The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-24
A PERILOUS POSITION
TALK THAT GOVERNMENT MAY BUILD PANAMA CANAL IN
 SPITE OF COLOMBIA
Senator Morgan Regards Movement
 to Begin Its Construction With
 out Treaty Provision Ratified by Bogota Congress as "A less Invasion of the Constitution


 stitution" is what Senator John T. Nor gan of Alabama calls the proposition tha the administration shall proceed to con struct the Panama Canal without a treaty ratified by the Colombian Congress.
 President Roosevelt is considering jus ! such an extraordinary course of action Some of his advisers are urging him to it declaring that if the Colombian Congress which will meet in Bogota tomorrow. fail. to ratify the treaty. decree by Presiden, l Marroquin is all that is necessary to en. able the United States to build the canal Other administration councillors declare g treaty is absolutely requisite Thus the President Is between two fires. | Senator Morgan. who has studied the l canal question more thoroughly than any in an interview given to The Republic fin Warm Springs. Va. where he is spending the summer that treaty Is indispensable and that decree of President Marroquin will have no effect
 Senator Morgan believes that if the ca- nal treaty fails of ratification in Bogota, the only course open to the President will be to turn to Nicaragua.
 Do you credit" Senator Morgan was asked, 'the report or suggestion that the President Is prepared to accept the ratifi- cation of the treaty with Colombia by the decree of President Marroquin if the Con- gress of that country should fail or refuse to ratify?"
 T can give no credit to any such state ment or surmise," replied the Senator. Such an act would be a vain and reck- less invasion of the Constitution, and would place the President in open antago- nism to the Senate and the people. It would be an attempt to change the terms and provisions of a treaty which the Senate has ratified by the act of the ex- ecutive. These provisions of that treaty forbid such proceeding.
 Article XXV-The government of the United States binds itself to pay Colom- bia the sum of $10,000.0 900 in gold coin of the United States on the exchange of the ratification of this convention, after its approval, according to the laws of the respective countries.
 "'Article XvIII-This convention. when signed by the contracting parties. shall be ratified according to the laws of the re- spective countries, and shall be exchanged at Washington within a term of eight months from this January g, 1902), or earlier if possible
 "The Constitution of Colombia requires that such treaties must be ratified by the vote of each house of Congress" Mir. Mor- gan continued. Safer guards than these
  cation of a treaty by the mere decree of a President of Colombia.
 Unless this treaty is ratified without and receives the vote of a ma jority of each house of the Congress of Colombia in good faith and without coer- cion. 1t will never become the supreme law of the United States"
 What is the ground for the opinion or attitude recently attributed to the Presi- haf Cnlnuahio Ia fYnAaF liar obligation to ratify this treay. and that 1t will be insisted upon as being the just and equitable right of the United States" was asked.
 T do not know of any reason or ground for so absurd an attitude" MT. Morgan replied, and I do not believe the Presi- dent has ever said or intimated such a thing. It is of a piece with the other ab- surdity that he will seize upon Panama if the treaty is not ratified.
 The only claim we could have on Mar roquin to demand his utmost exertion in favor of the ratification of the treaty is the fact, asserted in the dispatches of Rear Admiral Casey. that the presence of our ships and marines in Panama in 1902 prevented the rebels from capturing Panama.
 We sent ships and marines to Panama to protect the transit of commerce across
 
 treaty rights If their presence gave the department of Panama to Colombia. that fact gave us no special claims on Marc quin or the government of Colombia as to future canal privileges. If we did our duty we did not hereby create any special claim on Colombia.
 If there was any understanding that we should assist Marroquin in suppress ing the insurrection in Panama. that he might thereby be enabled to assemble a Congress to ratify a treaty that was then in process of negotiation. that fact has never been communicated to the Senate. If such an understanding exists it could not hamper the independence of the Con gress of Colombia in their action on the treaty.
 free to act for the rights and welfare of by the United States. Such is the senti ment of the Senate and people of the United States.
 T do not believe that we have any pe- culiar claims on Colombia that would jus tify any assertion of any right on our part to demand of her Congress anything but a fair, candid honest and sincere course with reference to the ratification of the pending treaty. The difficulties we will encounter in our execution of the terms of this treaty. If ever it becomes a supreme law. are quite sufficient to re- quire of us the exhibition of fair and spirit toward Colombia in the | beginning. Any effort to badger Colombia into ratification of the treaty will only result | In sowing a larger crop of 'cockatrice's' eggs in a soil that is already dangerously | full of unavoidable evils"