Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-06-12
MclAURIN VS.. TlllMAN
Says Senior Senator Has Correct Vie"
of Tolls Exemption Question.

luue OH the fdTlS treaty. "Oulu De
very unhappy" says the senator, IF
McLaurin could justly charge me with
prescribing physic for him which |
myself am unwilling to take. Should
fail to stand by the party platform
and vote for the repeal, he could just
ly say that | am inconsistent" The
senator then proceeds to tell why he
is going to do just that thing. 1t is
this inconsistency which constitutes
his most valid claim to greatness. No
truly great man ever botherS his head
about being consistent. What's the
use? The senator is not much more
of success as Il cOat-tail sWinger
than l am. | did not know, however,
that it was as popular in Washington
as in South Carolina.
He seems to find ii as difficult to eX-
plain about Wilson's coat tails as L do
about Blease's and his reasons are
just about as disingenious as mine
were when | passed that precious
emblem of peace and fraternity" to
another After clearly demonstrating
that President Wilson is wrong, he
justifies his own change of vote by
showing what fool the late lamented
state convention made Of itself. The
convention lacked the leadership Of
our senators and congressman, most Of
whom were elected delegates but
found urgent business elsewhere.
While heartily concurring in this
proposition about the folly of the con-
vention, it does seem to me that the
real question is whether the repeal Of
the tolls Is right or wrong, not wheth-
er the platform or Wilson is to be
obeyed. 1t is a great question Of ma
tional policy which should outweigh
either president or platform. Person
ally, I admire the stand Of Ragsdale
and Wyatt Aiken, not only because it
takes moral courage to oppose the
hand that apportions the public pie,
but because on the merits ii is to the
countrys best interests. The people Of
the United States have paid for the
canal and should get some return for
their money. Foreigners should not
have the same rights and privileges as
our own people, unless they had con-
tributed towards the construction Of
the canal.
The statement that the tolls would
be a subsidy to shipping trust is
not within q mile of the actual facts.
We have no American merchant ships
to use it, because the subsidized ves-
sells Of foreign nations have driven our
flag from the high seas. We have re-
tanned a coast shipping because Of port
determinations in it's favor. Follow
the present policy and our coast trade
will soon be in foreign hands. The
United States Is an export nation and
to be entirely dependent on our COM
mercial rivals to carry our products
abroad is unwise, I do not care what
President Wilson or anybody else says
to the contrary.
The facts are that the repeal of the
tolls will continue the most heartlesS
subsidy to Lord Cowdray's railroad
that exists on this earth. 1t is COM
plete surrender of American interests
to Great Britain. We build the canal
at enormous cost in life and money
and present it to the English capital
lists now exploiting Mexico and other
countries. Lord Cowdray is the Rookie
feller Of England, in fact, he Is COM
bination of Rockefeller and Morgan,
because of his political and financial
power, aside from being an oil king.
He owns the Tampico and Tehuante-
pee oil fields. He has the unqualified
backing of the British government in
all of his undertakings, and If any one
will take the trouble to read the tes
timony taken by the Davidson COM
mittee and other public documents
easily accessible they can not but con-
clude that much Of the trouble in
Mexico comes from the fight between
British and American oil interests.
This may explain why England re-
cognized Huerta when the United
States refused to do so. / know that
the biggest obstacle in getting the ca
nal bill passed was the opposition Of
the transcontinental railroads, notably
the Canadian Pacific. Now that we
have the canal the same interests,
ha RI nr1
Cowdray's road is in south Mexico and
connects Puerto on the Atlantic with
Salina Cruz on the Pacific a distance
of 100 miles. 1t cost $650000 000 and
was paid for by the MeXicon govern
ment. The bonds got into Lord Cow
dray's hands and through some kind
Of deal with Diaz he has absolute
control of the road, which is said to be
the most profitable line of railroad in
the world. The records show that it
is the personal property Of this Brit
ish money master. F'reights from, say,
New York to the Pacific, go to Puerto,
there the ship is unloaded and it's
freight passes over Lord Cowdray's
road to Salina Cruz. there ii is re-
shipped to it's destination.
The record shows that freights for
the Hawaiian islands average 50 per
ton from New York. and that one
third of this amount goes to this 100
mile railroad. The president Of the
Hawaiian Steamship company gave
this testimony before n congressional
committee. The opening Of the canal
with free tolls to American ships
would undoubtedly wipe out Lord
Cowdray's railroad. but it would also
lower sugar 81 per ton to the Ameri-
can people. Alfred Henry Lewis puts
it in a nutshell when he says, The
fight is between $65.G00.O00 of Lord
Cowdray's English Tehuantepec rail-
road money and $4OO.OOO,000 canal
money. That is the precise issue pre-
sented by a contest over freeing the
canal to American coastwise ships.
If it is not a subsidy to charge Amer
lean ships 81 per ton so that this Eng
lish railroad may retain its freight
rate. what is it?
The American people must pay tax
es to maintain the canal and in high
freight continue the tribute to Eng
lands financial king.
| do not want Senator Tillman to be
unhappy. because / am sure he wants
to do right l think that President
Wilson told him the truth when he
said that ne did not understand that
plank in the platform and has proba-
bly, never had time to study it yet
In conclusion / do not think that
either Senator Tillman or myself can
last very long as coat-tail swingers;
after we get hold, the impulse to take
the entire coat or die trying is irresist-
ible. JnO. l.. McLaurin.
Rennettsvlle, June 10.