The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-09
Interoceanic Transit.

Interoceanic Transit.
The interest of the United States in a pr ac-
ticabe transit across the strip of land separating
the Atlantic from the Pacific has been repeat
eddy manifested during the last half century.
My immediate predecessor caused to be nego.
tiated with Nicaragua a treaty for the const rue
ton by and at the sole cost of the United States,
of canal through Nicaraguan territory, and
laid it before the Senate. Pending the action of
that body thereon, 1 withdrew the treaty for re-
examination. Attentive consideration Of its
provisions leads me to withhold it from resub-
mission to the Senate Maintaining, as do,
the tenor of line of Presidents from Washing
toms day. which proscribes entangling alliances
with foreign states l do not favor
the acquisition of new and distant ter
ritory, or the incorporation of remote
interests with our own. The laws of progress
are vital and organic, and we must be conscious
of that irresistible tide of commercial expansion
which, as the concomltant OF our active civlllZa-
ton, day by day is being urged onward by those
increasing facilities of production, transporta-
ton and communication, to which steam and
electricity have given BIRTH but our duty in the
present instructs us to address ourselves mainly
to the development of the vast resources OF the
great area committed to our charge, and to the
cultivation of the arts of peace within our Dor
ders though zealously alert in preventing the
American hemisphere from being involved in the
political problems and complications of distant
governments Therefore, | am unable to rec
ommend propositions involving paramount priv
ileges of ownership or right outside of our OWE
territory, when coupled with absolute and un-
limited engagements to defend the territorial
integrity OF the state where such interests are
While the general project of connecting the
two oceans by means of a canal is to be encour-
aged, | am of opinion that any scheme to
that end, to be considered with favor should be
free from the features alluded to-
The Tehuantepec route is declared by engi-
neers of the highest repute, and by competent
scientists. to afford an entirely practicable
transit for vessels and cargoes by means of a
ship railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The obvious advantages of such route, II
feasible, over others more remote from the axial
and, particularly between the valley of the Misss-
sppi and the western coast of North and South
America are deserving of consideration.
Whatever highway may be constructed across
the barrier dividing the two greatest maritime
areas of the world must be for the worlds
benefit, trust for mankind, to be removed from
the chance Of domination by any single power,
nor become point Of invitation for
hostilities or a prize for warlike ambition.
An engagement combining the construction,
ownership, and operation of such a WORK by this
government, with an offensive and defensive al
lance for its protection with the foreign state
whose responsibilities and rights we would
share, is, in my judgment, inconsistent with
such dedication to universal and neutral use, and
would, moreover, entail measures for its realiza-
ton beyond the scope of our national poiity or
present means. The lapse of years has
abundantly confirmed the wisdom and foresight
of those earlier administrations which, long be-
fore the conditions of maritime intercourse were
changed and enlarged by the progress of the age,
proclaimed the vital need of interoceanc transit
across the American isthmus, and consecrated it
in advance to the common use of mankind by
their positive declarations and through the formal
obligation of treaties. Toward such realization
the efforts of my administration will be applied,
ever bearing in mind the principles on which it
must rest. and which were declared In no uncer
tain tones by Mr.. Cass, who, while Secretary of
State, in 1883, announced that what the United
States want in Central America, next to the hap
piness of it's people, is the security and neutra-
ty of the interoceanic routes which lead through
it." The construction of three transcontinental
lines of railway, all in successful operation,
wholly within our territory and uniting the At
lantlc and the Pacific oceans, has been accompan-
led by results of most interesting and impress
i've nature, and has created new conditions not
in the routes of commerce only, but in political
geography, which powerfully affect our rela-
est in any transisthmian route which may be
opened and employed for the ends of
peace and traffic, or in other contin-
gencies, for uses inimical to both.
Transportation is factor in the cost of commod-
tiles scarcely second to that of their production,
and weighs as heavily upon the consumer. Our
existence already has proven the great impor-
lance of having the competition between land
carriage and water carriage fully developed, each
acting as protection to the public against the
tendencies of monopoly which is inherent in the
consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of
vast corporations These suggestions may serve
to emphasize what l have already said on the
score of the necessity of naturalization of any
plished by making the uses of the route open to
all nations and subject to the ambitions and war
like necessities of none. The drawings and re-
port of a recent survey of the Nicaragua canal
routs. made by Chief Engineer Menocalt will be
communicated for your information.
Finances of the Nation.
The report of the Secretary Of the Treasury