The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-04-02

more than tOur hundred years. Let
Congress give the word and let the
work be done.
H. A. Kistler, of Raeds7ille, n.
c., opened the negative side of the
debate. The eastern markets, he
said, would be of no benefit to us
since cotton can now be produced
there cheaper than it can be here.
The surplus in the national treasury
can be spent to much better advant-
age by putting it to the improvement
of our educational system. Besides,
should canal be built at all, the
Panama route would be much the
better and less expensive. 1t would
be we'll nigh impossible to construct
and maintain harbors at the e1trem-
tiles of the Nicaraguan route owing
to the nature of soil in these locali-
ties.
M. K Stirewalt, of New Market,
Va, closed for the affirmative. AS
TO the cost of the two routes, that
considering the engineers guaranteed
cost Of the Nicaraguan and the past
cost of the construction of about
two-ffths of the Panama canal, the
Nicaragusn would be by far the
cheaper route. Besides this, there
is doubt whether the Panama route
could be bought at all. The stock
of the present Panama Canal Co.,
is held by hundreds of private citi-
zens of France, and it would be
almost, if not altogether impossible
to secure an unincumbered title to the
property. We need the canal as d
highway for our commerce and we
need it as means Of defense. Let
it be built and fortified.
P. D. Pence, of Fortsville, Va,
closed for the negative He said that
we could not rely upon the estimated
cost of this canal. The enornitY of
the reject renders it impossible to
accurately fix the cost. This the
most ardent supporters of the project
admit. At best it is taking a leap in
the dark. Even after it has been
completed seismic disturbances may
at any time render it worthless.
More than this, We do not need the
canal as a means Of commerce. Our
country extends from one ocean to
the other. The products of our west
ern slope may be shipped to the
Otient while that Of our eastern
slope finds a ready and profitable
market elsewhere. II this vast
amount of moneyis to be spent, let
US expend it upon our mental and
material advancement.
The committee to decide this ques-
tion, consisting Of D. L. Russell, of
this city, S. S. Manney, of Cherryville,
n G, and Professor F. E. Sigman,
of this city. The decision was made
by consultation and announced in
favor Of the affirm ative. The an
nouncement was made by Mr.. Rus
sell in pleasing and eloquent man
ner.
Then came an grafton by G. J.
Sox, of Columbia, S. G. His subject
was ''The Love of the Beautiful"
Man has in his heart an emotion that
is gratiied only by an observance of
the beautiful. In the construction
of the universe the Great Architect
has in everything provided for this.
The world is full of beauty over us,
beneath Us and around about us.
We see beauties in the heavens, in
the deep end around US en- every
hand. God made these for mans
admiration and gave him the faculty
of admiring them. We should, there
fore lose no opportunity of seeing
the handwriting of God-the beau
tiful.
Freezing a Mother-in, law" was
we'll ren dered, and sent the audience
away in transports of merriment.
Throughout out the programme
was interspersed with music render
ed by the young ladies, and by no