Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-12-11
Rloht Goes with Mloht in Panama.

Between the Atlantic and the Pacific
there have been two barriers that of the
backbone joining two continents and that
of petty autocracy. When we can pierce
the first barrier, should we wait long on
the tissue paper barrier of greed and
cunning?
beyond the lines that follow the course
of the canal to each side, we can have no
more interest than i'm starting a winter
resort i'm Greenland This zone of ten
miles broad as essentially belongs to our
dominion in the name of the worlds
progress as the lines of steel rails that
knit our States into commercial unity
All that this strip is worth is its value as
| a canal site. 1t grows some bananas,
some rubber, some cocoanuts, But
| the sum total Of the exports from
either port is not 1.-THE of the cost
of the French machinery that lies oxidiz-
| ing by the graveslde of de Lesseps am
| bition
The geographical separation OF the
| Isthmian Republic from Colombia proper
| is complete. Neither railroad nor high
way connects them. Colombia can not
| send soldiers through the trackless Jungle
| they must go by sea. Between these two
| parts of the Republic there is far less
| trade than between Colon and the United
| States; there is no common ground what
| soever just as Spain sent her military
rulers to cuba, SO Bogota sent hers to
| the Isthmus. Panama was to Colombia
what the Tenderloin was to the New
| York police department The Isthmian
under dog is every whit as worthy our
| sympathy as were the Cubans of the
| thunderstorms of Indignation which broke
| from our guns mouths on the head of
| Spain.
| Any one who has been to the Isthmus
| and who knows the whole story of the
| Presidents policy knows that our conduct
| toward Colombia has been more fair than
| that toward Spain, "A nation that was
| supposed to be worthy of our steel. SO 1t
| should be: for it is an American trait not
! to impose on the weak.
BY the treaty of 1916 we reserved only
| the right to keep the railroad free for
| traffic Faithfully we have kept our
| agreement. We have carried by rail the
| underfcd soldiers of Colombia, whose only
| discipline is that Of the lash, whenever
| Bogota demanded. We have prevented
| the success of native revolutions which
were battling for more than states rights
for limited home rule. In short. but for
| us Colombia could not have kept the
| lsthmus as long as she has.
When France wanted to build the ca
| nal. the United states did not stand in
| the way of a gigantic work for the worlds
| good We have only to recall MaXlmllllan
| in Mexico to realize that our paternal in
| terest in the Central American Republics
| alone made France pay the eXtraNagaht
| price that Colombia demanded. Is the
| Monroe Doctrine to be all give and no
| take? Is the protectors only reward to
be the use of our good will for the pur-
pose of gain and Of defeating the cause
| of progress? France having failed, when
our expert commission decided in favor
Of the Panama route; when all our plans
| to go ahead were complete We waited up
on the word of Bogota. Then Colombo
ans came into contact with new KIND
of diplomacv-the stone walled diplomacy
| of John Hay. 1t is stone-walled be
cause it is the same all the way
| through that it is on the surface-solld
rock If you try to dig beneath 1t, the
foundation seems to sink as you dig; If
| YOU try to scale 1t. the top seems 10 rise
as YOU climb.
You may search through the annals of
any diplomacy except that of America to
find the counterpart of the Hay-Herran
| treaty in it's high minded fairness. we
| have been as meek as a petty principality
trying to convert a powerful nation to IT'S
view Colombia could not dig the canal;
the only subsidy that she has ever re-
ceived for the lsthmus has been due TO
outsid,. capital. Did the sister Repubhc
show us any sstery affection? When we
were going to build a work in the name
of nrorress and commerce. which meant
direct profit to her alone, did she show
interest in anything but the amount she
could make by imposing on our good ma
ture? We agreed to pay high price 4;
we greed to leave our SpiultISs WI Niii'li'
and engineers subject to Colombian meth
DDS of sanitation. and We inserted
clause which committed us to no ag-
rressiou. In other words, we said: we
pay "A fair price; we will be ir'-which
was most American.
What was Colombia's response? That
of the highwaymanl If the Yankees would
make the offer so readily there ought To
be a lot more graft In them. So the
treaty died, and the Colombian, VINO can
not vet understand it, finally feels the
significance of stone walled diplomacy.
When approached by Bogota again, Mr..
Hay smiled he was not ready to be
held up: he had given his word that
the fIerran treaty embodied our nhai
concessions; he let events take their
course. with the result that We have not
assisted the military despotism of Bogota
to retain a province that nature never
intended to be under its control-lColier
: Weekly.