Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-28
Incorporation Papers Have
Been Filed
FOR THE PANAMA ROUTE
The Concession of the French People
Has Been Turned Over to a Syndi-
cate Of Wealthy Men of New York
City.

New York, Dec. 2S.-The INCORPORATION
of the Panama Canal company of Ameri-
ca is said to be the first move in a plan to
reserve the Panama cana to Americans.
in order that it may have a better chance
in the struggle with the Nicaragua con-
ce%ssionaries. The banking houses and
individuals who are understood to be in
terested are August Belmont and COM
pany: Kuhn, Loeb and Co., Levi p. Nor
ton, Charles Il. Film, j. II. Simons, pres
ident of the Fourth National bank; Ed
ward Sweet and Co.. George Sheldon and
company; Barring Magoun and company
and George w. Young, president of the
United States Mortgage and Trus COM
;pany. In addition to these several bank
ing houses in San Francisco and in cities
in the south and west are interested in
the company
The Herald says this Incorporation of
an American company is the result of ne
gotiations between representatives of the
French company, including Baron Open
helm, who came to this city from Paris
several months ago, and leading finan-
ciers of America. The representative
of the French company came to this coun-
try empowered to transfer the rights of
the company to an American mpa
and this ompan having now been in
corporated the ransfer will very short
ly be effected, the transfer to be given
formal approval by the shareholders in
France. These shareholders will receive
shares in the new American in
proportion to their holdings in the old.
This American concern" as one of the
Americans styled it yesterday is brought
about to place the Panama canal on a
footing in America more satisfactory to
the French company and to place it on
the same basis as the Nicaragua canal
before the United States government.
An sthmia canal commission with
Rear Adniral Walker as chairman is now
at work making an exhaustive study Of
all possible routes for a canal across the
isthmus of Central America. This COM
mission was created in the closing hours
of the last congress and 81, 900, 900 was APP
p%ropriated for it's use through the river
and harbor bill. It's report will un-
doubtedly be final SO far as the United
States is concerned as to the best route
for a canal. Its parties, both engineer
ing and exploring, are now scattered over
Central America, obtaining material to
assist the commission in forming conclu-
SiOnS.
The French. company realizing the i'm
portance of the commissions findings has
taken the steps which have been describ-
ed, believing that the canal commission
would naturally be enabled to judge more
impartially between the two routes with
both under American control. The gen
tlemen of the French company long since
recognized that the undertaking of a
canal across Nicaragua either by the
United States or by private parties with
the assistance or Endorsement of the Unit.
ed States would be a most serious blow
to their project but the American finan
ciers who have formed the new company
now that the two routes are on an ever
footing and that judgment will be made
only on the grounds Of engineering ani
general desiraDility.
They argue that the "Americanizing'
} Of Panama is the only way by which thu
400 shareholders car have any hope of an,
return from the 5000, 000, 900 which ha:
gone out of France and into the cana
and they believe that this arrangement
can produce only good feeling ibetwee1
the two countries. Since 1894, when tn,
French company was formed, there ha:
been expended in work on the cana
something like $50, 900, 900. Several thou,
sand men, mostly negroes from Jamaica
have been employed and experts declar,
that the money has been properly ex
pended and that good progress has beer
made. There is a large umbe of mel
at work on the canal at the present tim,
and this force will be found at work b.,
the canal commission, hen it goes Owe
the route which will probably be durini
February. The canal is about tWo-fifth
completed and the new American com
lpany estimates hat the cost of compile
ton woul he about 500, 600, 900.