Arizona republican., 1903-01-31
A Good Bargain, Apparently

Colombia, the terms of which have been made public by authority of the senate. Secretary Hay apparently made the best possible bargain for the United States. Under all circumstances. 1t would be nothing less than a national calamity should the treaty fail of rati- fication. and the senators who are en- dangering the canal project by ob structing the passage of the statehood bill are assuming a vast responsibility.
 If the treaty in its present form meets the approval of the senate, there can be little doubt that the active construc- tion of the canal will be commenced by the United States before the close of the present year. As has been pointed out, the confirmation of the Colombia would still be required; but the mem bers of legislative bodies in the greater number of Latin American republics are practically selected by their execu- tives, and the functions of these bodies
 is simply to record the decisions of the administrative chiefs of state. The con- sent of the Colombian legislature to the convention may therefore, be regarded as a foregone conclusion, barring the unlikely event of another revolution in that country. An agreement on the part of the New Panama Canal com
 pany to extend the option granted to this government of buying it's property at s4O,OOO.OO0, and which expires on
 March 4th next is also assured.
 The cost of the Panama canal Qn-
 cluding the payment of the s4O,O0O. 900 to the French company, would be iden-
 tical in amount with that of the Vicar aguan project according to the estimate of the isthmian commission. The cash
 payment required by Colombia for the
 concession would be $4,O00, 900 greater than the amount demanded by Nicar-
 agua, and the rental of s25O,OOO prom
 ised to the former would exceed ten
 times the annuity of s25.OOO which it is
 believed would have been accepted by
 the Central American republic. The cost of maintaining waterway
 through Nicaragua, however, would
 have been greater by s1.25O,0O at year than the expenses of operation of | canal at Panama. On financial grounds alone the latter would, therefore, be
 much preferable to the alternative project. If the physical advantages of the Panama route be considered (the comparative freedom of seismic dis | turbances. the shortness of the cut and
 the absence of sharp curves. and. above
 a sea level .canaD the ratification of the treaty by the senate should be cer- tain beyond doubt.
 Probably the secretary of state se- cured information beforehand as to the terms of a treaty which would be satis- factory to the required two thirds ma jority in the senate. Moreover, the | agreement as it stands is so favorable
 to the United States that it is difficult to discover any reasonable grounds for senatorial criticism. There is said to have been some mild objection made on the reading of the treaty in the senate becaure the Jurisdiction conceded there by to thIs government over the isthmus
 would not be absolute The terminal
 cities of Colon and Panama are to re-
 main under Colombian jurisdiction; and while the United States is to collect all port dues, to police the strip and ex- ercise control over the adjacent waters, ! and while it is provided that no Ameri- can citizen shall be tried in other than his own courts, Colombia makes reser- vations which limits the right of this government to land troops in terms | similar to those contained in the ex-
 isting treaty of 1S46. The organization
 of American courts and boards of health on the isthmus and their juris-
 dictiOn is to be arranged by a joint high commission to be hereafter ap-
 pointed.
 The question of sovereignty is one | about which Colombia is most sensitive
 The treaty probably expresses the limit | of her concessions on this point, and l any substantial change in the phrase | ology, tending to enlarge our rights in this particular, would be likely to end
 in failure of the negotiations. Every essential privilege needed to insure the safety of interoceanic commerce. the
 neutrality of the canal in war and
 peace, and the security of the United | States from attack will eventually fa.l
 to this government by process of po- | litical gravitation.
 A curious procedure which seems to be peculiar to Arizona legislatures IS
 the giving notice" of the introduction of bills. The rules of all properly or