Evening star., 1915-01-24

shpbuding and the operation of ships becomes profit
able this side of the water shall do little pace
setting ourselves. And shall go after the worlds
commerce in deadly earnest-and get it. The day is
not far distant when American sailor again lay
the foundation of such "reminiscences those of Sena
tor Perkins of California, who recently told this story
in the United States Senate:
an the summer of 1853 a sailor boy at
dollars a month on board the squarergged American
ship Golden Eagle, loaded with cotton from New Or
leans, in the harbor of Havre, France The Golden
Eagle built Kennebunkport, in my native State
of Maine, and l can assure you she was sailing ship
of which the American of that day of this might
well have been proud.
"I recall that at that time there lay in that great
French harbor docks twelve full-rigged American
ships, loaded not only with the products of our
country but of them with the products of the
parts of the world. There but two British
ships in the harbor at that time, and it is pleasant for
to recall that favor1te air of the military bands
of this great French seaport The Star-Spangled
Banner, PLAYED in honor of the kind of ships and the
sort of with which the United States
Quoting its commerce with sister Republic
THOUGH it is too early to see it now, there is yet
another effect of the canal that will be Of trennen
dos importance, especially to the South and the West
Steamship lines depend largely upon the revenue de
rived from steerage passengers-whch is
why the immigration figures of the Atlantic seaboard
have reached such totals IN the last few
Though Congress has enacted drastic laws to
strain railroad and steamship companies from art
fcialy stimulating emigration from European lands,
the ingenuity of the transportation companies has
been quite sufficient to overcome the handicap. 1t
is altogether natural that steamship lines from Eu
rope the Gulf and to the Pacific Coast will bring
States that need it most immigration that they have
not been able to secure heretofore.
1t is surprising note the high hopes that they have
been building upon this assumption. The South and
the West and the Northwest have all been looking for
ward for years the time when the canal by stmula
ton of direct immigration would solve most of its
labor problems and settle up most of its vacant lands
1t is probably true that they have expected this result
to come to pass much sooner than it will come; but
the result will doubtless be attained nevertheless.
In fact it may be, that all Europe face bur
dens of taxation far heavier than it has yet KNOWN
that the States clamoring for immigrants may
by and by be storrning the halls of Congress effort
to have that immigration checked by rigid restrictions
The South for instance, may presently reach the
point where it will look back regretully upon the days
when it had only the negro problem to wrestle with;
and the Pacific Coast from San Diego to Vancouver,
may also have occasion reflect upon the simple life
it led in the old days when it had only "The Yellow
Peril to be nervous about However, it cannot be
doubted that these sections will grappe with their
problems vigorously the East has done, and
the will have dawned all along that wonderful
coastline from Key West to Nome.
Meanwhile the canal is there, and the land
slides in Cuebra Cut eliminate it. The ships
going pass through it, and they will be loaded down
with commerce and immigration The important task
is to face the fact and be ready for it.
THEY have foreseen all this and more at the ports
of the Gulf and along the Pacific Coast. Engineer
ing feats of great magnitude have been performed
the widening of harbors, the dredging
of channels, the construction of piers
and breakWaterS all the WaV from