Arizona republican., 1912-10-01
HANDLES PANAMA
 CANAL TOLL AFFAIR
Says Coastwise Trade Should Be Given Free Use of Big Ditch the Same as Boats Upon Is land Waters.

SALT LAKE CITY. Sept. 30.-In the building of the Panama canal and the carrying out of the vast ir- rigahon projects. the efficiency of a democratic form of government as a constructive force in the world is On trial according to Senator Francis G Newlands, who as president, spoke today before the National Irrigation congress.
 At the outset Senator Newlands said he opposed any attempts to i'm ICse heavy tolls on foreign ships for their use of the Panama canal. Tt is desirable that this great national public utility should in the end be lf-compensatory," he said. and that the tolls should cover admin istration and create a sinking fund for the bonds. So far as our coast wise trade is concerned, the canal should be considered a part of our inland waterways. upon which it has been customary notwithstanding the large expenditures of the government in the interest of navigation, to i'm pose no restrictions or burthens, but the loss occasioned by such remis- sion should be frankly imposed upon the federal treasury and not upon ships engaged in foreign trade.
 Foreign countries could justly ob- ject to the imposition of the entire cost of administration and bond redemption upon foreign ships; they cannot object to the payment of their proper proportion, determined by Jn. relative tonnage.
 "The curbing of the Mississippi river floods, and the generation of great power from the conserved wa ters are both prospective fruits of the irrigation projects" Senator NeWlands said. He declared the stor- age of water for power would re duce the cost of storage of water for irrigation.
 Outside of the great basin all the waters in the arid region are trib- utaries to great navigabile streams and there the national power regard ing the storage and the utilization of water rests not merely upon the ownership of the public domain but upon the nations control of naviga- tion and of navigable streams under the interstate commerce power he said.
 This policy does not mean the abandonment of the levee protection and channel work heretofore pursued in the navigable portions of our riv- CTS. The policy is supplemental and intended to make more complete the work of flood protection which thus far has been insufficiently developed All the national parties have joined in this movement. Public sentiment is far in advance of legislation. IT this legislation the seventeen arid and semiarid states will cooperate with the Mississippi valley and the valleys of the Atlantic and Pacific coast in urging the highest cOOpera- ton between the scientific services of the government having any rela- ton to water and the highest CO., operation of the nation with the states in the full exercise of theil power and jurisdiction upon this sub- ject.
 "The capacity of democracy fol constructive work is to be tested Our ability to maintain a collective effort embracing both public and pri- vate uses with a fair apportionment of costs between such uses is to be tested. On the one hand we wisf to avoid the weakness of a sterr individualism which daily increases the strength of the strong and di- minishes Ehe efficiency of the weak and at the same time we wish tC avoid the dangers of socialism whicl seeks to make collective society tn, souse of all effort and of all re. va" :"
 The speaker declared that congress has awakened to the needs of tn settler and he expected to see a stoI put soon to the exodus to Canada.
 "At this last session of congress, continued, more laws were passe' liberalizing land laws than by al other congresses during the last tel years Heretofore the regulation have made it almost impossible t obtain homesteads within forest re serves, but the law passed at tn last session of congress, l believe vii result in turning most of twenty mil lion acres of forest reserve lands int agricultural homesteads. Our natura resources should be untitled accord ing to our present needs. bellev to conserve for the unborn generation is wrong"
 Brigham H. Roberts and Dr. Sey mour B Young, of Utah, gave his tOrical reviews of the progress of ir rigation in the west, and George Barstow, of Texas, reviewed tn