The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-02-19
THE STUMBLING BLOCK
Great Difficulty In Settling the
Venezuelan Dispute.
WILL DISTURB GOLD HUNTERS.

Uncle Sans Physical Greatness--A Bitter |
Fight In Prospect-Probable Cost of the |
Nicaraguan Caaai-Report of the Com |
mission.
WASHINGTON, Feb. l9.-[Speclal. l-One |
of the great difficulties in the way of set
tlement of the boundary dispute between
Great Britain and Venezuela Is the fact
that the authorities of British Guiana
have issued mining permits to several
hundred gold hunting companies within
the disputed district This information
comes from high official sources and may
be relied upon as accurate and important
Under these British grants large sums of
money have been invested by the queens
subjects, and they have in many cases de.
yeloped valuable and promising properties.
The statesmen at London feel that they
cannot abandon these miners to their fate.
II arbitration should vest tile to the min.
ing region in Venezuela, the claims might
he inyalidated. While Venezuela might
agree to respect all mining grants given
by Guiana, the miners themselves object
most decidedly TO being transferred to
Venezuelan jurisdiction. They know what
that means and are sure that in the end
they would be practically deprived of tho
fruits of their labors and Investments. This
| Is the real stumbling block in the way of
settlement.
An Itching Palm.
/ have it on good authority that Great
| Britain cares little about tho remainder of
| the disputed territory. 1t is in large part
| worthless land. Some of 1t might be con-
vertod into prosperous coffee plantations
but it is tho mining region that gives the
trouble. When LortysSalisbury talks of
| 10000 British subjects who might be COM
| PEELED TO leave the queens dominions as
result of the arbitration verdict, he means
| mining companies and their employees,
not farmers and permanent settlers, though
| it will be observed Lord Salisbury does not
say so. 1t is said there are in the disputed
territory very few farmers or other home
stoaders, leaving out the miners. 1t will
also be noticed that late cablegrams from
London confirm the accuracy of the state
ment made recently in these dispatches to
the effect that the Venezuelan government
has sent q confidential agent TO London to
treat with the foreign office for settlement
|
arbitration, the Uruan incident and the
resumption of diplomatic relations be-
tween the two countries.
We Are the Peopiei
That this is great country probably ev-
cry American realizes, but it remained for
new congressman from Virginia, Mr..
Otey, in q recent speech on the silver ques-
tionto put tho vastness of the United States
and of the state of Texas in particular be-
fore us in new and most interesting way.
"In my old bullet riddlod, cavalry ridden,
battle Scared state" said Mr.. Otcy, "we
have moro miles of electric railway than
England and France together, more than
all Europe excepting Germany. Start q
silver dollar on straight line from the
northwest corner to the southeast corner
of Texas, and 1t will travel distance as
great as from Chicago to Boston. That
state alone can support 30, 600, 600 people
On 1866 600 square miles 1t can raise al
the food products of the country; on 10,
600 square miles it would produce the IL,
600, 900 bales of cotton for the worlds sup
ply and have territory as largo as The
state of New York left for n cattle rancl
after deducting all of the desert land. M
country presents such a field for interna
commerce. Fifty millions in Texas, ant
population would not be rs dense as it i
Germany. Place them in New Mexico
not us dense us in Belgium. In the Da
kotas, not as dense as in England. w
have over one-half of all the fresh wate
ON the globe. Let a silver dollar start NJ
tho Mississippi river and then up the Mis-
souri river, and it will find duty to per
form on Il navigable stream for distanc
equal to tho distance from New York Z
Constantinople, on each side of whic
stream are broad fertile valleys capabl
of producing every known fruit, flower
cereal or textile plant with broad acres Q
virgin forest with every known wooc
Our country is composed Of 1Srepublics a
large as Spain, of 81 states each as lare
as Italy, of GO states each as large as Ene
land and Wales East of the Rocky moul
tains we have a river flow with 5000
miles of river bank, counting no streai
under 100 miles in length, while all Ell
rope has only "a, 600 Our area of arab
lands is 1000, 600 square miles, whi
China supports 400, 100000 people c
300. 900 square miles Take the whole
Europe except Russia, and mold 1t I'M
one great empire, and you can lay its ms
down ON the map of tho United Stat
three times west of the Hudson"
Look Out For breakers.
There Is likely to be bitter fight
congress over the Nicaraguan canal que
tion. The report of the engineering con
mission appointed by the president Is q
nounced by the friends of the canal as u
inst and inaccurate. The commission r
ported that, instead of n cost of $40, 600, u
being a reasonable estimate, the work w
be sure to cost $l33 000, 900, and perha
much more. The commission rocor
mended thorough investigation by a
other board of engineers, Mt cost
$3.50 OOO and with q loss of two year
time. The friends Of tho canal say tl
engineers of tho recent commission soug
to make reputation for themselves by u
setting the estimates of the canal compan
and IL Is intimated, rather ungracious
that tho engineers were not averse TO Z
creation of another board, which meal
of course, lust SO much moro cmployme
for themselves or other members OIL TN
nrofession. Members of the house col
mitteo on interstate commerce say th
i bave boen assured that American contra
ors vore ready to undertake CONSTRUCT
Of tho canal complete for $40, 0OO,O On
Tbev point to the ease with which
oreat drainage canal has been construct
at Chicago by the uso of modern applian
for removing earth and rock and decl'
i tho estimates of tho canal company
within reason. The general bclicfis, ho
q ovor that the friends of the canal Will
be able to break dow II the force OK the
verso report of The commission, anu u
Il congress will refuse to commit tho Uni
4 states financially TO tho project until th
n has been thorough examination OF
n routc. and moro par icularly OF the gr
LA r A..