The Savannah morning news., 1903-12-30

n ness; Or. Amador would be a danger
oii3, ieduer Tor the Panamanians. Hap
ply Tor them. however. his character
IS OF the most sterling sort. He is
sulilclently well-endowed with goods
ana cnattels as to care little for anv
pecuhlary profits that may accrue to
MN through independence. His ma
eule is instinct with the higher ideals
Oh MS profession, making him a cheer
iuI lahorer in humanitys cause, and
ms present purposes are directed I'M
oellIshIy and loyalty to the uniting
VI dhaIna. and the betterment of the
Fahamanians. What is even more for
tuhate is the fact that he has had the
dement, of most excellent advice. The
people rely upon him with implicit
Ialtn, and he, in turn, relies upon those
VINO nave guided his hand and his
MIND in the events of the last few
weeks. These men-principally Ameri-
cans-have proved safe and conserva-
tive councillors, and while they will
occupy unofficial stations under the
new government, DR.. Amador will con-
tinue to go to them for advice, so that
his administration seems destined to
be successful.
Jose Augustin Arrange.
Next to Dr. Amador the most inter-
esting character in the new republic is
Jose Agustin Arrange. OF medium
night, slightly built, with dropping
shoulders and a half-shufffing gait,
Senior Arrange has been and will con-
tlnue to be a great factor in the affairs
OF Panama. He is a man we'll into
the sixties, with snow white hair,
beard and mustache. His skin is fair,
and his eyes are soft and gentle, in
Ginning TO the most haeaRahipu
sions. He speaks in low, well modu-
lated tones that seem to impart and
10 invite condolences, and his manner
is gracious and winning. For years
Don Jose Agustin has been a poll
| tician. He has served as a member
of the Colombian House of Represen-
tatives and of the Senate; of the de-
partmental legislature, and while a
Liberal in politics, he has been in close
touch with the governing powers Some
years ago the Panama Railroad en-
ployed him as it special agent" term
which here, as in the states, is the
polite and official designation of the
salaried lobbyist. Among all the men
OF Panama, the railroad corporation
! could not have found one better quail
fed for this office. The work required
of this special agent will instantly be
recognized as of the utmost Importance
when it is remembered that the Pan
anna Railroad is owned by the New
Panama Canal Company, and that for
fourteen years it has been the BUSH
ness of the railroad, with work on the
canal virtually at a standstill, to keep
the canal concession alive.
Credit for what has been done in this
respect is cheerfully accorded to Senior
Arrange. Knowing the ms and outs of
Colombian politics as schoolboy knows
his alphabet; knowing the weak points
of the national character as we'll as its
strong ones; knowing individuals al
| most as intimately as he knows himself,
and having an exceptional faculty for
reading human nature, Senior Arrange
has discharged his duties so faithfully
| that while under a strict reading of
its terms the canal concession would
| probably have been forfeited long ago,
it was kept alive up to the very mo-
| ment the independence of Panama was
declared. Frequent trips to Bogota,
dealings with all the functionaries
there and on the isthmus, the employ
ment of all of his gifts of adroit per-
suasion, and a full and free exercise of
his native sauvity and grace of manner
were requisite to this undertaking.; but
not once did Senior Arrange fail under
the test and to him more than to any
other man is due the fact that since
work on the canal was stopped in 1889
the French corporation has remained in
possession of its properties and fran
chises on the isthmus.
Was Responsible for Its Birth.
In equal measure must credit be
given to Senior Arrange for the birth
of the new republic. Being a manipu-
lator rather than an administrator,
man to execute orders rather than to
issue them, it follows that he is not
fitted for responsible posts of leader
ship. Nobody knows this any better
than does Don Jose Agustin, and so,
when the first really formidable sug-
gestion of Panamaian independence
came from the Panama Railroads.
unquestionably it did comet issued
to the railroads special agent, and
found him not unmindful of the part
he should play in the drama which
was to be attempted. Never for q mo-
ment did it occur to him to make him.
self the leader of the movement. That
would have been most impolitic, be-
cause it would have brought the rail-
road company more prominently to
the front than it was wise for it to be
brought, and besides Senior Arrange
knew his own shortcomings. He was,
however, fully equal to the task of
discovering the man best qualified for
the responsible post of leadership, and
he quickly produced DR.. Amador, who
instantly became the leader in the
movement, and who is fated to har-
vest its most substantial honors. Am
ador produced Arias, the third man
let into the secret of the conspiracy,
and these three working in perfect
unison, but always under the advice
which Arrange procured from Col.
Shaler H. G. Prestcott Capt. J. r.
Beers and Maj. w. NJ. Black actually
produced the new republic.
working With the Road.
From this it appears that the real
business of the conspiration found it's
source in Arrange, more skilled than
any of the others in the art of manip-
ulation: and that Arrange is in reality
the man to whom the lions share of
The credit should be given is the we'll
substantiated assertion of his friends.
Senior Jose Agustin is, however, less
ambitious for himself than his friends
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