Show PANAMA CANAL TOLLS What will be the tho fair thing toward the ships of r the United States and those of foreign powers is a question which is just now agitating our own ownS S people and all outside commercial nations Some of our own people claim that inasmuch as s the United States will have supplied every dollar dollar dol dol- lar Jar when the thc canal shall have been heen completed in inv v simple justice tile the canal shall be he considered as asa a distinct asset of this countr country and in the matter mat tel ter of tolls it has a perfect right to discriminate discriminateS minate S against tile the outside world j i i That is not quite right in measuring the theS S i i equities The rhe original Union Pacific and Central Pacific roads from Omaha to Sacramento were built b by i government mone money Indeed not only did the gOr gov gov- all ll th the but in addition r f eminent supply mone money N made the projectors all rich Ha Had the enter enter- prise rise been declared d a militar military military- necessity an and v blen been built b by government engineers as the canal built it would have hae been like the ea canal al government property But no one would claim that thal in the tile cond conduct conductS et of or orthe the road it would be right to to carry American S go goods ds free ilce and if an any foreign goods sought transportation transportation trans- trans S over it the they should be bc assessed to the vel very limit that the thc traffic would bear There was lio no O question of that kind raised for fot tIle the original t j promoters laid exactly that thai a assessment on all 1 freight that wa offered th the road I S I But from the first th the law v of Oil our om country has lias fv been e i. i that that no foreign ship should trade r de between n American tT P ports This Thi law enabled the thi ship own own- cirs ms of f the United States to build up the gle great t met l hant marine of our otti cou country between 1849 and S v 1830 1859 when California a h had d to be supplied with alC al al- C most e everything from the outside Could built have been 1 bc- bc i foreign ships run runS S tween Boston New York Baltimore mid and San Francisco we should have had no great merchant P Jt 7 marine at the time though our belief is that some of t e great clippers of those da days s would ll have he been built and the owners O of the charnal steam steam- 1 that ran between the thc east cast and San Francisco 4 yi via I Dama and Nicaragua gua wo would ha have e. e been f r J forced ed to give passengers a fair an and comfortable fc sc service ico 1 J as O our I government gO has lus always s 's mi S in n favor of Arn American in iii the J b between h hen en American ports our omi thought is that dit di l crimination should continue and that American i coasters should pass the canal free or ot at merely a no nominal inal toll toH but that American ships in iii the for for- S I fc trade should pay par th the same that foreign ships hip do for while the canal will b be hc American it will ivill at tt It time the sl same mc t time me have hac an au int international significance i and to obtain any foreign patronage patrona at all will vill j have to treat foreigners nelS fairly side Aside from the limo thel l q of that it W will ill at best be he n many years cars c tr bi bei be be- I i 4 fore all tile the patronage that can caim be obtained will Avill meet the expenses of or the canal l and the tiLe interest o on I i its cost The transcontinental roads want ant coasters i charged full tolls They n must recede from that r position n The They will lo lose c s some some me freights at terminal 31 points but hut will ill quickly make that up b by the in in- 4 4 cr creasing asing business lf a little wa way from front time the terminals nas and md when the they can no longer compete for through I freights h s w hope they the will find finch it t to their interest 1 r r r J to ccase cease discriminating against certain interior c cities h |