The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-02-01
THE PANAMA SCANDAL
An Interview Regarding the American
Part of the Company.
Vouchers and Papers, as
Is Alleged.

NEW YORK, Jan. 31.--A local paper
says: Charles Colne, ex-secretary OF
the American Panama Canal company,
who is said by ex-Secretary of the Navy
Thompson TO have vouchers and other
papers showing in detail the expendi-
lures OF the company, when asked if he
would show vouchers, answered:
- have not been connected with the
company for four years. l have nc
vouchers now.''
'sDo you know where they are?'
81 suppose those who should have them
can produce them
''EVho succeeded you as secretary"
X. Boyard, No. is Broadway, is my
successor. / presume hecan give you the
information you seek.
sit is said that Il, 900, 900 francs were
placed to the credit of the American Com
mittce. Will you tell me whether that
Is true or not?''
ssNo money was placed to our credit.
have been out of the company since March,
1889. ] do not care to speak about its
AFFAIRS
'sColonel Thompson says you have all
the papers showing the transactions OF the
company
thompson O1O IMAM =
He has said many things which he would
not say if he We're not so old"
ttColonel Thompson says q large item
in the expense of the American company
was the cost Of building and transporting
q large dredge. which at the time it was
made was the largest IN the worlds
''As I said before, Colonel Thompson is
an old man and is mistaken in many
things he said. There were seven of those
dredges and they were not built in Cali
fornia. They were built by the American
Dredging and Contract company of New
York, and were built in Brooklyn and
Philadelphia. -
''How much money did the American
company spend for dredges?''
1--WE found American machinery the
best in the world. Colonel Thompson
says he had 300 cars built, that they were
built by Root S. Cox & Co. of Terre
Haute at a cost OF 800, 900 francs. He
knows of these cars and remembers them
because they were built in this city. The
fact is we ordered thousands of cars, a
number of excayators, steam boilers, cars
of all descriptions and supplies; in fact
everything from a needle to an anchor,
we spent at least 81, 500, 900. Credits were
opened and purchases made to fill orders
as we received them from the isthmus.
Certain money was sent to us from Paris.
We purchased against that amount and
when exhausted we asked for and received
more. We sent full reports to Paris
showing in detail how the money was
used. -
''How about the money said to Lave
been sent to America to quash opposition
and secure neutrality7''
1.-THE American committee had nothing
to do with that. When De Lesseps first
visited America he appeared before Con-
gress and settled all that was done openly
and nothing was left for US to do in that
line. The American financial company
had nothing to do with that matter. %
e. L. Oppenheim said the true rolling
stock of the canal company had been sold
to the railroad company, as stated in dis
patches from Panama. Oppenheim rep
resented the railroad company in the ne
g0tiations. eve have been using the
stock for years under rental,'' said OPP
penheim, land we concluded to buy il
outright, that's all. +"