The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-12
HOkE SMITH IS
 ARDENT ADVOCATE
 OF I OLLS RE PEAL
Georgia's Senator Cham. pions President's s Stand
 Against Exemption

f
 Washington. May Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia caaInpioned repeal l'of the clause in the Ranan1a Canal act granting exemption Of tolls to IsAnerican coastwise vessels in the coastwise trade. He told the Senate l of eur treaties with Great Britain and I #Panama', and because, in his opinion ssit is right that the owners of these vessels should bear, for using the canal. fair part of the cost to our 1 lgovernrnento of building and operating it.sss
 Summarizing his objections to ex- enption. Senator Smith contendeds that:
 .sThe coastwise vessels will natur- I leo, Central America, Panama and perhaps elsewhere. Their cargoes 1 will not be limited exclusively to bona l fide c6astwfsa traffic Of the United States. a be un1oaded at ports of the United States to bs immediately reloaded in coastW1se vessel for passage through the canal to. the opposite coast of the Unlted States. thus ira foreign traffic in coastwise vessels I without paying io11s.s, Reviewing the history Of the Pan anna tolls legislation and quoting from a speech accredited to former Presf- dent Taft early tiais year, the senator said. < 2
 s4Ar Taft was wrong in supposins that the idea Of Democratic senators ana congressaneu in voting to free taes Ecoastwise trade from tolls was to give they known ne considered 1t neces- 1 sary under the treaty to fix the tolls l at a rate which estimated pagnaent of tolls by the ceastvvise vessels, thus l aking the freedom or the coastwiss vessels from paving tolls a clear sl1b regArded their party platform and the established principles of their party by voting for this subsidy
 Those who seek to restrict the meaning of the Pauncefote trea- ty by picking here a word and there or of the treaty,. . continued. merely disclose the unspeak kaole fact that the treaty in tended ito provide for the use of the canal by the citi-I gents of the United States and the I ssubjects of Great Britain and Of other nations observing the rules prescribed so that there would be no dlscrimina- ton against any Of the citizens with I respect to the nditions or charges Of trafTic for passing their commerce
 Senator Smith declared that the Pauncefote tEeaty is made a, part of | the title to the canal zone in the trea- tys of conveyance from Panarn ma. and l that talk of terminating 1t from a le- | gal standpinnt was absurd.
 Our rightfto fortffy and to use the canal as a national defense, he ada ed, followed ownership Of the zone l and Great Britain. by promptly con csding this fact, confirmed to the terms of the treaty.
 MT. Smith said the coutention that the words salI nations's in the treaty l mean all other nations.', and does I not include the United States aisI based on a rule of construction which .Unised States at that time had owned l the canal and the territory through which the canal WAS built and was l simply granting a privilege to some l other nation. z
 The contention, he declared, how l ever would have had no force under | the present treaty because it declared | zation of the C1ayton-B -Bulwer treaty should not be impaired
 Outlining the interest which Cam ada and the countries of South Amer ica had in the tolls controversy. Sem ator@ Smith expressed the belief that l when President Wilson referred to other difficuIties' to be caused by the through the canal without charge f.hef had in view our general relations with l all other neighbors in America and | not what the many have suggested some uIterior purpose in connection I with the government Of Great Bri- tain
 The senator argued that the United l States really would surrender nothing by the repeal.