The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-10
Provides Free Passage for
 American Ships Through the Canal
WATERWAY CLOSED
 TO RAILROAD SHIPS
Railroads Must Give Up Water Lines That Might Otherwise Be Their Competitors-Trust Owned
 Ships Are Prohibited


 railroad owned vessels from using the waterway and authorizing the establish ment of a one man government when the canal is completed. was passed by the \ Senate tonigh. by a vote of 47 to 10. The provision for free tolls which was fought in the Senate Wednesday was indorsed again just before the passage of the measure.
 Attached 10 the bill were two important amendments directed at trust or railroad control of steamship lines. The first by Senator Reed would prohibit ships owned by an illegal industrial combination from using the canal, and the second by Sena- Tor Bourne would force railroads to give up water lines that might otherwise be their competitors if 1t were proved they i were stifling competition.
 z Opponents of the free toll provision against which Great Britain made formal protest carried their fight up the last moment. Just before passage of the bill Senator Root moved to strike out the section giving free tolls to American coastwise vessels and Senator Hoke | Smith of Georgia moved to strike out the provision for free tolls to American ships in foreign trade. Both motions were de- feated by overwhelming votes.
 As the bill passed it would permit { American coastwise vessels to pass l through the canal free, without condi- I tons, while American foreign trade ships ! might pass through free if their own 1 CTS agreed to sell the vessels to the Uni ted States at fair price in time of war oi emergency.
 Fight on Railroad Provision The great fight of the day centered about the provision to prohibit railroad owned ships from using the canal. The broad terms of the original House bill which would have required every railroad in the country to dispose at once of any steamship lines with which it might other wise compete, were not accepted. This was modified so railroads would be pro- hibited only from owning steamship lines sltat may operate through the Panama oanal.
 Tho Bourne amendment. however. adopted later by s vote of 36 to 70, re- stored much of the vigor of the anti railroad provisions of the House bill. It provided that if the interstate commerce commission should find any railroad had an interest in competitive line of steam CTS and such interest was injurious to the welfare of the public, the commission might compel the railroad to dispose of it's steamer connections.
 Senator Brandegee made an ineffective 4 fight on rigid provisions against railroad ships. After the amendments had been adopted he moved that the whole para graph relating to railroad control be stricken out. This motion was defeated, 45 to IS. A subsequent proposal by MT. Brandegee to permit any ships to use the canal, giving to the interestate commerce commission power of control over them, also was defeated.
 Adopt Reed Amendment The Reed amendment against trust owned ships was called up for second vote and was adopted on final passage 36 to 9.
 The completed bill was passed with Sen ators Burton, Crane, Gallnger, Lodge Root and other opponents of the free toll and anti-railroad features of it voting against it.
 In the form in which it returns to the House the bill adds to the general scheme for operating and governing the canal, snd provides for the admission to Amer lean registry of any foreign built ships owned by Americans provided they are operated wholly in the foreign trade.
 No debate was allowed today in amend ments offered by Senators Bourne and Reed. Senator Brandegee, closing the de- bate, insisted that the provision admit ting American vessels engaged in the for eign trade to free passage, was an un- doubted violation of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty with Great Britain
 He opposed also the Williams amend ment admitting American owned foreign built vessels to American registry, pro- vided they did not engage in coastwise trade
 Tt has been proposed that this would build up the American merchant marine" he said. "To my mind 1t would be a humiliating spectacle for Amer jeans to see ships travelling around the world under the American flag with the label built in Germany attached 10 them.''
 Control of New Englands steamship lines by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad provoked an- other lively debate between Senator Poindexter and Senator Lfppitt of Rhode Island. Senator Poindexter read letter from Louis D. Brandeis of Bos- ton declaring New England was in the grip of an intolerable railroad mon- opoly.
 The New England Matter
 "Brandes is professional agitator." Senator Gallinger of New Hampshire said. He is not a business man. He is always in the fore when the ques- tion of railroad. monopolies or steam ships are under debate"
 Senator Lippitt declared the senti- ment of New England "cannot be founded upon misstatements at this time"
 Senator Poindexter said officials of the New Haven railroad had given tes- timony at variance with statements by Senator Lippitt and that it was a aues- 0on of choosing between the state ments of the officers of the New Ha- ven road and the statement of the senator from Rhode Island
 Senator Burton of Ohio declared a prohibition against railroad-ow ships would restrict the full develop ment of the canal zone. The fear that railroads could drive out stii other ships and eventually control rates could be fully met by adequate laws, he said. Senator Kenyon asked MT. Burton whether he believed the point had been reached in American development where regulated monopoly must be recog- nized in railroad development That is fl practically" Burton said. T believe we are nearing the parting of the lines" Senator Kenyon interrupted "where we must decide between com petition for railroads or combinations held under the control of the govern ment."
 V Ser 4,or Burton said he did not favor
 bHc <tely free use of the Panama ca-
 a1 Yy railroad-owned ships He la