The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-23

It has been immediately observed in
 our press, now that the Colombian leg l islature has declined to ratlfy the treaty
 looking to a Panama canal. that this ac-
 tion not at all disposes of the project.
 Senor Marroquin is in favor of it, and
 other Colombians of consideration are
 with their President. It is understood
 that the Bogota legislature itself, while
 voting against the treaty, hopes for an-
 other to come to them framed more to 1 their liking. As to the United States,
 there are avenues of assuasion open to
 us with Colombia-it is needless and
 crude to talk of resources of pressure
 by which she would probably yield the
 Panama right-of-way If that should be
 our settled wish. But the occasion has
 strongly reproduced the question: Is
 Panama cut the one that we want after
 all? It may be so and we Americans
 ought to think and decide on that sub
 ject.
 l Some months ago a report circulated l from Washington that if Bogota was dis posed to dispute and delay about the
 treaty our government would incontin-
 ently revert northward and arrange for l the canal through Nicaragua. The
 Roosevelt administration has allowed
 this idea to go uncontradicted. It may
 be well or not A Nicaraguan canal is :, wholly as feasible the one thought of
 nearer the equator. There Is the doubt, l however of which we really want. There are immense and many advantages at | Panama, and the Nicaraguan plan is less 1 physically simple.
 l Before determining for ourselves, how ever, there are two other parties we
 should consider, namely Colombia and l the world. As a nation commanding jus l tice, it Is our position to confer it also. Take Colombia first. But Colombia surely has been already perfectly consid- 1 cred It is not supposable that Mir. 1 Hays diplomacy, marked as it Is for acceptableness in larger capitals, has been irritating in Bogota; there is more
 reason to assume that his negotiations have been singularly attentive with Co., 1 lombia. Colombia, on her part, may feel
 that an American canal through her 1 province strip would be likewise l American shadow. If she does think so, l she should at least reflect at the same
 time that the Monroe doctrine would 1 shelter her integrity with @ particular strength. She knows, also, that if we l do not join the oceans at Panama, we do l farther north. But all this is her affair, 1 We have offered and asked the same 1 privilege she granted the French com l pany; we think our offer better for Co., | lomba too; but, of course, she has her
 right to her own opinion and course. It l does not appear what the United States could more
 Then, thinking of the rest of the na- 1 tior S, whichever canal we elect to con- 1 struct will be best for them. And this | is not only because we alone can open l the canal. but because civilization is steadily coming Into our hands, and l therefore what is best for the United l States is best for the world in suit, l We are brought back to our own ques-
 tion of which canal we want to build l Europeans have almost constantly | looked to Panama, and the American | government has been equally fixed on l the location at Nicaragua. This partly explains our national partiality to the
 latter scheme The canal would besides
 be nearer moreover, not hesitating like l the people of Colombia the friendly Ni-
 caraguans want it and nave counted on 1t. But. on the other hand, there is the sober fact that a canal laid at Panama would in itself. as a canal be better. The cost however. if this situation Is adopted, would be so little less that the Nicaraguan one is not disfavored in the
 matter of expense.
 It is not to be disputed that Panama
 caral would be better as a work The commissions having Admiral Walker for
 chairman have examined both locations,
 they also went over the other lines pro-
 posed all through Central America, and it is not extravagant to say that more distinguished engineers have never been associated with men of higher public character than met in those bodies, and their result was a report that Panama offered the best line for the construction. They did not settle the political and commercial concerns, but their decision that physical geography was more adapt able at the isthmus than through Near agua was final. At one moment Admiral Walker was about to report in favor of Nicaragua, but that was only because the sum 0ater reduced to reason) asked by the French company for purchase of their rights and implements was forbid ding.
 The great advantages of the isthmus line are it's shortness-only fiftyfour miles, as compared with over three times that length through Nicaragua-and its 1 somewhat less complexity. It has its difficulty all the same. While there l would be even more variation of flood | and drought to deal with at Nicaragua, | the engineer there is not faced by any | obstacle so severe as the Central Cor 1 dillera. the hard ridge which a canal | must pierce at Panama. And the truth |
 is that the American commissioners did 1 not report as it were against Nicaragua, l but merely that the Colombian neck was preferable The French experts inter l