The evening world., 1904-01-04
WARNING THAT POLICY
WILL BE MAINTAINED,
Drges the Immediate Ratifica-
tion of the Diplomatic Meas
ure and Asserts There Was
No Conspiracy in Revolution.

Caral treaty, was read in Congress TO-
day. It Is, an elaborate argument, set
ting forth In the greatest detail the va
rtous steps that have led up to the
present situation, and coupling with this
vigorous defense OF the Administra-
tion for its attitude in the Colombian
crisis
Too Much Generosity.
after slGmming over the situation that
existed prior to the submission to Co
loIbia of the Hay-Herran treaty, the
President saws that with the making
of this treaty three things were set
tied One was that the canal should be
built that 1t should be built by us. and
thut 1t should be built without delay;
that in the HayHerran treaty, II We
erred at ell, 1t was in the direction OF
too much generosity, and that nowhere
In this country had the criticism been
made that We had not in the fullest and
amplest manner guaranteed to Colom-
bia everything that she could by any
color of title demand.
In this connection. the President says
Il should not be lost sight of that this
overgenerous treaty merely provided,
after all. for the building Of the canal
in conformity with the express require
ments of the act OF Congress of June
e. 1902. That act authorized the Presi-
dent to acquire the necessary strip Of
land for the canal and to demand con-
troll of the same. At no time. says the
President, during the years Of negotia-
tion, has Colombia ever initimated that
this control which was sought would
render unattainable the construction of
an Isthian canal. It was plain that no
nation could build the canal with a less
degree of control. and the question
raised was. had Colombia the right to
bar the transit Of the worlds traffic
across the Isthmus?
Wanted the Canal.
The people Of the Isthmus wanted the
canal and they wanted Il built by
Americans and controlled by this Gov
ernment, says the President. Colombia
rejected our offers in the face OF pro-
test and warning. Now. says tho Pres
dent, a high official of the Colon
bian Government has said to the
American Minister at Bogota that we
can have our treaty II we will land
troops and help to preserve Colombian
sovereignty on the Isthmus. The Presi-
dents answer to this is:
"I will not for one moment dis
cuss the possibility of the United
States committing an act of such
baseness as to abandoP the new
Republic of Panama"
The intent of Congress was to con-
struct a canal across the Isthmus. says
the President, but II 1t were impossible
to make a satisfactory treaty, then Mic
aragua was to be selected. The treaty
has been made. 1t has been made with
Panama, an independent state, and
even IL our own Senate shall fail to
ratify the treaty we still cannot return
to Nicaragua Congress has decided
the route, says the President, and there
is no alternative under existing legis-
lation
An interesting statement in the mes
sage is that made by the President in
his discussion of the situation last Aug
ust, when there were increasing signs
OF the determination of the Colombians
not to ratify the treaty. The President
says that 1t was the opinion of eminent
international Jurists that Colombia
could not. without violating the treaty
of 1916. refuse to enter into a proper ar
rangement with the United States for
the construction of the canal. To re-
fuse would have been a reputation of
a treaty the full benefits of which Co
lombia had enjoyed for fifty years. The
President says:
No Change In Terms.
My intention was to consult the Con-
Rress as to whether under such cir
cumstances 1t would not be proper to
announce that the canal was to be dug
forthwith that we would give the
terms We had offered and no others.
to We would enter into an arrange
ment with Panama direct, or take what
other steps were needful In order to be-
GIN the enterprise"
ma. tied to Colombia by the loosest OF
ties. might revolt and establish an An
dependent state. with which this coun-
try could do business, That there was
throughout the Isthmus the President
shows by numerous quotations from
newspapers and by quoting from private
reports which are In the hands Of the
no need 30 promote revolution the
President shows by many elaborate
memoranda. the delay in getting at
under way Nbelng due entirely to a de-
IN0 Oh Tnc part OF the people on the
Igthnlu8 TO properly equip themselves
with arms and ammunition before talk
Ing 50 dangerous n step.
Treaty Rishts Maintained. o
by his own = to American war
vessels IN tropC, waters the President
shows that our lnduct In this crdsis
which was impeding was simply a
maintenance of our treaty rights. and
that all we insisted upon doing or tried
30 do was to keep the Isthmus eruffic
free and uninterrupted. After the out
break or Nov. 8 Commander Hubbard
of the Nashville, landed troops to pro
tect American lives.
The President quotes the letters and
reports OF Commander Hubbard to show
how little band of forty-two marines
land sailors bravely stood their ground
| In the face of an overwhelming and
Threatening force. how they prevented
bloodshed only BY the display of the
bsrsatest courage and coolness at a time
when the Colombian General had de-
tclared that he wac going to kill every
American citizen on the Isthmus. At all
ftttmes nnd In spite of great provocation,
lnays the President, the American forces
11A4A with -antirn imnaEfiAlitx on the