The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-25

true that the CANAL VIII never be btllt,t
or II It 4 IL constructed II will cnst 2
dark and aor1bre cloud over tho effects et,,3
~ have attempted to portray and VIII y
delay their accomplishment perhaps q
century or more. It may bring war and
trouble with complications. the result
OF which no man can predict What IS
this terrble proposition which runfronta
us and Which bids fnlr to turn the ]stl1-
milan cniinl into d curse In the place Of
a blesslng7 The answer Is on every,
mans totgtie who ins given 1t q mo.
ment's serious consideration. It is ths
We have paid too high Il price for It
wo have bnrtercd Honor" tho most
precious Of I'LL our possesslons, for IT.
II we accept the treaty under tho CIR
ctlmstances BY which It ls surrounded We
wilt accept IT tainted with the whitening
These be strong words. Arc they justl.
fled by tho facts7 Let those who doubt
read the solemn treaty fS1s46. BY which
| we agreed with Colombia to keep IN,
| violate tho 1sthrnus OF Durien and never
to take possession OF 1t, There was no
ambiguity, either latent or patent. about
| It; 1t Is plain, simple langunge we bound
| our country as y nation not 70 take TINS
| precious land, but to protect In tho hands
of Colombia. We cannot plead Infancy;
| We cannot plead coercion; we stand be-.
fore tho whole world without single
argument which can be ndduced IN our
favor. 1t Is a terrible situation. It can
DO likcned unto Mahomets coffin, sls-
pended midway between heaven and
earth, But the path Of duty Is plain.
Christianity and morality, the two great
forces which so behind and support all
civilization, command us to give up and
reject tho treaty. There Is no middle
ground. We cannot trade nations honor
for It; II we do wo lose that honor which
Is at once our birthright and our strength.
Look calmly at tho clrcuns tances. Pnn-
ANA. u great wide, wild territory unex-.
| plored, In part, Inhabited by mong el
race OF Indians, negroes, Sparlards.
Frenchmen, With a large and varied as,
sortmcnt OF half breeds, where the per-
centago OF ignorance and illiteracy Is III
most phenomenal: with perhaps less than
three hundred thousand population In all,
and yet is between two days. recognized
MS Il nation OF the world. and why? All!
Hero comes the rub; IIic labor est!
What was the motive? The answer comes
in thunderstoncs, 1t was to outwlt Colum-
bia and obtain by illegtlm means that
which We could not openly and honornbly
obtain. For shame! For shame And from
all accounts Il was accomplished In great
part BY bribery, tho pet governmental firm
OF j. Plerpont Morgan & Co. advancing
100000 to conclde the trencherous bargain
There Is so little patriotism In Panama
that It Is said that they have no word
to express its meaning in their language.
Hence tho necessity Of bribery. Let US
attempt to describe briefly the manner In.
which tic alton Is ushered into existence.
A few OF the mongrcl people come forth,
on a bright morning, led by French
man, who has a largo pccuniary interest
in the Undertaking; they raise q strange
new flag; near by stand the American
marines armed to tho teeth, with tho
Stars and Stripes of the United States OF
America floating over them. Tho Colon
bians start to take It down. they do not
understand this new strange device, but
the commander OF the American ma rines
acting under orders from the Commander
in-Chief OF tho United States army, says
No. touch It not. It Is the flag Of seces-
sion, ana presto change, a new govern
ment is born
The American flag was never before
prostituted for so unholy and immoral
n purpose. Where was tho treaty of 1886?
Go ask the winds that round thee roll;
answer 1t In your hearts; every honest
man knows the answer. y. 7; 4 XXX "a s'gl. ;
If wo break and violate that treaty we
will be guilty Of the dark crime OF re-
pudiating most sacred obligation. s&
Is not the price too high? Can we afford
1t? Can we afford to have the finger OF
scorn pointed at us forever do not hesi-1
tate to state that II the treaty. Is ratified
by the American Senate under the circuln-
stances, 1t will bring the blush Of shame
to tho cheek Of every honest man ana
woman In our broad land. We promised
Colombia to protect and hold sacred this
Important strip Of land, and to guarantee
A. 49,. sci, ,rrF a nd
we promised to our loss yet 1t Is our
duty to mako that promise good It Is
the solemn duty OF the United States
Senate to reject this treaty. Let Senators
John W. Daniel and Thomas s.. Martin
when tho vote Is taken, state that the
people OF Virginia with almost practical
unanimity want the Panama Canal, but
they are unwilling to barter nntlons
honor for 1t. and hence they vote No
And after all we will really DO losing
nothing, because the ablest engineers OF
the world with Sir John Hawkins at their
head, declare that 1t Is a physical I'M
possibility to build the canal at the pres
ent location: they. insist that Nicaragua
Is immeasurably superior to II, and SO
says Senator Morgan, Of Alabama, who.
perhaps. knows more about It thanran
other living man. More than fifteen years
ago when Lieutenant Wyse made his re-
port to tho celebrated meeting In Paris.
a largo majority OF the engineers favored
Nicaragua. All agreed that there Is not
the least doubt about Its successful con-
struction there, It was the commanding
Influence OF De Lesseps which forced tho
choice of tho Panama route against the
combined wisdom Of many Of the very
best engineers OF the world. This Is
well known fact. Let tho Senate reject the
treaty and then immcdla tely reopen ne
gotiations with Nicaragua. This Is tho
only honest course that we can pursue.
1t Is said that the transcont!nental rail-
roads have quietly thrown their In influence
in favor Of the Panama route. knowing
that It would amount to a defeat OF tho
whole scheme which from selfish motives
they desired. AS for the President he do
serves no sympathy; his vaulting ambition
has ovelleaped itself; he has forgotten
that morality is the only security for free
institutions he has attempted to prostl-
tute the power of the Federal government
to accomplish an immoral purpose; tns
country will not follw him In the patti OF
ha hna for