The Panama Canal 



57 



goods to the Isthmus. The chief features 

 of this policy were : 



TRANSPORTATION MONOPOLIES TO THE 

 ISTHMUS HAVE BEEN ABOLISHED 



(i.) We threw open all terminal fa- 

 cilities on the Isthmus to all steamship 

 lines on equal terms. Prior to this time 

 the Panama Railroad, being a private 

 and not a government corporation, had 

 •endeavored to force the shipment of all 

 canal supplies by way of New York. 

 The management of the railroad required 

 that steamship lines from Gulf ports 

 should charge the same rates from, their 

 ports to Colon as were charged by the 

 railroad's steamship line from New York 

 to Colon, under penalty of being deprived 

 of the railroad's dock facilities at its 

 terminals. 



The result of this was to give great ad- 

 vantage to the port having the shortest 

 rail line from point of production. As 

 New York was much nearer the centers 

 of production than Gulf or Pacific coast 

 ports, it secured the bulk of the business. 

 When the government assumed control, 

 by purchase, of the Panama Railroad, 

 one of the Commission's first acts was 

 to notify all steamship lines that they 

 could have the use of the railroad's 

 terminal facilities on the Isthmus on the 

 same terms as the steamships of the rail- 

 road company, without regard to any 

 rates they might make from their ports 

 of departure. 



(2.) We required all bids for supplies 

 to be made c. i. f. the Isthmus — that is, 

 all bids to include cost of delivery on the 

 Isthmus. 



(3.) In order to prevent any charge of 

 discrimination in rates, as between New 

 York and the Gulf and Pacific coast 

 ports, we separated the Panama Railroad 

 Steamship Line from the Panama Rail- 

 road and threw open the use of that 

 steamship line to all railway connections 

 at New York on agreed percentage divi- 

 sions. We gave our direct rail connec- 

 tions at New York, as well as all others, 



the privilege to make rates from all pro- 

 ducing territory clear through to Colon. 

 Under this policy the manufacturer sit- 

 uated on the line of a railroad leading to 

 New York has no advantage whatever 

 over the one situated on lines of railway 

 running to Gulf ports. Each can arrange 

 for his own rates straight through to 

 Colon. We went a step further and 

 adopted the policy of charging the gov- 

 ernment on the Commission's shipments 

 from New York exactly the same rates 

 that are paid by any other shippers from 

 that port locally. Our object in these 

 various acts was to protect the United 

 States government from any charge of 

 favoritism to any section of the country 

 or to any port. 



If we had made low rates from New 

 York on our own materials it would have 

 been charged that these were less than 

 private capital could afford to grant, 

 and that therefore the government should 

 install similar service from the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf ports. We should also 

 have been charged with rebating to our- 

 selves as against other shippers, thus 

 violating the law. What we did was to 

 put the government on a parity with 

 every other shipper, and all sections of 

 the country on exactly the same footing. 

 If by reason of these policies competi- 

 tion among the railways in different sec- 

 tions of the country shall result in rates 

 below a profitable basis, the government 

 will be the gainer, because it will get the 

 benefit of a reduced cost in the price of 

 its material delivered on the Isthmus. 

 In no case can the government be a 

 party to any kind of discrimination. 



You, gentlemen, being situated about 

 equally distant from the Gulf and the 

 seaport, are especially favored under this 

 policy. You will get the benefit of the 

 competition of the railways leading 

 through both gateways, and should be 

 able to secure very reasonable rates of 

 transportation on any goods you may 

 produce and desire to sell which enter 

 into the construction of the canal. 



