Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-16
IT WILL BE RATIFIED
Mr.. Peppers Prediction as to
the Canal Treaty.
ADVICES FROM BOGOTA
PANAMA WAITING FOR THE
ISTHMIAN WATERWAY.
Looking for Revival of Good Times
Opposition in Colombia-More
Money Wanted.
ADVICES FROM BOGOTA
Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Evening
PANAMA, May 6, 1903.
The prayer of the Panamese: Give us
sanitation, Americans! Bring pure water
from the mountains. Build the aqueduct.
Clean up the isthmus Help US to prosper
ity."
This sentiment is sincere If not devout.
Dull days are on the old Spanish town.
The imports for home consumption are al
most nothing. The exports are Sandstone
rubber, ivory nuts and minor tropical
products. The volume of the worlds trade
flowing across the isthmus in transit it not
enough to overcome the local depression.
The shipping is not lively.
Prosperity With the Canal.
The peace made last November between
the government and the liberals is observ-
ed, yet the stagnation caused by the period
of civil war continues In the opinion Of
the business men the revival only can come
with the building of the canal. Then they
see not simply temporary flush times, but
genuipA revival of trade on the basis Of
lasting prosperity. They look for the flush
times to come quickly, because when the
United States begins construction work
money and people are bound to rush In.
Householders dream even of the grand days
of the French enterprise when an ordinary
dwelling brough $500 gold rent per month
Wise ones know that the prodigality of
the French will not be repeated by the
Americans; yet living will be high and the
demand for the ways and means of living
will be beyond the supply. The older resi-
dents of foreign birth look beyond this and
see in their own lifetime Panama doubling
its population in spite of the slow growth
of cities In these countries 1t now has be-
tween 10000 and $4,000 inhabitants.
But to insure this growth there must be
the conditions which make possible a
healthy seaport city of $4,000 In the torrtd
zone. For sanitary engineers the nearby
hills and the means Of natural drainage
make this simple proposition Pure water
can be brought from the mountains, less
than fifteen miles away. Among the for
eign colony-French. German. English and
Chinese-which controls the commerce, the
enthusiasm for sanitation is hearty. With
the native element it is perfunctory. The
rains of heaven In the wet season and the
putrid wells in the dry have answered for
three hundred years. and they don't see
the need of innovations. But they are
willing to tolerate sanitation.
Opposition to Ratification.
All this talk Is based on the ratification
of the canal treaty by the Colombian gov
eminent. After the ratification by the
United States Senate and the expression of
good will by the American people it causes
a chill to come to Colombia and be plunged
into an atmosphere of doubt and distrust
by the country which is to be the chief
beneficiary. At first everything Is uncer-
tainty. Opposition is said to exist not only
in the other states or departments. which
may be jealous of Panama, but on the
isthmus itself. % so
While the objections are various they are
based on two principal grounds. One Is
sentimental; the other financial.
Sentiment Is not to be made light OF even
though 1t takes an exaggerated form. The
"abdication of Colombian sovereignty Is
an objection urged by some ColombianS In
the interior who would have their country
stand still rather than yield a jot Of au-
thority to another government. They are
Indifferent to the rights OF the world TO
utilize the worlds natural highway of COM
merce Others do not go so far, but they
would have the United States mere ten
ant at will Of Colombia.
More Money Wanted.
On the financial side the argument adj
vanced is unusually terse for the Latin
mode of expression. Colombia would.
could and should get more money for the
canal privilege" Ten million dollars in
h,mn and yearly payment equal to that
now paid by the Panama railway under its
concession is not enough. A better BAR
gain should be made. And so on.
Exact news of what is going on In the
other parts of Colombia is hard to get. Bo-
gotta by the shortest means OF commune
cation is eleven or twelve days away, and
in that time the trip can be made to New
YORK and almost back again. But after the
first chill the atmosphere or doupt IN regard
to ratification is not so frigid. Those who
want to drive a better financial bargain
are getting to understand that the United
States has offered what 1t looks upon as
liberal terms, and tnere Is no cnahce OK
more money.
Concerning the sentimental objections, 1t
appears that while an active newspaper
campaign is waging against the treaty,
lie how odn cd In,
sition to It, there Is also a propaganda in D..
its favor The skill with which Secretary
Hay regulated the delicate questions of
political relations Is recognized and given
be carefully handled, but If President
Roosevelt finds another Judge Taft 10 serve
as the civilian member of the canal COM
mission there will be no serious friction
when the waterway is under construction.
Treaty Will Be Ratified.
Without going into details 1 have ac-
cepted for my own opinion the statement
of an influential Colombian, who is now in
Bogota This was that, while there would
be much talk of objections by the Colom-
bian congress, and even much surface OPP
position the canal treaty would be ratified
before the time limit in September Euro
pean influences which are in close touch
with the situation and which want the
treaty ratified take the view that the gov
eminent at Bogota will let The opposition
exhaust itself, and then will carry out the
program of ratification.
For an understanding of the present con-
dition of the canal works Panama and the
Pacific side do not offer much. 1t is short
way out to the Culebra cut to view the en-
gineering wonders, but the better way is
to start with the Atlantic entrance at CO.
lon and come across the isthmus. Colon.
like Panama, Is expecting boom, and
looks forward to the time when 1t will out
rank all the ports Of the Caribbean sea.
Appearance of Colon.
Unlike Panama Colon is not an old Spanish
city of stone and mortar, and never will be
a new one Of that sort. There may be
eight or ten brick and mortar houses, with
arched entrances, which are Of Spanish
architecture, but mo more. The marshy
island on which the town squats is not the
place for substantial buildings. The struc-
lures are large frame tenements, with out
side galleries and stairways and Iatticed
balconies. They seem to house more per-
sons to the square yard than do the East
Nyax V1rlyo {%,r