The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-01-05

| nal N@o NO Ed--r nAtO AE4E A4Alc~ NN@-- cerned as to the new order of things and which the Colombian authorities now recognize as being so good that they are willing to promise it's uncon- ditional ratification if only we will de- sert those who have shown themselves our friends and restore to those who have shown themselves unfriendly the power to undo what they did. I pass by the question as to what assurance We have that they would now keep their pledge and not again refuse to ratify the treaty if they had the power, for, of course. I will not for one mo- lment discuss the possibility of the Unit ed States committing an act of such baseness as to abandon the new repub- lie of Panama.
 ROUTE DEFINITELY SETTLED.
 Third-Finally the congress definite ly settled where the canal was to be built. It was provided that a treaty should be made for building the canal across the Isthmus of Panama, and if, after a reasonable time, it proved im- possible to secure such treaty that then we should go to Nicaragua. The treaty has been made, for it needs no argu- ment to show that the intent of the con- gress was to insure canal across Pan anna, and that whether the republic granting the title was called New Granada. Colombia or Panama mat tered not one whit. As events turned out, the question of reasonable time" did not enter into the matter at all. Although, as the months went by, it became increasingly improbable that the Colombian congress would ratify the treaty or take steps which would be equivalent thereto, yet all chance for such action on their part did not vanish until the congress closed at the end of October. and within three days thereafter the revolution in Panama had broken out Panama became an independent state, and the control of the territory necessary for building the canal then became obtainable. The condition under which alone we could have gone to Nicaragua thereby be- came impossible of fulfillment. If the pending treaty with Panama should not be ratified by the senate this would not alter the fact that we could not go to Nicaragua. The congress has decid- ed the route and there is no alternative under existing legislation.
 When in August it began to appear probable that the Colombian legisla- ture would not ratify the treaty it be- came incumbent upon me to consider well what the situation was and to be ready to advise the congress as to what were the various alternatives of action open to us. There were several possi- blities. One was that Colombia would at the last moment see the unwisdom of her position. That there might be noth- ing omitted Secretary Hay, through the minister at Bogota, repeatedly warned Colombia that grave consequences might follow from her rejection of the treaty. Although it was a constantly diminishing chance yet the possibility of ratification did not wholly pass away until the close of the session of the Co., lombian congress.
 A second alternative was that by the close of the session on the last day of October, without the ratification of the treaty by Colombia and without any steps taken by Panama the American congress on assembling early in Mo- vember would be confronted with a situation in which there had been a failure to come to terms as to building the canal along the Panama route, and yet there had not been lapse of req sonable time-usng the word reasona- ble in any proper sense-such as would justify the administration going to the Nicaragua route. This situation seem ed on the whole the most likely, and, as a matter of fact had made the origi- nal draft of my message to congress with view to it's existence
 COLOMBIA EXCEEDED HER
 RIGHTS.
 It was the opinion of eminent inter- national jurists that, in view of the fact that the great design of our guar antee under the treaty of 1S46 was to dedicate the isthmus to the purposes of interoceanic transit and, above all, to secure the construction of an inter- , oceanic canal, Colombia could not, un- der existing conditions, refuse to enter into proper arrangement with the United States to that end without vio- l, lating the spirit and substantially re- !. pudiating the obligations of treaty the full benefits of which she had en- | JOytQ 1Ol OfCi AlltJ JCclo. lIy lIlSI- l 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 forthwith, 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 arrangement with Pan- anna direct or take what other steps were needful in order to begin the en- ' terprise.
 : A third possibility was that the peo- pie of the isthmus who had formerly l constituted an independent state and who until recently were united to Co., lombia only by a loose tie of federal 7 relationship. might take the protection | of their own vital interests into their } own hands, reassert their former rights, declare there independence upon just grounds and establish a government competent and willing to do it's share in this great work for civilization. This third possibility is what actually oc- cured. Every one knew that it was a possibility, but it was not until toward the end of October that it appeared to be an imminent probability. Although the administration, of course had spe- cial means of knowledge, no such means , were necessary in order to appreciate the possibility and, toward the end, the : likelihood of such a revolutionary out