The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-01-25
SECRETARY KNOX REPLIES,

Secretary Knox goes into the details
of the Panama canal toll question ut
great length in his reply TO the British
lprotest against free passage for our
coastwise shipping The general effect
OF this reply, however, is an abandon-
mept of our Independent position upon
that question. Secretary Knox under
takes so refute a number of the as.
sumptious Of Mr.. Grey, the British For.
eign Minister. but finally comes round
to the poin; that We arc willing TO have
the differences inquired into by a COM
petent commission.
| lntrinsically, there might be no oh
lection TO that sort of sn inquiry, but
the concession by us that we are will
| ing 10 submit our case TO such an IN
qury is an Abandonment of the position
| taken heretofore by President Taft,
and rs signal triumph for British di
plomacy as against our own.
President Taft's position was that
we have Of right Il free hand in the
Panama canal. having liberated our
selves from all entanglemcnts with
Great Britain uDder the Clayton Bulwer
treaty of 1850 through the Hay-Paunce-
fote treaty. This position is now aban-
doned, and we seek excuse for the Con
sressional legislation of last summer,
and reluquish our position that VIC
have free hnnd and cannot be called
TO account by anybody.
In this view of the case, il is clear
that the HayP Paunccfote treaty was a
dclusion and snare. and that whereas
the United States supposed thai by that
treaty We obtained sn absolutely indie,
pendent position, free from all obliga.
tioDs to Great Britain, VIC were bun
koed in that belief, and are held liable
to Great Britain for our management
Of the canal.
This is distinctly disappointing po.
sition. and it is humilatine to see our
administration abandon the position Of
independence that il has taken hereto
fore.
There is no proposition. Of course, to
submit any matters of difference 10
The Hague tribunal, what Secretary
Knox proposes is an inquiry by an inn
partial commission into the point of
whether there are in fact anv differ
cnces to submit With respect to the
other matters protested against by
retary Knox has made complete and
overwhelming answer. The idea Of Min
lister Grey that if our coastwise trade
were exempt from tolls. therefore heav.
icr tolls would fall upon British YES
sells passing through the canal bccauS-
of the necessity of making up the de-
ficit. is fully met by Secretary Knox
No such conditions have arisen, and il
is impossible 10 anticipate matters Of
that kind and negotiate upon them as
though they were matters OF fact in
stead OF mere forehodings. Our coast
wise commerce. Secretary Knox points
ont is in no wiso in conflict with Brit
ish shipping. nor can it come in contact
answer, therefore, on this point appears
TO be complete and yet, if we are to
have commission Of inquiry to see
whether there are any real points al
issue between this country and Great
Britain on the Panama canal question,
this point would necessarily come up
with the others.
President Taft, In changing his posi-
tion from claim of perfect independ-
ence for this country to ono where hc
is willing to have the differences i'm
partially inquired into. was based
largely upon the assumption that what
he had concluded heretofore would be
the inevitable conclusion of any un.
biased inquiry, viz, that the United
States has a perfectly free hand and
can manage the canal and regulate the
charges for using ii at It's own pleasure
IF we could be as sure Of an impartial
against us should we submit anything
to The Hague tribunal. then there
might be some encouragement to take
President Taft view. AS il is, how
ever. we must confess TO n certain de-
gree of pcssimism in referring a matter
OF national concern 10 the United
States, to any sort Of commission made
up either in whole or in part Of foreign
commissioners. For, it seems to be the
prevailing opinion throughout the
world that the United States is so rich,
so big, so overwhelmingly powerful,
that it ought to be pIucked at every
opportunity, and that when any nation
has q chance to "do' the United
States il should not only be allowed
but encouraged and helped TO plunder