The Penn's Grove record., 1900-02-23
REPORT ON THE CANAL.
dur Right to Build II Upheld BY the
House COMMITTEES.
THE NICARAGUA BILL FAVORED.
In Reporting F~avorably the Committee
Asserts That We Have tho Power to
Control Waterway and Build Fortifica-
tions-A Means to Build Up Commerce
reference to Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.

-R0ferAnne tn maykOn.RulW0r Troafys
WASHINGTON. D. O. (Special).-Represen.
t.4,,a u..h,,. rh.,.n.n !, tha uor..
~ npDuin' 1850
on Interstate ana Foreign Com
merce. reported the Nicaragua Canal bill
RI tha Horaa The arort nrararaa NV Mr.
HepDurn ana approved Dy the otner Me"-
bers of the committee first reviews the pro-
Visions az tha hill and refers briefly TO the
nn;ua~.1 aam..a !. ~. ra,..a a..t.s ~
oman : sno Ssose' !.
the CONSTRUCTION OF g transistnmian canai.
Referring to the question whether Mica
raoua ana noata pics wIil conaant n tha
constrnotion - +ha .arai 10 tho un,tad
States tha renort saws.
ss1rhara saams - IL i,tt,o dorht thot ME-.
araona and Costs R,cs viii Give thar cor.
sant - tha onnsss.na = +his ..oae
worL Thasa Gt.tes 80 srsandlv a.. nosed
tnwara orr Gorarn rart and mr. naonis
anI hovsintsrosts nonnsotad 9Th r thet
are IN nronortion ~ thai waoith and nnn.
%nlation van oraater than "nrs1 Pr
Tha nrootioehsiitv - +ha rrnrh % d,s-
cussad a. datau "a tbas ror,o,s snrvsva
and aetimatas ara raviewad The ranort
them tnras mn the nnast,nn ~ whathar the
esYonr Committees snooaets n d,scneeinc
tha cash Recommendations fhat viii come r.
the Tnitad States from tha nwnarshin 81
this canal that aesimatas oniv can he
made and there has haan a great differ
anca 81 oninion arnrassad hv witnaases and
hv writer's On This subject ~ "a ths eYtent
ri the nae that wonid he made of the canal
bv the shippine Of the world. One gentle
man has said that in his judgement not
more than three hundred thousand tons
would mass through the canal annually.
Another has said that eleven million tons
would pass through.
"Gentlemen connected with the Maritime
Canal Company gave II as their opinion
that five or six millions oil tonnage would
be the amount that would pass through
the canal annually. OF course we have a
right to assume that. whatever the amount
be, 1t would be an increasing amount from
year to year. At present &1.55 per ton Is
the toll charged for the use of the Suez
Canal.
"If that were the rate charged at The
Nicaragua Canal, and four millions be the
tonnage passing through 1t, an aggregate
sum OF more than $6, 0O0, 900 would be the
receipts.
eft is estimated that the cost OF main
tanning and operating the canal would be
81. O0O, 900 annually. II the United States
borrowed the money to invest in the enter
prise this sun would pay the annual inter-
est, the cost of maintaining and operating,
and leave a surplus of more than q million
dollars, aud. with the increasing tonnage.
we might reasonably hope for such accu.
mutations OF surplus as Wouldtn q few years
fully reimburse the Government for its out
Law"
Regarding the concessions alleged To
have been obtained by different persons
from Nicaragua and Costa RIGA the re-.
port saws:
ssYour COMMITTEES are aware that there
are a number Of persons who claim Ia
have concessions from the Nicaraona and
Costa Rica Governmants inveatino them
with rights to nayfrate the San Jnan River
and Lake Nicaragua. Others claim to he
authorized TO construed this great water
loved by your COMMITTEES that these richts
have either lapsed or are az in~considarahia
yalne or have heen nhta,nad for anacnla.
five nurnosas
nHowever this NAV be II shonld he tha
purposa of the Government tn deal diractIv
with the ooyernment Of Nicaraona and
Costa Rica. Those o-overnmants can ad-
Just all questions growing out of these con
cessions much more easily than fhn Tinted
States. It is NOT believed that any one OF
these real or alleged concessfonaires has
any rights or interests that can be- con-
veyed to the United States. and It is not
deemed wise to have any Joint interests or
partnerships or any interest growing out
Of corporate relations With any Of these
persons. 1t Is our opinion that tine people
OF the United States want q Government
canal, one that will be completely under
the control OF the United States.
"No one would nave the right to quarrel
with Nicaragua In thus disposfng to the
United States OF a right that unquestion-
ably belongs to her. The fact that 1t would
enable us IN an emergency and in certain
directions to increase the efficiency OF our
navy does not constitute such a state OF
facts as would allow our rivals to object to
our building this canal. Other nations are
now making large additions to their naval
power by the use Of their shipyards. We
certainly possess the right to Increase the
efficiency of our navy by increasing the
number of our ships.
"When we have the ships we have the
right to SEM them wherever We choose,
and the mere fact that by the rapid trans
fer through the Nicaragnan Canal OF our
naval vessels 20 the Pacific, or from the