The evening times., 1898-12-02
NECESSITY OFs THE
NICARAGUA CANAL
nL
Will Save the Pacific Coast
States ImmensgssE Expense.
THE WEST FOR EXPANSION
To Control the Commerce Of All
the Islands.
Hugh Craig, of San Francisco, Pre-
diets Gre. at Future for His
Part of the Country.

cisco Chamber of Commerce. arrived to-
day in Washington from the Pa life
coast. Mr.. Craig is here at this lime to
represent the CONNIE. cial interests of his
State and present before Congress Retd
for action on the Nicaragua Canal pre-
ject during the ensuing session. To IN
end he has placed himself at the djspp-
sal of the different Congressional com
mittees having that matter under con-
sideration, and is prepared to show OF
what immense commercial value the ca
the Rockies
Mr.. Craig is an enthusiast on the bright
future of his section of the country lie
is possessed with keen commercial in
stinct, and this balanced with his mature
| business judgment, gives him a Wv d
comprehension of the future greatness
of the Pacific Coast after the Phi ippine
Islands are ours, the Nicaragua Canal
built and under the control of the United
States Government, and the Hawaiian
| Islands sending their not insignificant
! contributions of trade to the main and.
| In speaking on the subject OF expansion
| today TO a Times reporter MIR. Craig sail:
| we, of the Pacific Coast stand where
we stood when the fact was confirmed
| that Admiral Dewey had sunk the Span
| ish fleet. At that time a public meeting
was called by the merchants of san Fran
| cisco and held in the Chamber of Com
merce We wired through to the Prcsi-
dent the very first resolutions commend
ing Admiral Dewey. and begging
the President at all hazards to
! hold control Of the Philippine.
! the Ladrone and the Caroline
Islands. This was some time about the
middle of last May, and we have as yet
| seen no reason to change our minds on
this question. We think chat the difficult
| ties are over estimated History tells
us in 1905, and 1875 when we got Louis-
ana and Florida, and in lSi6 when we got
! California, and in 1865 when we purchased
Alaska, and in 1898 when We annexed the
| Hawaiian islands, that in every case there
Were pessimists and calamity howlers,
and specially righteous Uncle Jids from
| New England, who considered it uncon-
stitutional and unStatesmaniike, and who
claimed that the American people did not
| possess genius enough 70 absorb and eX
pand, and whose ide1Is if they had been
I
to IT'S original size Of thirteen States
Our history is only repeating itself,
| and we OF the Pacific Coast claim that
| having arrived at the extreme western
brink of the continent. and developing as
we are doing in California, Washington
and Oregon race of Americans who
cannot under any circumstances be in
duced to go east Of the Rocky Mountains
and who, being composed OF the blood
of the Norsemen. the Viking, the Dane
| the Saxon. the Briton and the Puritan,
1t is just as natural for our boys to want
TO jump into the salt water and go west,
as 1t was for the Puritans to cross the
Atlantic 1t is in the blood and it can
not be eliminated, and for my own part.
and l am the father of six Californians,
| l would not wish to have it eliminated
This desire TO take to the water and
spread themselves further west, until now
they have come TO the jumping off place.
nearest the Asiatic continent where
dwells one-half of the worlds population,
will place them in position when the dis
Iremberment of China takes place, 10
lump across the remaining four or five
hundred miles of ocean, and plant the
| American flag on the Chinese coast.
There is no such thing as fear of con-
sequences in the vocabulary of the Pacific
coast. Had there been such a fear in
the minds of the ATgOnautS, the whole
Pacific coast would have remained under
Spanish dominion or would have gone TO
| enhance the possessions of Great Britain.
1.-THE acquisition of the Philippines
means the development and phenomenal
growth of the commerce of Seattle, Taco
ma, Portland, San FRANCHISES, Los An
geles and San Diego TO such an extent
that the United States Government will
be compelled to lay u cable in the near fu-
ture to Hawaii, for we already have the
commerce of that recent acquisition.
In the matter of protection it has been
we'll said that one United States iron-clad
at the end of a cable landing somewhere
in the Sandwich Islands, would be as
| good as an entire fleet in the harbor of
San Francisco without a cable. Our in
terests in the Philippines will soon impose
upon the nation the necessity of continu-
ing the cable to Luzon, and from there to
the Chinese mainland is a very small
matter"
/ In speaking of the advantage of the Nj
I caragua Canal to the Pacific coast Mr.
| Craig said that its value was incalculable.
| Il regard its construction as an alb
lutte necessity. The State must b. reliev-
ed from the incubus which has throttlad
il for the last thirty years in the shape
isof controlled transportation facilities by
the Southern Pacific and Panama Rail
road companies. Between the two, the
upper and the neither milestone, our in
dustries are almost crushed out. Our ag-
ricultural staples in, the form of citrus
fruits, dried fruits, canned fruits, wool,
OIL Wine leather and an of the rich pro-
ductions of the State. has paid such tolls
to these affiliated transportation compan-