The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
Ghe @essewm.
pRcuasE OF CANAL MATERIAL.

Manufacturers Record strongly OPP
poses the president and Secretary Iait
in their position that the Panama COM
mission will buy in the open market
the materials for construction OF TIE
canal. Mr. Edmonds, of that paper,
writes:
The story is almost comprefen-
sihIe TO me. and if true amounts TO one
of th- most serious blows ever
10 American Industries. The move is
entirely inconsistent with the poilcy OF
the republican party n II naS De
easily understood how and why tne
administration will make itself unpop-
3lar.
at is hard for me to believe that the
president and members Of the I'M
commission will advertise TO the Worlo
that SUPPLIES such as Will be neeoed
in the construction Of the Panam ca
IA. may be purchased at a a
price in foreign countries than may De
obtained in America. The result 81
.his course is at once apparent II
will moan the loss to the American
trade not only he millions or dollaIs
to be expended on the cana Dut VIII
materially affect the foreign market
for American goods
"When the foreign trade Tedli|eo
that goods may be purchased cheaper
q, home than in America they VIII
very naturally cease D~atroniZins tne
American shippers ard the manuIac-
tured exports of this u VIII HAT
Lrally decrease.
In the first place it is no news 10
the European purchasers at hrst hahuS
hat American manufacturers sell thelr
PRODUCTS cheaper in foreign markets
than at home. They did not have 10
wait for Mr.. Roosevelt to tell them
that They have been buying Amerl-
can goods cheaper in thei own mar
kets than they were sold at the FAC
tory doors for come time.
In the second place, suppose everJ
word of The Record be true. That Is
no reason why the American govern
ment should pay millions of dollars
more for the material it needs than
would some foreign government OF
corporation engaged in the same WorE.
If the American manufacturers choose
IT, put their goods ON the European
markets at such low prices as not TO
return any profits just for the sake OF
undertaking European manufacturers
that is no reason u government
should pay the higher prices at home
for the same articles in order that the
manufacturers may recoup out or the
the losses sustained by
trying to run the European manufac'
turers out of their own markets.
Again., if the movement is entirely
Inconsistent with the policy of h re
publican party that is no serious OBJ
lection to it, if it is to save the gov
eminent and the taxpayers fifty ptl
cent. on the cost Of constructor OF tn
canal. Does the Manufacturers Rec
ord think that he administrator
should eXpend these additional millions
lust to aid i'm maintaining the strength
of the republican party and its ow'
prosperity? Mr.. Roosevelt was right il
putting the government and the peoEl
before the republican party and til
manufacturers, and we hope he vii
not back down from his position.
Tremendous pressure has been an
will continue to be brought to bear i
order to secure modification of thi
rule he has announced. The rule wi
most probably be enforced to a yer
limited extent; for before the commits
sion purchases materials to any larS
extent congress will and
will be pretty apt to pass Il law re
curing that as much of the materis
as possible shall be purchased in thi
country; but we want to see congress
and not the president reverse the de
cisiOn as to purchasing in the market
OF the world. Indeed it seems thu
the president, after making the al
nOuncement, tried to allay the stor1
which arose by the suggestion tia
congress would do that very thing.
Whether congress does this or no
or the president r%etracts, the Amer
can people have had their eyes Opene
to the enormity of u prOhibitive ia
if laws and what are the possibilitit
under their protection of our manufa'
turers. The president taught thel
this lesson by his first announcement
and now if the republican part
through it's majority in congress, force
the canal commission to this addition;
and unnecessary expense of million
of dollars for the sole purpose of be
citing the mOnOpOlies and trusts
will der lonstrate to the people that
is conducting the affairs of the go
eminent, not for their benefit, but Il
that of the comparative few who's
commands it is afraid to refuse
obey.
Some of the papers are already d