New-York tribune., 1903-01-25
THE CANAL TREATY.

NJ, ;,;,- of the Panama Canal Ire2! 10
an incident of promise TO both the sisha''l'
,o,,ars II will if followed Dy Ta'hcauon' 40
soams altogether probable, give TO Ooloihpla
,orca sum of the ready money she SO sie"'
moods. If will assure to her supstahtiai "coiie
practically for all time; IL VIII rene" az"
f.,,,, bar Guarantees of stability and pro-
.ootion and it will presently attract 10 ne'
sborss vast and increasing proportion OF Iiie
,,-ol5,s commerce We can, indeed, imagine
scarcely ANYTHING more auspicious IN Ihe ooioni-
hisn prospect than the CONSTRUCTION OIL aii l"'N
milan canal under the terms or ths treaty ~
they are disclosed in our speciai "aSiilhS. .oD
aorrosnondence On the other hand, it will give
TO the United States an indisputaoie ltle 10 oi,u
of the hest routes for an isthmian canal; 1t VIII
o.otIo This country TO complete that canal III
+bo shortest nossibIe time and ii will assure the
fr1slmen+ of the well expressed policy OF al
American canal under American control 1nere
xir he no question ON any hand of this couii-
+rv.s sole right TO construct manage ana con-
trol that canal and there will be no ground 1or
fear of any attempts at the CONSTRUCTION Vi
rival canal by any alien power.
In the preliminary protocol Colombia was 10
cot y bonus of 100000 In the treaty recent
Iy proposed by the United States she was 10 se'
one of SI0ooOOo1. In the treaty as slgheu she
is IN pet Sloo0lO00 Over that part OF lie
bargain there has been no material ulspute'
Under the protocol she was to get an annuity
of S25O.O0O beginning fourteen years hehce.
Under the treaty proposed she was 10 se'
an annuity of 100000 beginning ten !ea[S
hence Her demand. however, was Tor sooo'oo''
I-,sor thn treaty as signed she is TO get an an
nu;ty of S25o0o1 beginning nine years heloe
On that noint. which was the crux of the whole
hos
thing 70 Colombia but Colombia has still more
a1,atad her claims Moreover, it is to be OBJ
served that under the treaty as signed the Fan
aus Railroad is to revert to the United States
o+ tho and of sixty years instead of to COLOMBIA.
apd the income from it will go far, il not all
the way and more toward paying the annuity.
The idea that the railroad will become unpront-
able and perhaps be abandoned after the COM
r,Ietion of the canal is not judicous. On the
contrary. railroad traffic will probably be mucn
increased and the road be made far more prohI-
able than ever before The development OIL
commerce of one kind will promote commerce
of all kinds. there will be great growth OF Doth
Panama and Colon, and the whole isthmus VIII
narticipate in the prosperity created by the
canal
On the whole, the incident must be regarded
as a marked triumph for the United States Gov
ernment. 1t gets ltS canai Foute ol ieA'
terms: it secures practically perpetual control
of # and the right to exercise full control with
ont the hazardous expedient of purchasing or
in anv way annexing territory or establishing
a protectorate: it also-and this is one OF the
most important considerations-ends forever all
talk or menace of a rival or alien canal mat
is one of the strongest arguments IN favor OF
the Panama route over that at Nicaragua. HAD
the Nicaragua route been adopted, there would
always have been the danger that SOMEBODY
would undertake to purchase the diminished
ditch at Panama and complete it, and thus put
the United States to the unpleasant necessity ol
making objection in the matter. with our own
| purchase Of that ditch that menace vanishes'
There will be only one canal across the Amer
icau isthnus, and that will be can American
canal under American control" Now let the
treaty be ratified and the canal be completed
,-f4l,o-1f dp1av