Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-11-28
The Ten Million For Panama.

country as to the adNlSaDlllty OF pay
ling $lOOOO,C0O to Panama, as provided
in the pending HayVarilla treaty. for
the new canal concession, and the
democrats particularly are finding
fault with the arrangement. The
New York World states tersely and
clearly the most reasonable objections
yet offered against the gift of this
great sum to the Panama republic:
1T is urged that the United States,
having consented to give Colombia $lO,-
900. 900 for the canal privilege. should
not under the entirely different cir
Icumstances which have arisen now Of
| fer less than that sum to Panama, lest
we should be accused of meanness and
| of insulting the new nation among
nations"
Far be ii from The World to sug
gest or to countenance any belittlinS
of the young republic. The glory that
was Greece and the grandeur that was
Rome may let be paralleled or sur
passed by the isthmian power and we
should use toward her all due respect.
But after all. digging a canal is
business matter. Is ii business to Of
fer $4,000. 900 for the privilege of con-
ferring a benefit? We are TO police the
Iisthums, provide it's cities with sew
ers and water mains, dredge its har-
bors, give it's soldiers and officials
Transportation, pay $250,OOO year
rental Above all, we are to bring in
an enormous and profitable traffic and
are to guarantee its sovereignty by
our Cwn power, without which 1t could
not exist single month. Why pay
SO. OO0, 900 in addition?
What does Panama need that $1O,-
900, 900 would procure? Schools? A
single school house of New York would
hold all her pupils. An army and
navy? Our guarantee makes them
needless. Police protection? We are
to furnish it. Sanitary necessities?
These also we provide. Harbor inn
prcVements, wider trade advantages,
firm Administered ton? From the same
bountiful source will all these flow.
why $1O,OOO,CO0?"
Ten million dollars is a tremendous
sum. of course, and had Secretary Hay
insisted he doubtless could have OBJ
tanned such a treaty as he desired
without stipulating for the payment of
a cent in the way of bonus. But many
substantial reasons suggest themselves
for this act of generosity by the United
States. For example, "a decent regard
for the opinions of mankind'' forbids
that we should play the bully with
such insignificant states as Panama.
Indeed, had the administration failed
to incorporate in this new treaty the
same provision for a cash payment as
was contained in the treaty with
Colombia. partisan enemies at home
and our unfriendly critics abroad
would have exclaimed: Behold. the
national pirate OF the world! The
United States voluntarily agreed to
hand over the sum of ten million dol
lars to Colombia upon the ratification
of the canal treaty-a treaty not as
liberal to American interests as the
new compact with Panama! But
Panama being helpless and dependent
upon the United States for national
existence, the rapacity and greed of
republican imperialism is manifested in
the refusal to pay to Panama the sum
that was offered to Colombia" And
unquestiOnably. if the administration
had taken advantage of the situation
to drive a hard bargain with the tiny
and helpless republic on the isthmus,
there would have been ground for say
ing that the United States has one
policy for the nations which are able
to protect themselves, and another
fta.alNy
at our mercy.
And quite as important. the Ameri-
can people on reflection would have
been sorry to see a reversal of the ma
tionaI policy of paying justly for every
foot Of new territory acquired. At
the close Of the Mexican war, Mexico
lay PROSTATE at our feet. We might
have annexed the entire country, had
we desired. But for the territory we
did take, by virtue of the treaty of
peace, we paid the munificent sum of
s15, 900, 900. At that time, both govern
ments considered that Mexico was get
ting by far the best of the bargain. for
the entire country west of Texas was
Z y
the Indian tribes, ii has been the in
variable custom to deal generously
with them and pay for their land and
provide for maintenance of the Indians
in the future. Again, after the disas-
trous defeat of Spain on land and sea
we might have taken every foot of
Spanish territory outside the Peninsu-
la, and told Spain to go to hang. But
we let her keep the Canaries, and we
paid her $40, 900, 600 for the Philippines
and Porto Rico.
What a contrast between this open
| handed, generous way of settling with
our crushed adversaries, and the way
in which Prussia treated France in 1870,
for instance. Not only were Alsace
and Lorraine taken from France and
made part of the German empire, but
France was compelled tC pay an in
demnity of $4,000, 100000 in addition.
And yet. the French and German
newspapers are forever talking about
Yankee greed"
Ry the terms of the HaV-Narilla