The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-05
SHALL CANAL BE FREE TO
 U. s SHIPS?
Secretary of Commerce and Labor Discusses Import ant Question of Use of Panama's Big Ditch in
 Annual Report

The following is from the report of Commissioner Nagel of the. Bureau oL Commeree and Labor, relative TO the use of the Panama Canal
 I assume tLats there is no dispos1- tiont to delay beyond the present ses- sion the necessary settlement of the the actual operation of the Panama Canal, including the question or ca na- toEs. In last years report l stat
 The question of Panama Canal tolls is now under consideration, aad Tn vievA of the fact that the entire cost of the canal is assumed by the people of the United States every consldera- T tion consistent with our treaty ob t2a- tions should be shown to American
 Congress eeAnitely Exed the general policy of the United States in respect rfvers, harbors and canals by section 4 bf the river and harbor act of July 5, 1884 That section provides:
 No tolls or operating charges wnat5 what from any vessel, dredge, or other wa ter craft for passing through any lock canal, canalized liver, or other work for the use anc fen9 Tt or nay naylgatlon, sst o or that smay be hereafter acquired or constructed.
 liberal navigation rtIicy thus declared been seriously cnaIenged in Congress Dr bv the country. No one criticised it IS q subsidy or a bounty to the vessels witch teve made use of our i'm .l ayed waterways. The policy was adopted and has been pursued wi hout dissent, because the country realizes that free navigation promotes com rnerce ard that our commerce is as es- sential to the country's welfare as the great productive Industries of agri- culture, manufacture. and mining. Pur- suant to that policy, since 1s84 Con Ia f<aG S07 sor rivers and harbor improvements, Compared with the estimated cost of bhe Panama Canal to the day of open Ing of $37o, ,000. coo.
 Great and expensive as the under stakfng has been, the Panama Canal ! wou d not call for any change in our policy of .untaxed navigation under kthe act Of 1884 if it did not in two 2 orovenaeuts fn navigation Other inn orovements have been for the benefit American terminals. Even where millions have been expended at DOT .s1here foreign navigation serves our seonmerce-as, for Illustration, at Gal sveston-the benefit to foreign ships from the improvements has been shar Ied by American producers who furn 'sh their cargoes. Again, in al other inn sprovements we have consulted solely our own interest, because our ou lay has been made within our exclusive Jurisdiction.
 It 's expected that the Panama Ca nal will solve some of our great prob lens of domestic transporta fon. It will, Of course, bring our States the Atlantic and Pacific much closer together and VIII offer new opportun-
 ties to the States of the Gulf, but 1t will also give the grain and umber of British Columbia and the Canad an northwest an a1-water route shorter to European markets by 5000 miles than they now possess To the west coast of South America ft will mean closer business re ations with the Old World. In many of the foreign com mercial results to be wrought by the canal the United States will have no immediate share. Indeed, 1t is pos q ble that some of them may be in measure to our commercial disadvan- fage, in that other nations will req D profits from our great investment at the Isthmus- Nevertheless, we may look with satisfaction upon our con