The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13

geous of the two to the United States notwithstanding the greater cost oi maintaining the longer canal.
 | III, The Government of Colombia, 1T
 which lies the Panama canal, has grant ed an exclusive concession, which still
 has many years to run. It is not free to grant the necessary rights to the Uni | ted States. except upon condition that ar agreement be reached with the New Pan' anna Canal Company. The Commission believes that such an agreement Is im- practicable. So far as can be ascertained l the company is not wiling to sell It's franchise, but it will permit the United States to become owner of part Of It's stock. The Commission considers such an arrangement inadmissible.
 The governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, on the other hand. are un- | trammeled by concessions aud free to grant to the United States such privileges as may be mutually agreed upon.
 The "conclusion' of the Commission is as follows:
 "In view of the facts and particularly in view of all the difficulties of obtaining the necessary rights, privileges and fran chises on the Panama route. and assum- ing that Nicaragua and Costa Rica rec" ognized. the value of the canal to them" selves and are prepared to grant conces" sions on terms which are reasonable and acceptable to the United States. the Com mission is of the opin.o that the most practicable and feasible route for an isth- milan canal to be under the control, man. agement and ownership of the United States is that known as the Nicaragua route"
 Why the Commission Changed Its Report.
 After the preliminary report was made came the offer from the New Panama Company to sell it's property to the Uni- ted States for $4O.OJO, LOO. Tho Commission re-convened and again dealt with the sub- Ject with reference to that change and in view of the reduction in the cost, (stat- ed by the Commission to be nearly ,000 at which the property could be obtained and that the "oontrol management and ownership of the property could be acquired by the United States reported that they were of the opinion that the most practicable and feasible route'' for an isthmian canal to be under the control, management, and ownership of the United States" is that known as the Panama route. This report was made January IS, 1902.
 It is well known that what is known as the Hepburn canal bill, which provided for the construction of the canal upon the Nicaragua route. passed the House during the Fifty-sixth Congress. It was drawn to meet the new conditions which would be created by the first Hay Pauncefote treaty. (signed February 5, 19OO, but which failed of ratification by the Senate But pending its considera- ton in the Senate, the Hepburn bill was passed by the House. The Senate declined to pass it while the ratification of the treaty was pending in that body, so the bill failed that Congress,
 Our treaty relations have always had a controlling influence upon the Cong ess in shaping legislation with respect to the construction of an isthmian canal. While the treaty of 1S46'' with New Grenada was concluded in December. 1Si6. during President Tyler's administration, its ratl- fications were not exchanged until June, 1S4S. during MT. Folks administration. President Polk in hls messoge (Feb. | 10, 1S47, transmitting the treaty to the Senate, said:
 "The importance of the concession to the commercial and political interests of the | United States cannot be overrated. The
 route by the isthmus of Panama is the
 shortest between the two oceans. and
 from the information herewith cOmmuni-
 cated. it would seem to be the most prac- | ticable for railroad or canal" .
 The treaty does not propose to guaran- lee treaty to a foreign nation in
 which the United States will have no
 common interest with that nation. On
 the contrary, We are more deeply and
 directly interested in the subject of the guarantee than New Grenada herself or any other country. The guar anty does not extend to the territories of
 New Grenada generally, but is confined to the single province of the Isthmus of Panama. where we shall acquire by the treaty common and co-extensive righl
 of passage with herself. It will constitul, no alliance for any political object, but a