* *

enemy's Oregon might go through this short canal." And again: "It is a project of the whole country for all time and it is not to be belittled Mr. President, or it should not be, by action governed by mere sentiment, by prejudice or by assumed local interest."

A most dramatic incident occurred when Representative Mann on January 7, 1902, with patriotic eloquence declared: "We have benefited greatly by the work and trials of other nations and peoples. Today we will give to all nations and to all peoples without preference and without discrimination a reminder of our prosperity and our generosity, which will stand like the pyramids of Egypt-a lasting memorial to our labor-and which unlike the pyramids will be of constant use and benefit to progressive mankind. (Applause.)

*

Have we not the right, then, to contemplate with satisfaction, the proposition we are now making, that our country at its own expense and out of its own treasury, without contribution or aid from other peoples or nations, takes this mighty step forward, in the march of civilization, not for itself, not for our advantage, not to benefit ourselves, not to gain a preference over our neighbors, but in the interest of the whole world for the good of all people? We pay the expense; they share equally the results. No sublimer conception of a great enterprise was ever entertained by man, or by spirit. The heart of the American people grows greater when it undertakes work like this. It beats in rhythm with the progress which is yet to come when it approves a project like this." (Applause)*

* *

*

The speaker's sentiments were ratified by the generous applause of the body of the House, at *See, Cong. Record 1902, Appendix pg. 3.

the close of every paragraph. It was not a simple pledge but it was a pledge with a double guaranty.

It has been said that the late Secretary Hay, on being asked, if the United States was included in the words "all nations" used in the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, emphatically replied: "what else could all nations mean but all nations!"

Why does Europe concede to us the right to own and control the Panama Canal? Is it for our betterment alone? Or do they expect us to deal out evenhanded justice, to all seeking the service of the canal?

From a broad outlook and from a most thoughtful consideration of the work in hand, we now say, without sentimentality and in all reverence, that, since the Star of Fortune has led us to Panama, and by its kindly light we have been able to forge the link that now connects the two great oceans, let us look with pride at the immortal accomplishment, without boasting or arrogance, and not forget our obligations to England for the Hay-Pauncefote treaty; to Panama for cutting the Gordian knot which seemed to bind us to defeat; to the French heroes who first began the canal's construction; to the twenty-four world powers, whose generous approval, at a critical moment, assured to us the Panama route; to those officials outside and inside of Congress whose vision and courage through one of the world's most historic struggles, held fast to the route designed by creation for the canal; and to the Engineers and stalwart champions who planned, wrought, dredged, blasted and constructed under a tropical sun, in the midst of pestilence, against obstacles almost insurmountable; and, while remembering all this, and that it is through the beneficence of Destiny we are permitted to own this great work, we should recognize our debt to the world, our years of sacred pledges, and in justice and honor grant to all peaceful ships the use of this short and safe waterway FOREVER, without discrimination, partiality or exclusion; and thereby gain the esteem, friendship and plaudits of all nations, down the courses of Time-through the cycles of Ages!

:

PANAMA TOLLS

President Taft on Nov. 13, 1912, established by proclamation the rates for the use of the Panama Canal in pursuance of the statute passed August 24, 1912, as follows:

1. On merchant vessels carrying passengers or cargo one dollar and twenty cents per net vessel ton-each one hundred cubic feet-of actual earning capacity.

2. On vessels in ballast without passengers or cargo forty per cent. less than the rate of tolls for vessels with passengers or cargo. 3. Upon naval vessels, other than transports, colliers, hospital ships and supply ships, fifty cents per displacement ton.

4. Upon army and navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, and supply ships, one dollar and twenty cents per net ton, the vessels to be measured by the same rules as are employed in determining the net tonnage of merchant vessels.

It was also prescribed that the Secretary of War should prepare and fix such rules for the measurement of vessels and such regulations as are necessary to carry the proclamation into effect.

On April 16, 1914, President Wilson issued an Executive Order, which provided:

1. That payment of tolls for the use of the Panama Canal and for fuel and other material and supplies sold and for repairs, harbor pilotage, towage, furnished by the canal to vessels, shall be made to the Collector of the Canal at Balboa or Cristobal, except that deposits for tolls may be made with the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer of the United States to the official credit of the Collector of the Canal.

A vessel may enter Gatun Lake from either end without passing through the locks at the other end and may return to the point of entry without payment of additional tolls.

2. All payments shall be made in lawful money of the U. S., but drafts may be accepted as provided in Section 5.

3. Payment of tolls shall be made before the vessel is allowed to enter any lock of the canal; all bills for materials, towage or other legal bills shall be paid before the vessel is given clearance at the port of departure.

4. A certificate may be issued to the officer in charge of the locks and if desired to the master of the vessel, by the Canal Auditor, that the vessel is entitled to pass through.

5. Unless, in the opinion of the Canal Governor, payment in cash to the Collector is necessary for canal purposes, drafts on banks in the U. S. under supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency, may be accepted for conversion into cash, for paying tolls and for other services and goods, provided the drafts are secured by high-grade bonds in accordance with further provisions of this Section 5.

6. Provision is made that steamship companies or agencies may make deposits to the credit of the Canal Collector with the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer of the U. S. to be applied in payment of tolls. (Full directions are given how this shall be done.)

7. Provides for refund of excess of deposit when not used, etc. 8. The Governor of the canal may prescribe such additional regulations as may be necessary and proper.

THE SHIP RAILWAY.

Wm. F. Channing was perhaps the first in this country to suggest the idea of transporting large ships overland on a railroad track. He drew plans for such an enterprise as early as 1859, and on March 29, 1865, secured a patent for the invention from the United States, and assigned the same to Horace H. Day, who contemplated the carrying of vessels around Niagara Falls. Diagrams are shown in House Miscellaneous Doc., 46 Cong., 3d session 1880-1, page 78.

The House Ship Canal Committee, had before it in 1880, not only the question of canals, but also the problem of a ship railway at Tehauntepec. Capt. Eads and others had asked for a charter and money assistance from the nation. Among the witnesses advocating the ship railway were: Dr. Wm. F. Channing, N. Y.; J. W. Goodwin, Pa., and Capt. James B. Eads. The latter introduced letters from eminent engineers indorsing the proposal; ship-builders generally condemned the idea; and if the purpose was to transport overland large vessels, the proposal was held to be chimerical. Capt. Eads asked a modified charter from Congress in 1887. This passed the Senate Feby. 17, 1887, and on Feby. 23, was laid before the House, read twice and referred to the Commerce Committee. We have not been able to find that it was ever reported out of committee. Capt. Eads died March 8, 1887, and the whole project terminated.

While the plan might be a success for the transport of shallops (an improvement upon the Indian portage) still no vessel-owner would trust a ship of large dimensions, and weighed down with a full cargo, to the hazard of such an operation. Ships are intended for the sea, yet out of necessity they must be constructed and repaired on land; but when the necessity ceases, their land migrations should also cease.