Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-20
A BONANZA FOR THE PROMOTERS.

The more the demand of the Nicaragua
audacious appear its provisions. How it
could ever have been favorably reported in
its present shape by the Committee on For
eign Relations is past comprehension. The
| Committee itself Acknowledges that the total
cost of the work cannot exceed 500, 900, 600
we NAV note parenthetically that the COM
pany's own estimate is but 500, 600, ,0OO-the
whole of which sum Uncle Sam is asked to
provide by the sale of bonds bearing his in
dorsement. Thus the United States is to
build canal which private company is to
own. This feature of profit and ownership
bv the company calls for capital stock OF
500, 000, 900, of which about eighty per cent
is to be water, as frankly and undisguisedly
such as any J. Gould or the Vanderbilts
ever injected into any of their liquefed
schemes.
The committee unreservedlv states the
canal is to be built by the proceeds o. the
bonds. The only consideration for the
stock is that s., 600. 600 of 1t goes to tine COM
pany promoters for what they have already
| done, and Costa Rica and Nicaragua get
some more for their concessions; while S70,-
100000 is to remain in the United States
Treasury, salable in case s'the proceeds of
the bonds should be insufficient to meet the
current requirements of the company"
Finally-and this is the most significant
provision-the United States is to have but
six of the fifteen directors; so that while the
| country is responsible for the, means of
construction, the control rests still in she
hands OF the private promoters, their ap-
pointees, assigns, or friends.
The value OF the canal to American COM
merce will be great. 1t will lessen by at
least one-half the water voyage to Chile,
! Peru and other South American markets as
we'll as to China and Japan. Our Govern
ment might, perhaps be justified in sup
plying, as is proposed, the whole means for
its construction. 1t would also be no more
than fair to pay the private promoters hand
| somely for their investment, and to give
| them q continuing interest proportioned
thereto in the profits of the cannl. But it
| is utterly ine1cusable to leave the control in
their hands, and especially to enable them
| to burden the enterprise with an issue of
500, 600, 900 of stock-which by their esti-
mates should not be needed-vet upon
which dividends will eventually be ex-
pected. These dividends can only be had
by an added tax of nearly 100 per cent upon
the commerce passing through the canal.
The most dangerous and suspicious feature
of the transaction is that the expenditure of
the first 500, ,00O 600 is to be lett wholly to
the promoters who further have the privi-
lege of calling another $40, 600, OeO if they
think fit.
Should a bill be passed by Congress upon
these lines suggested by the Committee on
Foreign Relations it will be modern mir
acle if the familiar feature of inside con-
struction companies and profitable wheels
within wheels be not evolved out of this
scheme throwing wholly into the shade the
enormous private fortunes which were simi-
larly coined at public expense out of the
famous Pacific Railroad subsidies.