The San Francisco call., 1904-02-03
DEMOCRAT
ARGUES FOR
The CANAL
Clarke Of Arkansas
Praises Course OF
President.
Says Mr. Roosevelt Did His
Plain Duty in ReCOg-
niZing Panama.
Minority Party, BE Asserts, Will Give
Treaty Sufficient Votes to In
sure Its Ratification.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2.-Clarke, the
new Democratic Senator from Arkan-
sas, made his first speech in the Senate
to-day. He spoke two hours, and an
nounced his Endorsement of every po-
sition taken by the President in con-
nection with the Panama revolt and
in the negotiation of the treaty with
the new state. He even said that, in
view of the provocation given by CO.
lombia, the President might have been
advancing the cause Of Panama. He
declared that there was more popular
support of the course of the Presidents
policy among Democrats than among
Republicans, and said that the Demo-
cratic votes necessary to ratify the
treaty were assured.
Clarke said that the civil war now
going on in Colombia was but a re-
action of the revolution which had been
in progress for the last three years, and
in support of this statement he re-
viewed governmental conditions in CO.
lombia, saying that it's rulers were men
who found in warfare their most profit
able and congenial caltsns These men
were for the canal, he said, simply
because they saw prospect of get
ting $10,000.000 out Of it, and not be-
cause they cared anything about the
United States or even about the well
fare of their own country.
Clarke also found in the treaty of
h. a44 IL 0f H.
United States, and contended that CO.
lombia did not have unlimited sover-
eighty in the sense that England, Ger
many or France had. He insisted that
if Colombia itself could not build the
canal it was bound. because of the at
titude of the United States toward it,
to permit this country to build it. He
then declared that as the republic was
an ACCOMPLISHED fact it would be an
act of foolhardiness for the United
States to refuse to deaf with it.
Our acts of friendly supervision"
he said. should have convinced Colon-
bia of the determination of the United
States to do right under all circum-
stances, and the Colombian people
should have know they were asking
too much when they accepted our pro-
lection under the Monroe doctrine for
eighty years and then demanded the
right to be treated as an equal power
with the United States. Instead of
maintaining a friendly attitude, Co
lombia, he said, had begun a course
of double dealing and bad faith even
before the Colombian Congress had be-
gun consideration of the Hay Herran
treaty, and this, he asserted, had been
continued to the time Of Panama's Sc
cession.
Clarke contended that the Colombian
authorities knew perfectly we'll that the
revolution was imminent and there was
no foundation for the charge that the
Panama revolt had been melted since
the adjournment of the Colombian Con-
gress. 1t was not to be denied that
the United States knew what was GO
ing on in Panama, and if it were nee
essary to show that the President was
unaware of the state Of affairs in order
to establish his integrity that must be
done at the expense of his intelligence
and even of his performance of Off
cial duty.
Clarke announced his disagreement
with the Senators who contended that
the President should have turned to the
Nicaragua route after failing to secure
Colombia's ratification of the canal
treaty. His principal reason for this
was announced to be his belief that
we should have only sea level canal.
which, he said, was possible in the
Panama route, and not possible on the
Nicara guam route. He did not believe
that any but a sea level canal would
pay expenses.
He declared his qualification that the
House expression given in favor of the
canal had come from Democratic
States. and added that Democratic
votes would make the ratification of
the treaty certain. The Republican
party could make no such claim and
the President had received no assur-
ances of support from the Republican
M rtv of large