Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-28
SATURDAY, JUNE es, 1890.
COLLAPSE OF THE PANAMA CANAL.


The most prodigious failure of the
centuries is beyond controversy the col
lapse of the Panama canal project.
A fter an expenditure of over two hum
dred millions of dollars, we are now
told by committee sent from Paris to
the isthmus to investigate the condition
of the work and report upon the pros
poets of carrying out the enterprise to
completion, that it will take twenty
years time and $347 100000 money to
finish the work This report seals the
doom of De Lesseps's great scheme. In
order to raise the vast sum required it
would be necessary that all the CONNER
cial nations interested in the
opening of the canal should league to-
gether and take up the work where the
French company has left it. But it is
hardly within the bounds of probability
that such coalition can be brought to-
gether. The United States are enlisted
in the Nicaragua scheme, and although
late reports from Greytown are not en-
couraging, and there are hints of crooked
management there, yet the people of
this country will be strongly prejudiced
in favor of completing a canal which is
under their control in preference to en-
barking in scheme to finish, at tre-
mendous cost, one which would be
essentially foreign enterprise and
under foreign domination.
We have said that this collapse OF the
Panama canal is the failure of the CEN
turies. Curiously enough this same
isthmus, two hundred years ago, was
the scene of another stupendous specu-
lative scheme, which brought disaster
and financial ruin upon one-half of the
families in Scotland and upon many in
England A Scotchman named William
Paterson, the actual founder of the
Bank of England, and man of geni us
and enterprise, organized company for
the purpose of establishing a colony
on the isthmus of Darien. The
stock was eagerly taken, and some
twelve hundred colonists were planted
on the isthmus, near the very spot
Those who had bought stock in the
company were SO elated with the bright
ADMINISTRATIONS OF wealth that was to
flow into its Golfers that shares rose to
fabulous prices. But their golden
dreams were rudely dissipated. The
colonists not only died like sheep, but
they were attacked by Spanish troops
and ships, and not more than thirty OF
the ill-fated adventures ever returned
to their native land.
1t is not without reason, therefore,
that the Isthmus of Darien may be
looked upon as an unlucky spot for
European adventure and investment.
The name OF De Lesseps as the greatest
engineer of the age served as an open
sesame to the purses of the French peo-
pie when he called upon them for sub
scriptions to his canal scheme. He said
it could be finished in eight years, and
would cost not over 500, 100000. That
much was spent and another hundred
millions were called for and subscribed.
The whole has gone "where the wood
bine twineth," to use the rollicky
phrase of Jim Fisk. and now we are told
that it will take nearly $3.50, ,000,000
more money and twenty years more
time to complete the work that De
Lesseps began Alas for the poor peo-
pie who placed their all in this deplor-
able scheme. Out OF an abyss like this
there is no possible resurrection.
Now, with this lamentable lesson be-
fore them, let the Nicaragua Canal Com
pany take an instructive lesson. If the
Panama scheme was made great con-
duit to convey the honest money Of
stockholders into dishonest pockets, let
the stockholders OF the Nicaragua COM
pany see to it that this bad example is
not initiated by their managers. These
should be closely supervised and they
should be held to strict account for every
dollar subscribed. Another failure like
that on the Panama isthmus would be
too much for one decade. 1t would dis
sipate all confidence in schemes of a
gigantic character, and leave the people
sodden in the belief that isthmian canals
and rotten jobbery were convertible
terms.