Bismarck daily tribune., 1903-12-07


its obligations under the treaty of ls4c.
second. that when for the first time !,
became possible for Colombia TO do
anything in requital of the services
thus repeatedly rendered to 1t for 6f,v.
seven years by the United States ,ho
Colombian government peremptorilv
and extensively refused thus to do i,s
part. even though to DO so would hava
been to its advantage and immeasura
bly, to the advantage of the state n,
Panama, at that time under its pris
dictiOn; third, that throughout this ma
riod revolutions. riots and factional dis
turbances Of every kind have occurred
one after the other in almost uninIer
rupted succession. some Of them last
ing for months and even for wears
while the central government was nm
able to put them down or to mako
peace with the rebels; fourth. tbo,
these disturbances instead of showinr
any sign Of abating have tended ,o
grow more numerous and more serious
n the immediate past; fifth, that ,be
control Of Colombia over the isthmns
of Panama could not be maintained
without the armed intervention and
assistance Of the United States. /,
other words. the government of Colon.
bia. though wholly unable to maintain
order ON the isthmus, has nevertheless
declined to ratify treaty the concm-
sion Of which opened the only chance
to secure its own stability and to guar
antee permanent peace on and the con
structiOn Of a canal across the isthmus
Under such circumstances the coy
ernment Of the United States woua
have been guilty of folly and weakness
amounting in their sum to a crime
against the nation had it acted other
wise than it did when the revolution of
Nov. last took place in Panama. This
great enterprise Of building the inter
oceanic canal cannot be held up to graf
ify the whims, or out Of respect to the
governmental impotence or to the even
more sinister and evil political pecul
iarities, of people who. though they
dwell afar off, yet against the wish of
the actual dwellers on the isthmus as
sert an unreal supremacy over the ter
ritory. The possession of TERRITORY
fraught with such peculiar capacities
as the isthmus in question carries with
1t obligations to mankind. The course
of events has shown that this canal
cannot be built by private enterprise
or by any other nation than our own:
therefore it must be built by the Unit
ed States
Treaty With New Republic of Panama.
Every effort has been made by the
government Of the United States 10
persuade Colombia to follow IA course
which was essentially not only to our
interests and to the interests of the
world. but to the interests of Colombia
itself. These efforts have failed and
Colombia, by her persistence in repuls.
ing the advances that have been made.
has forced us. for the sake of our own
honor and of the interest and well be
ing not merely of our own people but
of the people of the isthmus of Panama
and the people of the civilized coun-
tries of the world. to take decisive
steps to bring to an end condition OF
affairs which had become intolerable
The new republic of Panama imme-
diately offered to negotiate treaty
with us. This treaty l herewith sub
NIT. BY it our interests are better safe
guarded than in the treaty with Co
lonbia which was ratified by the sen
ate at its last session. 1t is better in
its terms than the treaties offered to Us
by the republics of Nicaragua and
Costa Rica. At last the right to begin
this great undertaking is made availa-
Bile. Panama has done her part. All
that remains is for the American con
gress to do its part and forthwith this
republic will enter upon the execution
of project colossal in its size and OF
well nigh incalculable possibilities for
the good of this country and the na
tons of mankind.
BY the provisions Of the treaty the
United States guarantees and VIII
maintain the independence of the IT
public Of Panama. There are granted
to the United States in perpetuity the
use, occupation and control of a strip
ten miles wide and extending three
nautical miles into the sea at either
terminal, with all lands lying outside
OF the zone necessary for the construc
ton of the canal or for its auxiliary
works and with the islands in the bay
Of Panama.
The cities of Panama and Colon ar
not embraced in the canal zone but thr
United States assumes their sanitation
and. i'm case of need. the manteuanc'
OF order therein. The United States en-
joys within the granted limits all the
rights power and authority which %
would possess were it the sovereign Of
the territory to the exclusion Of the ex
ercise of sovereign rights by the re
public. All railway and canal property
rights belonging to Panama and need
ed for the canal to pass to the United
states. including any property of thr
respective companies in the cities Of
Panama and Colon: the works. proper
ty and personnel of the canal and raj
ways are exempted from taxation n
well in the cities of Panama and Colon