St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-01-10
Obe Californian.
VI. DE LESsEPs' DOWNFALL.

Syrnpathv and regret He has earn
ed his title aS the Grand Frcnchman.
Since the completion of the Suez can
al nc has been indisputably the first
citizen of the Republic y picturesque
and heroic figure III the annals of
modern progress. nc has helped by
his fame to make France great at
critical period in her political history
when her statesmen, politicians and
intrigucrS were conSpiring to bellttlc
her reputation among nations. The
collapse of his Inflated Panama en-
tcrpriSc bankr1ptS not only q horde
Of CrcdulouS shareholders. but also
his name. which had become one of
the inspiring traditions of modern
France. The worlds stock of genius
II never at any time 50 large that the
displacement of commanding per
sonaIitv like that of NJ dc Lesscps
can be regarded withindiftcrencc and
CvniciSm.
NJ dc LcSScps. miSlortuncs may le
gitimatclv DC traced to his cXtraordi-
nary successes The Sucz canal was
a vast project which was opposed by
governments, statesmen. capitalists
and engineers. The nation which
had the largest and most direct in
tcrcSt in its completion denounced
and ridicuIcd ii as an impracticablc
and ChiIncIical undertaking. One
English ministry after another dis
PLAYED stupid obstinacy III blocking
the progress of a waterway which
was to shorten the lines oi communi-
cation with India and Australia.
English engineers united IN declaring
either that the canal could never be
finished. or that ii could not DC kept
open If 1t were once cut through.
English capitalists diSCrcditcd the en-
tcrDr-isc as one of enormous cost,
which could never by any possibility
be made rcmuncrativc. NJ. dc LcSScpS
was without allies III Europe, and at
the outset stood almost alone iii
France. The construction of the
canal was prc-cmincntlY the work of
one man of indumitablc energy, mex
haustiblc faith and sublime faith III
his destiny. Gradually he ovcrcamc
every obstacle III his path. Without
securing the support of great fnan-
cicrs he enlisted the aid of Il host of
small investors in his own country.
Depending solely upon the good will
and active cooperation OF q broad
minded Egyptian ruler, he pcrscVcred
III his colossal undertaking, and with
untiring patience and cOnSummatc
tact won first the federation and
then the sympathy of government
after government. No other Euro
pcan could have achieved the triumph
which was peculiarly his own, when
the canal proved one of the greatest
engineering and financial successes of
the age
When NJ dc Lcsscps appealed to
the same class of small my cStOrs who
had supported his first project to
furnish him with the capital required
for cutting the Panama isthmuS he
had the enormous advantage of trad
ing upon his previous successes. Did
the engineers pronounce the new en-
tcrpriSc impracticablc That was
nothing; So had they predicted the
failure of the Sucz canal Were cap
italists alarmed by the estimates of
cost and the narrow margin left for
possible returns from the invest
mcnt2 That. too, was nothing; for
equally positive had they been in
dcmonstra ting the financial ruin of
his first works Were there new
mcnaccs of international compliCa
tions caused by European jcalousics
and the American Monroe doctrine:
That. too. was nothing; for govern
mcnts had strcnuouSly opposed the
other canal, and their resistance had
finally been overcome by his lnticXi-
bic will 1t WAS enough for the
French investors that NJ. dc Lcsscps
Stakcd his reputation ON the fcasibil-
itv of the Panama canal. They took
him at his word and year after year
poured their accumulated savings in
to the rocky dclllcs which he was
scratching rather than piercing.
NJ dc Lcsscps had succeeded once
with the whole world against him,
and Frcnchmcn believed that he
could not fail Their faith i'll him was
not more profound nor more unqucS-
tioning than his faith in himself Nj
dc Lcsscps was 4 latalist So far as
the future of his own enterprises was
concerned He could not be CON
WINGED that the Panama company
was doomed. He was still intOXi-
Gated with his own hopes. Like
drowning man snatching at Straws,
he still believed that his enterprise
was safe and that genius and good
fortune would carry him through
This i the pathetic side of the col
lapse of the most reckless speculation
since the South Sea bubble New
York Tribune.