Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-17
May Be White Elephant.

| Some senators are known to feel very
| strongly that the United States may find
| the canal rather a white elephant than
/ an aid to commerce unless it insists upon
the contention that the provisions Of the
| Hay-Pauncefote treaty of 1901 do not APP
ply to the coastwise trade. In other
words they would permit coastwise YES
sells Of the United States to go through
| the canal either free at nominal rates
or, II the uniform rates were to be
charged such vessels, the money to be re-
| funded to them by the government. Sec
rotary Of War Stmson In his recent ad-
| dress at Kansas City suggested as a So
luton of the problem that the power of
| the interstate commerce commission. even
| to the regulation Of rates. should be ex-
tended to include the canal route.
| According to Article III of the treaty.
| the United States adopted as the basis of
a naturalization of the canal the rules
embodied in the convention of CONSTANT
nople of 1888 for the free navigation of
| the SueZ canal. These rules contain the
| following language, which is made a part
also of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty: The
canal shall be free and open to the YES
sells of commerce and of war of all ma
| tons observing these rules, on terms of
entire equality, SO that there shall be no
| discrimination against any such nation
or it's citizens or subjects, in respect of
the conditions or charges of traffic or
otherwise. Such conditions ;,nd charges
of traffic shall be just and equitable"
Treaty Is Not Popular.
The diplomacy which negotiated this
| treaty on the part of the United States
finds few admirers in Congress. now it
is seen that the effect of the treaty may
| be, while permitting the United States to
| build the canal, to effectively prevent the
government from operating it to the
h}orEn dUo to- .f A oorin
| 1t is believed, however, that the United
States should refuse to recognize these
obligations as preventing it from favor
ing it's own cOastwise trade. In fact
senators may be found who would not
hesitate to urge the abrogation of the
| whole treaty should Great Britain de-
| cline to agree to the Interpretation of this
clause by the United States.
Secretary Stimson believes that the
United States has both legal and a
| moral right to subsidize its own shipping.
| as Great Britain does her own which
passes through the Suez canal. But even
| IL this is SO lit does not point the way
clearly to canal toll legislation. for the
principle of ship subsidy is involved in
| the question, and 1t would be difficult to
get any subsidy legislation even of this
| character through Congress unless it
| could be demonstrated that the conces-
sion was necessary to save the business
from going to other nations and would
not operate as gratuity to ship owners
when they could get along without it.
1t is evident therefore. that the problem
| Of deciding upon Panama canal policy
is not an easy one and presents many
perplexities.
Urged to Settle Tolls.
| Congress has been pressed for a year
| or more to settle quickly the question OF
canal tolls by capitalists who are trying
| to decide in their own minds whether or
not it will pay them to build ships to go
through the canal One capitalist in par
| ticular had a plan for building fleet of
some fifty steamships. and it was under
stood that he received a good deal of en-
couragement in Washington, where it was
| intimated that government mail contracts
would be forthcoming If his line We're in
| operation
| His scheme was distrusted at first in
some quarters as possibly one to play
into the hands of existing lines. like the
Pacific Mail, and thus end in monopoly.
| but recent developments nave rendered
| it fairly certain that the existing lines
were anything but pleased with the idea
| of having this new rival in the field