The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-17
PANAMA WITHOUT STATESMEN
No Revolution Unless Assured of Help From
United States.

since been paid out to those men who
accepted bonuses from the instigators
| OF the movement for independence. Nor
| was this sum sufficient to insure the
success of the plan. 1t was used as
rar as it would go, and when it was
| exhausted the revolutionists resorted
| TO promises, which have since been re-
deemed by the payment of sums TAX
en- from the loan of 100000 made about
! the middle of the month to the new
republic by ]. z. Morgan & Co. of
| New York.
Faith in the United States.
The promoters of the revolution are,
therefore, compelled by experience to
! distrust large proportion of those men
upon whom they are now forced to
/ rely They know that the army and
the police force was purchased to sup
port the revolution, and, knowing that
these factors are susceptible to corrup-
ton, they do not know to-day whether
the military and police officials are true
or untrue to the republic. The Pana-
maian naval establishment stands in
exactly the same position as does the
army and the police force, and since
it is upon these agencies that the new
government must depend in greater or
less degree for it's security, there is
fear and suspicion dscoverable upon
CNSAy notLlOs llS WCdhAlCSo "a liz
present government, its lack of pur-
pose and indecision are, therefore, eX-
cusable in a measure.
The real revolutionists know that
they have to deal with a good-sized
company of Colombian Benedict Ar
nolds, and they deal cautiously and
suspiciously. All they now hope for
is that they can keep things going
as they now are until Thursday next,
uhln tha aano1 will he signed
by the members of the junta. That
act of ratification accomplished, the
revolutionists will have little interest
! left in the republic; and just here
there enters into this consideration an
element which must, perforce, be lit
tie understood in the states. That
element is the bland and childlike
| faith of the revolutionists in the gov
eminent of the great American re-
| public.
| 1t matters not what statements may
be made at Washington or what stories
| may be current in the states, all Pand-
ma believes that the revolution was
| nade possible by Washington's fore
knowledge of what was proposed and
1, an expressed determination by the
| government at Washington to give
moral and physical support to the
revolutionists. There is reason for this
! belief for it was not actually decided
| to attempt the coup which resulted in
| the creation of the republic until adj
vices were received from the states to
to the effect that if it should be at
tempted the United States would back
| it up. These advices were not official,
so far as the administration was con-
cerned, but they were of such a charac-
| ter, as will be shown in subsequent
| letters, as to convince the revolution
lists that all they had to do was to
take the initiative and then rely upon
the United States to insure the sue
| cess of the project This they did,
| and their earlier confidence in the sup
port to be afforded by our government
was justified by the occurrences of
| Nov. and at Colon, when marines
| were landed from the Nashville and
| employed to prevent Colombia's mill
tary interference for the suppression
of the revolution.
The Canal All They Want.
Having, therefore, had ample proof
| that the United States stands ready
| to guarantee the independence of the
| republic, the revolutionists now place
| all their trust in America. For them
selves, they are helpless in their ig
| norance of ways. and means and i'll
their distrust of their own people. To
no other reason is attributable the de-
| cision to permit ratification of the
| canal treaty by the Junta instead of
waiting the election of a Congress and
the formal creation of a Republican
government. Upon such contingency
| as an election the revolutionists dare
not wait. The treaty will, therefore,
be ratified by the Junta, which has
| no existence in fact SO far as the Re-
! public of Panama is concerned, and
the Panamaian ratification will have
been deposited at Washington by the
time this letter is published. Why
such haste? Simply because the revo-
lutionists look forward to only one
| thing beyond what they have already
accomplished, and that one thing is
to get the United States so bound by
! contract that it will be compelled
| through self-interest to protect the re-
public against invasion from without
and against interior disturbances.
So keen is this desire that it is not
stretching fact in the slightest to say
that once the treaty is ratified, and con-
tractural relations with the United
! States assumed, the reVolutionists will
| practically lose interest in the fate of
| Panama They WILL as a matter of
| course, be compelled to proceed with
the erection of a regular government,
but that duty will be one in which
they will have little enthusiasm. The
treaty will insure the canal; the canal
is all that Panama wants, and with it
| assured, the PanamaianS would be
content to drift along for an indefinite
| period without proceeding further to-
ward realizing the fruits of indepen-
dence. Proof of this lackadaisical in
terest in the republic itself is nowhere
concealed. Everybody in Panama, in
| Guiding the members of the Junta and
the cabinet, will declare if Intercepted
| upon the point that Panama wants
nothing except the canal; that the
| United States can have anything II
wishes if it will construct that water
way. So free are admissions Of this
nature that 1 have had it from those
high UP in the government. that had
the United States demanded sovereignty
over the entire republic it would have
been ceded without question. AS a
matter of fact, the Panamaians would
very gladly have relinquished the duty
of organizing a government and at
tempting it's administration. 1t is to
this sentiment that the certainty of
| immediate ratification of the treaty is
due.
The Panamaians wish to be relieved
of responsibility for the integrity and
security of the republic they have ere
ated, and although the treaty is more
| liberal in it's concessions to the United
| States than was ever anticipated it
would be, the junta has not for mo-
| ment considered such a thing as re-
iectIng it, or caviling over its terms
I'VE would have been entirely willing
| to have signed our names to blank
PAPER" said a member of the junta
last evening, land to have left it to
Secretary Hay to fill in over our sigma
lures whatever he wished to write,