The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-12-14

/ sion Of the congresS-with new and friend
| ly membersneXt May to approve the
! treaty. Can eminent Colon1hian} has the
/ perfect confidence OF the vice president
he saws. and if it became necessary will
so TO The il thmus or send representatives
| there to adjust matters along above lines
to the satisfaction Of the people there {"
! This dispatch is noteworthy from two
standpoiniS Its offer of Immediately
guaranteeing the treaty TO US is in sharp
contrast with the positive and contemptll-
GUS refusal of the congress which has
! just closed its sessions To consider favor
! ably such a treaty; it shows that the
government which made the treaty really
! had absolute control over the situation
I but did not choose to exercise this con-
troll The dispatch further calls on us
/ 10 restore order and secure Colombian
supremacy in the isthmus from which the
1 Colombian government has just by It's ac-
! ton decided 10 bar us by preventing the
construction of the canal.
Importance Of Control
Tho control, in the interest OF the com
merca and traffic of the whole civilized
world, of the means OF undsturbed tran
sit across the isthmus of Panama has
become of transcendent Importance -
! the United States. We have repeatedly
j exercised the control by intervening II
! he course of domestic discussion, and
/ by protecting the territory from foreign
invasion. In 1853 MIR Everett assured
i the Peruvian minister that we should not
! hesitate to maintain the neutrality OF
! the isthmus in the case Of war between
! Peru and Colombia. In 664 Colombia
! which has always been vigiiant to avail
i itself Of its privileges conferred by the
! treaty, expressed its expectation thai in
! the event OF war between Peru and Spain
! the United States would carry into ef-
| feet the guaranty Of neutrality The~e
! have been few administrations OF lie
/ state department in which this treaty
! has not, either by the one side the
! other, been used as basis Of more on
less important demands 1t was said
] by Mr. Fish IL 81 thar the department
/ OF state had reason to believe that an
! attack upon Colombian sovereignty on
the isthmus had on several occasions,
+! been ayerted by warning from this gov
/ eminent. In 1886, when Colombia was
under the menace of hostlities from
ITALY in the Cerruti case. Mr.. Bavard ex-
pressed the serious concern that the
United States could not but feel that a
| European power should resort 10 force
| against a sister republic of this hem
, isphere, as to the sovereign and uninter-
| lupted use of Part OF whose territory
we are guarantors under the solemn faith
| of a treaty.
The above recital of facts establishes
beyond question First. that the Uni's
States has for over halt q century pa
( tlfitlN anu III goo ldliH NftiiiHd Jul ~
obliea tions under the treaty of l846;
second. that when for the first time it
became possible for Colombia to do any
! thing in requital of the services thus re-
| peatedlv rendered to it for dftY-=even
| wears by the United States. the Colon
hian government peremptOrilY and Of
| tensively refused thus to do its part.
| even though TO do so would have beon
TO It's advantage and immea surahlv 20
| the advantage Of the state OF Panama.
al that time under IFS jurisdiction: 'h'ri,
that throughout this period revolutions.
riots and factionaI disturbances Of every
kind have occurred one after the other in
almost uninterrupted succession some Of
them lasting for months and even for
years. while the central government was
unable to 1ut them down or - mako
peace with the rebels; fourth. thar these
disturbances. instead OF showing any
sign Of abaing have tended to grow
! more numerous and more serious in the
immediate past; nth that the control Of
Colombia over the isthmus of Panama
could not he maintained without the
armed Intervention ana assistance of he
United States In other words the gov
eminent OF Colombia. though wholly I'M
able to maintain order. on the isthmoS
has nevertheless declined to raGfy i
treaty the conclusion of which opened
the only chance to secure It's own sta
blity and to guarantee permanent peace
on. and the construction of canal
across. the isthmus.
Under such circumstances the govern
ment of the United Staics would have
been guilty OF folly ana weakness.
amounting in their sum to 4 crime crime
wise than it did when the revolution II
November last took place in Panama.
This great enterprise of building
the interoceanic canal cannot ne
held up to crafty the whims or
out Of respect to the governmental
impotence. or to the even more sinister
and evil political peculiarties. of people
who, though they dwell afar off. yet.
against The wish of the actual jewellers
Oh the isthmus. assert unreal suprem-
acy over the territory. The possession of
a territory fraught with such peculiar
capacities a s the isthmus in question car
ries with it obligations to mankind. The
course Of events has shown that this
canal cannot he built by private eutei-
prise, or by any other nation than our
own: therefore it must be built by the
United States.
Treaty Is Submitted.
Every effort has been made by the
government of the United States to per-
suadc Colombia to follow course which