The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-01-31
THINKS SHIPS
OF AMERICANS
SHOULOBEFREE
SECRETARY OF RIVERS AND HAIR
BORIS CONGRESS SAYS HE CAM
NOT UNDERSTAND HOSTILITY
TO THE AMERICAN MERCHANT
MARINE.

The following is copy Of a letter re-
ceived from the secretary of the Ma
tional Rivers and Harbors Congress:
Yours Of the 25th inst, is at hand,
and am unable at the moment to tell
you just who constitutes the World
Peace Foundation at Boston, but /
have started some inquiries which I
hope will bring me the information ia
the near future.
TT seems to me that you are mis-
taken In believing that there is really
anything in the British contention
that the exemption of coastwise ship
ping from the payment of tolls in
creases the toll on foreign ships. For
one thing, the tolls on foreign ships
using the Panama canal have been
fixed at the same price which is charg-
ed for the use of the Suez canal For
another thing, no one outside of a few
wtld-eyed optimists expect the canal
to earn expenses and interest for ten
or twenty years to come, to say
nothing of the cost Of maintaining the
forts and the garrison to protect 1t
from possible enemies.
TT Is hard thing for me to UNI
derstand the hostility of some people
to the American merchant marine. Our
laws have practically wiped the Amer
lean flag off the high seas, and bills
have actually been introduced in con-
gress to throw open our coastwise
commerce to the shipping of the world
which would promptly take our flag
out of that class of business too. Then,
II we would turn over the transporta-
ton business on our inland waters to
our foreign rivals, we would have done
the job UP completely and tied our
selves hand and foot. so that 1t would
be impossible for us to compete.
IF you get the Congressional Rec
ord, you will find in a recent mum
Der that Representative Sims, of Ten
nessee, has put in a very large number
Of letters from people who favor the
repeal of the coastwise exemption. Two
things are noticeable-the number of
school superintendent and other peo-
pie in towns like Johnstown, Pa, Penn
Yam, New York, and many others,
which towns are absolutely dominated
by railroad interests, and another
thing is the large number of college
professors, all of whom. as remarked
to me by Senator O'Gorman, Of New
York, last night, are expecting some
day to be pensioners on the bounty of
Mr.. Carnegie, and hence feel them
selves in duty bound to support his
peace-at-any- price propaganda.
MY Judgment is that the bill will
not be repealed at the present session
Of congress. What may be done in
the next congress 1 cannot tell, but
whenever the necessity arises this or
ganization, as long as the present off,
GERS are in charge Of the activities will
be found doing all that can be done
to maintain the position which has
been won.
you in the south are getting some
practical demonstrations of the fact
that they who control the lines of
transportation can control the. com
merce of the world. I hope to live TO
see the day when the American peo-
pie will wake up to see the fundamen-
tai importance of this proposition and
take whatever steps are necessary to
re-establish our flag upon the high
seas, so that our commerce with for
eign countries may be carried in our
own ships.
(Signed) IS. A. THOMPSON, Sec.
National Rivers and Harbors Con-
gress."