The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-11-23

. ass veto. that tAey euasa wEsAAns9
he appropriation ard zszrse 80
eoeFs oat Of sxtAtsace IN tAas .aY
Th~ 0f@Ise~afIoa 81 tire snznaan~Si 1Ass~
iiai Against fa.t Steamship fanx
to Carry Frwigta aad ra~~~ux~w~
ThFoagh the ramams C@aaI.
The country was more % sssa
startled few dayK ago hy = stale
ment made b. Mr.. ID. y Baker. o.
baltimore. explaining why ae hAa
failed 10 Organize = company Of SAT
fscient eapital I'd build = steamship
line 10 ply from the Atlantic and Pa
eiflc Coasts through the Canal
Mr.. Baker il himself = man of con.
siderable means and has been lead
ing captain OF industry for many
years. He organized the great At
iantic Transport Steamship Company
and was It's active manager for a
number OF years lie has organized
many other important enterprises
and all Of them successfully
Mr.. Baker has been at work for
sometime 10 try 10 organize a steam
ship line TO transport passengers and
freight from one coast or ocean TO
the other through the Canal. but he
has met with signal failure. Nobods
has or will raise the point that Mr.
Baker was not a competent man 10
organize such company, and no
capitalist who has refused to take
stock in the enterprise has given
such reason.
The remarkable information which
Mr.. Baker has given to the Inter
state Commerce Committee in ex-
planning his failure has been that
number of bankers and financial in
stitutions which had earlier encour-
aged him to go ahead and organize
such a steamship line have, one after
another, all withdrawn their sub
scriptions and support. He says that
these banking institutions are those
that are, of course, closely connected
with transcontinental railroads. and
their action has unquestionably been
Influenced by these transcontinental
railroads not desiring any competi-
tion of any kind He said he found
these bankers and financiers not so
hostile to the idea of a slow steam
ship line as they were Of any sugges-
ton that ships should be built to
make fast time.
The Goernment Will Have to Build
the Steamship Line.
1t is wen-known that the freight
that is not perishable and can be
carried by slow freight is not desir-
able to the transcontinental railroads
and they seem to be willing that such
freight should be carried by water.
Mr.. Baker, in his testimony, express
ed great surprise at running against
this condition of things He said that
he had every confidence of succeed
ing when he began, and that he had
no idea that he should run against
this formidable and apparently well
organized opposition against the
building of such line He suggest
ed, however, to this committee that
if private capital could mot be in
duced to build such a line On ac-
count of such a powerful opposition,
that then the Government should by
all means build such line and oper-
ate it.
A Government Transcontinental Rail-
road Also Needed.
1t has also been suggested in a
number of quarters in the last few
days that the Government should also
build transcontinental railroad line
SO that there should be competition
by rail across the continent as well
as by water through the Canal.
The experience of Mr.. Baker shows
how concentrated and compact all of
the great banking, railroad and in
dustrial combinations are organized
together, and we shall soon see
whether or not they have already
grown stronger and bigger than the
Government
Some Astonishing Freight Rates.
In this connection, 1t is most in
teresting to notice some of the facts
gathered by the Interstate Commerce
Commission in their recent investiga-
tion OF railroad rates. The facts
gathered show how it is in the power
OF the railroad lines when working
together to build up on business and
make it an impregnabIe trust while
breaking down any other competing
business.
The Commission found that the
railroads made vastly discriminating
charges in favor Of certain trusts, of !
which the rates to the Sugar Trust !
is fair illustration. For instance, |
they found that sugar valued at ap-
proximately $50 ton is shipped at |
the rate OF one and ninety-three hun
dredths mills per ton per mile, while |
cement, on the other hand, which is |
n