Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-26
Southern Sentiment on the Inter.
oceanic Canal.

crusade against the interoceanic cana
While the building of this great water
| way will be of inconceivable value t
| the people of the United States, an
the whole world, no section Of tn
Union is more specially or vitality in
terested in its construction than tn
Southern states, which are just nov
enjoying the most prosperous era il
| their history, based in a great measur
upon large cotton crop and excep
tionally high prices. The teeming pop
ulations of the Orient are vast con
sumerS of cotton goods. and the clear
headed business men of the South ap.
preciate fully the immense impetus
that would be given Southern prosper.
ity by a waterway which brought thu
immense markets Of the far East {
thousand miles nearer to them
Nowhere in this country has public
sentiment been stronger or more in.
sistent for the building of the canal
than in the South, and the business
people of that section will resent with
vigar any game of peanut politics OF
any by-play of cheap John politicians
unable to see beyond their own per-
sonal political horizon, which may re-
suit in the defeat of this gigantic en-
terprse. Already letters of protes.
are pouring in upon the Southern SEN
ators, from all classes of their con-
stituencies, and it is believed that very
many of them, at the last moment, had
far rather disregard the orders OF
Boss" German. than to face the dis
favor of their fellow citizens. The
great Democratic newspap per of the
South is everywhere conceded to be the
Atlanta Constitution, and no other
newspaper so fully Or so accurately
voices the sentiment Of that section.
1t is the paper. formerly edited by
Henry w. Grady, the inspired orator,
who did so much to push forward the
work Of reconciliation between the
North and South. 1t is paper
through whose columns, Frank L.
Stanton, with his cheerful verse and
spontaneous humor reaches a constit-
uency as broad as the country. This
paper is now edited by Clarke Howell,
one of the conspicuously strong men of
brilliant than the lamented Grady, Mr..
Howell does not hesitate to express
himself vigorously upon the Panama
canal situation, and in doing so he I'M
doubtedly represents the overwhelm-
ing sentiment of the South. He says
THE Panama case is one of the kind
where the facts should dictate duty
rather than sentiment. What are the
facts in the case?
COLOMBIA committed acts of gov
eminent that put in fullest jeopardy
al the rights, interests and aspirations
OF the people of her department of Pa
mama. They believed the result would
be to rob them Of the isthmian canal
and doom them to q future of incon-
sequence and poverty. They frankly
and in ample season warned the au-
thoiities at Bogota that if that sacri-
flee was demanded of them they would
secede and set up an Independent gov
eminent. The sacrifice was called for.
and Panama declared her indepen-
dence. Her people never for a moment
needed the urging of the American
government or the alleged machina-
tons of Bunau Vanilla to do what they
did.
Was the republic, of Panama born
too quickly? Revolutions are Caesari-
an operations. The American revolu-
ton was born the very moment the
vote was announced that adopted the
Declaration of independence. Secs
sion became the policy of the southern
states the moment South Carolina pro-
claimed her ordinance of secession.
Did our government recognize the
republic Of Panama too soon? If we
did We should go back on our track
and reverse our recognition of the
French republic within three days OF
its proclamation and our recognition
of the Brazilian republic four days
after Don Pedro was shipped to
Europe. In the Panama case We took
five days in which to learn that the
newly proclaimed republic was unop-
posed and in full control of the coun-
try by consent of its inhabitants.
Let 1t be admitted that all that has
been quoted from Senator Hoar and
from Senator Daniel and others of his
southern colleagues is true, and yet
no case is made that involves conniv-
ance with rebellion on the isthmus or
a sacrifice of the national honor in
dealing favorably with the new repub-
lie through the ratification of the pend
ing treaty.
This is strong and vigorous language
but it states historic facts and re-
fleets the sentiment of the Southern
states. The Democratic party has {
genius for making monumental politi-
cal mistakes, but it looks as if Mr.
Howell. and the strong men of the
South who stand with him, will no
permit it to make the egregious blund
err of defeating the interoceanic canal
If Senator German persists in mailing