The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1902-03-25

syndicate was using in this country,
before | went south this year. l heard
more of 1t there. saw Costa Rica
and Nicaragua too poor, on account
of their sparsely settled territory, their
cilities for development, to send lob
bies to the north or even to make
known the advantages which their
route possesses. ! found them, how
ever. intensely anxious to give us
every facility for investigation.
Costa Rica has population of 250.-
600; Nicaragua is even more sparsely
settled. Colombia's 100000 people
are constantly at the mercy Of a lot
of professional revolutionists. who
have notified the United States that
If they succeed in usurping the power
of the present government they will
recognize no treaty that the United
States may have secured for the Pan
anna route.
USED DE LESSEPS' FIGURES.
There are some amusing features
in the report of the Hanna commits
sion which recommends the Panama
route. One of them ran across while
talking to high official in Costa Rica.
He took from one pigeon hole of his
desk the report of the commission on
the estimated cost of building the har-
Dor for the Panama canal Then he
dug down in dusty drawer and
brought out the old De Lesseps pros
pectus, exploded long ago. He asked
me to compare the two. That esti-
mate in the commissions report had
been taken bodily from De Lesseps'
old fable. If that is sample of the
accuracy OF the report by which con-
gress is supposed to govern its action,
the Lord help congress.
The whole play in the senate since.
the adoption by the house of the Mica
raGua route has been one of delay.
You cannot convince anybody who
knows the facts regarding the two
routes that there is any serious in
tention Of adopting the old Panama
scheme. Some bluff is necessary as an
excuse for delay, for the American peo-
pie want the canal. The interests that
were responsible before for the hold
up of the entire canal scheme in the
former congress were headed by the
late Coils p. Huntingdon's Pacific
railroad interests. Tom Reed led the
campaign on that occasion; Hanna is
leading 1t today. One more years de-
1ax IN, h. ad nf 30 !,
millions of dollars profit 10 the great
trans-continent' r,ilway magnates.
A PROTECTED HARBOR.
"By the Nicaragua route the canal
would run Sc IL miles through Lake
Nicaragua. The lake has an average
width of 40 miles: is 1859 4-10 miles
long, and has a surface area of g.
600 square miles. With America In
absolute control, a naval fleet would
have the most magnificent land-locked
harbor, absolutely impregnable to as
sault, that could well be imagined
1t would be absolutely the key to any
Atlantic or Pacific naval situation.
"The route has 142 6-10 miles of free
navigation through lakes, rivers and
basins. It's summit level is 110 feet
above the sea level, and II runs its en-
tire distance through the most beauti-
full country one could well imagine.
True, lot Of people will make
some money IL the Nicaragua route Is
adopted. Down on the Panama neck
nobody can make any money, because
1t Is hard to imagine more sterile
waste. But do not see why that is
an argument in favor OF cutting a
channel through the sand back Of
Colon.
THE GREAT FRUIT TRADE.
"The United States commercial In
terests have been becoming more and
more powerful in Nicaragua and Costa
Rica, rapidly stealing the German
trade which formerly predcninated.