Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1904-07-30

Der and to noat 1t Baron Joseph Rel
mach was handed 8,OOOOOO francs. The
best he could do was to increase the
funds by 0OO.O00,00O francs. and
Charles de Lcsseps. the son, agreed for
the total said to be on hand to com.
plete the canal within three years.
The crash came in 1902 and moth.
ing worthy Of being compared with
II had been heard since the notorious
Mississippi bubble blown by John
Law. No way or chance Of diverting
money appears TO have been overlook
ed. Journalists were paid princely
sums to draw the most alluring pic.
lures and induce subscriptions to
stock. Legislators were bought with
little regard to the price paid. ON.
Gals drew the most exorbitant sala.
ries and had favored subordlnates to
help garner the golden harvest. How
widely the itching to plumber the fund
Extended Is showH by the fact that In
1883 the Prime Minister and his i'm
mediate predecessor arbitrarily forced
the company to contribute 10000
francs. not for canal building, but "for
the good Of France" q, formula that
had been made to cover u multitude Of
sins. After the alleged turning Of the
limelight on the situation there were
still 68O.OO0.OOO francs unaccounted
for.
A Juror Of excitement followed the
expose. Baron Reinach killed himself,
some say because of remorse. others
say because he was bounded to death
by menaces and attempts at black.
mail. His partner, DIR. Herr, q Bava.
rian Jew, who had been wise enough
to become naturalized in this country,
fed to England. and ArtOn. the 70.
between. also decampcd. The papers
of the Baron showed the names Of
many deputies who had been brlbed
and papers that had been subsidized.
but they received little by way Of
advertising and their schemes of pro
noting were so winked Mt that they
had no hesitancy In denouncing In bit
ter terms the legislators who had sold
out to the manipulators of the Panama
fraud. Eleven persons were criminal
" prosecuted for completely, six of
them being ex-cabinet ministers. The
one doubly punished was NJ. Baihaut,
ex.Aiinister OF Public Works, who had
the courage to plead guilty and was
denounced not alone by his collea CUES,
but by the public, making the singu.
lar claim that his confession showed q
lack of patriotism. The matter was
taken up again In 1907. but even the
prosecuting officer helped to shut up
the scandal and TO this day II Is not
known where by far the larger share
Of the missing funds went to. The
masses in France ARE exceptionally
honest, and II is a strange cOntradic-
ton that those Of the accused who
again ran for Office had no trouble In
being reelected.
To form judgment OF Ferdinand
de Lesseps It is essential TO know
something Of his history prior to the
Panama AFFAIR. lie was born ut Yer.
sailles In 1905. His grandfather had
been In the diplomatic service and his
father was consul to Egypt In the days
q Mohammet Ali. Ferdinand was
himself educated for diplomacy, and
1t was because OF his ability rather
than because he was a cousin OF the
Empress Eugene that he did diplo'
matte service In Spain. Italy. Egypt
and other countries. 1t was to Said
Pasha, who had Just been appointed
viceroy OF Egypt, that de I.esseps pre-
sented the project Of the suex canal.
Said Pasha entered heartily into the
plan, subscribed for a large share of
the stock which was sold sixteen years
later TO England In Its movement q