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Early in July, 1912, we
left on a business trip to England and France. At this time I was a
director in the Anglo-French China Corporation, and visited the company
in Paris. While there I was astonished and surprised to receive a letter
from the mayor of Falkirk, Scotland, my native city, in which he
requested to know when I would be there as they had decided to confer on
me, the Freedom of the Burgh, the highest honor the civil authorities
can confer on one in Great Britain.
I returned to London,
and, when I had finished with the business I had in hand there, I
proceeded to Falkirk. While in London, the Times printed the following
article which I wrote, relative to the Panama Canal.
"the panama dues and
coastwise trade—
an american shipowner's
views
"On account of the
intense feeling that has been aroused in this country, and the absence
of the proverbial British reputation for fair play, a decision having
been arrived at before hearing both sides of the question, many pages
have been printed, but in none have T seen the American side given. I
need not give the British side, as it has been printed many times, and
the public are familiar with it. The object of writing this is not for
controversy, but first to give a plain statement of facts; and, second,
to endeavor to promote peace and good will between the two nations. I
believe that our diplomats will settle the question, but, if they fail.
T would be in favor of submitting it to The Hague. It is not, however, a
matter for that tribunal to decide as it is purely a domestic matter in
which Great Britain is not interested.
"The vessels which will
be permitted to go through the Panama Canal free of tolls will only be
those engaged in the coastwise trade, and as only American vessels are
per mitted to engage in this trade, then it follows that foreign nations
cannot be interested, as they are prohibited from engaging ifc this
trade by a law which antedates the Hav-Pauncefote Treaty bv rnanv years.
"The spirit of the treaty
was that we shall not discriminate against British ships. How can there
be discrimination when it is impossible for British ships to engage in
this coastwise trade? The discrimination is in prohibiting British ships
from engaging in coastwise trade, not in allowing American ships to go
through free. American ships engaged in the foreign trade, as the law
stands at present, must pay the same tolls as British ships, and
according to the treaty this is right; but, strange as it may appear,
the American ship owners are not directly interested in free tolls
coastwise, ii is the American public, as any tolls put on will iust
increase the rate of freight to that extent; and, far more important
than all this, is the fact that the transcontinental railroads will also
increase their tariff to the amount of the tolls, so that it is far
reaching, and explains more fully the American contention that it ;s a
local internal affair, and not an international one, hence the reason
Mr. Taft has stated that it is not a case over which The Hague has
jurisdiction.
"The railroads maintained
a strong lobby in Washington all last session, headed by two of their
ablest men, endeavoring to get as high tolls as possible put on
coastwise ships. They were naturally not interested in rates charged on
ships engaged in foreign trade. The contention has been made that by
passing the coastwise ships through free t would increase the tolls on
foreign ships.
"There is no expectation
in America that the Canal will be an interest-paying investment for many
years to come. Congress anticipated this, and they direct that 'we shall
try and get tolls sufficient to pay the working expenses only. If they
do that they will do well. Furthermore, this Canal is like any other
commercial enterprise that must meet the world's competition. The Suez
Canal is rapidly coming down in its rates in anticipation of
competition. Then, there are still open the waterways that we are using
now, so the United States will be compelled to make the tolls low.
otherwise they will find themselves with a canal on their hands and few
ships going through it; and, seeing that they are determined to make it
a success, the only way this can be done is by meeting and and all
competition, and by making the rate reasonable and low enough to get the
traffic. Then there is talk here of boycotting America, and a member of
Congress said the only way to arbitrate this question was by the sword.
Verily, the fools are not all dead yet.
"I reed not go into the
question of the exclusion of railroad-owned ships from passing through
the Canal, as that is of local .interest only, and is necessary to
prevent railroads from getting complete control of the coastwise traffic
that would go through the Canal, thereby raising the rates overland. The
question has often been asked, what is coastwise? It is trading between
ports from which all vessels are excluded except American bottoms. The
Philippine Islands trade to the United States is open to the world.
"You published a letter
the other day in which your correspondent tried to show that the lumber
trade of British Columbia would be ruined by free tolls. He omitted, or
did not know of an important factor in this connection; that is. that
there is a duty of five shillings per thousand superficial feet against
Canadian lumber coming into the United States. I will give you some
figures which will show that British vessels will continue to do
business at the old stand; and, inasmuch as I own British and American
vessels and am engaged in the timber trade, I am able to give you that
data correctly, and. as this is a criterion for all other trades and
commodities, it should convince British shipowners that they have
nothing to fear from American ships, either coastwise or foreign.
"Timber ordinarily can be
bought in British Columbia as cheap as on Puget Sound, so we have only
the transportation tolls and duty to consider.
"All other commodities
carried in British versus American ships will he affected in the same
proportion, so 1 trust the calamity howlers who claim that British
Columbia will be ruined, instead of dealing in generalities, will get
down to hard facts and cold figures. I need hardly add that, after the
Canal is open, any lumber we sell on the eastern seaboard of the United
States will be bought in British Columbia and carried in British
steamers. I dislike very much to give business secrets away, but 1 am
doing -t only with the hope that an amicable understanding may be
arrived at. and that good feeling and friendly relations may be
re-established and that there will be a closer union between all the
English-speaking people of the world, and I hope and trust that the
people on both sides of the Atlantic will endeavor to bring about this
mucli-to-be-desired condition."
I had given the city of
Falkirk money to erect a monument and drinking fountain m the public
park, in honor of Sir John de Graeme. They delayed the unveihng so that
I could be present at the ceremony. This took place in the evening, to
give the working people an opportunity to be. there. The Falkirk Herald
had this to say of the affair:
"On Thursday evening a
series of interesting and successful functions took place in Falkirk in
connection with the presentation of the Freedom of the Burgh to Mr.
Robert Dollar, of San Francisco, and the unveiling of a handsome granite
drinking fountain which Mr. Dollar has presented to the town as a
memorial to Sir John de Graeme, who was slain at the battle of Falkirk.
1298. Mr. Dollar, who is a native and benefactor of Falkirk, and who is
one of San Francisco's best-known and most successful commercial men.
has been touring in this country for the past month or two.
Unfortunately, there was a heavy downpour of rain during the progress of
the first function, namely, the unveiling of the Sir John de Graeme
memorial by Mrs. Dollar. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the formal
presentation of the burgh took place in the Town Hall, and afterwards
there was a cake and wine banquet in the Masonic Temple."
The Burgess Ticket wrote
as follows:
"At Falkirk, the
twenty-ninth day of August, in the year one thousand nine hundred and
twelve, which clay the Provost Magistrate and Councillors of the Burgh
of Falkirk being convened, they receive and admit Robert Dollar. Esq.,
of San Francisco, to the liberty and freedom of an Honorary-Burgess of
the Burgh of Falkirk with power to him to use and exercise the whole
liberties, privileges and immunities thereto belonging, as fully and
freely in all respects as any-other Honorary Burgess has used and
exercised, or may use and exercise the same at any time, bygone or to
come.
"Extracted from the
Council records of said Burgh by
"(Signed) A. Balfour
Gray, Town Clerk."
The Press said:
"honor where due''
"It must be generally
acknowledged that the honor conferred on Mr. Robert Dollar, when on
Thursday evening he was admitted a Free Burgess of the Burgh of Falkirk,
was well merited. No one has done more to earn the gratitude of the
community than Mr. Dollar. A not uncommon experience in the case of
people who leave their place of birth for the purpose of pushing their
fortune in other parts of the world, is their entire forgetfulness and
neglect of old associations. To Mr. Dollar's credit be it said, it has
been altogether different so far as he is concerned. His efforts to
improve his own position have met with gratifying success. and Mr.
Dollar's native town has shared in his prosperity.
"It cannot be forgotten
that it was to Mr. Dollar that the people of Falkirk were first indebted
for the benefit of a free library. Before the days of the Hope Street
institution, Mr. Dollar had provided the means for a large supply of
valuable books being obtained for the use of the community, and these
formed a valuable nucleus to the now existing well-furnished
establishment. In other respects the town has benefited by Mr. Dollar's
munificence, and there has been frequent evidences of the warm interest
he takes in it and in its various associations. Having all this in mind,
it must readily be perceived that Mr Dollar had a strong claim on the
gratitude of the people of Falkirk, and it was fitting that that claim
should have been acknowledged in the manner it has been."
I noticed on signing the
Burgess Roll that the last one to sign before me was Lord Roberts, and
only three of us had received the honor in the last century. It was
certainly a great surprise. The Town Hall, capable of holding some three
thousand people, was filled to overflowing and there were more people
outside than could get in.
We left Falkirk for
Glasgow, and while in the latter city. Mr. T. L. Duff took us on an
automobile trip to the West Highlands, Scotland.
This was one of the most
enjoyable trips we ever had. Starting from Glasgow at 10 o'clock in the
morning, we went down the Clyde through Dumbarton, along the shores of
Loch Lomond. The fertile fields and shaded avenues of fine, large trees
surrounding the gentlemen's places were beautiful sights. The moist,
damp atmosphere makes it possible to nave lawns like velvet,
impracticable in our dry California climate.
We passed the quiet,
quaint village of Luss, on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond, and crossed
over a divide; the scenery changed to a wild, rocky range of hills with
plenty of heather in bloom. We then passed through the village of Tarbet
and got as far as Craiglarich for lunch, a distance of over fifty miles.
It was a very nice, neat home-like hotel. After lunch, we crossed what
is called Black Mountain, attaining a considerable height, and then
descended through the Pass of Glencoe. Up to this point from Craiglarich
there were no inhabitants. It was a wild, dreary country of morass and
rough, rocky hills. Going down the glen, the scenery was splendid, as
only in this highland country can such magnificent views be found,
We passed the monument
marking the place of the massacre of the Clan MacDonald by men who posed
as their friends, who, after partaking of their hospitality for two
weeks, fell on them and killed all they could find, but fortunately many
escaped in the darkness.
At the foot of the Pass
of Glencoe, on the shore of an estuary of the ocean, we stopped at a
neat, comfortable hotel in the small village of Ballachulish. It was
such a home-like place that we were almost persuaded to remain there for
the night, but it would have left too much distance to cover the next
day, so we went on. We followed the shore of Loch Linuhe for a long
distance to Connel. where the motor was put on a railroad car and
transported five miles, crossing the railroad bridge, to avoid ferrying.
This was a good arrangement, as at the bridge the current was very
swift. Instead of a locomotive there was a motor car which seated about
twenty people. They make regular trips this short distance, and we were
told that up to September of this year they had carried over five
hundred motors. The north end of the transfer is called South Connel, a
good sized village. From there we went on nine miles to Oban, where we
arrived after dark.
The next morning we
started back by a different route, going through the Pass of Brander. We
followed the shore of Loch Awe for a considerable distance as we had to
pass around the head of it.. This is a beautiful sheet of water
surrounded by high hills. At the foot of the Loch, on a small island, is
the ruin of a large castle. There are a number of large, fine looking
estates in this vicinity.
We passed through the
village of Dalmaby, then through Glen Ahray and the village of Inverary,
where we stopped a few minutes and had a very pleasant talk with the
genial host at the Argyle Arms, on Loch Long. We went around the head of
the Loch and crossed over to the head of Loch Fyne, followed the bank
for a distance, and then crossed through Glen Kinglas and over a high
mountain called "Rest and Be Thankful." Any one going on foot would
certainly be thankful to rest as it is a very long and steep hill. We
arrived at Arrochar for lunch. Proceeding, we crossed the divide amongst
the bonny blooming heather to the Cave Loch, and followed along it,
crossing over to the Clyde to Kilcreggan and Cove, and then retraced our
steps around the head of Cave Loch and on through Helensburgh, a large
town, to Dumbarton, where we had a fine view of Dumbarton Castle and
Rock.
We passed Henry Bell's
Obelisk, on a promment point on the shore of the Clyde, in a very
appropriate location. We crossed the Clyde at Erskine Ferry, and passed
over a beautiful agricultural and picturesque country to Kilmalcolm,
where we stayed with our kind host at his place called "Chelston." Thus
ended one of the most pleasant trips we had ever had, during which we
saw more of bonny Scotland than we had ever seen before, and will carry
away many pleasant recollections of it for years to come.
While on this trip, the
one thought which always came to us was the extraordinary good roads and
perfect condition in which they were kept, even in the country places
where not much travel could be expected, in a very marked contrast to
the roads in America, but we are young in that line as yet. Another
contrast that was noticeable, was the uniformly clean, neat, home-like
hotels in places where they could not expect much patronage, nearly all
white-washed, even the steps up to the door being as white as snow. The
meals were excellent, even where visitors were not expected. The general
appearance of the people showed thrift and a total absence of poverty.
They have poor people no doubt, but nothing approaching the squalid
poverty that we see in many countries, all of which causes us to be glad
that we are able to go away with praise and thankfulness for this, our
native land.
Of this trip there is
little left to write except to summarize results, and when I think
calmlv of what has happened during this year, the question comes to me.
"Why ail these honors?"
We sailed for home on the
steamer "California," from Greenock. The trip over was a pleasant one,
made up of entertainments and the usual round of pleasures one finds on
board ship. The last night out there was a musical entertainment at
which I presided. The committee put in the program, "An Address by the
Chairman," no doubt expecting I would talk on the musical program which
was the subject before us. My speech was as follows:
I will say a few words on
a subject that lies very near to my heart which can be called by several
titles, amongst them "The Brotherhood of Man," "Preventing War" or "The
Union of the Anglo-Saxon Races." It is on the latter I will speak more
particularly, for what else is this than the Brotherhood of Man and the
Preventing of War.
By the union of the
English-speaking races, I do not m any sense refer to any political
union or alliance, neither have I any fixed plan. I am quite willing to
leave that to our diplomats, or to the Houses of Parliament and the
Congress of the United States. What I want to impress upon you is
this—that before our legislators can take any action, a majority of the
people on both sides of the Atlantic must be in favor of it. Some of us
in America have been quietly working to that end. They have put a small
lump of leaven in the meal and it is steadily working. I was very
pleased indeed to find a similar movement in Great Britain. Neither side
has been made public yet. Now the subject of bringing this to your
notice is to ask every one of you to become a committee of one to talk
to your friends and neighbors on both sides of this ocean, and you will
be surprised to find how sympathetically your appeal will be received.
Does it occur to you that with the union of the English speaking race
would be almost impossible? So here comes it "The Brotherhood of Man."
Do not be discouraged
because each is such a small unit of mankind, but consider the effect of
setting millions to thinking as we do, and see what the results would
be. This matter was brought forcibly before me last winter, while I was
in China endeavoring to stop the civil war then going on, and as a means
to the end I thought, if the United States would recognize the New
Republic, it would end it. After spending a good deal of time and money
cabling to our President and Congress, Mr. Taft requested me to go and
see Mr. Calhoun, in Peking. I was one thousand miles away, but I went
and I totally failed to convince him. I stuck to it so hard that he took
me into his confidence, and, now that it has been made public, it is no
breach of confidence to tell you that he had made a firm agreement with
Sir John Jordan that they would work together, and on no account would
he do anything to which England would not agree. I had no argument to
combat a statement like that, and while I was sorry to fail, still I
told them both that it gave me the greatest pleasure to know that at
last the English speaking races were temporarily united. And it is a
fact that they completely controlled the situation, and, if I was not
bound to secrecy, I could tell you that by that union they prevented the
dismemberment of China, which would have brought on a European war.
Then, in after years when the history is written, you will see plainly
that China could not be divided without a quarrel amongst the European
nations. America would have been out of it as she did not want a share,
so with these explanations I again ask you to do your best.
On the latter end of the
program you will notice we sing "God Save the King." That is proper and
very good. Next comes "America," with the words "My Country 'Tis of
Thee." Did it ever occur to you that all nations of the world can take
this home to themselves and sing it from the heart. Then we are to
finish with Burns' immortal "Auld Lang Syne." I call your attention
particularly to this line. "Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never
brought to mind." and also to a line in another poem of his, "Should
brithers be and a' that."
From these you will see
that Burns, long before the time had come, had the same ideas that I
expressed this evening. You all know that wherever the English language
is spoken, this song is sung. At the close of a banquet in Falkirk the
other night, all joined hands and sang it enthusiastically. Previous to
this, the last time I heard it was in the city of Manila, at a banquet
given in my honor, when the large audience ranged themselves in a double
row around the room and sang it as enthusiastically as was done in
Falkirk. On that occasion, on one side I clasped the hand of a resident
of the Philippines, and on the other side the hand of a member of
Parliament from Australia. Truly the Brotherhood of Man is getting
closer.
While in New York, I
called on a number of friends and attended to our business, proceeding
thence to Ottaw at where we made several calls on old friends. I was
intensely interested to see places where I had spent part of my boyhood
and the early part of my early manhood days, and to note the great and
radical changes that, have taken place.
We also went to Coulonge,
sixty eight miles by rail, and from there visited a waterfall called The
Chute, where a long slide carries the timber and logs past the falls. It
is always a pretty sight, but the weather and the sun were just right to
see a most beautiful rainbow, which is always over the falls in sunshiny
weather, all of which was very interesting. and especially so to Mrs.
Dollar who had spent the earlier years of her life in this vicinity. On
the way going up, there used to be a pine forest, the soil of which was
not considered of any value. Now it is cleared of stumps, and good
farmhouses have been built on the land, which produces good crops. The
people seem to be thrifty and comfortable.
Mr. George Bryson drove
us to the old fort built by the Hudson Bay Company, about one hundred
and twenty-six years ago. The storehouse still stands in a very fair
state of preservation, but the house was burned down years ago. From
this point there is a beautiful view of Coulonge Lake and the river,
which we saw in all the gorgeous tints of a Canadian autumn foliage.
We then drove through a
large tract of rich agricultural land, many miles in length and from two
to four miles wide. This land when I was here many years ago was not
considered worth anything for farming. The fallacy of that idea is shown
in the present fertile, level fields and comfortable houses with good
barns and plenty of grain in them. I thought I knew this country fairly
well in a general way, but I must say that I did not. There is a great
improvement going on in farming, and n the towns and villages, a general
advancement reflected in the city of Ottawa, which has changed for the
better almost beyond recognition. The change in Sussex street, which was
the principal business street of the old city, the budding of the great
hotel Chateau Laurier, the bridging of Sparks and Wellington streets
into one. together with the new Grand Trunk depot makes this as
attractive a spot as can be found in any city.
In the manufacture of
lumber I saw several things that would be of benefit to lumbermen on the
Pacific Coast. At New Edinburgh I saw logs going through the saw mill,
from six to ten inches in diameter, many of them so crooked that if
sawed in the ordinary way, the saw would cut diagonally across the log
in one-half of its length, so that the lumber would be useless. By this
process the hump is kept up and the saws cut parallel from end to end of
the log. but, of course, the boards are crooked. Before edging them they
are cut into as long lengths as the crook will permit, then they are
edged, the shorts to go for boxes and the ten-foot and up into lumber. I
saw Spalt machines running with horizontal bands, where short boards
from slabs were being cut for box lumber five-eighths and one-half
inches thick, and it was surprising to see how much they were getting.
There were many labor saving devices which I had not seen. One was for
sorting box lumber into lengths from twelve inches up to ten feet. It
was a table one hundred feet long, with several carrier chains and
openings to allow each length to drop into a large hopper under the
floor, the shorter lengths dropping first; then every length five inches
over its predecessor dropped into its bin. A small boy was the only
person around who saw that each length was straight at one end. As all
the logs were uniformly twelve, fourteen and sixteen feet, they were all
using shot gun feed, and were equipped with the most modern up-to-date
machinery.
They had a very
economical way of working cedar. Any piece that was cut, was cut eight
feet and an endless chain carried it through twin circulars, and as ties
here are only sided, not squared, this one process finished the there.
What was not fit for ties was cut into eighteen inches for shingles.
These were manufactured on hand machines, or what we used to call: "Spalt
Shingle Machines." At Rockland, they have two up-to-date mills, two
railway companies have tracks in the yards, and about a mile of dockage.
On the Ottawa River, when I was there, barges were loading for
Burlington, Vermont, and Albany, New York. They were sawing the largest
and best logs into three-inch lumber for the English market, and I was
surprised to see so much good lumber coming out when the timber limits
were supposed to have been cut out years ago. I found on this trip that
the young growth is coming on fast and the forests are reproducing
themselves. I had a practical illustration of this on a tract of timber
at Coulonge. I well remember going through it forty years ago when there
was not a tree over ten inches on the stump. It had just been cut into
logs, and I was surprised to see plenty of logs twenty-four inches in
diameter. This to a great extent explains why they are able to continue
lumbering year after year over the same ground.
Through the courtesy of
Senator W. C. Edwards, I visited Rockland Saw Mills in a palatial yacht.
This place was known as McCalls Landing over fifty years ago, and I
often called there when I was working as deckhand on the tug
"Whitehall." This visit brought to mind the difference of my position in
life now and at that time. I then held a position known on the
Mississippi River as "a roustabout," whereas on this visit every
arrangement for our comfort had been made. Returning home via Canada,
where we visited friends, we went to Puget Sound and there I attended to
some matters of business before proceeding to San Francisco.
I did not have the
privilege of remaining home long, as on November 21st I was again on the
train on my way to Washington, D. C., in behalf of the Chamber of
Commerce and shipowners of the Pacific Coast, to protest against the
passing of the Seaman's Bill. Shipowners from different parts of the
United States were there to make a united protest. At the time t
appeared as though we had won our point, but later we found our visit
had been without success. I arrived back in San Francisco early in
December.
I find that in this year,
I travelled fourteen thousand six hundred miles by water and twenty-nine
thousand four hundred miles by land, or a total of forty-four thousand
miles, an average of one hundred and twenty miles a day. Needless to say
I was glad and happy to be able to spend Christmas and New Year at home.
I probably cannot do
better than to copy what I find in my Diary of December 31, 1912:
"Thankful to close the
year after having had a successful business year and having earned money
to spare, so that I was enabled to spend a considerable sum for those in
need, and also to aid in the evangelization of our own country as well
as of China and Japan. During this year our business has grown and
expanded beyond expectations. This is especially true of our trade in
China, for which we give thanks to Almighty God for it all. as without
His help it never could have come about." |
