The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-05

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the President was submitted TO Con
gress to-day.
In beginning his message the Presi
dent says that he makes a statemen
to Congress of his action, thus fa
taken, to execute the law providing
for the construction of a canal join
ing the waters of the Atlantic ant
Pacific oceans. He then quotes wha
Secretary Cass said in 1858, as to the
proper position for the United State:
to assume in reference to this canal
and he points out what things were
already settled when the United States
government submitted to Colombia
the Hay-Herran treaty.
He says that Secretary Hay, though
our minister at Bogota, repeatedly
warned Colombia that grave conse-
quences might follow from her rejec-
tion of the treaty.
The President says he had consid-
cred the possibility of failure of
Colombia to ratify the Hay-Herran
treaty. and of no steps being taken
by Panama by the close of the session
of the Colombian Congress on the last
day of October, and had prepared a
message to be submitted to our Com
gress on its assembling in extra ses-
sion in November. In this connection
he says
1T was the opinion of eminent in
ternational jurists that in view of the
fact that the great design of our guar
antee under the treaty of 1886 was
to dedicate the isthmus to the purposes
of interoceanic transit, and above all
to secure the construction of an in
teroceanic canal, Colombia could not
under existirg conditions refuse to en-
ter into a proper arrangement with
the United States to that end, without
violating the spirit and substantially
repudiating the obligations of a treaty
the full benefits of which she had en-
joyed for over fifty years. My inten-
tion was to consult the Congress as
TO whether, under such circumstances
it would not be proper to announce
that the canal was to be dug forth
with; that we would give the terms
that we had offered. and no others;
and that if such terms were not agreed
to we would enter into an arrange
ment with Panama direct. or take
what other steps were needful in or
der to begin the enterprise"
The President points out that in Au-
gust it became apparent that there was
a possibility that the people of Panama
would take the protection of their own
vital interests into their own hands.
He quotes from the dispatches in the
daily papers to show that it was a mat
ter of common notoriety that there was
a revolutionary movement on foot on
the isthmus. These dispatches have
August and September dates.
The President also quoted from a
speech of Senior DerouX, representative
for a Panama constituency, delivered
in the lower branch of the Colombian
Congress, in which the Colombian gov
ernment was warned that a rejection
of the Hay-Herron treaty would likely
be followed by revolution in Pana-
ma. Further along in his message the
President says that on Oct. 16, Capt.
c. B. Humphrey and Lieut. Grayson
Mallet-Trevost Murphy, who had re-
Gently returned from Panama, had in
fact been in Panama in the latter part
of September, told him that it was the
general belief on the isthmus that a
revolution might break out at any
moment, and if it did not happen be-
fore, would doubtless take place I'M
mediately after the closing of the Co.
lombian Congress cat the end of Octo-
ber) If the canal treaty We're not rati-
ned. They were certain that the revo-
luton would occur, and before leaving
the isthmus had made their own rech-
oning as to the time, which they had
set down as being probably from three
TO four weeks after their leaving. The
reason they set this as the probable in
side limit of time was that they reckon
ed that it would be at least three Or
four weeks-say not until Oct 20
before sufficient quantity of arms and
munitions would have been landed"
orders To Navy Department..
The message continues as follows:
In view of all these facts l directed
the Navy Department to issue in
structions such as would insure our
having ships within easy reach of the
isthmus in the event of need arising
Orders We're given on Oct 19 to the
Boston to proceed to San Juan del
sur, Nicaragua: to the Dixie to pre-
pare to sail from League Island: and
TO the Atlanta TO proceed to Guam
tanamo. On Oct. 80 the Nashville was
ordered to proceed to Colon. On Nov.
? when, the Colombian Congress hav-
ing adjourned. it was evident
that the outbreak was immi-
nent, and when it was an
nounced that both sides were making
ready forces whose meeting would
mean bloodshed and disorder, the Co
lombian troops having been embarked
ON vessels, the following instructions
were sent to. the commanders of the
Boston, Nashville and Dixie:
Maintain free and uninterrupted
transit. If interruption is threatened
by armed force, occupy the line of
railroad. Prevent landing of any arm
ed force with hostile intent, either
government or insurgent. at any point
within fifty miles of Panama. Gov
ernment force reported approaching
the isthmus in vessels. Prevent their
landing if, in your judgment, the land
ing would precipitate a conflict"
These orders were delivered in pur-
suance of the policy on which our
government had repeatedly acted.
=
On Nov. 3 Commander Hubbard re-
sponded to the above quoted telegram
of Nov. ,, 1908, saying that before
the telegram had beeu received 400
Colombian troops from Cartagena had
landed at Colon; that there had been
no revolution on the isthmus, but that
the situation was most critical if the
revolutionary leaders should act On
this same date the Associated Press
IN Washington received bulletin stat