The Cordova daily times., 1921-04-30
FREE TOLLS TO US. SHIPS THRU
 CANAL NEEDED
BY COL. WINFIELD JONES.

This Is the opinion of experts of the
 department of commerce, and more
 and more members of congress are
 coming to believe in the statement
 Every nation in history that became
 6 world power found it's rise on the sea.
 This applies from the time of Garth
 age to- the modern British empire. When the merchant sea power declin-
 ed so did the nation. Spanish argos
 ies once covered the seven seas and
 where are they today? Spain is a de-
 cayed second class power. Dutch com-
 merce one covered the globe, and Hol-
 land was the richest and greatest
 naval power in Europe. Where is the Dutch commerce today, and what a pitiful little country is Holland now, ] compared to the century after the rise
 of the Dutch republic.
 When the World war began our
 merchant marine lad sunk to a low
 ebb. A great part of our overseas | $,
 principally British, to the great en-
 richment of British ship owners. The
 World waG submarine menace forced
 us to build q great fleet of merchant ships. During the war the United
 States regained the proud ocean posi- tion it once held when the New Eng
 land clippers sailed on every sea. We
 have the ships now and it would be the
 most short sighted policy that could be devised if we do not continue to build
 more ships, and to foster by wsse congressional legislation the American merchant marine in every possible way
 Our foreign commerce and it's re- suits reach into every corner of the United States. The Kansas farmer
 who never saw the sea is as much in terested in this question an tho ship builder of Massachusetts. The south ern cotton grower and the western wheat and corn raisers needs a great American merchant marine just as much as the Maine shipwright. Every
 American who raises or manufactures anything to sell is vitially interested
 in our ocean carrying trade, for ar surplus of any product whatsoever in this country necessarily must be sold overseas. When it is sold it should be carried abroad in ships owned by Americans simply because the profits of ocean transportation in these ships will be American profits and stay at home, and also because in a hundred different ways it is an advantage for any nation to carry it's foreign com merce in ships owned by it's citizens Principal among such advantages is ! that domestic ship ownership will en- able the United States to control it's
 own ocean trade and regulate it's own shipping rates-an impos3ibility with foreign owned ships
 The first step to foster our new war-born shipping is to repeal the
 Panama canal tolls law, and to see to i it that American ships have the use Of this canal free of tolls. It is our canal, paid for with our money, on our ter
 ritory, and we have every right to allow our own ships to pass through this waterway without charge. The more so if such regulation will give us an advantage over all otrer nations in the ocean carrying trade. That's what we spent the money for to get a shipping advantage, and despite the nothing whatever to do with building the canal and have nothing now to do with it. It is the opinion of many mem- bers of Congress that we will be great fools if we do not use our own posses sious for our own benefit. There is no keener competition in the world than in the ocean carrying trade. We must use every legitimate advantage for our own merchant marine. Free tolls through our own canal would be such an advantage.
 Senator Jones, of Washington, will introduce a bill soon after the special session begins for free tolls.
 It is mOoted question whether the government or private ownerships
 should conduct our merchant marine
 Some members of congress, but they are few, believe that the U. s. shipping
 board should be continuel, as perma- nent bureau and should have complete
 charge of the American merchant
 marine Others, and they are vastly
 in the majority, belive that our ships should be held in private ownership. Private ownership prevails in every
 other nation that has a sea commerce.
 But most of these nations exercise
 complete supervision over their ships