The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1896-10-23
Captain Nathan Appleton Tells
of the Work Done.
INTERESTING BIT OF HISTORY.
President Grant Favored the Route-Spaine's
Early 7Anfipathy For tide Lessers SIC
cess and Failure-Bonds Now in Force.
May be Bought Cheap-Interest Paid.


the Panama Canal scheme was read
to the students of Oahu College on
Monday last by Captain Nathan Apple
ton, a gentleman whose knowledge of
the subject enables him to entertain
his hearers:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the
CIub:-Certainly one of the greatest,
most attractive, most interesting and
important questions occupying the at
tention of the world today is the con-
struction of a canal somewhere across
the American Isthmus. 1t is now more
than thirty-fiYe years since Count De
Lesseps first convinced the idea of con-
structing a canal though the Suez 18TH
mus, and for ten long years he gave
his extraordinary energy and patience
and generous time to the world in
accomplishing the enterprise which re-
suited in connecting the Mediterranean
and the Red seas. Ten years after
wards, when he was seventy-four years
of age, he began his work upon the
Panama canal, which was to complete
his mission, but he was then too old to
give to that enterprise the power and
force that had characterized his efforts
in the construction of the Suez canal,
and he failed, dying two years ago, a
broken down man at the thought of the
loss.
| insist myself that the Panama
canal is not failure. To be sure the
work is incomplete, but some day if
the work is taken up in the near future,
it can be finished, and then it will
bring back all the eclat which has been
part of the history of De Lesseps.
Since that time there have been sew
eral smaller canals built in various
parts of the world. One at Corinth,
one at Manchester and one at Kiel,
but, all of these have been more or
less local in their nature as compared
with the Suez canal, or the Panama
canal which will, when completed,
contributed so materially to the ship
ping interests of the world.
Panama, whatever may be its status
today, stands there challenging the
energy of mankind to finish it. Work
came TO an end there in 1888, although,
ever since that time just enough has
been done on it to keep it alive.
Ever since Balboa crossed the 18TH
mus of Panama and looked over into
the Pacific ocean in 1913 it has been the
dream of geographers, navigators, the
representatives of the commerce of the
world and of scientists, in fact men in
all stations in human life, to try and
construct a canal across this line
somewhere, and so open it to the navi-
cation of the world.
Philip the second of Spain was so
impressed with the danger that would
certainly come TO his own possessions
in the Western Hemisphere should this
ever be accomplished that he decreed
that anyone who talked of such canal
should be put to death.
But years rolled on and the subject
continued to be discussed, but it has
only been during the present century
that work of a serious nature has been
done toward solving this problem.
My interest in the Panama canal
dates back to the year 1869 at the time
of the opening of the Suez canal. l
was in Paris that summer at the time
General Banks was there, and it was
then agreed between us that we should
go together to witness the opening of
the Suez canal in November, 1869. We
met in Paris in September, and had
Europe, from there down to the Black
sea, where we took one of the ships
of the Russian Navigation Company,
and arrived in time TO attend all the
functions connected with the opening
of the canal. 1t was at st. Petersburg
that l received a notification from the
Boston Board of Trade asking me to
be a delegate in behalf of that Board
F,,I
where there were crowned heads from
some of the leading nations of Europe,
ambassadors, and representative men
from all nations of Europe. While
nearly all other nations were represent
ed by their ambassadors, and dele
gates from Board of Trade and scien-
fists, l was the only person there from
the United States of America who held
credentials. The only one from Am
erica there with authority was the one
now addressing you. The fact of being
there so interested me in the matter
that l wrote up a report, on my re-
turn. on the question of canals, which
report is now on file in the records of
the Boston Board of Trade.
Early in the winter of 1867 or 1868,
some American gentlemen, among
others Mr.. Paul Forbes of New York,
formed small company which was
called the Darien Canal Company.
They believed there was piece of land
at Darien, where boats had in former
times been carried across, and with an
elevation of but few hundred feet,
and which would be more practical
bic point for a building of a canal
Subsequent researches, however, prov
ed that they were mistaken in this re-
gard, and the enterprise was after
wards reported as impracticable and
abandoned. Later researches have
developed the fact that the mountains
at that point were some fifteen hundred
feet in height, which of course, made
the construction of a canal there en-
tirely out of the question.
In 1870 when General Grant was pre-
sident, l talked with him concerning
the question of canal at Panama
remember the first interview l had
with him. In talking about the canal
he said that he remembered the 18TH
mus well. having been there years