The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-29
New Republic Born Without the
Incentive Of Patriot
ism. At .333t r "a
PEOPLE HAD No VOICE INIT
sccessiol1isti Movement Began
With Three Men and Was
Executed by Them.
a BY MERRILL A. TTAGUT.
(stafr Cores y,ondsnt OF Tho ,Times.

8as Dlspatch)
l. PANAMA, r. p, Dec 1e.-1t Is n9t
necessary to 90 far afleld when seeking
Justification OF tho Judgment that the
Republic OF Panama stands as contra
idlction among nations. Tho American
colonies rovolted against England and
set III, their independence under the prov
noation of lessor grievances that Panama
for years has been charging up against
Colombia; yet Panama never found
.cat,se Tor rebellion and secession IN CO.
.,Iomban oppression. That tho new re-
publtc was born without the incentive
Of patriotism and with no higher pur-
posc IN view than the purely CONNER
cdnl ono Of securing the construction OF
=. ,hi1 canal across the narrow isthmlhn
strtp has already been shown In this
correspon dcnce. Lack OF resen tment to-
ward Colombia because OF her oppressive
administration. lack Of patriotism and
luck Of q national purpose, poliucal IN
character, constitute three striking con-
.Iradictions that rest at tho very founda.
RtAon II this new republics existence, and
E1hat serves TO Isolate It from other ma
stions that have won their Independence.
The entire absence Of anything resem-.
bling self-reIiance, and the Implicit con-
fid.nce shown In tho United States, upon
which tho whole republican structure
Jeans absolutely for support and main
tenunce. is q fourth In the list OF strange
conIradictions discoverable here. There
are others equally striking that may be
traced without. In the smallest way. com.
proln 6ing the fact OF the republics eI-
,istene ian existence as actual as It IS
welcome to the people OF the isthn.us.
These contradictions form vital chapter
In any story which plrports ~ cover the
sit,ia uon In Panama In It's various phases,
end they mus be considered.
2 I'm order to get. at and present them
properly It may DO well to start With
& the general proposition, anomalous though
1t ma, seem. for the republic Is fact,
that, Judging by accepted standards the
Republic OF Panama Is non-existent The
territory known TO the Colombian ted
era,ion as the Department OF raua .n'L
ana now mbrnced BY the republic. Is q
long, narrow strip OF land extending IN
n generally eastcrly and westerly direc-
ton. 1T is about 475 miles long. meas-.
,,,cu in straight line, and varies IN
width from about II miles, between Colon
ard Panama. to something more than
100 rnjles at Its eastern extremity and
along the eighty-flrst parallel OF long!-
Jude. on tho west 1T is bounded by Costa
RIGA. with which nation there Is long.
standing boundary dispute. while on the
east the Gulf of Darlen and tho AEato
river mark itc separation from the South
American mainland and tho great BODY
Of ..he &c Colombian Republic. Tho coast
line. considerable more than 900 miles
in length. Is rough ana broken The
surface Of the country Is generally
mountainous. although immense swamps
anu stretches of treeless upland are tree
auent. Except along the coast, tho
country Is almost entirely unlnhablted,
nIl OF the towns and cities of any con-
sequence being located next the sea Or
very near to It, In tho interior are
hancs OF Indians. two or three OF the
more important tribes Of which have
rarely been communicated With. Vast
areas in the extreme eastern and WesL
ern portion OF the country remain Wnoliys
Iuexplored,s and the knowledge Cf what
1he anterior holds is most limited. In
this territory there arc supposed to livo,
including Indians, about Sy9,uO persons.
NC attempt has ever been made to take
i. census Of the population, so the figure
named can only be taken as moro or
less accurate estimate.
PEOPLE HAD NO VOICE IN IT. "a
This territory, while It stood in the
COLON bian federation as the Department
OF Panama, and. therefore. at the umo
Of the secession. was divided into seven
provinces. viz: Chiriqut, Los Santos,
divaraguas., Panama, Colon, Bocas del
Toro and Cola, Each OF these provinces
was governed by a governor. subordinate
2
its council. and each was entitled to reps
rosentation-by senators and representa-
tiyes-in the two branches OF the Colonl-
bian Congress, which sat at Bogota, It
viii be seen from this explanation that no
matter how corrupt inefficient and op-
presslva the ola order of things may
have been, the fabric OF the State was
n complete In all OF Its detailo. the governs
mental structure having been carried
down as perfactly In theory .s lttis in
our own Union. It follows from this. as
4. natural presumption. that in the seces-
elonist movement all Of these provinces
should have a voice. 1t happens, however.
that, natural as that presumption may
be, 1t Is wholly groundless in this In.
stance The natural oorollary Of the last
statement is that the republic as It stands
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