The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-02-16

four vessels Of the government trans,
port service or a warship, should hap
pen to be there,
"The 100000 or 10000 tons OF coal
being used annually on the 18th.
mus, the lumber, the machinery and
supplies Of all descriptions, not con-
veyed by the few steamers OF the
government line are being carried en-,
tirely BY foreigners,
@If an American manufacturer asks
fifty or one hundred thousand dollars
for given piece Of machinery. and il
can be purchased in Europe for ten
or twenty thousand dollars less, the
American is given the contract, But if
foreign ship bids a thousand dol
lars for carrying that machinery from
New York or any other American
port OF the canal, and an American
ship bids eleven or twelve hundred
dollars for carrying it, on account Of
of the higher wage scale in this eoun-
try, the foreigner gets the business
every time, That is TO say, protec-
tion rules one transaction and free
trade the other, with the result that
the construction and free trade the
other. with the result that the con-
struction Of the Panama Canal, in
stead Of serving American maritime
interests, is actually killing off and
destroying what little is left of our
American merchant marine in these
waters; for in addition to the reasons
already given these foreign ships.
having outward eargoes to Colon
guaranteed, and thereby enabled TO
take return cargoes from West India
ports away from such American yes
sells as might already have had that
trade.
4We wish to ask il in your judg-
ment, this is a square deal? Is it jus,
that American laws should protect
her labor and industries on land and
deny protection to American interests
on high seas? If American manufac-
turers, MECHANICS, farmers, miners
lumberman, etc. are entitled to pref
erence from their government in this
great National work Of building the
Isthmian Canal, why are not Ameri-
can shipowners, sailors and shipbuild-
ers also given some measure of sup
port instead Of the building Of the
Canal with American money being
used as weapon as already stated,
to ruin what little we have left OF the
American merchant marine?
It is true that the committee on In
ter-State and Foreign Commerce has
reported favorably to the House OF
Representatives a resolution, which
passed without any division whateve;
in the Senate, applying to the trans
portation of materials and equipment
for the Panama Canal exactly the
same principle Of protection or pref
.erence which regulates the purchase
Of materials and equipment
"As a measure of simple justice, we
ask the influence of your publication
in an effort to have that bill pass the
house.
at is asserted BY European steam
ship companies and their agents, who
have influential representatives and
attorneys at Washington, lobbyins
against the passage Of this resolutioI
that its adoption would at least
double the cost of materials and
equipment to the canal zone.
It is not only possible, but may be
true that American ships would, in
the beginning at least, have to charge
little more for the same reason that
American machinery and other arti-
cles cost more; but it is also doubt
less true that if the Congress were to
adopt this resolution, there would
quickly be such competition for the
business enterprise and ingenuity that
before very long vessels protected by
the stars and stripes would be upon
every ocean, because of their modern
methods of doing this work at less
cost than foreign boats have ever at
tempted to do it.
"There is no place on earth where
freight is carried as cheaply as it is
by the steamships Of the Great Lakes,
as a result of the installation Of the
methods referred to; and what Is true
upon fresh water can be quickly made
true upon salt water"
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