The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-06
MorRan,a Canal Bill.

Although the Nicaragua canal bill, which
Senator Morgan has introduced into the
Senate, takes no money out of the treas
ury, 1t is hardly probable that it will re-
ceive favorable consideration from the
Senate while the treasury is in its pres
ent unfortunate condition. The DISPOSE
ton is not to increase the obligations of
the government even though they are
only guarantees.
Senator Morgan's bill provides that the
government shall guarantee $40, 900, 900 of
the canal bonds for which it shall receive
$4,000, 900 of the canal stock, and shall
besides, have the right to name ten of the
fifteen directors. The proposition seems
TO be fair one, but what guarantee is
there that the canal could be constructed
with the government assistance asked
forl Is it not probable that Just
as soon as the 10000, 900 of bonds and any
other money raised by the company had
been spent, a request would be made for
additional guaranteed bonds2 And if
such a request were made would not that
| government have to grant it or lose the
| S70,000,0 900 of bonds already put into the
canal2
Nobody knows what the canal would cost.
There are, of course, estimates, but do not
estimates upon such undertakings nearly
always fall far short of the amount of
money actually needed? There were es-
Inmates and estimates of the cost of the
Panama canal, and yet the amount of
money actually spent upon it exceeded
all estimates, and very little was done on
| the work.
1t is probable that before congress will
! ever seriously consider the Morgan bill it
will send an expert to Nicaragua with
! instructions to find what the canal is
likely to cost. That would be a wise
course to pursue. 1t is probable that it is
much more likely to cost $3.50, O00, 900 than
$l0O,00O000. At present Senator Nor
gan's bill stands very little chance of re-
| ceiving favorable consideration
---s------
A key to Tom" Reeds speech is at
hand. He furnishes it himself, through
the medium Of a, New York Press inter
view. He did not take time, and prepare
| his speech carefully, he says He
! thought but little about it unit he got up
| to deliver it, 1t was an impromptu affair,
almost. It is true he ran over the i'm
/ portant points of the tariff at odd mo-
ments, when had dispatched the work
| of the day, attended to my mail on public
and private business and received and
! entertained callers" Wonderful imapi-
nation this Mr. Reed has; wonderful He
| imagines people viii believe he got up
without preparation to deliver the speech
] IN hiph TOiubt 10 hin, 10 e
| his party for president. The speech was
/ so lacking in sound argument and so full
/ Of sophistry that it might as well as not
| have been the creature of a moment. But
it is probably true that it was an i'm
| promptu' affair like some of those
| impromptu addresses by Bob" Ingersou,
| that were built in the sweat of his face
/ while he burned the midnight oil
! Gov. Lewelling, of Kansas, reports
through his private secretary, that that
| great North and South anti-monopoly
railroad is going to be built, and that
work viii be begun in forty days A
/ town site company in Texas has offered
/ the railroad company half interest in a
/ town on paper somewhere on the Texas
! NbdSbs III NOuSlutIItlOu OI the town on
/ paper being made the terminus of the
| line. lnasmuch as the road is wholly on
/ paper, the acceptance of the offer is emf
/ nently proper. Besides this donation of
half a town, Galveston has promised to
/ chip in $500 900, Lewelling says, as soon
| as fifty miles Of the road shall have been
+ completed. 1t is to be hoped that the
road will be far enough advanced by the
/ time their terms of ofice expire to pro
vide situations for Lewelling, Waite and
/ Penuoyer, otherwise they may have to
! join the army of unemployed.
| The city councils of Chicago and Phila-
! delphia have adopted ordinances granting
/ to two telephone companies other than
! the Bell the right to construct and OBJ
| crate telephone systems in those cities
| II seems that the opposition 10 the Bell
company is to put in an appearance at
once. 1t is, therefore, pretty safe 10 pre-
dict that before the end Of the current
! year there will be some interesting devel-
! opments in the telephone business.