Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-09-18
WATERWAY TRAFFIC

LIN hal tHeTt 10 ecOnOiny iOF tHc ptO
! pie in water transportation i
Il true, and that is the real reason
why that avenue OF traffic has not beer
opened and occupied. While the rail.
road senate and railroad influences ir
the house were in the majority, and
therefore made all committees, no bill
looking to the utilization of our great
waterways could ever get past the
committee room stage. and solely be-
cause the railroads did not wish 1t to
Their wish was law with their re-
tainers, and so the country at last
wakes UP to neglected opportunities
and finds itself twenty years behind
the times on this most important sub
ject.
! For twenty-five years the railroad in
terests were silent on the question of
ship subsidies, till they had succeeded
in capturing all the deep sea trade for
feeders to the roads, and then they
walked the nation with their strident
cries for our merchant marine or ship
subsidies. which to them means the
same thing. If congress should grant
ship subsidies at its next session, either
per ton per mile or lump sums, to any
foreign port, the steamship lines, owned
and controlled body, soul and breeches
by the railroads, as are the men who
will engineer the subsidies, would come
In for nine-tenths of all of 1t, and the
suffering merchant marine might get
the remaining portion. While 1t was
possible for Independent ship owners to
claim subsidies 1t was impossible to
get them allowed, and the railroads,
through their Hobbies and legislators,
made II so.
For long years intelligent men have
seen the need of water transportation
to offset railroad robbery, but the keen
eye of the octopus was ever on the
main chance, till every available ter
minal or deep water point possible to
be reached is in their hands, and now
they are waking the welkin with rau-
cous cries for water transportation.
From Portland, Me-, to Bagdad In
Texas, on the Mexican line, the several
possible shipping points, and every ton
of freight by rail or waterway for for
eign markets must pay tribute to them
when 1t arrives at deep water. They
are willing now that all the possible
waterways in the land shall be inn
proved, for all of them must lead to
terminals, and ship
their stuff in railroad-owned vessels.
That there is a probability of a. sub
sidy law from the coming congress has
given new life to the waterways prop
uganda, and 1t will be much in the
public eye from now on. The Erie
canal, Cape Cod canal, the deepening
Of the Mississippi and all streams lead
ing thereto, the Panama canal, all are
proofs of the need of waterways and
equally proof of all stated above.
The national rivers and harbors con-
gress succeeded in getting the last con-
gress to appropriate $1S3,0OO,0O0 for
improvements, and means to
demand $5O,OOO,0O0 annually till the land
is cut in all directions by navigable
The saving in transit to deep
water points will be great, but the
final charges in the power of corporate
ship owners will be burdensome as
ever.
If the people will unite on Democratic
men pledged to preserve
and conserve the interests of the
masses, and send majority of such
men to the next congress, together
with a Democratic president, it is as
certain as fate that legislation looking
to the interests of independent ship
pers will be passed and the schemes of
the railroad owners to be toll gatherers
on every available trade channel be
utterly overthrown.