New-York tribune., 1906-05-12
SOUND SENSE IN PANAMA.

Secretary Taft is quite right in declining to
order that all supplies for the Panama Canal
shall be purchased in the United States, re-
gardlPss of cost and thus to rescind his sane
and beneficent order of a year ago. under which
supplies were TO be and have been purchased
wherever they could be most advantageOusly
procured. AS we have hitherto pointed out,
the intent and the effect of his former order
were not to send our custom to foreign mar
kets. but simply to guard against eXtOrtiOn
and to require American merchants to sell to
our own government at Panama cheaply as
they have all along been selling to aliens at
the same place If Americans could prOfitably
compete with Europeans at Panama and hold
a practical monopoly of that market when Pan
anna was Colombian territory and when they
had no tariff determinations in their favor, they
certainly ought 10 he able to do the same now.
Apart from those considerations however, its
would appear to be unreasonable to ask Secre
/ tary Taft TO repudiate his existing order. Long
before that order issued he called the
| attention Of Congress to the matter asking it
to prescribe the conditions under which sup
plies should be purchased and pointing ont
that if 1t did not do but left the matter
provided for. he would he compelled, under the
law, to purchase in the cheapest and quickest
market Congress did decline or Mt least fail
TO make any prescription. whereupOn he acted
according to his reasonable conception of his
duty and obligation under the law. If his ac
ton Is not pleasing to Congress. 1t should effect
a change through suitable legislation. such as
ne asked of ii n year and more ago. rather
than expect him to stultify himself by revers-
ing his own order and violating what seems to
he his plain duty under the existing law.
Quite right. too is the Secretary of War in
the statement of American policy toward pos
sible disturbances in Panama which he has
7 ia no Al,o
American Minister. 1t will he recalled that
during his last visit to the isthmus Mr.. Taft
received from the directorate of the Liberal Tor
Opposition party of Panama long address,
charging the existing government with all man
ner Of crimes against the electoral franchise
intimatng that the Liberals might seek a forc-
bic vindication of their rights at the polls. and
categ0rically asking whether the United States
would maintain the present government i'm it's
alleged nquitOus practices would cOunte-
nance the Opposition in fOrcible resistance if
it seemed necessary for them to resort thereto.
or what il would do in case Of serious disturb
ance. This statement Of Mr.. Tafts may be re-
garded the American answer to that me-
mortal II is sufficiently explicit for Panamans
| of all parties 10 understand just what II means
and just what they may expect from this coun-
try. The entire propriety of 1t under the treaty
/ between the two countries is above question
as IS also the practical necessity of II in view
of our paramount interests on the isthmus Il
| Is to be expected that any dlscontented politi-
clans in Panama who may be planning a re-
volt Will take warning and abandon their futile
schemes. 1t would not eOmpOrt with the inter
ests or the policy Of this country to have a
state OF civil war prevailing anywhere in the
Republic OF Panama, either inside or outside
the canal zone and the right of this country
70 intervene for the suppression OF such n dis
turbance outside the zone is as clear and mn
chaHengeable as its right 20 construct the canal
inside the zone. The result OF Secretary Taft.
timely utterance will probably be that order
and justice will prevalent the general elections
Of next month and that Panama will remain 3
constitutional republic In which military reyO
lutions have permanently gone ont OF fashion.
In these and other matters the administration