The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-05-07
'CORMAN TELLS
why He OPPOSES
REPEAL CLAUSE
No International Law Forbids Ex-
emption, He Declares

Washington. May Senator O'Gor-
man. chairman of the Interoceanic
Canals committee, and leader of the
| forces opposed to the repeal of the toll
exemption clause Of the Panama Canal
| Act, gave the Senate today the legal.
economic and political reasons for his
| opposition.
In three hour speech, the Senator
discussed exhaustively every phase of
| the subject. He discovered no ground
| in international law which would for
bid exemption of American coastwise
| ships from toll payment, saw behind
| the repeal movement the hand of the
railroads and declared that "A failure to
impose a tax could not be called "A sub
sidy.
The senator warned his Democratic
colleagues that To repeal the exemption
was to violate the pledges of the Bal
| timore platform and to reverse the
President Wilson last November on
that platform.
Cites Old Administration Action.
Senator O'Gorman said that mas
much as former Presidents Roosevelt
and Taft, and a preceding Congress
agreed that coastwise vessels should
be exempt, another Congress should
think twice before giving its approval
To the repeal bill, for il i'm turn might
find itself reversed by a Congress yet
to be elected.
This question of tolls" said the
senator, lis but an incident i'm a great
contest now in it's initial stage, which
may determine the control of the Pan
anna Canal for all time. The construc-
tion of the canal will rank among the
worlds wonders but the opinion Gf
mankind will pronounce the surrender
of our sovereignty over it colossal
blunder and a triumph of British di-
plomacy.
II know there is "A vague suspicion
that diplomatic reasons require this
national abasement, but my judgement,
maturely formed and based upon such
information as is available, is that
the gravity of our international rela-
, NlbllS ltiS bt'il ElbSSlNT lll'hSll hllNbiiT
sciously. exaggerated. The American
people want peace. but they fear no
power on earth. Shadows cannot dis
turb n brave man. They should not
alarm brave and intrepid people.
Betrayal Of American People"
No senator questions the patriotism
and high purposes of the president,
but If legislation is To be made de-
pendent upon his will alone, no one
can predict the mischief to which
such precedent will expose this go"-
ernment i'm future years. | believe that
the passage of this bill compromises
the dignity and honor of the country,
and before the deed is consummated,
enter my solemn protest against what
| conceive to be betrayal of the Am
erican people"
Senator O'GOrman further sougnr ~
show that exemption of American
coastwise vessels is a wise economic
policy; that if such vessels fall within
the terms of the Hay Pauncefote trea-
ty. exemption does not constitute a
violation thereof and that the canal
has been constructed on territory over
which the United States is sovereign
while the canal contemplated in the
treaty was to he built on alien soil, and
therefore the treaty is inapplicable.
May Bring Higher r. r. Rates.
s"Exempting coastwise craft from the
payment of tolls" he continued, will
reduce the cost of shipping through
the canal to a minimum. and thereby