The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-20
sonr euEnIrs ANswrnrD.

An esteemer correspondent at Hurts boro propounds the following series of questions relating to the Panama Canal: When did the French start work on the canal! Was 1t govern msnt undertaking. or prtvatef What did they give for the concession? What did they expect 1t to cost! After the lapse of these many years is de Les ssps still thought to have been dis honest in his canal dealing?
 The Advertiser cannot give complete and definite replies to all these queries, hut will sndeavor to enlighten the cor respondent to some extent. The sub- ject of an Intsr-ocsanic Ship Canal took its frst definite shape in Paris in 1875. A society for prosecuting the necessary explorations was formed. and the next year engineers and sur veyors were sent over to the Isthmus In 1878 the Columbian government granted to the Civic International In- teroceanic Canal Society "the sxclu- sive privilege of constructing a canal between the two seas through the Co., iumbian territory" We do not know whether the government was paid anything for the concession or not.
 This was the beginning of the en- terprise. In 1873 what was known as the Company of the Interoceanic Ca nal of Panama" was formed with M. Ferdinand dc Lesseps as President. but 1t was not till 1881 that the first meeting of the company was held, and operations were begun in the same year. and 1t was asserted that the work would be completed by 1889. The entire cost was estimated by de Les ssps to be soo. 900 francs. or about Sl15.o0o, 900, besides 320.ooo,00o paid to the former company. but the work was badly managed from the very begin ning. The most reckless or criminal extravagance marked every step of the way. and by December. 1887. about 1,A0o. .o00.o 900 francs had been spent and nothins but disaster was in sight. An other loan was obtained and the gov srnment authorized lottery. but con- fdence was lost. de Lesseps and his colleagues resigned and in December. 1888. the company suspended and the courts appointed judicial liquidators" to wind up the affairs of the concern.
 Such h brief hiitory of the famous canal scheme. 50 far as de Lesseps was concerned. We do not understand that the government of France had any ofIcial connection with it, % far as advancing any funds was concerned. As to de Lesseps himself we believe that he Is charged with nothing worse than carelessn ess and ineffciency He was not qualified for such great en- tsrprise and advantage was taken of him on every hand. As we have stated. there has hardly been known in mod ern times such reckless sQuanderinS of money, such gross mismanagement and such criminal misuse of funds. Judging by what was done 1t is doubt full If the work could ever have been agement If completed at all 1t would have cost ten times the original esti- mate. If not more. In fact. we have little reason to assume that 1t would ever have been completed. He was not criminal, apparently. but wholly incom- potent.
 Now. as to the present project, its route and estimated cost. We have not the data at hand to deine the pro- posed route. and do not know whether 1t will follow the French surveys or not. but 1t is to connect Colon and Panama, so we suppose it will follow the same general route. What it will cost is one of the problems. What our government really expects 1t 10 cost is not at all settled. We have seen 1t stated at from sl5o,ooo.oo0 to s25o.- 000,Ooo, but 1t Is largely guess work, for 1t is impossible to put down a fig- ure with any approach to certainty. nor Is 1t possible to predict when 1t will be completed. It is a vast under taking, and the prospects now are that 1t will cost much more and, take much more time than was thought when the work was begun. and that is as near as The Advertiser or any other can come at 1t.
 If we have not completely answered our correspondent we have done the best we can without more time and data.