The Washington herald., 1921-10-03
Refers to Canal Tolls.
TO the Editor, The Washington Herald:

10 the Editor, 1he washington Herald:
In your issue OF Thursday, Sep
tember %. you have an editorial
headed, Free Tolls" as to which
desire to submit a comment or two.
Like many others, you have much
to say about the sacredness of
treaty. obligations and the desir-
ability of observing not only the
letter but the spirit of interna-
tional agreements. l do not see
how the spirit of a treaty can be
observed without observing its let
ter. and you seem to ignore certain
things which, as 1 see IL, consti-
tute an absolute violation of the
express terms OF the treaty. The
provision of the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty involved is contained in
Article 3, which reads:
The United States adopts. as the
basis of the naturalization of such
ship canal, the following rules, sub
stantially as embodied in the con-
vention of Constantinople, signed
the 2Sth of October, 1883, for the
free navigation of the Suez Canal 4:
that is to say:
Il. The canal shall be free and
open to the vessels of commerce
and of war of all nations observ-
equality, so that there shall be no
discrimination against any such
nation, or Its citizens or subjects,
in respect of the conditions or
charges of traffic, or otherwise.
Such conditions and charges OF
traffic shall be just and equitable"
Article 1s Of the treaty with the
Republic Of Panama, by which We
gained control of the Canal Zone
and SECURED the right to construct
the cahsl, contains the following
languagea
The government OF the Republic
of Panama shall have the right to
transport over the canal its vessels
and its troops and munitions of
war in such vessels at all times
without paying charges 'of any
Panama is a nation and our
treaty with Panama violates the
express terms Of the treaty with
Great Britain.
Colombia is also a nation and the
recent treaty with that country
contains the following words:
The Republic of Colombia shall
be at liberty at all times to trans
port through the interoceanic canal
Its troops, materials of war and
ships Of war without paying any
charges to the United states"
Here Is another violation of the
Hay-Pauncefote treaty.
Those who, in opposing the ex-
emption from tolls of American
ships engaged in coastwise COM
merce, claim that the words all
nations" in the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty include the United States,
seem invariably to be afflicted with
mental blindness in reading the
rest Of the paragraph. 1t says:
ct he canal shall be free and open
to the vessels of commerce and or
war Of all nations observing these
rules, on terms of entire equality,
etc"
Ever since the canal has been
sending through it not only its
ships of war but other ships owned
or chartered by the government,
not one Of which has ever paid a
cent of toll. From its opening to
June 80 of the present year no less
than 1.143 ships, carrying 1,203,215
tons of cargo for the government,
have passed through the canal. No
statement of the number of United
States warships using the canal is
at hand, but those which passed
through in the fiscal year 1921 had
a displacement of Sss,ss3 tons.
Here is palpable. open. notori-
GUS and continuous violation OF the
Hay-Pauncefote treaty by our gov
ernment. and I shall look to see
you and other advocates of the sa.
credness of treaties start a cam
paign to have this stain upon our
national honor removed at once.
The treaty says:
There shall be no discrimination
against any such nation, or its cit
liens or subjects. in respect of the
conditions. or charges of traffic, or
otherwise
1t seems to me that you, and
others who take your vier Of the
matter, entirely overlook the ef-
feet of this word nation" taken
In connection with the words or
otherwise" Including the s2s,ooo'-
900 recently voted to Colombia, the
Panama Canal represents an in
vestment, up to date, of almost
s50o,ooo, 900. The tolls and other
revenue have thus far failed TO
meet the cost of maintenance and
operation, to say nothing of pay
ing anything whatever as interest
or as . contribution fo q sinking