The Pensacola journal., 1908-03-13
GULF PORTS
ENTER FIGHT
Protests From Pensacola,
Mobile and New Orleans
On Fry Bill.

and New Orleans have been filed
! against the Frye bill in Washington
! and every effort will be made to de-
! feat this measure by the gulf coast
and the entire south, for the business
anticipated as result of the Pana-
ma canal will go to other points if
this bill is enacted.
In this connection special from
Washington says:
s'Stropg and earnest protests have
| been hurried to Congress from Mo-
bile, Pensacola and New Orleans TO
! prevent the passage of the Frye bill.
restricting shipment to the Panama
zone for canal work to government
owned vessels. Led by the business
men of these gulf ports the business
men of the South are coming to see
that the Frye bill is one of the rank
est pieces of discrimination against
the South in recent years and the
South has suffered from such discrim-
ination.
'On the face of it, the bill seems
fair 1t simply provides that all goods
and material shipped for construction
work on the Panama canal shall be
shipped in vessels flying the Ameri-
can flag. This gives Senator Frye
and his co-laborers the opportunity
to make an appeal to patriotism,
which Will disgust the true effect of
the discriminating act. They propose
TO raise the cry of American goods
hauled in American ships for the
American canal"
Joker in the Act.
But there is the biggest sort of a
Joker in the act. There are no So
called American vessels clearing
from the gulf ports for Panama.
Much of the material for the canal is
finding its outlet through the gulf
ports and the dream of commercial
advantage promised to the South by
the Panama trade was coming true.
Now Senator Frye and his assistants
come forward with a. disguised prop
osltlon to put the Southern ports out
of business.
The bill proposes not only to put
the Southern ports ont of business
but 1t proposes ftO eliminate South |
ern manufacturers and dealers from
furnishing any material for the con- !
Structlon of the canal. The only
line OF American vessels clearing
from an American port to Panama is |
the government owned line going out
OF New York. The Frye bill proposes |
to have all nEterfal shipped bv |
freight to New York and then sent on |
the American line to. the Panama
Zone. This would mean that the
birmingham manufacturers who have
some of the canal business would not
be permitted to ship their material |
10 Mobile and direct to Panama. but |
tney would nave to ship it all to New |
York.
Business ia 1ba Cz,,3L.
Under the present system of conn |
petition no small part of the Panama |
business has gone TO, the Southern
dealer and manufacturer, w. J. Oil |
yer, of Knoxville, Tenn, has secured !
contract for 500 or 600 dunn carts |
The Western Steel Car and Foundry
Company, of Admission, has. gotten a |
contract for 800 box cars. The Ala
nam Consolidated Iron .Companv of |
GadSden, has a contract for 500 tons /
or pig iron. Much of the bar iron /
mas been contracted for the canal in |
the Birmingham district. The effect
OF the Frye bill would be to eliminate |
all these firms as bidders because /
tney could not ship to New York and
pay the monopoly steamship rate to
Panama.
Naturally the Southern ports have
become alarmed and strong protests
against such a manifest iniustice
nave gone to SOuthernsrepresenta
IN congress. The Southern manufac.
turer and business man was a little
OlI slower IN waking up but they TOO
are ming protests with congress. |
number of the leading business men
OF Mobile led of in the protests Now
letters and kilograms are being sent
from other sections of Alabama /
against this manifest discrimination, |
Injuries Gulf Ports.
1T is shrewdly suspected that the
Dill mas double purpose In the I
nrst place. it, may put out of busi-
ness the Southern ports the South
ern manufacturer and the Southern
business man. In the next place II
may put on paying basis the Pana /
ma steamship line, sailing out of New
York Control of this line has been /
taken over by the governments and II
like many other government ventures II
INTO private business it has not maid L
It is the only line flying the American Il
flag from American to. Panama ports Il
and the FRYE bill would stifle all com II
petition and give the. government H
line monopoly of the business,
Will Stop Shipments.
1t is pointed out that the gulf
Sfdue 10 Handma Is Killed. al by act n
Of congress all shipments through
gulf ports must, be stopped. for that
IS the effect of the bill, a serious in A
Jury would be done the commerce of
The South. BY Southern business
men who have investigated the bill it
8 locked upon as a government mo-
1opoly and in that bigger restraint
of trade than the. Standard Oil was1
ever guilty of
- While the promoters of the bill
are raising the cry of patriotism II
s noticeable that there has been no
Effort on the part of the government
20 establish another American line
@ Panama which viii touch at some
Southern port. This would give the +
south its chance But they are not
ioing that. They are debating tbati
I'll goods for Panama work shall 60
'nly on the government line, and thev
must therefore be shipped to New
York
Alabama is taking a prominent
,art in the work being done to pre-
fent the passage of the BILL"