Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-02-12
DIGGING The BIG DITCH
Present Congress Will Enable Start
Ing Up The Work.
Harris Talks Of The Prospects Europe viii No
Be Able TO Sop The Americans - Increase
In The Coast Line Money to Be Had.

Tee on interviewing canals, VIII re-
turn from Alabama the latter part of
this week, when a meeting of the COM
mittee Will be called to arrange pro-
gram for the conduct in the Senate of
the bill for the construction OF the
Nicaragua Canal. Senator Harris of
Kansas, the second member of the
committee, looks for the prompt pas
sage of the bill through the Senate.
Discussing the subject tonight, Mr..
Harris said:
| notice that some of the friends of
the canal have taken alarm at the ac-
ton of the House Committee in re-
ducing the appropriation for the
prosecution of this work to $40 900 600
No man who knows anything of my
records on this question can doubt my
friendship for the Isthmian Canal. and
! wish to say that the reduction of this
| appropriation does not necessarily
initiate against the prosecution of this
great work. AS a matter of fact it
would be impossible during the first
year or two to expend more than S10,-
100000 annually. or course, 1t would
be within the power of future Con-
gress to stop such appropriations just
| future Congress to- stop the expendi-
ture of what remained of the total APP
preparation If we appropriated it all
outright. On that subject, however. |
wish to emphasize this point: Let this
bill be enacted and the United States
| Government once turn up the first bit of
earth, and the American people would
! not tolerate anything that looked like
| a cessation of the work. There need.
| be no alarm about the appropriations
they will be made as regular as the an
nual appropriations for the improve
ment of the Mississippi river, which is
under this same continuous contract
system.
is it true" the Senator was asked,
that the Huntington interests which
! fought the bill so bitterly in the past
are now favorable to the construction
of the canal as reported by some men,
bers of Congress" The Senator ans
wered:
"All | know of that is what | have
seen in the papers. have personally
witnessed no evidence of a change of
heart on the part of the interests that
represent the Southern Pacific Rail
road. That road and the people who
control il have fought the canal prop
osition so bitterly that should he in
clined to view this announced change
of attitude with some suspicion. 1t
would be pleasant to know that these
people realize that they cannot stem
the current of popular demand, but I
am not prepared to believe all hear in
that direction.
There has been a great deal of talk
in Congress recently about ship sub
sides. The American people ought to
know that one OF the greatest ship sub
sides that can be granted and one of
the best inducements to the building
up of great American merchant ma
rine, is the construction of this canal,
which will extend our coastwise trade
enormously. The canal will simply
extend our coast line. With that canal
cut through, American lines of coast
wise steamers can begin at San Juan,
Porto Rico, work over to New York
and Boston, ply down the coast to the
Gulf ports, pass through the canal up
the Pacific Coast to San Francisco,
Oregon and Washington ports, and
then to Honolulu.
Every shipmaster, every man engag-
ed in the building of vessels, every
seaman, every workman in our ship |
yards, every business man who has to |
pay transportation charges and every
consumer in the whole United States |
Is vitality interested in that question, |
for 1t means to him increased business, |
more work and cheaper commodities |
II this Government is to maintain the |
philippines as possession, and that |
seems to be the Governments policy, |
then the canal becomes a military ne |
cessity for reasons that did not, pos |
sibly, exist four years ago. | look for |
a vote overwhelmingly in favor of its |
construction in both Houses of Con-
gress."
When asked II he thought objections
would be interposed by either Great
on account of the Clayton Bull
wer treaty, or by Costa Rica or Mica
ragua, Mr.. Harris said
Il anticipate no trouble on that
score, and | have endeavored to look
into this phase of the question as thor
ougly as possible. | am certain from
all that ] can hear, the Great Britain
will not invoke the Clayton-B ulwer
treaty as possible bar to our going
ahead with this canal. British COM
merce would be aided vastly by the
work and Great Britain knows she
can never build the canal or have D
voice in it. ! have likewise the best of
reasons for saying that Costa Rica and
Nicaragua will extend a friendly hand
to this Government and negotiate the
proper sort of treaty with us, While
We would not nor could not enter into
my alliance with those States, it goes
without saying that with an American
anal through their territory, the
United States would stand ready at all
lines as against any enemy of those
states to maintain their independence.