The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-28
BELIEVES PANAMA
TREATY ASSURED
WILL MEAN MUCH FOR SOUTH.
COL. DIMMICK APPROVES CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE RESOLUTIONS.

Thinks other Trade Bodies of sa-
vannah should Follow Example
Set by the Chamber-CnnaI viii
Mean Much for Savannah, Says
Washington Man-BeIieVes ROOse-
welt Took Only Possible Course to
Secure Confederation Should he
Above Party Politics and Entire
Country should support President.
"Savannah's Chamber of Commerce
has done the wise thing in adopting
resolutions indorsing the Panama
treaty and calling upon the Georgia
senator's to support the measure" said
Col. Edward J. Dimmick of Washing
en- route from the meeting of the In
terstate National Guard Association at
st. Augustine.
THE building Of the canal will be
a great thing for the Southern states,
and l am very much surprised that
there should be any opposition to the
measure in the South. Savannah will
be greatly benefited by it's construc-
ton, and the Chamber of Commerce
has taken a wise and patriotic course
in laying aside politics and looking at
the matter in a businesslike way.
believe that it would be an excellent
idea for the other trade bodies in Sa-
vannah to follow the example set by
the Chamber of Commerce.
THE President has come in for a
great share of criticism for being a
party to the secession of Panama and
recognizing the de facto government
OF the young republic, but this is done
now and cannot be helped, and the
only thing for the country to do is to
stand by the President in his effort to
nave the treaty ratified by the SEN
ate. l feel sure that the Georgia sem
ators are opposing the ratification of
the treaty from an honest motive but
l am equally certain when they find
they are not truly representing their
constituents they will cast their votes
FOR the ratification of the treaty.
should Be No Delay.
IF the treaty should be amended Il
would be necessary for it to be return
ed to Panama for ratification, and we
might then experience the same trou-
Die that we did with Colombia. In my
opinion the only thing to do is to rat-
~ the treaty as it is, in order that the
work on the canal may begin.
1 doubt very seriously If President
Roosevelt would have been able to
have negotiated treaty with Mica
rauga and Costa Rica for the Nicara-
guam route as the same influence which
Kept Colombia from ratifying the treaty
would have been at work on the legs-
latives bodies of these republics and
would have. no doubt. prevented the
construction of the waterway for many
years.
THE great railway systems realize
that the building of the canal means a
tremendous loss to them, and they pre-
vented the ratification of the treaty by
the Colombian Senate, and would have
done the same thing if President Roose-
welt had besun negotiations with Mic
arauga and Costa Rica, but the seces-
sion of Panama and the immediate rec
ignition of the new republic by this
country and the signing of the Hay
Herran- Bunau-Varilla treaty was done
so quickly that the great railway mag
mates did not have time to fix the
young republic and cut off the nego-
tiations.
Not n Partisan Question.
This should not be considered a
partisan question, but the entire coun-
try. should support the President in
his fight to finally begin work on the
isthmian canal. The United States
hiss been working to bring about this
very thing for nearly a half century
and the ratification of the pending
treaty would mean that the canal
would certainly be dug. But 1 fear
il the treaty is amended it will mean
the postponement of the canal for at
least ten or fifteen years"
Col. Dimmick stopped here on
his way to st. Augustine last week
and Is highly pleased with Savannah.
The building of the canal, he says, will
do more to help the city that any,
thing else, and he believes the pro-
gressive business men realize this.