The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-21
WILL DIG THE Big CANAL
Congressman Say the Nicaragua
Shipway Will be Built.
Senators and Representatives He
lieve Tint Money for the Great
Trans-Oceanfc Waterway Will be
Appropriated at the Coming Ses-
sion-The Hay-PauncefOte Treaty.


that the Nicaragua Canal bill will be passed
by Congress at the coming session.
The Canal bill is on the Senate cal
endar as special order for December 10,
but if the Republican managers ccsire,
there will be encountered little difficulty
in postponing consideration of the meas
ure.
All Of those Republican Senator's With
whom a reporter for The Times mas con-
versed speak confidently of the ratiiica-
tion of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. They
entertain no doubt that affirmative action
will be taken on that instrument. The op-
ponents of the treaty believe that the
two-third vote required to ratify cannot
be obtained by the treaty hackers. These
members of the Senate who during the
last session and at various times during
the recess have announced their opposi-
ton to the ratification Of the agreement
are: Allen. Bacon, Berry, Butler, CAT
ferry, Chandler. Chiffon, Clay, Cockrell,
Harris, Heitfeld, Jones of Arkansas, Jores
of Nevada, kenney. McEnery, Mallory,
Mason, Money, Pritchard. Pettigrew. Sui
livan, Taliaferro. Teller, Tillman, Turley,
Turner, Vest. and Wellington.
The votes claimed for the treaty are:
Aldrich, Allison, Baker, Bard, Beverage,
Burrows, Carter, Clark, Cullom, Daniel,
Davis, Deboe, Depew, Elkins, Fairbanks,
Foraker, Foster, Frye, Gallinger, Dolii-
yer. Hale. Hanna, Hansbrough. Hawley,
Hoar, Kean, Kyle, Lindsay, Lodge, Nc
Bride. McComas. McCumber, McLaurin,
Mcmillan, Martin, Morgan. Nelson, PEN
rose, Perkins, Pettus, Plat of Connecti-
cut. Plat of New York. Proctor. Quarles,
Rawlins, Dillingham;, Scott, Sewell, Shoup.
Simon, Spooner, Stewart, Thurstcn, War
rem, and Wetmore.
The treaty opponents declare that
their strength increases as the hours
roll by and that they feel sure of add
ing to this column Daniel, Martin, and
McLaurin. They admit that Mr.. Pettus
will stand with his colleague, Mr.. Nor
gan, for ratification.
The friends of the treaty say that they
intend to bring into line every Republi-
can, even though he personally opposes
the treaty. If this be done, it will re-
move Chandler, Pritchard, Teller,
Mason, and Jones of Nevada from the
opposition column.
1t is very generally admitted at the
Capitol that if President Mckinley sends
out the order that the treaty must be
ratified, the Republicans will come into
line If the Administration lieutenants
in the Senate Chamber say to a Senator
that he must vote for the treaty, there
are few men SO bold as not to bow to this
command.
1t is significant fact that Senators
Aldrich, Allison, and Hanna are an
nouncing that the treaty will be ratified.
In the Nicaragua Canal bill which
passed the House early in May last it is
provided that this Government shall deal
directly with Nicaragua and Costa Rica
on the ground that the alleged conces-
sionaires have no rights CT interests
which they can convey to the United
States. This has practically been veri-
fed by statement recently made by
Nicaragua's new Minister to the United
States.
The friends of the Canal bill contend
that its passage should not wait upon the
ratification CT the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty.
They hold that the people of no other
country would have a right to object if
the people of the United States saw fit to
construct ship canal from New York to
San Francisco. on the territory belonging
solely to the United States; nor If Mexico,
on her own territory, constructed a canal
across the Isthmus Of Tehuantepec. nor if
Nicaragua constructed canal on her own
soil from the Caribbean Sea to the Pa
cific Ocean. 1t is therefore argued that
either one Of them could grant to another
lar to the one under discussion.
The only opposition of note to the Canal
bill in the House came from Mr. Cannon.
Chairman OF the Committee on Appropria-
fions. who was actuated mainly by desire
10 keep down Government expenditures in
a Presidential election year, and from Mr..
Burton of Ohio. whose opposition has been
ascribed to various reasons. The death Of
Coils p. Huntington. it is said. removes
@ crl ec in, he ~
passage of the bill, though several times
during tie last session of Congress Mr.
Huntington publicly said that he approved
of the Hepburn bill.
An extract from the report on the bill
and which report was presented by Mr.
Hepburn 10 the House follows:
We want our share OF the worlds COM
merce, and TO secure it We must have all
OF the utilities that are possible. Nor can
We expect TO get our share without fierce
struggles. There is now the most intense
rivalry for this commerce on the part Of
commercial nations And our rivals will
use all political and commercial influences
and diplomacy to drive us out OF the field
There are persons who say that we are
bound by treaty stipulations with the Gov
eminent Of Great Britain to refrain from
carrying out this great enterprise. This
statement the committee does not believe.
We recognize the fact that fifty years ago
the United States and Great Britain enter
ed into an alliance to secure the building
OF the Nicaragua Canal. ANY person who
dispassionately studies carefully that treaty
must come to the conclusion that the pri-
mary stipulations in the Clayton Bulwer
convention looked to the immediate build
Eng of a canal under the influences that
might be exerted by the two Governments.
rather than to a prohibition of either to
build it
This Nicaragua Canal can properly be
described. in other words. by calling 1t
the short route to the East And then
properly paraphrasing the sentence,
Great Britain and the United States bound
themselves not 20 secure as against the
other the short route TO the East In
1850 the Nicaragua route was the only
short route TO the East that any man
had in his thoughts, and the spirit of the
agreement was that Great Britain would
not secure the short route to the East
without the consent and cooperation of
the United States. But in violation of the
spirit OF the contract Great Britain has
through her control over the Suez Canal
secured for herself short route to the
East, one that is on her territory as COM
pletely for all practical purposes as
though 1t were on the soil of Ireland; one
that is completely under the control of
her guns at Gibraltar and the islands IN
the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, and
yet We are blandly told that notwiths;and-
Ing the failure on her part to observe the
letter of the seventh article and the spirit
OF the first article, that We are bound by
a treaty Of alliance entered into fifty
years ago.
There is no comparison between the
meager interests Of fifty years ago and
the colossal interests OF today The Stu
alton has SO changed, the interests of our
DeOpie now and then arc On diyarsa tho