Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-03-03
SENATOR ELKINS
Delivers an Address on the Aggres.
sive Comp9ti ion Of the Canadian
Pacific Railroad---W idespread Com
mercial War Predicted.


ms late this afternoon secured the
! floor and made a speech dealing with
| our Canadian relations, basing his re-
/ marks directly on section IS of the
| Alaskan right of way and homestead
bill, which gives Canadians the benefit
of the bonding privilege at Wrangell,
| Alaska.
Mr.. Elkins cited statistics concern
| ing the Canadian Pacific railroad. The
road extends from Halifax to Van
| couver, with connections, 1929 miles,
nearly 2,C00 miles of which are in the
United States. Its connections in this
country extend as far south as Balti-
more and st. Louis. 1t forms the
greatest military, commercial and po-
lltlcal highway in the world 1t con-
trolls the politics and dictates the poll
icies of Canada. 1t could with its sea
OF connections transport $4,000 troops
from England TO Canada in ten days
For its ship line now being built to
run between Southampton and Halifax
it will receive subsidy of $750,00O
from England and Canada; for its
steamship line from Vancouver to the
| Orient, it receives 100000, and from
Vancouver to Australia subsidy of
$25O,000 The Pacific Mail Co. for car
rying more mail, receives from the
United States only s14,S20 The Ca
| madam Pacific forms the land connec-
ton Of a commercial and military
highway that spans the globe.
! The Canadian Pacific receives ST.
100000 per annum in aid of it's sup
port and TO give it business. Since its
establishment it has received from
\ Great Britain in subsidies, gifts and
concessions, S215. 900, 600, an equivalent
! of $40 100000 a year. By aid of these
/ immense concessions it is enabled to
take trade from American railroads
and does it openly and defiantly.
Mr.. Elkins said that the Canadian
Pacific had been nicknamed by the
railroad THE Sitting Bull" He said
that the differentials demanded by the
Canadian Pacific aggregated from 80
to 60 dollars per car to Eastern and
Western cities less than by American
lines, and cited the fact that in 1891
the American railroads gave the Cana
dian Pacific a bonus of s5000 900 to keep
out of American territory. Subsequent
ly the Canadian Pacific refused to take
this sum and has since been waging
a war upon our railroads. II is now
cutting rates against American rail-
roads to get Klondke trade and is act
! ually carrying passengers from New
York to Vancouver, distance of
1000 miles, for S3S He said that il
| the Canadian Pacific is permitted to
proceed on these lines it would short
| ly monopolize the through business
| from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pa
cifc and all the business to and from
| the Orient, leaving to American roads
only local business and making it only
! one transcontinental line on this con-
tinent
Mr. Elkins said the amount of bus
mess taken from American roads an
nually by the Canadian Pacific aggre-
! gated nearly S50,000,0 00.
| In 1895 the Canadian Pacific hauled eight
| million tons of freight in 4s067S cars. from
points in the United States to other points
| in the United States, through Canada.
| These cars would make a train that
| would stretch across the continent.
As a remedy, Mr. Elkins said that he
would first abolish the bonding privileges
and consular seals at Vancouver. The
effect Of this would be to divert trade
from the Orient to San Francisco Sec
ondly. he would compel obedience to in
terstate commerce statutes by all con-
Meeting lines with the Canadian Pacific.
Thirdly, he would enforce section % of
the present tariff law In accordance with
its meaning and as it reads.
Consular seals at Vancouver, Mr.. Ell
kins said. could be stopped in an hour by
the Secretary of the Treasury.
Concerning the difficulties in bringing
about what he deemed desirable changes,
Mr.. Elkins said: THE only difficulty
about stopping the aggressions of the
Canadian Pacific is that some local inter-
ests in New England and in the North
west are subserved. Section o of the
present tariff law affords q. complete rem
edy to the existing evils but the Attorney
General decided that it could not be en-
forced. The law should have been en-
forced just as it passed Congress. and if
objected to by importers or foreigners,
they could have appealed to the courts.
IF we had enforced section % we would
have had Canada at our feet suing for
terms to save Canadian Pacific interests.
instead of suggesting what policy should
govern us touching Canadian matters and
asking for a reduction of tariff rates as
a condition precedent TO the stopping of
killing seals"
In conclusion. Mr. Elkins said that we
were on the threshold of a commercial
war among nations for extension of com
merce The conflict is inevitable at
seems now" said he. las if the United
| States would have TO meet this war sin
| gle handed. asking no favors and expect
| ing none. While we do not court such
conflict. we need not shrink from it, The
| conditions as TO our shipping and our
| commercial relations with Canada can
! not be made worse. Any change will
| make them better In order to meet this
war the United States should restore its
| shipping and stop the aggression of the
! Canadian Pacific.
| The speech drew replies from Mr.. Hoar
| Mass, Mr. Chiffon. Texas and Mr. Mel
! son, MINI. Mr. Hoar maintained that
| large part of the speech of Mr.. Elkins
was irrelevant To the pending discussion
| He would not admit that the aggressions
| of the Canadian Pacific We're 50 serious
as the West Virginia Senator would have
| poole believe. Mr. Nelson entered
| short protest TO Mr.. Elkins' proposition
/ to abolish the pending privilege holding
! that that privilege was in the direct in
| terest of the people of the Northwest Mr..
| Chiffon briefly contended that under re-
| cent decisions of the Supreme Court the
| long and short haul clause of the inter
| state commerce law did not apply to the