The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-01-19
THE NICARAGUAN CANAL
TT COMES BEFORE THE SENATE FOR
 CONSIDERATION.

Senator Morgan Urges the Passage of the Meas dre-Insists That Whatever be the Views of His Colleagues Definite Action
 be Taken-Denies the Imputation That
 the Bill is Job
 Washington, Jan. 1S.-In the senate to-day at p. m, a motion was made by MT. Morgan, dem, of Alabama, to consider the Nicaraguan bill. This was agreed to-, yeas 36, nays IA.
 The bill was read in full and was laid aside temporarily to permit the transaction of other business.
 The presidents message transmitting the report of the commissioners ap- pointed to inquire as to the feasibility of constructing a canal between the great lakes and the Atlantic ocean was laid before the senate and referred to the committee on commerce.
 1 The Ncaraguan bill was again taken up and MT. Morgan addressed the sen- ate He said the committee on the Nicaraguan canal was unanimous in it's approval of every feature of the bill He was satisfied it was the best bill presented on the subject. It was more conservative and left more power in the hands of the president than former bills. There was but one parallel case i the Suez canal. There were, how ' ever, two other standards furnished in the United States as to the cost and facility of construction and as to the effect on an increase of the interior commerce of the country Those were the locks of the Sault St. Marie and the great drainage canal at Chicago. 1 MT. Morgan said: If we do not 1 pass this measure how are we to pre- vent Nicaragua from saying congress has abandoned the project andNnow the government of Great Britain has a right to come in?' insist on this bill being passed now or on It's being de- feated now. We have got matters ly- ing just in front of us relating to the arbitration of differences between the l governments of the United States and Great Britain. I want to know what | these differences are. want to know what we are signing our names to in ratifying this treaty.
 ''If the differences relate to the Mon- roe doctrine or to the Clayton Bulwer | treaty I want to know it. And if it is to be a difference involving disclaim- i CT of the great utterance, this Is to be an American canal, under American control,' I want to know it. That is l why this bill Is to be acted on now. I want to know what congress intends to do about 1t. And I want to know ! after that what the government Of ] Great Britain intends to do. Then I will be prepared to understand what the the matters in difference between the government of the United States | and the government of Great Britain. v
 MT. Morgan discussed and explained the financial features of the bill and ! said: 'If the voice of the senate is against this bill either on the ground that the canal is impraticable or that i it would cost too much, or that 1t might involve us in conflicts with foreign governments, express that voice. Let these men, the directors and managers, go; let us no longer stand as shadow over them or as an obstacle between them and other parties. There is not one unclean speck of dust on this whole bill. There Is nothing connected with 1t in the nature of a job. What is being done here is done simply on motion of senators of the United States We have interfered with these people fhe directors) We tried to get their con- tract out of their possession. They never asked us to do it, and never would have asked us.
 "Give us this canal and with our form of government, our traditions, our pur- pose and our prospects we will stand over other nations as the monument of Washington stands over the plains and this grand development of self-govern- ment will ultimately extend to all na- tions of the earth"
 When MT. Morgan closed his speech the bill went over as the unfinished business and the senate, after a short executive session, adjourned.