The times., 1898-12-20
4 REPORT ON THH CANAL
Preliminary Statistics Will Be
Furnished to Congress.
ADMIRAL WALKER HERE
His Return From New York to Resume
Work The Commission to Furnish
Estimatos-NO Further Excuse for De
Iay-Fight on Senator sIorgan's BIZ
Indirect Methods of Its Opponents.

| Canal Commission. for which Senator Tur-
pie and other opponents OF the canal pro-
ject have been clamoring ever since Sena-
tor Morgan called up his canal bill in the
Senate. will. In all probability, be In the
hands of the President before Congress
| reassemb3es after the holiday recess, and
! there will be no further excuse for delay.
| Admiral Walker, the president of the
commission. returned from New York yes
terday afternoon. leaving the bedside of
his youngest son, Lieut.. Walker, of the
| engineers, who is seriously Ill In hos
pital in Brooklyn with fever. In order that
he might get to work with all speed on
the preliminary report desired.
| Cen Haines. another member of the
commission, is in Baltimore Ill with the
grip. Prof. Haupt. the remaining COM
missioner. is here, however. and he and
Admiral Walker will give the matter OF
short preliminary report, containing all
the facts and estimates which will be of
use 10 Congress in considering the canal
| BILL their immediate attention. 1t is GER
tain that the report will be ready for
transmission to Congress by the time it
| reassembles.
The complete report OF the commission
will not be ready for months. 1t will
make bulky volume, and in addition TO
the labor of preparing the reading matter
to fill ii, there are a great many maps
and other Illustrations of the work of the
commission yet to be made. In the pre-
| ipni, oil ha oct tiy,,at q
and other information needed by Congress
will be given.
This will defeat the cherished scheme of
delay on the part of those who opposed
| the bill. 1t has been claimed, ever since
the measure was brought up. that with
out the report of the commission the Sem
ate would be going 1t blind II they pass
ed bill providing for the construction
of the canal by the United States. While
making this objection the fact was ap-
| parent that the report. In all probability.
would not be completed in time TO admit
of legislation during the present session,
and the Morgan bill would die by reason
| of the expiration, By limitation, of the
Maritime Canal Company's concession,
unless an extra session of Congress was
! called.
This indirect but determined fight has
been vigorously waged since the intro
| duction of the bill, but so far the pro-
| ponents of the measure have been able
to hold their own and by getting prelim-
mary report of all necessary facts from
| the commission, they will probably be
| able to keep the measure before the Sen
! ate until note is reached.
The Senate yesterday took up the bill
at $3.50 o'clock. Immediately at the con-
I Il,
constitutionaiity of acquiring and gov
erning new territory. Several speeches
were made on the bill concluding with an
urgent appeal for action by Senator Nor
gan.
Senator Berry was the first speaker
and occupied the floor for half hour in
explanation of the amendments which he
| offered last week. His amendments COM
prehend new scheme for financiering the
project, and provides that instead Of is
suing bonds the money necessary for
the work should be appropriated directly
out of the Treasury of the United States.
Senator Allen followed. stating his OBJ
jections TO the pending bill He said that
the amendments offered by Senator Berry
eliminated one Objectionable feature of
the BILL but that there were still remain
ing in the measure provisions which he
could not vote for. and he added that he
would very much like to vote for the bill
Senator Caffery, in the absence OF Sena-
tor Turpie, urged that the motion of the
latter senator for postpoing the bill
until January 10 should be voted upon.
Senator Hoar here took occasion to give
his views on the bill. He thought that
the proper course was to first ask Eng
land if she had any objections to our
building the canal. This should be done.
he claimed in Difference to the Clayton
Bulwer treaty.
Il should get the consent of England"
he continued, upon a stipulation that
the canal should be used on equal terms
by all nations, the same as the Suez Canal
is used in times of peace, and In time
of war to be used by all except the gov
ernment making war on the United States
or Nicaragua or Costa Rica''
Senator Morgan said: THE neutrality
provision suggested by the senator is ex-
actly what is provided for in the bill.''
Senator Morgan then touched on the
proposed postponement OF the bill, and
said that while that motion had been
pending decided and valuable progress had
been made in the consideration of the
measure, and he was glad he had not
yielded to vote when requested.
He suggested that, If the debate was al
lowed to go on, before the 10Th of January
was reached the bill would be pretty we'll
understood by a majority of the sena-
sired. He referred to the substitute Of
fered by Senator Caffery, and said that
1t seemed to contain what Senator Hoar
had expressed as his views on the subject
He scored senators for not reading the
bill and the report of the committee be-
fore they delivered themselves of their
objections. and replied tartly to Senator
Hoars advice to ask England for her
consent to build the canal by saying
that he had rather go to his grave than
to the court of St. James for England's 5
consent for American action on this or
any other proposition. The people of the
United States would never accept that So
luton of the problem.
On the other hand. he continued, If
England had said You cannot build
that canal without my consent" the Sem
ate would have built 1t five years ago.
Turning to Senator Hoar sharply, he
continued: And yet here senator who
has not read the treaty. who has not read
the report or the BILL asks us now to go
to Great Britain and ask her consent to
build this canal. Mr.. President. 1 will
never vote for bill that has got such a
provision in it. bad as want CANAL
Senator Morgan assured the Senate that
no measure was ever placed on the
statute book that was so well guarded as
was this bill against every danger. He
held the floor until after o'c.ock, and
at his conclusion the Senate went into
executive session without taking a vote
on the motion to postpone the bill.
The Raedy-Sweeney Fight.
weight championship of the District of