The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-04
He Also Accuses Mr.. Hutin of DeIib-
crateIy FaIsifying Figures to
Further His Conspiracy.
PANAMA ROUTE NOT FEASIBLE
WITHOUT AN EXPENDITURE OF
ABOUT ONE BILAION DOLLARS.
Republic of Colombia Refuses to
tension of It's Franchi~e.

NEW YORK, Dec. 3.-Ex-Senator Warner
Miller, who was formerly at the head of
the Nicaragua Canal Company, in public
statement to-day touching the fact that
representatives of the Panama Canal Com
pany are reported to have gone to Wash
ington, supposedly to oppose the building
of the Nicaraguan canal, said he looked
upon it as an astounding piece of effrontery
on the part of the French company. Mr.
Miller calls attention to a message sent to
Congress by President Hayes, on March s.
1885, in which he said: 1.-THE policy of this
country is a canal under American control
The United States cannot consent to the
surrender of this control to any European
power or to any combination Of European
powers. Our merely commercial interest in
it is greater than that of all other countries,
while it's relations to our power and pros
perity as q nation, to our means of de-
fense our unity, peace and safety, are mat
ters of paramount concern to the people of
the United States"
Mr.. Miller then says: '"The American peo-
pie will have no canal under any auspices
save their own, that of their own governs
ment, and if the Panama canal is ever to be
built it must be surrendered to the control
of the American government. 1t will be re-
membered that in 1897 a congress met in
Paris, called by Count De Lesseps, to con-
slider the question of an isthmian canal. At
that congress Count De Lesseps gave it un-
reservedly as his opinion (and it was the
judgment OF the entire assembly, that only
q sea level canal could be. constructed at
Panama; that if canal with locks was to
be built the proper place to build it was
in Nicaragua. The congress decided in favor
of sea level canal and, of course, chose
the Panama route
Mr.. Miller reviews the organization Of the
old Panama Canal Company, it's work in
the United States to block the Nicaragua
scheme, the failure of the old company and
the formation of a new Panama Canal
Company for the purpose of keeping alive
the concessions from Colombia. Continuing,
Mr.. Miller says: Now, when there seems
to be q great probability of the United
States government aiding the Nicaragua
canal enterprise, the new Panama COM
pany appears upon the scene to procure or
prevent legislation, not with a large amount
Of money, but by the simple exercise of
cheek. 1t is undertaking to fool the Amer
lean people with the proposition that Pan
anna is the proper place to build high
level canal with locks, which De Lesseps
and the congress in Paris declared not feas-
ible in Panama but feasible in Nicaragua.
President Hutin claims to have solved the
heretofore unsolvable problems in connec-
tion with the Panama route. The Culebra
rass has been found according to his state
ment, perfectly easy of execution. But
commission of French engineers sent over
by the French government soon after the
failure of the old company, made most
voluminous report, which L have recently
examined, and 1 do not find anywhere in it
that the commission ever said the route is
feasible. They all say that if certain pos
sible contingencies did not happen the ca
nal might be constructed for something like
81 200, 600, 600 This Mr. Hutin has whitfield
down to $1CO, COO Geo."
Mr. Miller then enters into an analysis
from an engineers point of view of the
difficulties to be overcome in the construc-
ton of a Panama canal, and concludes:
In support of the claims of Mr.. Hutin and
his assistants we have only their state
ments. They admit openly that they have
come here, not seeking aid but for the
avowed purpose of persuading our govern
ment or Congress to do nothing in favor
of the Nicaragua canal, for they know very
well that the moment it is decided by the
American people through their government
that the Nicaragua canal shall be built they
can no longer procure money from the con-
fiding people of France to be wasted in an
inDracticable scheme"