Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-04-18
He Says the Nicaragua Canal is Not
Feasible and Will Never
be Constructed.
LOOKS LIKE HUGE GRAFT.
Talks of the Feasibility of the Panama
Canal Route Compared With the Nicar-
aqua Route as the Former Has the Work
Already Half Completed, While the
French Government is Ready and Will
ling to Sell Out Its Interest.

mo canal will be built over the Mica =
aqua route by America or anybody
else" said Col. john Bidlake, from COL
ombia, South America, when in st. Paul
to Globe reporter last Sunday. Mr..
Bldlake has been q resident OF the
Colombia republic, having had extensive
mining and other interests there since '94
"The Nicaragua route" said Mr.. Bid
LAX. is 1856 miles long. The Panama
route on the other hand is only AZ miles
long, and fully half OF the canal has al
ready been completed by the French
company, which has the work in charge.
That company is ready and willing to
sell out to the United States. The re-
public OF Colombia wants the Panama
canal completed, for it means the life of
the country, and the government will
make any reasonable agreement with
the United States for the building OF the
big isthmian ditch.
Taking up the question of natural ad-
vantage again, there is no port where
ship can enter ON either the western or
the eastern end Of the proposed Near
aqua route. At Greytown on the
eastern coast the surf runs so high that
ship cannot approach closer than
within three miles OF the shore, and from
that point the cargo must be taken off
in lighters. The plan proposed by those
who favor the Nicaragua route, is to
build breakwaters on either side of the
canal mouth, but it has been estimated
by good engineers that it would be ne
cessary, even after building such break
waters to move 15O,OOO,OOO tons OF
sand every year in order to keep the en-
trance OF the canal clear.
with the Panama route on the other
hand there is good port at each end,
Panama on the west and Colon on the
| east. Lean come to no other conclusion
than that the Nicaragua route is a huge
graft by speculative capitalists"
At the time that Col. BIdlake left Col
ombia, about two months ago, the re-
volution, which has been in progress
there for over year seemed to be near an
end, and he says that peace may he
looked for within two or three months.
General Wribe- Wribe, commander of the
forces. is now in New York
continued Mr.. Bidlake. During the last
year the war has practically prevented
us from doing any work upon our mines
or in any other line. The bloodiest
battle Of the whole rebellion was last
summer at Palo-Negro, in the state of
Santander. The battle lasted fourteen
days with a fighting line over six miles
in length, and during that time about
5000 men were killed. The battle re-
suited in victory for the government
forces. During the conflict the r L.
performed a feat that think has never
been equaled in the history of modern
warfare. It was the taking OF agatling
gun battery by two regiments, armed
only with matchets. Half the attacking
force was lost in this engagement.
"The American colony in Colombia is
comparatively SMALL" says Mr.. Bid
lake, "and is principally engaged in min
ing and railroad building. There is a
good opening for capital, because there
are atpresent no manufacturing interests
in the country and every thing in the
manufactured line is imported"