The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-01-08
DID ID z MATTERS
No Aid Was Gives to the Revolution,
and on the Other Hand This
Country Only Followed lee
Traditional Policy.

- NAA1 AS
lNntic and Pacific oceans. approved June
sfhe president 49, authorized % secure
pany and perpetual control Of . strip six
miles wide across the isthmus. It VS. pro-
svlded hat should h president be IN
able to obtain 9 satisf1ctory ute 70 the n
and the territory Of h REPUBLIC, OF Co
lombia $50 within q reasonable time
and upon Reasonable terms. then the presi-
canal by the Nicaragua route. The Prest-
dent vas authorized to go TO the Mica
ragua route II he could not obtain territory
OF Colombia. This has been obtained; the
possible to go to Nicaragua
This act marked the climax OF the ef-
fort to secure an tnteroceanic nj The
position for the United States to assume
had been clearly set forth by. Secretary
Cass in 1858. Secretary Cass said:
While h rights Of sovereignty OF the
America5 should always be respected. We
shall expect that these rights be exercised
in a split beitting the occasion and the
wants and circumstances that have arisen.
Sovereignty has its duties as well as Its
rights. and none of these local govern
ments. even II administered with more
regard to the Just demands OF other ma
mitted, in a spirit of eastern isolation, to
close the gates of Intercourse on the great
highways Of the world, n justify the
act Oy IH0 QTGIGUSlOu IHaI luGS0= AtGIUSS
Of trade and trayel belong to them and
that they choose to shut them, or. what Is
Almost equivalent, to cucumber them with
such unjust, relations az would prevent
The principle was sound then and is now.
The United States has taken the position
that no other government 10 to build the
canal. In 1883, when france proposed to
aid the French company by guaranteeing
bonds. b senate passed q resolution az
follows:
serious concern and disapproval upon any
connection OF any European government
with the construction or control of any
ship canal across the Isthmus Of Darien
or across Central America, and must re-
gard any such connection or control as
Of the United States and a. Z menace to
Under the HaY-PapncefSte treaty 4 wa.
should control. police n protect the
canal +s kesplngH y open EN- Tor gos ell nations s, On
mitted to Colombia h Hay-Herran treaty
three things were, therefore,. already set
tied. One was that the canal should be
Justice and generosity with the people
through whose land we might build 1t.
The Hay-Herran treaty. II it erred, erred
Colombia. It has been stated that Co
lopbia objected to stipulations, that they
involved 2 REIMBURSEMENT of her Sow
taken place, this objection must be an
a~fterthought. In sealtty, the treaty, ac-
knowledged, confirmed and preserved her
sovereignty. The exercise by h United
States. subject to the local sovereign, of a
substantial control over the canal and the
Immediately adjacent territory, has been
q fundamental part of any arrangement.
quirement by the United States Of control
over the canal strip would render unat-
tainable the construction of a canal, nor
were We advised. when legislation Of 1902
negotiations with Colombia impracticable.
No nation could construct and guarantee
the neutrality of the canal with less con-
troll than was stipulated for in tho Hay
Herran treaty. A refusal to grant such
degree of control was necessarily a refu-
sal to make any practicable treaty at all.
Such refusal therefore sQuarely raised the
question whether Colombia was entitled
to bar the transit OF the worlds traffic
across the isthmus.
That the n vas eagerly demand
which 1t was to pass, is shown by the uriak-
imitytntheP anamarepublic. Furthermore,
Colombia, after having rejected the treaty,
since shown the utmost e%agerness to ac-
cept the same. One OF the men standing
highest in Colombia, on November 6, adj
dressed the American minister, saying
that if the United States would preserve
Colombian sovereignty Colombia would
declare martial law; and, by virtue of
vested constitutional authority, when pub
lie order is disturbed. (would5 approve by
decree the ratification Of the canal treaty
as signed; or. II the government of the
United States prefers, (would) call extra
session OF the congress-with new and
friendly members-next May to approve
the treaty" I pass by the question as to
what assurance we have that they would
now keep their pledge.
Third. Finally congress settled the canal
was to be across the Isthmus of Panama;
and Il. after reasonable time. 1t proved
impossible % secure such treaty we should
made: for the intent Of ongres was to
insure q canal across Panama, wheth-
err the republic granting the title was
called New Granada, Colombia or Panama
mattered not. Although. 1t became i'm
probable that Colombia would ratify the
not vanish until the congress closed at the
n of October; and within three DAVIS
thereafter the revolution In Panama had
broken out. Panama became IN independ-
came o%btainable. The condition under
which alone we could have M to MIC
aragua thereby became impossible of full
hlment. II the pending treaty with Pan
anna should not be ratified by the senate
this would not alter the fact that we could
scided the route, and there is no alternative.
When in August 1t began to appear
probable that the Colombian legislature
would not ratify the t:eaty. there were
several possibilities. One was that Co
ombia would at the last moment see the
unwisdom of her position. Secretary Hay
repeatedly warned Colombia hat grave
consequences might follow rejection of
the treaty.
A second alternative was a situation in
terms as to building the canal along the
Panama route. and vet there had NOT heen