Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-05-19
A LIGHTED MATCH
IN A POWDER MAGAZINE
6orah's Panama Canal Tolls Bill
Contains the Possibilities Of
Grave Disaster


Grave Disaster
TT is extremely unfortunate that Sen
ator Borah has set out to make the
Panama canal tolls question an issue in
the presidential campaign.
There has been the widest possible
divergence of opinion among t..e ablest
Republicans on the merits of the ques
ton.
II was Republican Congress that
passed the law in 1912 fixing the rate
of tolls to be charged to ships passing
through the canal and cxempting Amer
lean coastwise shipping from the pay
ment of all tolls. President Taft signed
the bill on the advice of his secretary
of state, Philander G. Knox.
Great nritain protested against the
passage of the law as n violation of the
Hay Pauucefote treaty. In spite of the
fact that Great Britain in her first note
of protest admitted that IF trade could
be so regulated as. to make it certain
that only bona fide coastwise vessels
would be benefited by this exemption
it may be that no objection could be
taken it was held by many able mer
that the exemption constituted viola .
tion Of the treaty.
Yet the majority in Congress decided
that no tolls should be charged when
cOastwise vessels passed through the
canal.
The law was passed in August. L8te
IN 10 ,f he NA,
Root. in recognition of the persistent
objection of the British. urged that il
either be repealed or that the dispute
over the Interpretation of the treaty be
submitted TO arbitration.
1t was in March. 1914. that Prcsi
dent Wilson asked for the repeal of the
tolls exemption clause of the act. and
explained to Congress that II shall not
know how to deal with other matters OF
even greater delicacy and nearer con =
sequence if you do not grant it to me
in ungrudging measure
In response to this appeal. the clause
to which the President objected was re
moved from the law. Senators and
Representatives who disagreed with
him on the right of the United States
TO exempt coastwise shipping from
tolls subordinatcd their views to what
they were led to believe was a great in =
ternational emergency.
What that emergency was has never
been disclosed. 1t may have been re-
vealed in confidence to individual mem =
bers of Congress. but the public is as
much in the dark about il now as il
was in March. 1914.
The question cannot be considered
on its merits at the present time.
There is doubtless no desire that il
should be so considered. Its political
effect is what is uppermOst in the minds
of those backing the movement. This
will manifest itself in two ways.
In the first place, it will give the
supporters of Senator Knox an oppon-
tunity to call attention To his attitude
on the question and will conceivably
increase his popularity among those
voters on the Pacific slope who wish tc
get their products into eastern mar.
kets at as low a freight cost as posi-
bic. Remission of the tolls on coast
wise ships will lessen the freight cost
at the rate of 81 20 ton. not on the
freight, but on the tonnage of the
vessel carrying it, AS this amounts tc
$4,000 on 5000-ton vessel it is a
considerable item.
In the second place, it will afford the
Republicans an opportunity to charge
the Democratic party with vacillation
under the leadership of President
Wilson.
The Democratic platform of 1912 in
dorsed the exemption of coastwise ship
ping from tolls. Mr.. Wilson when a
candidate approved the plank in a pub
lie address But after he became Pres
ident he admitted that he was not
familiar with the subject when he made
his address and that a study of il had
induced him to change his views. While
il il to his credit for man to admit
his errors when he has enlarged his
knowledge, it can be argued that man
should not commit himself on proposi
tions on which he is i'll Informed.
Mr.. Wilson within a year after his
inauguration had to make the humiliat
ing confession that he had been mistaken
on the one serious subject of dispute
between this country and Great Britain
He indirectly made a similar confes
sion about his views regarding Mexico
for within a few months after saying tha,
Huerta must not be allowed to remair
in the Mexican presidency, he said thai
the United States had no right TO in
terfere in the domestic affairs of thi,
ncighboring state even though its field,
should run with blood. And still 4
third time he admitted his error in de
manding thar the Paris Peace Confer
pnce should do something to secure tn,
freedom of the seas, set forth as on,
Of his fourteen points. After he ar
rived in Paris it dawncd on him tha
the plan for world peace which tn,
conference was drafting would max,
any declaration for the freedom of tn,
seas superfiuOus, for they would be fire.,
to all nations which agreed to tn,
League of Nations covenant and the,
should not be free to- the nations seek
ing to disregard the restrictions upor
war making contained in that covenant
He admitted he had not thought tn,
subject through to the end.
As n lighting point upon Wilson, tn,
Borah proposal has some advantages
but it's possibilities of producing inter
national complications are so sray,