Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-08-21

We reserve, for Places OF worship, graf
IL directory, which Will appear every
sunday morning.
If Monsieur Ferdinand de Les.
seps occasionally glances over the
American press he will see with
dismey that his Panama canal
project is dead beyond all hope
Of resurrection. The gentlemen
Of the American press, or, at
least considerable portion of
them, seem to be inspired with an
extraordinary luminosity to the
canal and its great protector. Ac.
cording to them the big ditch will
not only never be dug, but death
and encouragement have attended
the operations on the Isthmus even
1t this stage. While they have
not dealt in exact statistics, one
you1d get the impression from
their remarks that the Chagres
river was already strewn with sew.
eral thousand corpses, that Les
sepe's stockholders were in despair
and that Nature herself had come
In to the aid Of the United States
In re-asserting the Monroe doc
trine. As q matter of fact, the
Panama scheme seems to be in
very healthy condition. Thus far
only eighteen persons have died
on the Isthmus, and their death
was owing to their own impru.
dence, they having neglected to
take the precautions which unac-
climated Europeans require. AS
to the work of digging the canal,
that has not only not begun as yet,
but the engineers have net even
selected the route, and no one
knows whether it will start north
or south OF Colon, or come in north
or south of Panama. Most ex-
haustive surveys are being made
70 determine the most feasible
route. 1t may be assumed with
perfect safety that when Monsieur
de Lesseps gets ready, the ditch
digging will 60 on with the rapidi-
~ which has always characterized
his enterprises, and that it will be
success. A pleasant thing in
connection with the progress Of
the work is the fact that HI. B.
Slaven & Co., of San Francisco,
have been awarded contract for
building twenty villages along the
line Of the Panama canal. These
are to be provided with all hospital
conveniences and will assure the
comfort and health of the ditch
diggers. The Messrs. Slaven &
Co. have already 125 men at work
upon their contract, which will
amount to at least $1,O00,000. In
addition to this large contract,
these gentlemen are to have the
right to purchase all the materiale
and supplies that may be needed
from the United States In the con-
struction of the canal. Monsieur
dc Lesseps evidently bears no NAL
ice to the publicists in the United
States who have tried to make out
that his canal is In contravention
OF the Monroe doctrine. He lie
quite willing that our citizens
should participate in the profits of
his great work. There was some.
thing highly absurd In the setting
I'M of this pretense originally.
Neither President Monroe nor his
advisers would ever have dreamed
OF giving political cast to pure.
~ commercial enterprise like that
Of the Lesseps canal. II the Unit
ed States want to control the ditch
1t can do as Earl Beaconsfeld did
with regard to the Suez canal, viz,
90 into the MARKET and buy a ma
jorlty ofsife stock. Few sensible
people, however, could be made to
zee the necessity of this. No SUBJ
.tantial political power will ever
attach to the control of the canal
and modern nations are rapidly |
to the conclusion that com.
highways should be re.
Bpected. By the time the canal is
built we should not be surprised If
The leading nations of the world |
were to enter into a convention |
both the Isthmuses of
5uez and Of Panama a sort of neu-
trail ground and guaranteeing i'm.
to all merchant vessels not
barry ing contrabsnd of war. We
may be some distance off from the |
The Utopian's Parliament of Man
and Federation of the World, but
nations are making striking adj
vances lately in their notifications
u International law. The new ca.
AL will hurt nobody, while it can
not fall to be of incslculable bene.
1t to commerce and mankind.