Bisbee daily review., 1903-11-25
LASTING DISGRACE TO UNITED STATES.


 Whatever may be the outcome of the Panama deal, and when the hls- tory of that deal shall have been writ ten, there will. always attach to the good name of the United States a lasting and burning disgrace.
 When the Panama rebellion was declared, there were many charges that the president of the United States not only knew of the intended move upon the part of the people o1 Panama. but that he covertly for warded the insurrection. Feeling deeply injured at these open charges, Roosevelt promptly rushed into notice portions of his message to congress which he had written some time DC fore. This was intended to allay the popular impression that would prevail and has prevailed that Washington was fully cogniZant of every move be- ing made on the Isthmus. The SUD- stance of that portion or his message was that if Columbia did not make terms satisfactory, we should ignore her rights, forcibly take possession of the territory. wipe out our treaty ob- ligations and proceed 70 dig the canal whether or no. And al t2is was com ing from a president who is continu- ally preaching on personal and na- tional integrity and honor. It will be recalled that the Spooner act re- quired that in case We failed to make the deal by which the right of con struction could be had over the Pan anna route. the president was then 10 proceed to arrange for the canal to go Via the Nicaragua route. The pro posed treaty via the Panama route was rejected by Colombia, and yet President Roosevelt never made the slightest attempt 10 carry out the pro visions of the Spooner act, and never yet has explained why he did net do so Congress directed that his course of procedure should be in case of fail ure with Panama as the route to take Up the other. In one paragraph of this message, tue president says: 'lt seems evident, that in a matter such as this We should finally decide which is the best route, and if the advant- ages of this route over any other pos sible route are sufficiently marked, We should then give notice that we can no longer submit to trifling or insil- cerd dealing on the part of those whom accident of possession mas placed in temporary control of the ground through which the route must pass; that if they will come to ar agreement with us in straightforward fashion, we shall in return act not only with justice, but with generosi- ty, and that if the fait to come to such agreement with us we must forthwith take them alter into cur own hands
 Fine language that from the head of the nation, preaching the doctrine of political honesty and moral recti. tlde from day tH day. In other words, simply because the one fellow is bigger than the other, and the lit tie fellow has the apple, if he won give us bite of it, we'll take Il away from him anyhow. Not only this but the president had no discretion in the matter whatever Congress di rected him as to what he should do It was his duty to obey the acts oi congress, and not to nullify them Roosevelt's choice was Panama, first last and all the time. and his move ment in this matter simply confirms what he has frequently demonstrated that whenever the law conflicts witt MT. Roosevelt's wishes or construc tion Of the law, he has no regard fol law whatever. The nasty actions of the United States in all of thi' Panama transaction is the one meal and dirty spot in all her record Snt has the same right to take that striI of land away from Colombia in thu manner she is doing as. the bure1a