The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-20
sIsT OF THE DOCUMENTS
Nttredge Represents Advo-'
 cates of Panama Scheme.
Hs Contends That the Company is in . Position to Give Clear
 Title to the United States.

,an from the Committee on Isthmian Ca- ,als. today presented to the Senate the majority and minority reports of that committee on the question of the validity of the title of the new Panama Canal Company, and its right to transfer the Panama Canal property to the United States for sfo0oo.O0o.
 The objections of the majority to the tile held by that company are based largely on the relations of the canal com pany to the Governments of France and Colombia, but the committee also dis cusses at length many other phases of the question, among them being the rela- tions of the shareholders who subscribed s2so.ooo. 900 to the old Panama Company. whose interests, the report holds. cannot be lightly regarded, On, this point. the report says:
 .sThe spectacie of the United States Congress authorizing the President, as the agent of our Government, to con- duct a trade with such a corporation 0he new Panama Company without consult ing France as to the claim of independ- ence 1t (the new Panama Company as- serts, will be entirely new in the history of nations, and it's consequences cannot be lightly disregarded; among the conse- Quences being the serious danger of the United States being drawn into disagree able relations with a large and influential body of the worthy people or trance, whose friendship for us has been cher sshsd during the entire life of our repub- lie. The report of the Isthmian Canal Commission reveals the fact that men who make this offer are chief among those who defrauded these six or eight hundred thousand Frenchmen of $2oo. o.ooO . -O00."
 Speaking further of the obligations of the new company to the old, the matof- ity says: If Mr. Eiffel and his asso- ciates get s40.000.Ooo from the American people, 1t is we'll that they are sheltered from the claims of those defrauded and despoiled bondholders and stockholders by. the alleged despotism of French courts"
 The minority report, which was prepar- I'd by Senator Kittredge. completely up- holds the title of the new Panama Com pany and states further that the con- gent of Colombia for a. transfer of con- eessions to the United States has been given by the Government of that coun- try as fully as 1t can now be gwen. The report also says that Colombia has shown and declared it's readiness to make by treaty new concessions, which would be necessary before the rights and property on the isthmus could be transferred to the United States
 "On every other point" the report con- tinues, "the right of the new Panama Canal Company to transfer it's property 10 the United States Is perfectly clear Every link in the chain of it's title and every step in the course by which it came into possession to sell its property, free and clear, is plain and satisfactory"
 The report then reviews the origin and history of the Panama Canal Company and finds that the affairs of the other company were disposed of by a French court in straightforward way when that company became insolvent. and that the court had perfect right not only to appoint liquidator or receiver. but to confer upon him, as was done. power to grant or contribute to any new com pany all or part of the corporate assets"
 The various objections to the new com pany's title are then considered and re- piled to- Then follows an explanation of why the new company should desire to sell in which 1t is stated that under it's title, the new company took up the work and continued it until a large part of its capital had been expended. When it be- came necessary to raise funds for the completion of the canal from the public. the announced intention of the United States to build an isthmian canal pre- vented any chance of profitable return and money could not be raised to com plete it.
 "As an engineering proposition" the report continues. "the canal was feasible and was attractive; as a commercial prop psition, the certainty of the competition of the United States made it impossible, except under the auspices of Govern ments. which might. for public reasons. acquire the canal. Thus. since the com pany could not raise the money to com plete the canal, the only practicable course was to sell the property in order lo prevent a total loss"