Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-12-05
Will COST BIG sum
MAJOR LACEY THINKS CANAL
BUILDING WILL TAKE MUCH
MONEY.
Is Natural That Panama Should Be
Mother country-lowa Delegation
Will Support Administration-Diff
Guilty Getting Workmen for Canal.
IBY H. J. MAIIIN.1

Washington, D. c., Dec. 81 would
not be at all surprised if we would
spend a billion dollars before we got |
the isthmian canal finally built and OPP
en- for business" said Major Lacey
when discussing the Panama question !
the other day. 1T is always that way
in such big undertaking. Even |
when a private company starts out to !
build a railroad or ton road or any |
thing of that sort the scheme usually |
costs good deal more than the orig !
inal figures"
Just as soon as the Cuban recipro-
city question is out of the way the
| Panama question will be the burning
one at Washington. In fact it has
| in a measure overShadowed the Gu
ban matter during the last few weeks.
| Mr.. Lacey was discussing the proba-
bility and the ACCESSIBILITY of Colombia
annexing herself to Panama, the re-
I fractory child which has just broken
| away. Il should think it would be
the best thing Colombia could do"
| said Mr.. Lacey. las l say think
there is going TO be a billion dollars
spent down there in the next few years
and Colombia will certainly want to
be in on it, 1t is really more natural
that Panama should be the mother
country anyhow since the overwhelm-
ingly greatest asset of all that region
is the canal strip which is entirely
within Panma's territory"
Neither Mr.. Lacey nor any other
member of the Iowa delegation has
much to say on the Panama situation
except to admit that it has been rath-
er rapid fire diplomacy" There is
little doubt however that the delega-
ton along with the other republican,
of the house and senate are prepared
, to strongly back up the President in
, the course he has taken.
At first glance it might appear that
, the United States stood in strange
t position as regards the treaty of 1916
in which this country bound itself to
help uphold the supremacy of Colom-
: bia. And yet it must be remembered
r that this treaty was made with gov
s eminent which has been overthrown
and re-overthrown by revolution af-
ter revolution and while the United
4 | States has retained throughout it all
the rights the treaty gave her in Cen
| trail America yet this is due much
. more to the power of the nation thar;
20 the strict observance Of the treat
provisions by the country which is
s now Colombia.
3 The isthmus itself is much more in
s teresting than the average person
s would imagine. 1t was here that Eu-
a lropeans first set foot on the CONT
Y nents of North and South America, anC
e by reason of this the isthmus has :
d clear right having been discovered
e and settled at an earlier date thai
s any other part of American CONT.
/ nent. Alfonso de Ojeda first touched
IS here in 1899 and Columbus in 1902
The territory now embraced in the two
republics of Colombia and Panam;
was first called New Andalusia, ther
Castell de Orc (CastIe of Cold, after
I lat for "a
u NADIA. The last name was dropped il
l. 1917 for that of Colombia.
= -
ST The most interesting phase of tn
y canal enterprise since 1860 and fea
= ture that is going to be a serious on
&c for the United States in the presen
;e project is the difficulty of securing
10 labor capable of enduring the condi
= lions of climate prevailing in that re
le gion. At the outset of work the com
!. :. pany depended largely on the India
W or native labor but this was unsatis
y factory. Disguised with the situatio
II the company sent to Ireland an
'e: brought over several hundred Iris
Oh laborers handy With pick shovel an
p wheel barrow. The latter We're har
and earnest workers but the climat
VI y, proved too much for them. OF tt
an 800 brought out from Ireland less tina
" two dozen remained at the end
ny eight months. Two hundred and Sc,
10 enty-six died of blood fermentatio
IN dvsentery and fever Under the trol
ce iC1i sun those strong men melted awe
So like snow before a south wind, Il
n principal complaint being fever al
an stomach troubles. Less than TWEEN
[ol of the original lot returned to Telar
at the end of their service.
This convinced the company TIL
q. European or white labor could not
depended upon for work in Panam
So they next sent to China and in
ported several ship loads of Chine
TX" coolies. These could work, but on
les lin their way and fashion. They h;
in to have opium and umbrellas and
for the former was not obtainable tn
lat proved about as useless as the Iris
~ men, Finally the company did VIII
nat | it should have done in the first plat
for They imported several ship loads
of big. husky canefield negroes from ]
full maica and from that time on t
Ike work has been much better handle
GUS The colored stock stand the tryi
conditions all right. In fact the j
maica negro has the distinction of L
ing the only laborers who can sta
the climate. He not only stands
hrir On,