Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-11-29

NECESSARY for the construction Of the
canal and for its Inanagement AFTER co coma
pietion the United states snoui9 acqum
to sea SUFFICIENT in area for the convent
ent and efficient accomplishment OF THESE
Ne ne from nniawfuI acts Of
all kinds to insure sanitary controi anu
to render police jurisdiction en-. eneetntT I've
miles wide on each side of the center
line of the canal, or ten miles IN 'or nv
width. No treaties now exist With amy my
two routes lie authorizing the oni os
States to occupy its territory Ior ting r u
strnction and operation OF S eanai " the
work and the route has oeen sa, ee .1,s
the consent of Colombia or OF n,,nafion
must be obtained before the inauguratioh
of the enterprise, and one or more che ths
tenticns must be ent INTO o py erv
United States to secure the necessaiy
privileges and authority R Rhs r ars un
t-ammeled by any existing CONCESSIONS cess 1e
grant to the United States the rights
necessary for the attal llnn o. ,ne
ed their Willingness to have their 81 terri RI,
tory so occupied by the United states ns
exe geud protocols ,soe o ~ enter into ne
gotiations to settle in detail the plan
and agreements necessary 70 accolhplttiht ~
the construction and provide for tne
ever the President of the United States
is authorized by law to acquire the hee'
essary control and authority.
Colombia Not Free.
The government of Colombia, on the
contrary. in whose territory the Fan I,ainn
route lies, has granted concessions "nlcn
belong to. are controlled by the We"
Panama Canal Company, and nave may
years to run. These CONCESSIONS, Hit
ed in time and defective in other ways,
would not be adequate authority for me
purposes of the United States. put WINE WINE
with this government If the Panama
route is selected these concessions mus
be removed in order that the repuo! tSs
may enter into a treaty to enable ths
United States to acquire the contr %
upon the isthmus that will be necessary
ment with the New Panama Canal Com
pany to surrender or transfer us con-
cessions must include, sale or 1.s CAVE tba
property and unfinished work, and the
commission undertook. soon after It's o..
ganzation to ascertain upon what terms
this could be accomplished Mucn cor ,oI-
respondence and many conferences Ici
lowed, but no proposition naming price
was presented until the middle OF. Octo-
per- as and a5tf to tbe in
modified form on the 4th of November
to be included in it's report to the res y,
dent. The itemized statements appear TN IN
an earlier chapter of the report: me
total amount for which the company
offers to sell and transfer Its canal ana Rr9 edo
This. added to the cost of completing me
work. makes the whole cost OF a canal
by the Panama route $25S,S74S oS, Wmie
the cost by the Nicaragua route is $le9-
1874 O62, a difference of 1880 1876 IN taFor
of the Nicaragua route.
States Must Be Compe nsated.
in each case there must be added the
cost of obtaining the use OF the terri
tory to be occupied and such other priv
leges as may be necessary for the con
struction and operation Of the canal IN
perpetuity. The compensation that tne
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
it 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 it's prop
erty and franchises is so unreasonable
that its acceptance cannot be- recon-
mended by this commission. After con-
sidering all the facts developed by the
Investigations made by the commission,
the actual situation it now stands.
and having in view the terms offered by
the New Panama Canal Company, TINS
; commission is of the opinion that the
most practicable and feasible route for
an isthmian canal to be under the con-
troll, management and ownership OF the
United States" is that known as the
Nicaragua route.