Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1902-03-13
SENATOR KITTREDGE'S con
SCIENTIOUS METHODS.

n committee on oceanic canals that
che laws having a bearing OF the
subject be we'll understood by the
committee, a subcommittee, com
posed of Senator'S Morgan, of Ala
bama, Foster, of Louisiana, Mitchell,
of Oregon, Turner, of Washington,
Kittredge, of South Dakota, and
Pritchard, of North Carolina, was
instructed to look up the laws and
report to the full committee. With
out wasting any great amount of
their valuable time in looking up
laws of any of the efete governments
of the eastern hemisphere Or of insig-
nifcant Central American states, the
subcommittee formulated a report
committing itself to the Nicaragua
route and let it 60 at that. Senator
Kittredge, however, had made an
honest endeayor to find out what the
laws bearing on the subject really
were, as that was the duty with
which the committee was charged.
In the simplicity of his soul he
thought that he was expected to do
that which was assigned as the com
mittee's duty and made no effort to
exploit a previously conceived pre-
JUDGE in favor of any one route. He
thought that the committee were in
this instance charged by their clients
the people Of the United States, with
submitting an opinion as lawyers,
therefore they must go into those
papers and make up their minds
fairly But the remaining members
of the committee refused to do any
thing of the sort. They were salts
fed without an Investigation. They
did not need to 60 over the papers.
There had always been fraud con-
nected with the Panama property,
and the United States could not
afford to mix up with the nasty mess.
Then there was danger that the
French people would not like il if
we bought their property to cheaply.
They might be offended at the
United States.
why" said Senator Morgan,
%-the French peasants who poured
$2O0,0O0,OOO into the old company
are to get OILY So, 100000 of the
$40,000.0W which we are asked to
pay. How will they like that
viii they not say that We have
cheated thems..
81 cannot admit hat this has any
thing to do with the legal questions
inyolyed.'' replied Senator Kittredge,
shut | should think they would be
less displeased with us for paying
Them s27 100000 than they would
DE if We paid them nothing"
This is a fair sample of the major
sty's illegal" research. They asserted
<hat the consent Of the French gov
ernment was a condition precedent,
although that government has Off
cially notified our government that
1t has no:hing to do with it in any
way.
Senator Kittredge told the sub
committee that he had spent Sc, eral
weeks carefully investigating every
phase Of the subject. He had done
this as a lawyer, because he believed
che government was entitled to his
earnest services. His reputation as
a lawyer was as much at stake in
affair as IL he We're examining a
title for a client out in his state.
His opinion as TO the merits of the
swo routes had nothing whatever to
do with the case. Upon full exami-
nation he declared there was not the
slightest doubt in the world that the
Panama company could give a clear
title to its property. No questions
were involved IN the transfer that
had not been often encountered and
overcome in the purchase Of property
in this country, Blu. this had no
effect on Senator Kittredge, his sote
was the only one cast against the
report, though Senator Pritchard,
who was sick and therefore absent,
might have joined him.
There is little doubt that the full