Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-11
CANAL CHARGE FALSE.
tcontinued from lid Page.l

CONTINUED from First Page.)
the old Panama Canal company and 1900
600 francs being placed to the credit Of
the new Panama Canal company in liqui-
dalton, and by said bank paid over to said
liquidators, respectively. pursuant to a
decision Of arbitration at Paris, February
II. 1902 confirmed by the civil tribunal Of
the Seine.
To the senate committee I stated that
I did not know what distribution of the
fund had been made and that l was in
no way concerned or interested therein.
This statement by me was true. L had
no pecuniary interest in the canal and It
was none of my business, personally or
professionally, who were the stockholders
or bondholders OF the company.
Since the recent publications l have made
inquiries in Paris and am informed that
the distribution of these moneys is a mat
ter of public record, that the amount re-
ceived by the liquidator Of the old Panama
Canal company has been distributed by
him as an officer of the court to the
holders of the obligations of the old COM
pany; that these persons appeared In per-
son at the office of the ~liquldator to re-
ceipt for the moneys paid to them, that
they numbered 226, 296, the largest number
Of individuals probably ever appearing In
person on a single business affair and that
the average. amount paid was 1856. The
complete and detailed record of these pay
ments, together with the names and re-
ceipts of every person TO whom payment
was made and the amount OF such pay
ment. is In the hands of the liquidator at
his offices at Rue Etienne Marcel, Paris,
which is in a prominent and frequented
part OF the city, near the Bourse, easily
found by anyone DESTROYS OF doing so.
Money First Goes to Bank.
As to the funds paid to the new Panama
Canal company-that company at the time
of the sale of It's property to the United
States went into liquidation and I am
likewise recently informed that the distri-
button of its assets among its shareholders
was made through four leading banks of
Paris, the Credit Lyonnais Societe Generate,
~ National Ia I1a-fC
and Credit Industriel ct Commercial, in
three separate payments (July 10, 1901, Feb
ruary 3, 1908, and June Is, 1909, covering a
period of four years and was completed
In June, 1903. This liquidation took place
at the regular offices of the company, 10
Rue Luis la Grand. Paris, readily found
by anybody who honestly sought to find
them. The facts concerning the liquidation
are a matter of public report to the share
holders Of the company dhis company had
no bond issues) and were the subject of Of
fetal publications from time to time COW
ering a period of four years in the official
papers under the direction of the courts.
The amount so paid to the shareholders of
the new Panama Canal company, as l am
informed by the liquidators, is approx
mately l29.IS francs on each share OF the
par value of 100 francs. that is they merely
received back only the capital originally
invested with interest less than 3 per cent
per annum. 1 am informed by the liquldat-
ors that the shareholders to whom distribu-
tion was made numbered 6,796. Neither l
nor my law firm nor any one connected
Win me ever owned, directly or indirectly !
any share OF stock in the New Panama
Canal company or of the obligations or
securities OF the old Panama Canal COM
pany, nor ever bought or sold any of the
shares or securities of either one or said
companies nor were directly or indirectly
interested in them.
l am also positive that not a man in pub
Tic lie in America, In or out of congress,
ever had the least ~pecuniary interest in the
Panama canal. l do not know nor have
never known of any American citizen who
has ever dealt in any shares of the new
Panama Canal company or the shares or
bonds of the old company.
Robinson and Taft.
A further instance of the unwarranted at
titude OF the Indianapolis News and of
other journals repeating the statements, is
furnished with. respect to Mr.. C.. p. Taft
issue of the World October 8, 1909 l said:
The mention of the names of Mr.. Taft
and Mr.. Douglas Robinson is another evil
dence that this is a fake story. No member
of the Taft family or Mr.. Douglas Robin
son ever had the remotest connection with
Panama canal matters, directly or indi-
this subject before the United States &C.
CURED the canal. ! never saw Mr.. Douglas
and Napoleon might as we'll have been used
for 1t could not be more impossible. All
this except she DRAGGING in OF new names
senate committee by the late Senator Nor
gan. Out of respect for the dead l refrain
from comment on that proceeding, but !
with unparalleled energy and skill. 1t was
exploded and refuted by the facts
in the case and ended In complete discomfi-
ture. There is not a word of truth in It
and I would not notice II at this time If It
did not concern others.
The Introduction of these gentlemen In the
Panama affair is like the creation OF a
in a work of fiction. They did
not exist in the sense of having any rela-
ton to the canal matter. Neither of them
ever had the least p~ecuniary interest in the
business. 1t is a matter Of public history
that the president-eleet never had any
official connection with the canal until
months after It had been ACQUIRED by this
government. He was in the Philippines as
governor during all the years In question.
Where Records Are Filed.
Equally perverted is the fact concerning
the records and the accounts of the two
companies. They were not delivered to the |
United States because they were records
OF the companies transactions with which
as a matter OF fact the records and files
OF the liquidation of the old company are |
in the hands of the liuuidator at 50 Rue
Etienne Marcel, Paris, and those OF the
new company, were ON the final payment
in June. 1908, deposited with the Credit
preserved in accordance with the French
law for a period of twenty years. That
corporation has the custody of the records
as is we'll known to all parties in interest.
The whole story OF Americans or some
American syndicate buying up the Panama
then turning them in upon liquidation at
a profit is a fiction and a connection. The
money OF the United States went to France
and was distributed to the hundreds of
thousands of foreign owners, none of
whom, so far as / know were Americans.