18 PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROAVERs' CONVENTION. 



EEPOET OF COMMITTEE ON mOAEAGUA CANAL. 



Mr. Edward Berwick, chairman, presented the following report of the 

 Nicaragua Canal Committee, appointed at the last Convention: 



The resolution respecting the Isthmian Canal, passed at your last Convention, was 

 duly forwarded to your representatives in Congress. 



During the past year the Isthmian Canal Commission has completed its investiga- 

 tions, and sent in its final report to the President. That commission definitely recom- 

 mends the Nicaragua route, as being the most feasible and practicable one. It remains 

 for the Congress now in session to take action as speedily as may be on that recom- 

 mendation. 



The inability of the present transportation companies, as shown in the past year, 

 adequately to handle even the present amount of our rapidly increasing produce, not 

 only accentuates the need of the canal, but leads to the hope that they may withdraw 

 their opposition to the project; which opposition has notoriously been in the past the 

 main, bar to satisfactory congressional action. 



After the obsequies of the lamented President McKinley, your committee wrote to 

 President Roosevelt, urging him to employ his strenuosity in thwarting the machina- 

 tions of opposing corporations, and obtaining the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer 

 treaty. The letter was referred by the President to the Secretary of State for his due 

 consideration. 



Your committee would respectfully suggest that all friends of the canal should 

 redouble rather than reduce the amount of energy they can expend in agitating the 

 prompt construction of the canal. 



Obviously the powers of resistance offered by a $2,000,000,000 aggregation of capital is 

 twenty fold greater than that presented by one of only $100,000,000. 



The report was received and placed on file. 



MR. BERWICK. I have in my pocket here the interim report of 

 the Walker Commission. I have always borne the canal in mind, as 

 most of you have, as a thing we all need and have needed for a long 

 time. I don't think we always realize our importance as makers of 

 history in these great matters. You all know that commerce is the 

 conquering power of the day. What is the foundation of commerce ? 

 It is not the merchant ; it is the producer and grower of fruit ; and this 

 being a fact, the California fruit-grower is a heavy factor in the com- 

 merce of the United States. It occurs to me that we do not feel impor- 

 tant enough. We have made history to the tune of somewhere in the 

 neighborhood of 16,000 carloads of fruit in 1890. Our entire product in 

 fruits, vegetables, and things of that sort last year was 66,000 carloads. 

 What are those carloads worth, together with the boxes and transporta- 

 tion ? Shall we call them $500 a car ? At these figures you will see 

 that we have, in the last ten years, added an immense sum to the 

 State's production — we have added this to the commerce of the State. 

 I say commerce rules the world to-da^y, and I think we fruit-growers 

 should feel that it is important that we should meet often and talk 

 these matters over, and that we have a right to address our President 

 and our representatives in Congress in our efforts toward the completion 

 of the Nicaragua Canal. It means rapid transit to Europe ; not only 



