Evening star., 1913-02-15

The dispute that has been going on IN
Congress with reference to the question
of constituting the Hay-Pauncefote treaty
has divided that body into two general
camps-those who think that the neu-
trality of the canal as relates to tolls
includes the United States, on the one
hand. and those who think that it eX-
cIudes us. on the other. There are many
who feel that 1t applies to the United
States on general shipping, but does not
apply to US on coastwise traffic. The line
of cleavage is, in a general way. be-
tween those who believe in ship subsidies
and those who do not, although, of
statement.
But. as a rule, those who oppose ship
subsidies are to be found among those
who oppose the remission of tolls to
American coastwise ships on the ground
that it contravenes the treaty. On the
other hand. those who are for SUBJ
sides are. for the most part in favor
of the remission of tolls to American
coastwise ships. and argue that such an
act does not constitute a violation of the
Hay-Pauncefote treaty. There are those,
however, who favor subsidies in our for
eign-going shipping and none in our
coastWise shipping. In the language of
Senator Root, they regard the coastwise
shipping as the most highly protected
special industry in the United States
with no further need of protection. while
on the other hand our foreign-going YES
sells have to compete with the low stand
ards Of wages and living to be found
abroad, and therefore are in need of pro-
lection the hOme-going ships do not need.
* x
Party lines are not followed in this divi-
sion. The democratic committee that
drafted the
Party Lines Disregarded origi n al
in Division on Question. rsfnssd S n ,n
exempt coastwise traffic and that provi-
sion in the form of the Doremus amend
ment was voted on in the House and
agreed to by the Senate, the vote in both
houses being non-partisan. but largely
republican. On the very day President
Taft signed the bill Representative Sims
of Tennessee, a democrat, introduced a
bill to repeal the coastwise exemption, and
the same bill was later introduced in the
Senate by Senator Root OF New York.
republican. Senator O'Gorman of New
York, a democrat. is the principal de-
fender of the present law i'll the Sem
ate, and Representative Mann. the
publican leader, is one of its chief cham
pions in the House.
There is another angle to the contro-
verss that has led some men to vote in
favor of free tolls to American coastWise
ships the while they have been opposed
to subsidies. That relates to the effect
of tolls on transcontinental freight rates.
They believe that the addition of tolls
means just that much more leeway the
railroads will have in competing with the
coast-to-coast shipping. They believe that
when toll of $1.20 a net register ton
is levied it will give the railroads the op-
portunity to raise their rates by just that
much. This idea, on the other hand, is
by other men in Congress.
They insist that $1.2O a net register ton
means an average of about 80 cents ton
on actual cargo. and that 80 cents ton
in tolls will not help the railroads to
compete on much shipping, and that on
the other hand it's absence will not lower
a single price to the ultimate consumer.
They contend that the shipping companies
will simply pocket the differences differ
ence that ought to reach either the ulti-
mate consumer or the Golfers of the canal.
All of these facts are cited to show
that the attitude that most men have