Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-03-24
W00TEN HOLDS
WILSON WRONG
Former Congressman Deliv.
ers Speech Before King
County Democratic Club
QUOTE WILSON'S ADDRESS
Favors Exemption Of Amer.
ican Ships in Interstate
Trade From Canal Tolls

SEATTLE, March 22.-At the lunch.
con of the King County Democratic
club Saturday. Dudley G. Wooton. OF
Seattle, former congressman from
Texas, made speech in opposition
to the stand taken by President VIII.
son on the Panama canal tolls.
BY way of introduction Mr.. Wooten
explained that he was speaking, not
by permission of the club, but by the
special invitation of the officers of the
club. He said that on March 5, at a
celebration held by the Democratic
ladies to commemorate the first years
success of the Wilson administration,
he had been one of the speakers to
eulogize the splendid achievements of
the president and the Democratic par
ty, but in the course of his remarks
had mentioned the fact that he did not
agree with the recommendation made
by the president on the same date for
the repeal of the free toll provision in
the Panama canal law.
Quotes Wilson Address.
Mr.. Wooten quoted an extract from
an address made by President Wilson
at Portland, Or, in 1911, in which Mr..
Wilson had expressly declared that
the only way to prevent the encroach.
ing power of the chief executive upon
the powers of the legislative depart
ments is for all policies and measures
advocated by the president to be sub
jected to full, free and fearless debate
before the people, and that this alone
can prevent the powerful prestige and
influence of the presidential Office
from becoming menace to our in
stitutions.
Briefly stated, Mr. Wooten made the
following points in favor of free tolls:
First-The Hay-Pauncefote treaty.
under which Great Britain claims free
tolls cannot be granted to American
ships unless granted to hers, is no
longer in force because that treaty
and its terms applied specifically and
exclusively to canal constructed by
the Nicaragua route, and not at Pan
ama Great Britain never had any
interests at Panama and could not
possibly have required the United
States to make any stipulation what
soever in regard to the canal as now
constructed. BY the well-settled rules
of international law, whenever the
conditions and circumstances exist
ing at the time a treaty is negotiated
are changed or essentially altered the
treaty ceases to have any binding
force between the binding parties.
Applies Exclusively to Our commerce
Second-The exemption from pay
ment of tolls applies strictly to Ameri'
can ships engaged in interstate com
merce, and with this no foreign nation
can have any concern whatsoever
The United States supreme court has
emphatically decided that question
upon an exactly similar issue raised
under the treaty of 1915 with Great
Britain, citing the case of Olson again
st Smith, 1876, United States supreme
court reports.
Third-The imposition Of tolls upon
interstate commerce passing through
the canal is unjust and an unfair
ii; ,;,,o v,ct al
merce and in favor of internal com
merce by the great waterways and
railroads of the interior.
Fourth-Exemption from tolls Is nj
more a subsidy to coastwise ships and
commerce than is the free transporta
ton permitted our domestic commerce
upon the great waterways that have
been improved at the public expense
throughout the union.
lndorsed in Party Platform.
Fifth-The free toll law was adopt
ed by a three-fourths vote of congress.
in 1912, was indorsed by the Democra
tic party that nominated Wilson al
bdlIlInOTe Ill ltS udtlOlei pA1eloiAA, "AA>
by the Progressive party at Chicago
and President Wilson himself, in hi'
speeches throughout that campaign
indorsed it as measure intended tt
benefit the commercial and industria
interests of all classes of the people
Nothing has transpired so far as thu
public knows to change that condition
The repeal of free tolls will be espe
cially injurious to the interests OF th'
Pacific, coast and the state of Wash
ington in particular. 1t amounts tt
putting a protective tariff upon ou
own products in order to build up tn
commerce and industries Of British
Columbia and to promote the rail-
road monopoly that now control
transcontinental traffic.
-RD