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78
BALKONTA O
For
84
against the measure with a view to influencing the
United States Government to suspend or rescind the Law.
The general Joint ground of objection to the
measure is that the monopoly given to American ships
would raise freights to the disadvantage of American
and Philippine products crossing the Pacifio, and would
increase the high cost of living here; and this objec-
tion seems to persist in spite of the suggested advan-
tage to be secured in railway rates by goods shipped in
American vessels.
The Philippine objection is based also on the con-
tention that the measure will considerably, perhaps in-
definitely, postpone independence on which their hearts
are set. British views are, of course, based on the
injury which would be done to British shipping by being
excluded from the carrying trade between the United
States and the Philippines.
Some, however, suggest that
this injury may be offset in part at least by the
benefit to British Imports to the Philippines through
increased freights from the United States which would
reduce the disadvantage British goods suffer from the
Customs tariff which does not apply to American goods, though the variation in railway rates would affect this
view.
I have heard indirectly that some American shipping interests view with concern the possibility that Great Britain may institute retaliatory measures, or rather measures of equalization, on such British Coastwise routes as that from Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Colombo, Caloutta, o. The suggestion is interesting as American vessels, especially those of the Shipping
Board/
to."
.Q
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