The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-14
Developments on the Isthmus of Pam
ANA Gave n New Phase to the
Canal Question.
WHAT HE WOULD HAVE SAID
HAD COLOMBIA REMAINED IN Pos
SESSION OF THE ROUTE.
Discussion of Treaty Negotiations as
Outlined by the President About
Two Weeks Ago.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13.-For several
weeks President Roosevelt has had in prep
aration his annual message to Congress
to be presented at the opening of the reg
ular session On the first Monday Of Deem
Der. That part of the message in which
the President discusses the negotiations be-
tween the United States and the govern
ment of Colombia on the isthmian canal
treaty, it is stated, was completed about
two weeks ago. Events which have &C.
CURED on the isthmus and in this country
since that time have made it necessary for
the President to completely rewri that
part of the message touching the canal ne
gotiations.
In the opening sentence of his discussion
of the negotiations with Colombia, the
President said: ct regret to report that
contrary to all expectations the government
of the republic of Colombia refused to
ratify the treaty for building a canal
across the isthmus Of Panama Then,
after stating that the treaty had been ne
gotiated at the earnest request of the gov
eminent of Colombia, and subsequently
was ~disapproved by the Colombian Senate,
the President said that the powers exer-
cised by the treaty of 1916 were so large in
the protection of transit across the 18TH
mus that 1T sometimes had been questioned
whether 1t was necessary now to obtain a
treaty for the purpose of building a canal.
Continuing, he wrote: High authorities
on international law hold that the canal
can be dug as an incident to exercising the
power to prevent the obstruction of traffic
across the isthmus. Nevertheless. in ac-
cordance with our settled policy of behav-
ing with scrupulous fairness and gener-
osity towards our weaker sister republics
of the south, taking no position that can
even by implication be treated as I'M
friendly, unless literally forced thereto, we
have endeavored to provide for the build
ing of the canal by treaty. In this treaty
we went as far as it is possible for us to
go in the direction of making concessions
to the United States of Colombia. No fur
Their concessions can or should be made by
this government"
The President then stated that the cir
cumstances of the canal case were peculiar.
The canal, said he, must be dug. 1t was
demanded by the interests of this nation
and by those of the civilized world. The
United States had solemnly pledged it's
word thai it should be free to the COM
merce of the world, "reserving to ourselves
merely the right to see that 1t shall never
be used to our military disadvantage. A
DrlVdte company WHICH III the past ulQer-
took to build the canal has failed. The
events of the last few years warrant us in
now saying not only that the canal shall
not be constructed by any foreign govern
ment, but that 1T Is not to be constructed
by any private ompan 1t must, there
fore, be dug by the government Of the
United States"
Referring further along to the territory
bisected by the canal, the President wrote:
ION the one hand the United States de-
sires to safeguard with scrupulous care the
countries. On the other hand, in my judg-
ment, it is time to declare that the begin
ming of the canal cannot be much longer
delayed. This nation does not desire to be
and will not permit any body Of men per-
manently to obstruct one Of the great
world highways of traffic, and the refusal
amounts to such obstruction. OF course to
insist upon unreasonable terms is equiv
alent to a refusal"
law which says that the President shall
have time to determine as between the
Panama and Nicaraguan routes, the Presi-
dent wrote: Reasonable time in the case
of such an enterprise as this, an enterprise
which has been thought of for nearly four
centuries. which has been planned in de-
tail and worked at for half a century. and
which, when completed, will endure for
ages and will change the geography of a
hemisphere and the trade routes of the
world must, of course, mean whatever time
Is necessary to convince ourselves that the
course we are following Is wise and proper.
1T seems evident that in a matter such
as this we should finally decide which is
the best route, and If the advantages of
this route over any other possible route are
sufficiently marked, we should then give no.
tice that We can no longer submit to trifing
or insincere dealing on the part of those
| whom the accident of position has placed
in temporary control of the ground through
which the route must pass; that il they
will come to agreement with us in straight
forward fashion. we shall In return acf
not only with justice, but with generosity,
and that If they fail to come to such agree
| ments with us we must forthwith take the
matter into our own hands"