The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-12-28
stick to the Qucs:ion-Wiii IL Pay

| prise opens the wscst method OF investing
national capital for tho purpose of promoting
| our numerical interests, IL IL the Chamber
| OF Commerce Of the city OF New York. That
| body has already, after thorough discussion,
condemned the Spanish treaty. and now
| long headed men, In Congress- and out OF 1t,
are waiting 10 learn It's deliberate conclusions
regarding the advisahilty OF putting huge
| sum OF money in the Nicaragua project Tho
proprcty OF embarkng In q colossal canal
| speculation under existing circumstances
| AID upon the terms proposed is simply
| question OF domestic policy and commercial
cxpelicncy and it is satisfactory to feel
| that sigaciou.i III 'rchants and veteran
| ilnanciei3 canno. be- gui!rd by tho empty
| defamation of spr .ad-cagic patriotism
aud windy computations Of contingent
| profits. They will treat tho Nicaragua
| scheme. a. they have treated tho SPANS n
treaty. viz, AS a plain question OF fac. 10 be
weighed. sift"d, and decided on the naked
ISSUE. viii 1t pay2
We do not believe tho Chamber OF Com
mcrce will be sway"d ono way or tho other
| by tho blnstcr OF the London Tim ~, though,
OF course, any uniricndly demonstration
| from that quarter would positively recon-
mend tho canal project to such people As
| permit their good sense to be cio'idej now
and then by impaticncc and irritation. No
set Of men know better than the merchants
and bankers OF New York-wnose business
interests compel them to watch closely the
European situation that England in her
| present political isolation and colonial em-
! ba;ass!nrntS would be quite unable to enforce
the Carbohydrates treaty, that the talk
! Of the Times is, therefore, nero froth and
vapor, and that even IN official protest Is
| a baro formally unless known to ba
backed by the power and the determination
OF appealing to the Ultima rata, the supreme
rcsor. OF war. II the people of this country.
| deicrring in this commercial matter to the
| judgment III cooi-headcd and experienced
men of business, make up their minds that
this canal would prove a good investment,
they will go straight ahead and build it,
| without tho slightest heed to English opin-
| Ion OF their action. On the other hand, this
nation, once convinced that 1t can find safer
| and more profitable places OF deposit for
| spare cash than ditch in Nicaragua, is not
| to be shaken in It's purpose by n private chal-
| lenGc TO Ou,roar tho British lion, whose voice
Is now u little cracked with age, ana prove
| by u vas. waste ot money villa. tho world
| learned long aGo-our absolute Indifference
to British dsapproval.
First among the points to be considered by
tho Chandler OF Commerce in connection
with the Nicaragua project Is the question
OF cost, and wa trust its discussion OK the
matter may be deferred until ample mate
ria!s for an exhaustive and Trustworthy csti-
mat" OF expenses IRE forthcoming. Alrnndy
the enforced publication OF tho treaty has
| brought out q good deal Of information that
| was by no means patent on the face of tho
| official document. We have, for instance. The
ropur. Of Ma or MCFARLAND OF tho United
| States Engineers. suppressed by tho GRANT
| Administration for its inconvcuent candor-
n report which placed tho minimum outlay
for the proposed canal at Sl1O,G10.C)0,
although tho au,hor avowcdly left out of
view important sources OF expenditure, and
with regard to certain factors of his
computations accepted tho ill-foundcd
data OF tEc promoters OF tho scheme. Thus,
in arriving Mt his estimate OF 500, 100000 for
the pay OF labor alone, no assumes that
white workmen can be lurcd from our
| Northern States to the swamp5 OF Ncarngll,
for ST a day, whereas tha Panama Canal Is
obliged to pay from $3.50 to 3d. besides bonn
ties. for negro labor imported from tho West
Indies. Our Southern negroes could not bu
got to work more chcapy than thoir fellow
blacks from Jrma!ca. and no canal contractor
would offer our white citiZons less than he
pays u co!ored hand. But II We multiply by
three the MCFARLAND computation for this
i.cm we get such startling figures as
$40. 0oo. 900 for labor alone.
There Ia another aspect OF the subject
overlooked by MCFARLAND. but which busl-
meas mon will need to sharply scrutinizc be-
fore they lend their sanction to tho Nicaragua
project. This Is tho wholly Undetermined
sum required for expropriatng tho private
rights in land throughout strip two and a
half miles wide and neariy two hundred miles
long. For IL will be noticed that all We get
from the Nicaragua Government-in return
for tho Immense outlay involved In
constructing, maintaining. and protect
ing tho canal and its terminal har-
bors, together with nice littlo pot
OF drink money about equal to the
whole Nicaraguan revenue for two years
is what lawyers might describe as Joint
JUS domnii, this naked right of dominion be-
ing exercised by Nicaragua in peace times,
while we have the costly privilege of enforce
ing it in timn Of war. After buying all tho
treaty gives us, we have still to pay for
every foot OF land we occupy along the route
Of tho intended waterway. Now it Is OF
primary moment to discover who own this
land and at what price they hold II, and to
ascertain whether measures have not been
taken in the treaty itself to further the de-
signs of land spectators by binding our
Government to conform to n particular limo
Of excavation. 1t Is evident that definite in
formation ON this subject need not be looked
; for from either of the Governments con-
cerned, but must be cicted by private III
quiry. since even Mr. +. A. PELLAs, whose
name figures In startling clause Of tho
treaty, and who has written TO THE Sun with
the Yrnf"sscd purpose Of cnlighteninS us
upon tho canal business. has unaccuun.ably
forgotten to bring with him n copy of n con-
tract which gives him monopoly OF inland
steam navigation for ten years to come in