The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-08

and the newspaper reports that the com pany now offered to sell the property TOT $40, ,OOO, ,OO0 IT the latter report were true, the Panama Canal would cost less than the Nicaragua, and he asked If MT. Hep burn did not believe with equal cost that the commission would have reported III favor of Panama.
 Mir. Hepburn replied that the com mission had stated the respective ad- vantages of both routes under conditiohs then existing. He could not tell what the commission would have reported under other circumstances. Any gentle man who absOrbs the commission re port" said he, ,'and weighs it, must be- lieye that other things being equal. the canal that is 400 miles nearer our territo- ry, that makes New Orleans 4sO miles nearer San Francisco and New York S'o miles nearer. than the other is the better canal for us.' tAnplause.p
 Mir. Hepburn declared that the whole Panama scheme had utterly failed The French stockholders had been robbed The company was discredited in France; in fact, it seemed to have no credit ex- cept in the United States.
 If we build the Nicaragua canal, asked Mir. Sims tTenn.) ''is it not likely that the French Government will com plete the Panama canai?"
 There is the same probability of two canals" answered Mir. Hepburn, that there is of the Suez canal being paral- leled by another"
 Asked as to the advisability of giving the President the authority to build on either; route, Mfr. HephAfns again raised applause by declaring F&hRt he looked upon any attempt to eHtalAsIe the United States in the Panama enterprise as an effort to defeat any canal
 MT. Reeves Qlls) asked whether 1t would not be better to wait few days or weeks until the Secretary of War could Inform Congress just what he could obtain in the way of concessions from Nicaragua.
 Tn an enterprise of this magnitude" replied Mir. Hepburn. there never has been and never will be a day when some gentleman will not be able to urge some reason for postponement." tApplaus
 We have been suffering from that CT years" continued Mir. Hepburn, ana 1 am assured by those who know that the protocol with Nicaragua has reached such a stage that we are certain to get what we want Applause) If it is true that the Panama Company has made the proposition then We should deal with Colombia, which owns the canal You mean the company forfeited its right if it made an offer to sell?" asked MT. Reeves. .r- II do."
 Do you think the company would risk forfeiture?"
 Tt recognizes that the jig Is up. The commission says that an offer to sell works a forfeiture not only of the com panys franchise. but its property in Colombia
 Replying to inquiries from MT. Cannon as to the conditions of the protocol with Nicaragua, MT. Hepburn said his under le.A. .lI .,,1 ia were about the figures allowed Nicaragua and Costa Rics.
 MT. Cannon insisted that nothing would be lost by waiting for, say. sixty days, until the facts as to this protocol could be learned.
 Mir. Hepburn declared that this would have the effect of further delaying the project. MT. Cannon said that while he 1 had always favored the canal he was | satisfied the precipitate passage of this tpill ssacrifeed advantages which the uhltcd4states nQW possssssa and Ipeant heavy increase m cost whic hwould have to, come out of the treasury. Mir. Davis (Fla.l. member of the committee which reported the bill, fol- lowed Mir. Heuburn with an earnest plea for it's passage. He advocated the Nica- ragua rather than the Panama route, and insisted that the time had now ar
  begin.
 Mir Mann Ull) declared that the ex- perts who had examined the routes had differed widely, and thought the new offer of the Panama Company should be further considered before the Govern ment pledged itself to the Nicaragua route MT. Hepburn had expressed the hope that American ships might be able to go through the canal free of charge. hA frOf1hIn urrifh hof haf was rudely killed before birth by the new treaty with England, whic would pre- vent preferential discrimination in rates. He did not agree with Mir Hepburn that the offer to sell forfeited the Panama con- cession. The Panama Company, he said had used every effort to obstruct the con- struction of the Nicaragua Canal in the hope of eventually disposing of it's prop erty to the United States for millions more than it was worth.
 In conclusion, Mr. Mann said he did not believe a mistake could be made in passing the pending bill.
 MT. Adams CPa) thought if the cost of two routes were substantially equal, the Panama route was preferable.
 MT. Morris (Minn) gave notice that he would offer an amendment providing that if ''the Panama Canal can be acquired by the United States for q sum not exceed ing $40 009,0 000 and in addition thereto, equally desirable political and territorial rights and privileges in the case of the Nicaragua route and at no greater expense within six months from the passage of this Act, then the President of the United States. If the Isthmian Canal Commission or q majority thereof so recommend Is hereby authorized to purchase the same and to complete the construction of said Panama Canal. And the sum of $50, GOO, ,O0o is hereby appropri- ated toward the project herein contem- plated'