The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-03-13

A recent number of the Ameri-
can Economist contains some val
liable information regarding the
Nicaragua Canal bill, at present
before the United States Congress,
and the effect of British opposition
against its passage; also some in
teresting data concerning the st.
Mary's Falls and Suez Canals. The
article referred to is published in
full below:
1t now seems measurably certain
that the Fifty-third Congress will not
pass the Nicaragua Canal bill. The
bill will be delayed and obstructed by
its enemies, most of whom fear the
general Odium that would follow its
direct defeat. This apparently will
be done in the service of the trade and
commerce of Great Britain, and it
will be done by those whose
"Americanism" is like that Of
our Chief Executive; by those
who are for American Interests
in general, the acquisition of Hawaii,
and the construction of the Nicaragua
C3la1-W1LA DuGs
The reasons for opposing the control
OF the canal by the United States
Government and delaying its con-
struction are not far to seek. They
are akin to the reasons that prevented
our acquisition of st. Thomas or Ss-
mana Bay, and are at present con-
demning the Inhabitants of Hawaii to
apprehension and mental suffering.
In general, those who have opposed
or do oppose any one of the above
mentioned means of increasing our
sea power have or do oppose all the
others.
Those who have watched the won
derful growth of traffic on our lakes,
as measured by General POe's annual
reports of tonnage passing through
the st. Mary's Falls Canal, know that
for the eight years ending with 1893
about two million more tons of ship
ping passed between Lake Superior
and the lower lakes than through the
Suez Canal, and for last year it is
oubtful if the service between Europe
and the East will have acquired over
go per cent. of the tonnage employed
in the freightage of what a few years
ago was the wilderness west of the
outlet of Lake Superior. No one can
doubt that if the business of the peo-
pie around the shores of Lake Superb
or requires the passage of over thir-
teen million net registered tons of
shipping, the interchanges between
the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts will
employ at least an equal tonnage.
The mass of this business will not
be diverted from other channels.
Nearly all of it will be built up by the
cheaper freights developed by the
canal; and as "a per cent. of the ship
ping on the lakes is buIit in American
yards and owned by Americans, so
about 81 per cent. of Il e tonnage car
rying freight and passe Jgers between
the east and west coasts will be built
and owned by Americans. The trade
on the lakes is a coaeting trade and
coasting laws will apply to the car
riage of freight and passengers be-
tween our ports from Alaska to San
Diego, on the Pacific, and those on
the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. This
will as surely give Us control of the
intermediate carrying trade as the
restriction clause of our laws of 1917
gave US two-thirds OF the carrying
trade between this country and Eng
land, until its abrogatiOn at the close
of 1S49.
The demand for new ships to carry
this new trade will create a ship
building industry on our seabOard
many times greater than that on our
lakes, and as the rapid development
of that industry, Joined with orders
for warships, led to Improvements in
our steel producing machinery that
reduced the cost of steel in this coun-
try to about half Of what it was, we
may expect that q further extension
OF shipbuilding in this country will
justify additional reductions. The
additions to carrying power on the
ocean will surely reduce the cost OF
freight and passage-a reduction that
will absorb the profits of a large pro-
portion of the British mercantile ma
rine. Besides this, there is the ever
present danger that il our shipyards
are once established with abundant
capital it will be truthfully said of
American ships, as ia now said of
American locomotives, that they
''run further in given time, pull
more, cost less for repairs, burn less
fuel in proportion to loads hauled, and
last longer than English locomotives
do"
All OF this will be very distastefnl
to the subjects OF Queen Victoria, no
part of whose policy it is to cheaper
anything except wages and such raw
produce as they have to buy. Hence
every service that they can command
is devoted to delaying the completion
of the canal and softeniDg the blow to