The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-09-05

that the cable shall be extended from
Manila to China. There is at present a
cable from Manila to Hongkong, at
which point it connects with the Chi
nese system. 1t is said that the Com
mercial Pacific Gable Company has al
ready entered into an agreement with
the Eastern Extension Company, which
owns the Manila-Hongkong line to con-
meet with it and pass all through bust
ness to and from China and Japan over
it's cable. Therefore the Commercial
Company does not wish to lay a cable
of it's own from Manila to China. But
the United States government does
want it to do so, and the desires of the
United States government are entitled
TO be seriously considered. Nor is this
desire an unreasonable one. On the
contrary, it is eminently reasonable,
logical and prompted by necessitous re-
Quirements for American welfare.
These are the circumstances: There
are two claimed monopolies in that
part of the world in cable service. The
Eastern Extension Company claims a
monopoly on the Philippine coasts, and
the Great Northern claims a monopoly
in the Chinese coast. The one is repug-
nant to the American policy and prom
Use of an open door in the Philippines,
and the other is a violation of China's
treaties with the United States. 1t is
thus incumbent upon the United States
to effect the abrogation of both, and
that is best to be done by pursuing
precisely such a course as that pre-
scribed by the President. To lay a
cable from the United States to the
Philippines and thence to China will
be practical breaking of both those
monopolies. To refrain from doing so,
when we need to do so, would be to
give those monopolies tacit recognition
and sanction, which is something this
country certainly does not desire and
cannot well afford to do. The terms Of
the agreement between the Commercial
Pacific and the Eastern Extension COM
panieS are not disclosed. 1t would be
most unpleasant for an impression to
get abroad that the former agrees to
respect the latters monopoly on the
western side of the Philippines in re-
turn for being let in on the eastern, and
that thus the compact involves a rec
OgnitiOn of both those mOnopolies. We
do not suppose such is the case. Yet
there would be grave danger of q sus-
picion to that effect if the American
company should object to that enc Of
the Presidents requirements.
1t does not seem unreasonable, either,
to require that all responsible employees
of the cable company shall be American
citizens. This cable is going to be very
largely for confidential and important
government business. Such business
should be handled by American citizens
only. Without entering into detailed
consideration of other stipulatious, it
may be said of them generally that
they are such as the government has a
good right to impose. When the advo-
Gates of a private rather than a gov
eminent cable We're pleading their case,
they laid stress upon the readiness of
the company to give the government,
on a private line, fully as satisfactory
service in all respects as it could have
on a line of its own. 1t is now time for
that promise to be fulfilled. 1t will not
be fulfilled unless the reasonable re-
quirements of the government are ac-
coded to. Does anyone suppose that if
it had laid its own cable the govern
ment would employ on it any but
American citizens, or that it would hes
itate TO lay an extension from Manila
to the Chinese coast?