The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-02-09
The United States and the Panama
Canal.
M. Y. Nation. Feb. 5thl.

| about the danger of permitting so vast an en-
terprise, in which we are vitality interested
both politically and commercially, to be car
| ried out by a company organized under the
| charter and laws of European country. The
| ''Monroe doctrine has been once more
| brought forward by men of all parties, and
even so calm and conservative a statesman as
| Senator Bayard warns the country that the
| canal must be ''under the control of the Gov
| ernment of the United States. Our power
may he questioned, but it will be maintained.
| Every counsel of wisdom, therefore, exhorts us
| to seize the day, and in time of peace prepare
for war, for it is the surest mode to avert it."
! These apprehensions derive much support
| from the history of the repeated attempts Of
both France and Ell gland to gain firm foot
| hold of the isthmus. The French envoy at
Washington has assured Mr.. Evarts that the
| French Government has no connection what
ever with NJ. de Lesseps's enterprise, nor does
it intend to guarantee or protect it in any way.
But nobody in this country ever supposed the
present Government of France would unnec-
essarily incur the ill-wir of the United States
by avowedly espcusing the canal scheme. M
Outry goes too far, however, when he says
that his Government will not guarantee or
protect the proposed company, for once organ
lied under its laws. the French Government
will owe it protection, and while we might
trust that under the present regime the pro-
posed company would not be permitted to
abuse its position ON the isthmus, we can
not expect such a state of things to be perma-
nent. A great power like ours, with two long
coasts and with complex commercial interests
|. on both oceans is bound to see that these ad-
vantages are not put in peril of any kind.
Moreover, the Government is now bound by
treaties, as we shall presently show, to guar
rantee ''eficaciously" the nationality and neu-
tality of the isthmus to both Colombia and
Nicaragua, and it is therefore incumbent on
us to take in advance the steIs proper to pre-
pare that responsibility from becoming too
costly and burdensome.
Once established on the isthmus, the French
Company would practically own the weak
country crossed by their canal Columbia is
rent by continual civil wars; her customs rev.
enues are pledged to England for debt; and
although she receives from the Panama Rail-
road a very heavy annual tax she is invariably
debtor to the company. 1t would, therefore,
ment to make an issue with the local authori-
ties the home Government would be called
upon to protect its subjects and in such a case
there is no reason to believe that it would not
try to realize, if it could, the dream OF French
statesmen as to the role of France in countries
of Latin origin. The Intervention OF Napo-
leon in Mexico in 1861 was based on the sup
posed necessity of protecting French subjects
In 1898 France, in order to obtain satisfaction
for the reclamations of some OF her subjects,
made blockade (and an unlawful blockade
in international law of Vera Cruz, and seized
San Juan de Ulloa. In the same year she
blockaded Buenos Ayres in order to obtain
reparation for some complaints of Frenchmen
against Rosas. In 1919 France tried to es-
tablish an empire in the La Plata provinces,
at the head of which it was contemplated put
ting the Due de LucqueS, who was expected to
marry a Portuguese Brazilian Princes, In 1903
Spain would have invaded Mexico, also on ac-
count of private claims, but for tue hrm attl-
| tude of Secretary Cass, who, ON october z,
| wrote to Mr.. Dodge, in Madrid, that this Gov
| ernment would not suffer any prntectorate or
political influence of any European country in
| states of the American continent Twenty
wears have not elapsed since so enlightened
| ststesman as the recently deceased Michel
Chevalier wrote, referring to Mexico, that
''the European interest is to oppose barrier
TO the extension of the United States through
out the whole continent of North America"
Louis Napoleon, while prisoner at Ham,
wrote in favor of an empire in Nicaragua, Tor
the same purpose for which he afterwards, as
Emperor of the French, established Maximil-
| ian in Mexico. In all these cases the pretext
| of the proposed interventions was some kind
| of private reclamation.
The present cOnceSSionnd5re of the Panama
| Canal bas made no attempt to disguise how
little he is concerned with the vital interests
| of the people OF this country in the canal.
| This is the way in which, according to his own
l.n1
| of the opposition manifested here to his
| scheme:
The opposition of the United States-if
there is any opposition at al-is not serious Its
representatives came TO the Paris Congress to
submit themselves to the verdict of science and
public opinion. And that verdict has been
pronounced.
What that Congress amounted to and how
| it was packed with NJ. de Lessepss friends, we
| have already shown in the Nation (No. SO,
July 81, 1870. Since then it has been ascer-
| tained that Lieutenant Bonaparte-Wyse had
actually in his pocket, for a month before the
| congress was summoned, concession for
| canal in Panama, and that NJ. de LeSsepS
| bought that concession of M. Wyse about two
months later. 1t has also been ascertained
| that the much-talked-of exploration by NM.
Wyse and Reclus of the proposed Panama
| route was carried on by Lieutenant Reclus and
three engineers in precisely forty-tve days,
| from March to April 20, 1878. And now NJ.
de Lesseps has come to Panama to decide most
intricate points of engineering in less than
month and in few days will be, here and in
| Paris assuring the world that everything in his
| scheme is feasible and he cannot see why we
are opposed to it.
| The United States have engaged to guaran-
| tee the neutrality of the isthmus. In the case
| of Colombia our Government is expected to
| protect it as a compensation for certain advan-
| tages conceded by the local government; it has
| been given the right to secure for itself the
| constant and tranquil enjoyment of any high
| way between the two oceans. And how? By
guaranteeing positively and eticaciously' to
Colombia the "perfect" neutrality of the 18TH
| mus. In the case of Nicaragua our Govern
| ment may employ actual force even without
| the instigation of any local authority, in GER
| tain emergencies of which, of course, we are
| the only judges.
| Since the promulgation of these treaties,
| which gave us so strong position on the 18TH
| mus, both Colombia and Nicaragua have con-
cluded identical arrangements with France
and Great Britain, and now M. de Lesseps
steps in and, on the strength of existing con-
| ventions, does not ask for himself any protec-
| ton from the United States, nor, it is said,
| from France or England, but leaves this mat
! ter entirely to international law. Colombia
| thinks her position secure; in case of trouble
/ she is left free to call on the United States.
| France considers her interests well protected
| by her treaty, which places her on the same
| footing as the most favored nation. As to our
| position, it is, under the treaties, similar to
| that of France and Great Britain; it is with
them we are expected to guarantee to Colom-
| ba the perfect neutrality of the isthmus.
| Such a condition of affairs must be. to say
! the least, uncomfortable to us. 1t is true that
| the trade of both England and France with
! Central and South America and with Austria
| liza and China is much larger than ours. But
| the canal is of vital Importance to us as COM
| merca link between the two coasts of our con-
| tinent. NJ. de Lesseps insists and in that
| he is right, that we are of all ma
| tions the one most interested in the canal. In
| the mean time the existing treaties give us no
| greater voice in the matter than France or
| England has; both of these nations are granted
| powers on the istlspus the exercise OF which
may some day prove dangerous 20 this country.
| We must therefore, seek in time the proper
| means of exerting the preponderating intlu-
| ence to which nationally, geographically and
| commercially we are entitled
| Whatever Colombia may have agreed with
| France and Great Britain, nothing prevents
| our Government from acting directly with her
| and taking such security may be necessary
| in order to insure for American citizens the
| uninterrupted and safe enjoyment of the canal.
| 1t is now time to ''seize the day, as Senator
Bayard said, and act positively and etfica-
ciously," to the end that neither France nor
| INV nthar no,Vpr shall acuure "a uaugerOuS