Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-24


before the days of Stanley. Why have
this proposed survey if there be no doubt,
as he assumes, that the canal cannot be
built: Perhaps Mr.. Turpie can tell us
and perhaps we can guess. He must have
known that survey after survey has al
ready been made and that the estimate OF
the cost is as accurate as his proposed
board of engineers would make it. Sena-
tor Squire of Washington in an admirable
speech in which he voiced the urgency for
the canal, felt by the people of the Pacific
coast, called attention to the fact that
there have already been eleven surveys
made, four by the United States gov
ernment, three by foreign governments,
and four by individual corporations.
| Whatever the source of Senator Turpie's S
this to say of the source of objections
heard outside II have heard but one
obiector to the bill might say but one
single person outside Of the Senate cham
| Der of any consequence at all, and that is
gentleman who is supposed to have very
| important interests connected with the
transcontinental railways, and who seems
to be determined that there shall be no
division of his monopoly in this country
| by any other person or line of transpor-
| tation whatever. Some of the railroads
of the Pacific coast are in favor of this
proposition, as am informed. Indeed
it would seem that opposition indicates a
very short sighted policy. Senator Squire
in his speech upon the bill says, what
no one can deny:
"The chief products of the Pacific coast
are of bulky nature in proportion to
value. While some of these products,
such as fruits, some grain, and the lighter
products of timber such as cedar shingles,
have been brought to the Atlantic coast
| by rail, yet it has not been demonstrated
that it is practical to haul by raiload
very large proportion of the products OF
that country 5000 miles across the conti-
nent, over two great mountain ranges,
at rates of freight that will leave any
considerable profit to the producers. p"
| Mr.. Squire then devotes himself to the
wonderful resources, that will respond in
astonishing abundance to the completion
of this canal and the humiliation of 10,-
900 miles of the distance of transportation
Not only will this gateway of commerce
bring the products of two millions of the
most enterprising and energetic people
| under this government into the profitable
radius of the markets of the world but
as he points out and others before him
have it will render possible such mar
vellous development as will increase
the traffic of the railroads to an enormous
extent He substantiates this with the
claim of statisticians, "that the Pacific
coast has productive area sufficient for
the maintenance of $4,000, 600 people,
when the resources of this area shall have
been fairly and fully developed. In
this connection the following from Sena-
tor Morgan's speech has force:
"When we shall have withdrawn all gov
ernmental constraint over the Central
Pacific and the Union Pacific, the great
trunk line that connects, under gov
ernment authority and as govern
mental instrumentality, Omaha with
San Francisco, then the people, on
that line and all contributory lines and
in the country that are influenced by the
power of this railroad and it's system of
lateral roads, viii be abandoned by the
government of the United States to a
fate from which they can never recover.
Arc we going to sit here and see that
take place when, by opening this route
through Nicaragua, we cam furnish cheap
transportation to the industrial people of
that coast and can populate it by thou
sands and millions of newcomers, where
by the very railroads that are now, either
by necessity or design, preying upon the
very vitals of that country, could make
money and become rich by the contribu-
tions from the labors of the new popula-
ton in that land of wonderful and fruit
full abundance and beauty" ef
But the present and the growing need
of the canal for the purposes of our naval
and coast defenses would seem to warrant
its building were the cost double the
estimate and were there to be no revenue
therefrom And we fail to see howBOne
can doubt that the canal once built will
prove for all time a paying investment.
Senator Cullom, takes the ground that
even il the canal should cost 800, 000,
900 and should never have a dividend
paying capacity, its construction by the
government as military necessity would
be justified. And then he went on to
show that it would be a remunerative
financial Investment.
Thus far the more light that is thrown
upon the project the more desirable and
feasible it appears and we believe the bill
now proposed, with perhaps a few slight
amendments, should receive passage
as soon as possible after the holiday recess.
MAINE GOSSIP.