The times., 1899-01-09
CANAL BILL IN THE House
To Be Taken Up By the COM
mittee Tomorrow.
FOUR MEASURES PENDING
Pacific Rniironds Believed to he
Fighting All Proposed LcgisIasion
The Hepburn Rili Thought to
Hnyc the Approval of thc Admin
stration-The Maritime Company.


and Foreign Commerce tomorrow morning
and will be considered until some agree
ment has been reached on it and the bill
can be reported to the House.
There are four bills now pending in the
committee One was considered at the last
session by a subcommittee. 1t is known
as the Hawley bill, and is practically iden-
tical with the Morgan bill, now being con-
sidered in the Senate Another is known
as the Hepburn bill. providing for Govern
ment ownership of the canal. and is gen.
orally understood to be an Administration
measure. A third, known as the Corliss
bill, resembles the Hepburn bill; while
fourth introduced by Representative Ma
hon of Pennsylvania, is similar 10 the
Hawley bill.
The Morgan bill is well known. 1t pro-
poses TO build the canal through a private
corporation. the Maritime Canal Company
and thus evade the provisions of the Clay
ton-Bulwer treaty with Great Britain,
which forbids government control of any
such canal. Bonds for 500, 600 900 are TO
be issued, S10, ,00O, eco of which are TO be
retained by the United States and $1,000,
900 TO go to the canal company payment
for the work il has already done on the
canal The rest is TO go TO Nicaragua and
Costa Rica, through whose territory the
canal will run.
Had there been no Spanish war and no
new concessions granted by Nicaragua this
bill would probably have sooner or later
become Law. but the Grace syndicate,
which owns the Cragin concession, is fight
ing il in the interest of another company.
while the national necessity for the canal
is working for Government ownership.
The Maritime Canal Company was
formed in 1856 and has built a railway
and breekwater at GreytOwn, has bought
dredges and made extensive surveys but
has never had enough money 10 COM
mence work on the canal itself in real
earnest Its concession, known as the
Cardenas- -Menocal concession, expires next
October.
\ good deal OF opposition 10 the Morgan
bill has developed. Senator Morgan be
leves it can all be traced to the Pacific
railways. He says they are employing
men to fight the Nicaragua Canal in vari-
Gus DISCUSSES. Some Of them pretend to
represent ether schemes, but he says that
all are paid by the Pacific railroads, and
not by the Frenchmen. Senator Morgan
declares he is not welded 10 his own bill.
but will vote for any measure that can
pass beth houses
The total amount of stock issued by the
Maritime Company is $500, coo par value.
and il is scattered in small lots from
Maine to California, the largest stock
holder being the Continental National
Bank CT New York which loaned the con-
struction company sl50.000 and took ST.
100000 in stock at 10 cents on a dollar
as collateral. The bank has offered this
stock TO the Grace syndicate for $3.50. coo,
and whoever holds it viii practically con-
troll the company. because it is one-fourth
of the entire amount outstanding. and the
balance is so scattered it would ho difficult
TO organize any effective opposition.
The Hepburn bill provides for the pur-
chase Of q strip CT land across Costa Rica
and Nicaragua and for the exercise Of SOW
ereign rights therein by the United States
Government and the digging of the canal
by the engineers Of the War Department
Despite all the talk of the Clayton Bull
wer treaty having expired. it is quite GER
tain that the United States would not at
tempt such work without an agreement
on the subject with Great Britain.
Another plan, which. however. does rot
seem TO have a ghost Of a show is the
revival of the Panama Canal This Gov
ernment is asked TO buy the rights of the
Panama company at a low figure and con-
tinue the money wasting process OF which
France has become so tired. This plan
exists chiefly among those interests which
are shrewdly suspected of being inimical
10 all canals and is accepted as merely 2
means TO staye of action if possible for a
year or TWO longer.
Speaker Reed is opposed to building any
canal but it is not likely that he VIII
venture 10 obstruct the wishes of the
President and Of so large proportion of
his party friends that something shall te
done although he viii certainly delay mat
rers until after the appropriation bills are
all passed. Ii he should show DISPOSE
tion TO antagoniZe the Administration, il
is possible that there may be another
Speaker in the next Congress.
Every member OF the Commerce Com
mittee save one Republican is said TO be
in favor of a canal and ready to vote for
some kind of a bill They are not all
agreed. however. as TO what kind OF a
bill there ought TO be. Besides the chair
man, the Republican members Of the com
mittee are Representatives Lorin Fletcher
of Minnesota, James s. Sherman of New
York. Irving p Wanger of Pennsylvania.
Charles T. Joy of Missouri. John b. Cor
liss of Michigan, Charles G. Bennett OF
New York. James +. Stewart OF New Jer-
sey, John =. Barham Of California r p.
Hawley OF Texas. James r. Mann of Illi-
nois, and W. c. Lowering of Massachu-
sets. The Democratic members are VII
luidm McAIeer of Pennsylvania Robert c
Dayey Of Louisiana. William H Hinrich-
sen OF Illinois. William c. Adamson oi
Georgia, and Robert W. Davis OF Florida
The shortness of the session may mill
tate against canal bill but there IL a
fair chance that some kind of measure
may be finally passed.