Mexico Missouri message., 1902-12-04

THE PANAMA CANAL.
French Company Offers n Good title
to Its Property.

The congress has wisely provided that
| IL possible at Panama. The attorney gem
| eral reports that We can undoubte dly ac-
| quire good title from the French Panama
| Canal company. Negotiations are row
| pending with Colombia to secure her assent
to our building the canal. This canal will
be one Of the greatest engineering feats of
the twentieth century; greater engineer
ing feat than has yet been accomplished
during the history of mankind. The work
without regard to change of a6minlstra-
tlon; and II should be begun under circum-
stances which will make 1t matter OF
pride for all administrations to continue
The caral will be OF great benefit to Amer
lea, and OF importance to all the world. 1t
will be of advantage to us industrially and
also as improving our military position, 1t
VIII be Of advantage to the countries OF
hoped that ali Of these countries viii do as
some OF them have already done with Sig
nal success, and will invite to their shores
d!tions by recognizing that stability and
order are the prerequisites Of successful
aggression from the United States. 1t be-
ihooyes eath one to maintain order within
% f9 aqd r Wssn M ui
done, they can rest assured that, be they
strong or weak, they have nothing to dread
the Increasing lnterdepenGerce ard com
plexity of INTERNATIONAL political and eco
nomic relations render 1t incumbent on all
civilized and orderly powers to insist on
the proper policing of the world.
The Pacific Gable.
During the fall of 1901 communication
was addressed to the secretary of state,
asking whether permission would be
granted by the president to a corpora
ton to lay a cable from a point on the
California coast to the Philippine islands
dltlons or terms upon which such cor
porat!on would undertake to lay and
operate a cable. was volunteered
lnaSmuCh as the congress was shortly
to convene, and Pacific cable legislation
had been the subject of consideration by
the congress for several years. it seemed
TO me wise to defer action upon the ap-
plication until the congress had first an
opportunity TO act. The congress adj
ing the matter in exactly the same con-
dltion in which it stood when the con-
grcss convened.
Meanwhile it appears that the Com
mercial Pacific Gable company had
promptly proceeded with preparations for
laying its cable. 1t also made applca-
use of soundings taken by the L. S. s
Nero, for the purpose of discovering a
practiCable route for trans-Pacific
cable. the company urging that with ac-
cess to these soundings it could complete
Its cable much sooner than If it were
required to take soundings upon its own
account. Pending consideration of this
subject, 1t appeared important and de-
sirable to attach certain conditions to
the PERMISSION to examine and the
soundings. If it should be granted.
In consequence of this solicitation Of
the cable company, certain conditions
were formulated, upon which the presi-
dent was willing to allow access to these
soundings and to consent to the landing
and laying of the cable, subject to any
alterations or additions thereto imposed
by the congress. This was deemed prop
err, especially as 1t was clear that a cable
connection of some kind with China, a
foreign country, was a part of the COM
panys plan. This course was, moreover
in accordance with line of precedents
including President Grants action in the
case of the first French cable explained
to the congress in his annual message of
December 1875, and the instance occur
ring in 1879 of the second French cable
from Brest to st. Pierre, with a branch
to Cape Cod
These conditions prescribed, among
other things, a maximum rate for com
merCial messages and that the company
should construct line from the Philip
pine islands to China. there being at
present, as is well known a British line
from Manila to Hong Kong
The representatives of the cable com
pany kept these conditions long under
consideration, continuing, in the mean
time, to prepare for laying the cable
They have. however. at length acceded
to them, and an all-American line be-
tween our Pacific coast and the Chinese
empire, by way of Honolulu and the
Philippine islands, is thus provided for,
and is expected within a few months to
be ready for business.