The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-25

on hand at the time, but that corpora
ton is not engaged in the business of
transporting Colombian soldiers at it's
own expense. The money was forth
coming, however, and a very pretty
story was then fixed up and sent to
the press in the States about the gen.
crosby shown by the merchants of CO.
ION, and the propmptitude with which
they raised $4,000 gold equal to s2O-
wv IN Colombian currency to satisfy
Col Torres. That story was pure fic-
tlon. The fact is, that when Mollen-
ues reported his demands to Col. Shaler
that gentleman telegraphed to the
hrms of Isaac Brandon & Bros. and
Henry Ehrman, bankers, of Panama,
who held on deposit all the public
money on the isthmus. In this tele-
gram Col. Shaler stated that the 18TH
mus could be cleared Of Colombian SOL
diers by the payment of $4,000 (gold),
and asked If the bankers would reim-
burse the railroad from the public
FUNDS If it advanced the sum needed.
Brandon & Bros. and Ehrman lost no
time in answering in the affirmative,
and the $4,000 was delivered by the
Panama Railroad to Gov. Mollendes,
who turned it over to Col. Torres.
Looking Ahead.
This transaction completed the Co.
lombian troops marched from the bar
racks to the Royal Mail dock to board
the steamer for Cartagena. This dock
runs at right angles to the freight
house of the Panama Railroad, distant
only about 100 feet, and the Colom-
bian troops had no sooner marched out
onto the dock than Lieutenant Com
mander WitZel and Col. Black swung
A ha 20 de ont
so as to close and command the dock
on which the Colombians were massed.
1t was the morning of Nov. before
all of these details had been attended
to, the opposing forces having rested
on their arms during the night of the
4th. After reaching the dock and be-
ing just ready to go aboard the Eng
fish steamer, the Colombian troops
threatened to revolt because the cap
tain of the Orinoco demanded that
they surrender all their arms into the
ships charge before coming aboard.
The delay was protracted. the Amer
lean force standing guard behind its
barricade while it lasted. The Colom-
bians conceded the point in the end,
however, and stacked arms on the
dock, leaving it to the stevedores to
take charge of and store them in the
hold Very soon thereafter the Brit
ish steamer sailed away, and the Sc
cesionists were left in absolute and
unopposed possession of the entire
isthmus, not a shot having been fired
by them in the achievement of their
independence.
Such is the story, in it's various
phases, as 1 have given it in this and
the preceding letters of the recent rev.
olution on the isthmus. That it brought
into existence a new republic is a mat
ter of secondary consideration to the
isthmians, who count only upon the
fact that they have brought about a
condition under which the ship canal
is certain to be constructed. For their
political liberty they care nothing; for
the canal they are willing to play in
desperation, no matter how high the
stakes may be fixed, and now that
they have accomplished their primary
purpose and secured the establish
ment of an American protectorate
over the isthmus they are willing to
abandon the isthmus to its fate, Sc
renely confident that the United States
will preserve it's integrity and indie
pendence and regulate whatever may,
perchance, happn to go wrong.
Among the isthmians themselves talk
is already current of the coming of
that day when the United States will,
from Self-1ntereSt, pc compelled TO an
next this country and create it into
an American territory; and that pros
pect stretches away in the distance
just as certainly as does the construc-
ton of the canal by American enter
prise, ingenuity and capital. Measur-
ing this prospect against all that has
been done in the last few months, Gull
minating in the revolution of Nov. 8,
one must set down the Republic of
Panama as a contradiction of the most
oh ra 1T