The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-12
AMERICAN OPPOSITION.

One would naturally be surprised OFF
hand at the fact Of American sea-
transport opposition, not merely SEN
timental. but on practical lines, to the
granting of free passage through the
Panama canal for our vessels engaged
in the American coastwise trade. Usu-
ally such opposition is on the part Of
strict construction lawyers and senti-
mentalists, tho latter of whom are al
ways disposed to grant anything
against their country that any foreign
people desires. There is also the rail
road opposition, which, being cut off
| from the combination Of steamship
ownership in connection with railroads,
breads the coaStwise competition in
ships. The most fierce and vigorous
of this latter opposition comes from
the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and it
was the Canadian Pacific, undoubtedly
that stirred up the British protest
against free tolls.
But there is another source of oppo-
sition, coming from the United Fruit
Company, an American corporation,
which does a very extensive business
in transporting tropical fruits from
Central America and from the West
India islands to our Gulf and Atlantic
ports This concern is known as the
United Fruit Company. 1t has used a
good many Americana built vessels in
the past, but is now using to a large
extent vessels built abroad and sailed
under foreign flags. The transporta.
ton business that it conducts is not
coastwise transportation, since the
cargoes are taken aboard in foreign
ports as of Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba
Jamaica the Bermudas, Ssnto Domin-
go, Hayti. and so on. This company not
long since debated the question wheth-
try and sail them under the American
flag, OF would buy ships abroad and
sail them under the flags of the foreign
nations. They investigated tho case,
and desiring some vessels of about
5000 tons register. they found Just
what they wanted owned by an Eng
lish company They quietly bought up
| tho stock Of that company, took over
| the vessels, and are now sailing them
under the British flag, Then they
wanted some slightly smaller vessels,
and on investigation found exactly
what they wanted in Norway. and as
before, they bought up tbe stock of the
company owning those vessels, and are
now using the Same in their trade,
sailing theIn under the Norwegian flag.
This company breads the competition
of American ships in the trade if
those ships are allowed TO 20 through
the canal FREQ Of tolls, for in such case
the United Fruit Companyis vessels
passing through the canal in either di.
rection would have to pay tolls, and
the American vessels engaged in the
coastwise trade would 90 through free
And so, while it would be regarded
as a singular thing indeed for an
American seagoing line 10 oppose the
passage of vessels engaged in the
American coastwisc trade through the
canal free of tolls. this United Fruit
company. an American organization.
but owning the controlling stock in q
British line OF steamers and in a Nor
wegian line of steamers and sailing
those ships in It's fruit transportation
trade between Atlantic and Gulf ports
and ports IN Central America. and the
West India islands, (and looking also
to building up big west coast trade, }
and sailing those under the maritime
laws of Great Britain and of Norway
respectively, sees danger in American
competition with the favor of free
tolls through the Panama canal.
II would seem as If it ought 10 be
the position of the United States that
protests like this should be absolutely