The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-18
PANAMA CANAL TREATY
Is TO BE PUSHED.
Resolution 10 This End is Adopted
by the senate.

Resolution TO This End is Adopted
by the senate.
Washington, Feb. 1.-THE Republic
can senators held u caucus to-day and
decided to have the Senate continue
consideration Of the Panama canal
treaty tomorrow and on future days
until the treaty shall be disposed of.
This result was reached after an hour
and a. halls discussion of the eXecu-
tive situation in the Senate. The con-
clusion reached was unanimous.
The conclusion is that the statehood
bill does not lose it's advantageous po-
sltion in the order of business when
the Senate is in legislative session. The
Republican supporters of the state
hood bill agree not to antagoniZe d
motion for an executive session to con-
slider the canal treaty, nor to make any
objection to the prolongation of such
sessions to any extent necessary to
secure ratification.
Senator Cullom, chairman of the
Committee on Foreign TRelatious, pre-
sented a motion declaring it to be the
sense of the caucus that the Senate
should go into executive session to-
morrow, Feb. IS, Immediately after the
ratify the Panama canal treaty" In
a brief speech he dwelt on the fact
that the option of the United States
on the rights and franchises of the
Panama canal treaty expires on the
fourth of next March. He said that
other interests and other nations might
desire to control so important an en-
terprise, so that it was altogether pos
sible that we would not be able to re-
ApX hn a 81 lnn 6pt1 nc
$4O,000,O0O, the price which this coun-
try has agreed to pay in case the bar
gain is contaminated.
AS only two weeks of the session re-
main, and there was determined,
though limited, opposition to the
treaty. it was absolutely necessary that
no further time should be lost in get
ting down to serious work on the
treaty.
Several friends of the statehood bill,
in speeches, expressed the opinion that
the chief purpose of the motion was to
sidetrack the statehood bill. Speeches
based on this apprehension were made
by Senators Quay, Elkins, Gallinger
and Foraker They expressed their adj
herence to the treaty and said they
agreed fully with all that had been
said as to the necessity for it's early
ratification, but thought that the prop
!
take a vote on the statehood bill.
Replies were made by Senators Hoar
Hanna, Lodge, Aldrich and others in
which much stress was laid on the
necessity of securing the ratification of
the treaty and on the fact that there
was no intention to displace the state
hood bill as the unfinished legislative
business. Senator Hoar made an ar
gument that the executive business of
the Senate occupies a different plane
from that of legislative business, and
that courtesy to other nations demands
that treaties should have preferential
consideration at the hands of the
Senate. This view was generally ac-
cepted by senators, and was the view
acted on.
Some of the senators present after
wards commented on 1t as likely to
form a new departure and an import
ant precedent in the Senate.
Other senators made reference to Eu-
ropes interest in the canal, and Sem
ator Foraker stated that an eminent
engineer officer had assured him that
no fewer than four great European
Powers were looking with jealous eyes
on our movements on the iSthmus, and
would be glad to displace us there.
When adjournment was reached, the
announcement was made that imme-
diately after the close of the routine
business tomorrow Senator Quay
should move to go into executive SEES
sion, and that none of the Republic
cans should oppose the motion, and
that consideration of the treaty should
continue until it was disposed of.