Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-26
NAVAL CRUISERS
TO CARRY MAILS
Senator Weeks Proposes a
Regular Service to
South America.

W I'm d view 10 developing transport
tation communica ton between the
United States and South American
countries Senator Weeks Of Massa-
chusetts today introduced a resolution
requesting the Secretary Of the Navy
to prepare plan for establishment of
a line of naval cruisers to run between
New York, New Orleans and Valpa-
raise, Chile. and intermediate ports.
The resolution designates as the ships
to be utilized for this service the
cruisers Columbia and Minneapolis and
the scout cruisers Salem, Chester and
Birmingham.
AT present South American mails are
sent at long and sometimes irregular
intervals and all American mails south
of the equator are carried in vessels
sailing under a foreign flag said Sena-
tor Weeks, explaining his resolution
Mail Service Very Slow.
The service is very slow. and this, it
may be easily assumed, initiates against
the development OF our trade with South
America. If, later on, private capital I'M
dertakes a line over this route 1 should
be inclined to withdraw the government
line.
We are in the position of having spent
S40O, 100000 in the building of a canal,
one of the reasons for doing so being that
1t would aid in the extension of our
foreign trade, but, as far as I know,
there are no American steamers pre-
pared to undertake this service.
From Panama south there is a Chile
an, Peruvian and an English line, the
latter controlled by the Royal Mail.
English and German shipping interests
are alive to the possibilities to be derived
from the opening of the canal. They
know that if they once secure lines Of
trade it is difficult for others success
fully to get into the same field.
Il am informed that the English govern
ment has very recently increased the
subsidy to the Royal Mail line $1,000 a
ing and developing this particular serv-
ice, and, as we are not prepared to cover
the field in any other way and this gov
ornment owns ships which are not use
full for any other purpose in time of
peace. why not use them in developing
such a tradeS
ut seems to me that we might fairly
be criticised if we fail to authorize this
line and have 1t ready for operation the
day the canal opens. At the present
time the foreign trade of Ecuador, Peru
and Chile amounts to $34O, 600.
Nearer Than Trade Rivals.
by way Of the canal will be several days
nearer this trade than are our COM
mercial rivals. We, at the present time,
control about 80 per cent of the trade
of Ecuador, less than % per cent of the
trade of Peru and less than 10 per cent
of the trade of Chile. Great Britain and
Germany control the larger part of the
balance. The trade OF either Of these ma
tons with Chile amounts to more in dol
lars and cents than our total trade with
the Pacific coast nations of South Amer
lea.
IF this fast mail line were established
it would undoubtedly very greatly de-
velop our business in the important ports
of Montevideo and Buenos Aires. which
are less than two days by railroad from
Valparaiso. Argentina and Uruguay
have foreign trade amounting to much
more than billion annually-that OF
Argentina alone being more than $780,
cocoon. We obtain an Insignificant part
of this trade compared with what we
might have if we had better, more fire.
auent and quicker connections"
At the close OF Senator Weeks state
ment Senator Swanson Of Virginia sug-
gested that the resolution 30 to the naval
affairs committee of the Senate. and upon
the assurance of Chairman Tillman OF
that committee that the resolution would
receive early consideration by the COM
mittee, Senator Weeks agreed to this
course.
Senator Jones Of Washington suggested
that the line of mail-carrying cruisers
should be extended SO as to touch at ports
on the Pacific coast.