The Springfield herald., 1904-09-02
THE PANAMA CANAL.
DEMOCRACY DESERVES NO CRED
iTFOR PROPOSED WATERWAY.
Its DocIa rations Are IscsrTsss In ~
Least Two Particulars : Strsausss
Policy Advocated In PIstfs.A on
Which buchanan Mads kis Race.

The Democratic platform undertakes
to make the party the guardian Of ma
| tional and international honor by attack
| ing tho administrations Panama Canal
policy. The platform says:
"Our party having long and earnestly ad-
| vocated the construction of an Inter.
oceanic canal for the purposes Of national
and with foreign nations. We favor the
early completion Of the isthmian canal.
"fut, while making this declaration and
accepting the results as m accomplished
and irreversible fact, we cannot too fsrci-
bly, express our disapprovai Of the meth.
and obligations of interna tional law and
| treaty obligations. the canal route has been
thst thi. precedent Of densnt dipiomsey
may never be used against MS to our hu-
initiation and Injury.
If the Democratic party has ever ad-
vocated the construction of an isthmiaa
canal its advocacy has been purely aca-
dcmic. No Democratic administration
has ever taken a step or lifted finger in
that direction.
Dcmocrnfic Platform of 1850.
As to the question of methods tho
party is on record in favor of the most
strenuous policy for the establishment
and maintenance of isthmian transit.
The Democratic platform of 1885, on
contained the following:
Resolved. That the great highway
which nature. as well as the assent Of
States most Immediately Interested In its
maintenance. has marked out for FREQ
communication between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. constitutes one of the most
important achievements realized by ths
spirit Of modern times, In the nncanquer-
able energy OF our people; and that re-
sult would be secured by timely and
efficient exertiou of the control which We
power earth should he suffered tn ini-
pede or clog Its progress by any inter
ference with relations that may suit our
policy to establish between our govern
ment and the governments OF the states
within whose dominions IL lies; we can un-
der no circumstances surrender our pre-
pouderance In the adjustment of all ques-
tons arising out of It
When the resolution was adopted the
question of an isthmian canal was not
being aEitnted. ny it never was in any
practical way by the Democratic party
The resolution refers to the maintenance
of overland isthmian transit which had
been interrupted by Nicaragua under
pretense that her sovereignty was being
invaded. The resolution virtually asserts
the paramount right of the United Suites
to maintain and control the transit route,
which was an important part of COM
munication with California. against any
and all cumers.
Bucharan's Me-sage.
In his annual message of 1858 F'resf-
dent Buchanan said the transit across
the isthmus wus "a highway which
must be open to the world and thnr
''the commerce of other nations is not
to stnnd still and await the adjustment
of such petty controversies" as those
which Nicara gun had raised. The
government of the United States expect
no more than this" he added. "and they
will not be satisfied with less
These were brave and true utterances,
but no Democratic administration ever
did anything to make them good. Still
less did the Democratic party ever at
tempt to apply them to the construction
of an interoceanic canal. 1t was left
for a Republican administration to do
that. President Roosevelt's Panama
Canal policy has moved steadily and
firmly towards assuring the construction
of the canal. and his methods have not
savored of deficient diplomacy as much
as did those advocated by the Demo
cratic party in 1886.