the attention
of the country to all these important matters
The discreditable treaty which the Administra-
ton has made with Great Britain serves to
enforce the argument for more aggressive
measures in defence of American rights and
interests. The Republican platform, by its
denunciations of pusllanimous diplomacy and
its declarations respecting the 1sthmus and
Nicaragua canals, stands for revival OF the
Monroe Doctrine and the supremacy of Ameri-
can influence on this continent. Democracy
cares for none of these things