The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-03-18
Fighting for the Interests

For reasons that are perfectly obvious the
shining interests of our eastern coast are Vlgor
ouslv fighting President Wilson's measure in
tended to nullify that clause in the Panama Canal
regulations which exempts American coastwise
shippers from paying toll. These interests have
conducted an active lobby against the move and
have at last succeeded in getting a strongly
worded minority report before the House of
Representatives.
Representative J. r. Knowland, California
solon is the father of this document and has
therein apparently exhausted his well stocked
vocabulary of singing explosives. 1T would be
far better to abolish the Canal itself than to sur
render it's control to foreign power" That alone
should be sufficient to put wet blanket over
the whole Democratic administration, but he does
not stop there. "To surrender would be an act
of national cowardce! The canal is one of the
greatest achievements of this country and no
other nation has aided. 1t is presumptuous for
any nation to demand all the benefits of part
nership and be unwilling to assume single bur
dem After recovering his breath, the gentle
man wound up with the one bomb every orator.
cal artilleryman always saves for the wind-up
I'VE have reached crisis in history"
From these incandescent sentences it is OBJ
vious the mere facts about the Panama Canal
tolls question have not percolated so far west
land has his grub stakes
The canal will not be 'surrendered to foreign
power by refusing to exempt coastwise ship
erned according to the regulations agreed on by
the last Republican congress (of which Repre-
sentative Knowland was himself a member) on
and Inv Tof
If the English language is still able to convey
definite facts, those regulations guarantee tc
this country absolute control of the canal
But those regulations and no other regula
tions, though they be passed by a dozen congress.
es, would Justify us in violating the solemn com
pact into which entered and agreed that al
nations should pay equal tolls for the use OF
the canal
The canal is one of the greatest achieve
ments of this country and no other nation hac
aided" No other nation has aided in digging the
ditch itself, but what would that waterway be
worth if other nations had not responded to the
great opportunity by erecting facilities for tax
ing of their share of the new industries
made certain by the canal The figures actually
show that Central and South American countries
have spent more money in making harbor anc
other improvements than the canal itself has
cost us.
These improvements are as essential to the
success of the enterprise as the ditch itself or az
the great locks which the pride of our engi
neers. And who will say that this investment
of money does not entitle these and other ma
tions similarly interested in having something tt
say about the worlds use of the canal?
Representative Knowand is equally wrong i,
declaring that other countries are to bear none O.
the burdens of maintenance. Every ship tina
passes through the locks will pay it's toll, wheth
er it halls from Britain or the Sandwich Isles
And those tolls themselves are designed to ma,
for the project and will pay for it if such men a.
Representative Knowand do not mess thu
thing up.
1t will require great deal more than Repre
sentative knoWland's perfervd eouuence to per
suade this nation to violate it's solemnlv enacte,
treaty and to prostitute it's national honor which
is at stake in the premises. 1t will require
great deal more than the threats of the Califor
MIA congressman to persuade the ninety million
people in this broad land to pay annual tribute +
! the lat gentlemen whose shipping trust is nov
! so powerful as to defy dissolution by the who'll
Democratic administration. Indeed, the dav !
rapidly approaching when such oratory as tina
furnished by Representative Knowland will M
have any value at all, not even to the Interest
who have probably inspired it.