New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-27
One Lone Writer EXPLAINS
American Point Of View in
the Panama Canal
Con}r0verSy.
TREATY BADLY DRAFTED
Our Navigation Laws Existed
Before the Hay Pauncefote
Pact and Cannot Be Abro-
gated Thereby, Says
the Nation"

Canal bin. Tho Nation" one Of tho
PRINCIPAL English Vccl,lics. in a lead
ing article of its issue dated August
Il gives extended consideration to
American rights under the lay
Faunccfotc treaty and upholds. the
right Of tho United states to grant
freedom from tolls to coastwiae ship
ping. It contends that this is purely
a matter Of domestic policy. The Ma
ton says:
The British case against tho OK
omption or American ships from canal
dues &c on the surface exceedingly
strong. As ir the case of the Morocco
agreements between England. France
and Germany. the -Paunccfote
treaty surrendered 10 ono of the par
ties all its political interests for what
was believed To hc guarantee Of com
'mercial rights.
Article said that the canal should
be free and open to vessels of all ma
tions on terms Of entire equality, with
out discrimination in respect Of condi-
tions or charges of traffic. and by Ar
ticIe ( il was agreed that no change
in territorial sovereignty should affect
territorial obligations
Basic Idea Was Sound.
As America is building the canal
It was only fair that the provisions Of
the clayton -Bulwcr treaty be dropped.
and If We obtained equal commercial
rights in the use Of the canal that was
as much as any reasonable English
man wanted The idea Of the treaty
was sound. hut unfortunately II has
not worked out. America. as "a pro-
tectionist country. has stringent navi-
cation laws. No foreign ship is allowed
to engage I'm coastwise traffic between
American ports. and. moreover her
courts have given the widest possible
Interpretation to the term 'coastwise
traffic
Under the English navigation laws
il is held that vessel trading between
England and Guernsey is not engaged
in coastwise traffic, but 10y American
law vessel plying between san Fran
cisco and New York round Cape Horn
is only coasting. and may touch at
American ports in Hawaii and Porto
Rico or even go To the Philippines
without losing that character.
"AIl this had obvious bearings on the
provisions OF the Hay -Pauncefote
treaty. Its provisions for equality OF
treatment could not apply 70 vessels On
gagged i'm coastwise traffic and using the
canal because only American vessels in
factt were so engaged. If the treaty
meant that American ships which en-
loved monopoly under the navigation
laws when plying round Cape Horn be-
tween the eastern and western coasts #
America should lose that monopoly
when they used the canal it should GER
tainly have said so, but no one ever
suggested that the treaty suspends the
operation of the navigation laws when
the coasting trade goes through the
canal
Grievance Somewhat Unreal.
THE greater discrimination includes
the less, and as the navigation laws
exclude all but American ships from
the coasting trade the grievance of
discrimination in tolls upon coastwise
traffic would seem to be somewhat un-
real The coasting trade is already an
American monopoly, and the imposition
or relaxation OF dues upon it would
seem 10 be a purely domestic affair.
1T is true that the exemption of
American coastwise ships from all
tolls would seem 10 throw an unfair
burden on the overseas trade, but pro-
vided that the burden is evenly dis
tributed on the ships Of all countries
there is no discrimination within the
terms Of the treaty.
eft is sometimes argued that after
concluding the treaty the United States
deli iberately set ABOUT utledtlhS H. II
will be remembered that the very next
vear a revolution, engineered 10y Ameri-
can carital. broke Panama away from
Colombia and made "A new republic
subservient 10 the United states. In
the wear following this the new re-
nublic ceded To the United States
etrip of land on each side or the canal,
which thus became American territory.
Those scandalous intrigues cannot he
defended. but they make no difference
ia Americas rights. If American
,bins had a monopoly of coastwise
traffic when they went around Cape
,Iorn they will have it when they go
through the canal. whether or not the
canal were American property and
ubother it ran through American ter
ritory or not.
"In our opinion there is no case against
tho exemption of American coastwise
Continued on fifth page skin column.