Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1901-11-29

necessary for the construction Of tina
canal and for it's mana Gement after COM
pletion the United States should acquire
control of strip OF territory from sea
to sea sufficient i'm area for the convent
ent and efficient accomplishment of these
purposes. Measures must also be taken
to protect the line from unlawful acts OF
all kinds to insure sanitary control and
to render police jurisdiction effective.
The strip should he not less than 1--WE
miles wide on each side OF the center
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 for the con-
structiOn and opera ton of a canal. When
il 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 he obtained before the Inauguration
of the enterprise. and one or more con-
tentiCns must be entered into by the
United States to secure the necessary
privileges and authority. The republics
of Nicara qua and Costa Rica are un-
trammeIed by any existing concessions
or treaty obligations. and are free to
grant to the United States the rights
necessary for the attainment of these
ends. and in December. 1900, demonstrate
ed their willingness to have their terri
tory so occupied by the United States by
executing protocols by which it was
agreed that they would enter into ne
Sotiations to settle in detail the plan
and agreements necessary to accomplish
the construction and provide for the
ownership of the proposed canal when
ever the President of the United States
is authorized by law to acquire tie nee
essary control and authority.
Colombia Not Free.
The government of Colombia, on the
contrary. i'm 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 in time and defective in other ways,
would not be adequate authority for the
purposes of the United States. but while
they exist Colombia is not free TO treat
with this government. If the Panama
route is selected these concessions must
be removed in order that the republics
NAV enter into a treaty to enable the
United States to acquire the control
upon the isthmus that will be necessary
and to fix the consideration. An agree
m mt with the New Panama Canal Com
pany to surrender or transfer its con-
cessions must include a sale of its canal
property and unfinished work and the
commission undertook. soon after its Or
ganiza ton, to ascertain upon what terms
this could be accomplished. Much cor
respondence and many conferences fol-
lowed. but no proposition naming price
presented until the middle of Octo-
Der. 1901. and after prolonged discussion
il was submitted to the commission in
modified form on the 18th of November,
dent The itemized statements appear in
earlier chaDter of the report. The
total amount for which the company
offers to sell and transfer its canal prop
ertv TO the United States is Sl09. al 800
This. added to the cost of completing the
work. makes the whole cost Of canal
by the Panama route s253.37i S5S while
the cost by the Nicaragua route is $780,.
SS4. 062 a difference of s63 80. .96 in favor
OF the Nicaragua rOLte.
states Must Be Comps nsatcd.
In each case there must be added the
cost Of obtaining tho use Of the terri
tory to be occupied and such other privi-
leges may be necessary for the con-
struction ard oDeration Of the canal in
perpetuity. The compensation that the
different states will ask for granting
these privileges is now unknown. There
are certain physical advantages such as
a shorter canal line, = more complete
knowledge Of the country through which
II passes and l6wtr cost Of main finance
and Operation ID favor OF the Panama
route. hut the price fixed by the Panama
Canal Company for sale of its prop
erty and franchises is SO unreasonable
that its acceptance cannot he recon-
menied by this commission. After con-
sidesing all the facts developed by the
Investigations made by the commission.
the actual situation as IL now stands,
and having in view the terms offered by
the New Panama Canal Company, this
commission is of the cpiiion that 'the
most practica BILE and feasible route for
an iSthmian canal To be under the con-
troll. mana cement ard ownership Of the
United s 7tes" is that Enawn rs the
Nicaragua route.