The Red Cloud chief., 1901-11-29

necessary for the construction Of the
canal and for It's management after COM
pletion the United States should acquire
control o. a strip of territory from sea
10 sea sufficient In area for the convent
ent and ~aficient accomplishment OF these
To- protect the iine from mus unlawful acts OF
all kinds to insure sanitary control ana
to render police. jurisdiction effective.
The strip should be not less than nsr nse
line OF the canal, or ten miles IN total
width. No treaties now exist with any
of the states within whose territory the
two routes lie authorizing the United
States to occupy its territory Tor the con-
struction and operation OF a canal When
II has been determined to undertake the
work and the route has been selected.
the consent of Colombia. or of Nicaragua
and Costa Rica, for such occupation
must be obtained before the inauguration
t~entiCns must be entered into by the
United States to secure the necessary
privileges and authority. The repup1cs
Of Nicaragua and Costa. Rica are UNI
trammeled by any existing concessions
or treaty obligations, and are free TO
grant to the United States the. rights
ends, and in December, 1900, demonstrat-
ed their Willingness to have their terri
tory so occupied by the United States by
s ssseed tbat pr tSSS won Sy e whleh into ,t w mes
gotiatlons to settle I'm detail the plan
and agreements necessary TO
the construction and provide for the
ownership of the proposed cana, when.
ever the President of the United States
IL authorized by law to acquire the nee
essary control and authority.
Colombia Not Free.
The government OF Colombia. on the
contrary, in whose territory the Panama
route lies, has granted concessions which
belong to. or are controlled by the New
Panama CANAL Company. and have many
years to run. These concessions. limit
ed so, IN time tim, al and defective IN G,her ,o wa fhe
purposes of the United States. but while
they exist Colombia is not free to treat
with this government: IL the panam st
be removed In order that the republics
may enter into a treaty to- enable the
United. States to acquire. the controi
upon the isthmus that will be necessary
and to fix the consideration. An agree
ment with the New Panama Canal Com
pany to surrender or transfer It's con,
property and unfinished work. and the
commission undertook. soon after It's or
ganization. to ascertain upon what terms
%respond H "s ana many Conference fol-
lowed. but no. proposition naming a price
was presented until the middle OF Octo-
Der: 1901; n after PROLONGED d,s ion Isl =
modified form on the 4th of November,
to be included In Its report to the presi.
dent. The itemized statements appear IN
an earlier chapter of the report. Tn
total amount for which the company
offers to sell and transfer Its canal prop
erty to the United States Is slO9.l ,eoo.
This. added to the cost OF completing the
work. makes the whole cost of n canal
by the Panama route s253. 374.s 5s, while
the cost by the Nicaragua route Is sls9.-
SS4,062. a difference of $63. 796 In faVor
or the Nicaragua route.
States Must he Comps nsatcd.
In each case there must be added the
cost Of obtaining the use of the terri
tory to be occupied and such other priVi-
leges as may be necessary for the con-
struction and operation OF the canal In
perpetuity. The compensation that the
different states will ask for granting
these privileges Ia now Unknown. There
are certain physical advantages such. as
a shorter canal line. a more complete
knowledge of the country through which
II passes and lower cost OF maintenance
and operation, In favor Of the Panama
route, but the price fixed by the Panama
Canal Company for a sale OF Its prop
erty and franchises IL so unreasonable
that Its acceptance cannot be recon-
mended by this commission. After con-
sidering all the facts developed by the
Investigations mad by the commission.
the actual situation as II now stands.
and having In view the terms offered by
the New Panama Canal Company, this
commission Is OF the opinion that the
most practicable and feasible route for
an sthmian canal to be under the con-
troll. management and ownership OF the
United States Is that known as the
Nicaragua route.