The Commoner
April, 1914
11
Alexander, of this house, one of the ablest and
best men in it, chairman of the committee on the
merchant marine and fisheries, shows that 94
per cert of all the Atlantic and gulf coastwise
shipping is owned directly by railroads or ship
ping combinations. No one will controvert the
truth of that report. Will you stand by a plank
in the platform that violates every other prin
ciple in it, to the end that you may aid the rail
roads to further operate and control shipping
facilities through the canal- free? .True, the
transcontinental railroads can not operate ships'
through the cjmal in competition with them
selves. ,
4But there is not a railroad in the United
States that does not do a transcontinental busi
ness thr.t Is not at liberty to use that canal. We
will tax the people, yes, tax the widow and the
orphan to furnish a $400,000,000 free-service
facility to the railroads, and then have the cheek
to claim that we are urging this legislation in
the interest of the Canadian Pacific and other
transcontinental railroads.
"I wili tell you whose interest you are serv
ing, -whether you do it with or without knowl
edge on your part. When the canal bill was
being considered I put the test to gentlemen in
this house who were crying out transcontinental
railroads, and they ran away from it like scared
rabbits. I proposed to permit foreign vessels to
enter the coast-to-coast business through the
canal upon the payment of tolls; but no, never.
We are not attacking any coastwise shipping. '
They can continue to go around the Horn, as
they have always done. It is to their material
and monetary interest to go through the canal-,
even on payment of the toll charged, and thus
save the expense of sailing 8,000 miles around
the Horn. Why should we tax our people to
pay for construction, upkeep, and operation for
the benefit of coastwise ships? Why did we not
give the coastwise vessels the free use of the
Panama railroad? It has been owned for nine
years by the United States government. The re
cipients of special privile'ge in this country seem
to bo so infatuated with the benefits of legisla
tion that upon the slightest opportunity they
clamor for it on the lightest pretext. I offered
the amendment Just referred to, providing that
foreign ships should bo permitted to do a coast-to-coast
business through the canal, paying the
tolls. That legislation would add to the income
of the canal and give the transcontinental rail
roads real competition. And you know that it
is the transcontinental railroads that can not
own ships competing with themselves. Such
legislation would give real competition to them.
"I made a 20-minute speech in this house in
favor or that amendment when the bill was
pending, and how many votes do you think I
got for it? Forty-four. A number of them
came from the republican side. The gentleman
from Minnesota (Mr. Steenerson) and others
voted for it. I did not get more than 25 demo
cratic votes for that amendment, which would
have given real competition to the transconti
nental railroads and our Alantic and gulf coast
railroad-owned ships. I introduced the amend
ment afterwards as a bill, and it was first re
ferred to the committee on interstate and foreign
commerce, and by the speaker referred to the
committee on the merchant marine and fisheries.
Why do you not'advocato Its passage if you want
to give the transcontinental railroads real com
petition? No. It is a sweet, precious advantage
to the railroads on the Atlantic and gulf coast
country that you stand for. They can own and
send all the ships they have or may acquire,
unless this bill passes, through the canal free of
tolls. There is nothing to hinder the steel trust
from putting in a line of ships of its own. There
is nothing to hinder the Standard Oil Co. from
putting a line of ships through the canal free of
expenses as to canal charges. There is nothing
to hinder the beef trust from putting in a line of
ships. None of them would be operating in com
petition with themselves.
"Then prate about our doing something in tho
interest of Great Britain! It is a fact that Great
Brita'n has more foreign shipping than we, but
we have more coastwise shipping than any coun
try on earth. Does any man contend that tho
declarations in our party platforms from time
to time, in favor of our building up our mer
chant marine, refer to the coastwise trade? No.
That trade is already protected by a monopoly
of the entire trade, and the different companies
do not even make the same ports.
"Who are you going to stand by? Are you
going to stand by the common people, who pay
the taxes; by our president, who will not stultify
himself by favoring a plank in tho platform that
was put in stealthily in the interest of an exist
ing statutory monopoly, and tho only one in the
United States?"
SPEAKER CLARK'S SPEECH
Speaker Clark's speech in tho house March 31
against tho repeal of tho exemption clause of tho
canal tolls, as reported in tho Washington Even
ing Star, was as follows:
There is no personal issue between tho presi
dent of the United States and myself. There
has not been at any time. I trust there never
will be. I havo at no time uttered one word of
criticism of -the president. At rio time, so far as
I am informed or believe, has the president said
one s'ngle word of criticism of me. In the nature
of things, a man who is worthy to hold a high
public post in the service of his country must"
believe that other public servants are actuated
by the same high, courageous and patriotic mo
tives by which he believes himself to be moved.
I havo never for one moment entertained
the opinion that President Wilson is actuated by
other than tho highest patriotic motives. I do
not believe that President Wilson has ever en
tertained any other opinion as to the conduct of
those of us who find it necessary to differ with
him on this measure. President Wilson does
not desire a breach in the democratic party. I
do not desire a breach in the democratic party,
and there is no breach in the democratic party.
I would scorn to believe that President Wilson
countenances for one moment the efforts of some
of the jackal press to represent that we are seek
ing to disrupt the democratic party. The presi
dent Is too big a man not to desire that this
great question should bo fought out on Its
merits, freo from personalities, which can do no
good and may do much harm. Tho president has
too high an idea of tho duties of a public servant
to desire members to do other than voto their
conscientious convictions. With most of thoso
who havo asserted that I am seoking to disrupt
the party tho wish is Xathor to the thought.
In tho Now York World of Tuesday, March
24, appearod a scurrilous and slanderous nrticlo
with these headlines:
"Leaders work to split democracy over canal
tolls. As filibuster against exemption repeal
goes on in the house it is said that both Speaker
Clark and Mr. Underwood will oppose the presi
dent's measure."
That is one of tho most preposterous state
ments made in any newspaper since Guttenberg
Invented movable types.
You gentlemen into whose faces I am now
looking know the democratic leaders of this
house better than any other men on earth know
us. Does any man in this house believe that the
democratic house leaders arc working to split
tho democracy? If so, let him courageously
stand up here and now.
(Continued on page 21.)
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