The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-18

No Occasion for the Sentiment in Be-
half Of Colombia.

The Outlook.
Sympathy and Judgment cannot be wholly
divorced. They ought not to be wholly
divorced. When the Southern States at
tempted to secede from the Union the
North rightly called on Great Britain not
10 sympathize with a Confederacy whose
cornerstone had been declared to be slav-
cry. If the North had been fighting for
the Union in order to maintain slavery,
and the South had been fighting against
the Union in order to destroy slavery, the
issue would have been very different.
Much of the pro-Panama discussion has
assumed that Colombia is an unhappy ma
ton threatened with ACKNOWLEDGMENT by
her powerful neighbor, the United States.
In fact. we believe that Colombia is an
INSCRIPTIONS state. of whose despotism
Panama has long been a victim, and Pan-
anna an oppressed province, whose en-
deavor after freedom should have our
sympathy, as did Greece in her revolt
against Turkey. and Hungary in her revolt
After suffering three centuries of Spanish
misrule. the people, by the opening of the
nineteenth century, had become strong
enough to undertake a revolution, and in
1921. by a general and spontaneous vote
throughout every part" of the isthmus,
Panama declared herself free and indie
pciiucHt u the ODd0lSn government. lie
people wished Panama to remain a sover-
elgn state, but they were far too weak to
withstand Spanish aggression. Hence, for
the purpose of defense, they Joined them
selves by a federal bond TO the also re-
Gently constituted Republic of Colombia,
which then included Venezuela and Ecua-
dor. The history of the succeeding eight
years. however, exhibits Colombia follow
ing Spain in a bigoted and brutal domina-
ton. Venezuela and Ecuador seeded;
Panama tried to do so, but was not able
to maintain her individuality. For ten
years she fought Colombia, now become
New Granada; in 1910 obtained independ-
ence. under the title of the Republic of the
State of Panama; retained 1t for nearly
two years; then was ~reconquered by New
Granada.
Thirteen years later, in 1856, the Pana-
mese regained their freedom. but not theif
independence. They were allowed to draft
their own constitution, choose their w
officers and their own Legislature, and when
some years later Panama Joined the new
confederation called the United States OF
Colombia, 1t still maintained Its title State
of Panama The Panamese were not salts
fed even with this measure of local auton-
omy, as was shown by the organization or
independent, though very short-lived, gov
ernments in 1868 and 1885. Neither were
the COLOMBIAN politicians satisfied to leave
them in possession even Of such freedom
as they had. Eight years ago. under the
lead of Rafael Nune5, a supposedly liberal
President, the Colombians decided to put
gated a constitution by which the hitherto
federated States were reduced to the de-
M of a centralized republic. and, in
the case of Panama, always the most re-
fractory of the States. to a territorial de-
tendency. In place of the popularly-elected
President there was a governor appointed
from Bogata. A concordat was established
under which all the Colombian schools, col
leges, libraries, hospitals, and other pub
lie institutions, including those or Panama,
were turned over to the priests. AS IL this
were not enough, political aggression was
further accumulated in 1900, when vice
President Marroquin kidnapped President
San Clemente, and took the ONCE by a
coup d'etat. To adopt the language of
Rafael Nunez, the omb President has
"'been generally more of an autocrat or a
military dictator than a civil magistrate
responsible to the people" Truly. says
L. n. Fcrd in his Tropical America of
all the travesties of popular government
which have been Witnessed in Spanish
America, the political play enacted in b.
| gotta and Cartagena is the most grotesque.
Whenever Panama could escape from the
| domination of its stronger neighbor, 1T has
done so. Whenever IL could not. 1t has
been taxed for it's stronger neighbor's ben
eft. To sympathize with Colombia against
Panama is to sympathize with Russia
against Poland. with Turkey against
Greece, with Austria against Venice, with
the despoiler against the despoiled.
The oppression by Colombia of Panama
does not of itself justify the course of the
United States. 1t is not every wrongdoing
that we have a right to correct. The Jus-
tice of our action must be determined by
our obligations to Panama and to the civ
ilized world. But sympathy for Colombia
is ~singularly wasted.