Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-15

l tItit uHu tHtItupuH to uHutIlhht tHt work of construction; the failure of the Americanizatlon of the enterprise in 1899; the transmission by me to the congress from time to time of full m- tons of this government 10 transit across the isthnus and under the treaties, as to the negotiations and fnnl acquisition of the title and later AS 10 the progress and condition of the work of construction; the previous au' th0rization of the sale to the United States by he stockholders of lhe new company and their subsequent ratitca- ton: the examination and approval of the title by Mr. Knox the arrangements for payment through J. r. Morgan & Co. as the fiscal agents of this gov ernment and the payment accordingly at the Bank of France upon proper 0f- clal receipts to the liquidators acting under the decree of the French court, the French governmental body having jurisdiction In the matter and. finally, the subsequent apportionment and dis 1 tribution of the fund 10 the creditors and stockholders of the two companies under that decree.
 :" Am Responsible"
 The Panama canal transaction was actually carried through not by either the then secretary of state, Mir John 1 Hay. or the then secretary of war, MT. i Elihu Root, both of whom, however. were cOgnizant of all the essential features, but by the then attorney gen cral. Mir. P. C. Knox, at present sena- tor from Pennsylvania. l directed or approved every action and am reSpon- sb.e for all that was done in carrying out the will of the congress, and the provisions of the law, enacted by con- gross after exhaustive examination and discussion, were ScrupulOuSly com piled with by the executive. While the transaction was pending I saw Mir. | Cromwell but two or three times, and my communications with him were limited to the exchange of purely formal courtesies. Secretary Hay Oc- casionally saw him in the same man ner I doubt whether Mir. Root held any conversation with him The at torney general saw him frequently, as he was counsel for the Panama com pany. Their communications were official, as representing the two sides. I inclose copies of my correspondence with Mir. William Dudley Foulke, who first brought these scandalous stories to my attention, and with Senator Knox and Mir Cromwell, to whom wrote in response to the request of q | gentleman who wished to know about the stockholders in the Panama Canal company.
 The title to the Panama canal proper ties was vested in the New Panama Canal Company of France, which was the legal owner thereof, and the old or so called De Lesseps company had q large equity therein.
 The title was not in a New Jersey company nor in any other American company, nor did this government have any dealings with any American com pany throughout the affair.
 The exact legal status, to the most minute detail, appears in the exhaus tive opinion of Attorney General Knox approving the title to be given to the United States, which clearly estab- fishes that the only party dealt with was the New Panama Canal Company of France (wth the concurrence of the liQuidator of the old company and not any American corporation or syndicate. Transactions Carried on Openly. The action of the United States gov ernment was, of course, wholly unin fuenced by and had nothing what ever to do with any question as to who were or who had been the securi- ty holders of either the new or old company. Who such security holders were was not our affair. If, as q mat ter of fact, the canal companies, either or both had been owned by American citizens or by citizens of any other nationality, it would not have altered in the slightest degree the action taken by this government. Our concern was to get the canal property which was owned by the French company and to see that the title was clear Our transactions were carried on openly and were pub lished in detail, and we dealt solely (so far as tse interests of the old Panama company were cOncerned) with the liQuidator appointed by the proper French governmental body, the civil tribunal of the Seine and, in accordance with the decree of this same tribunal. with the new Panama Canal company. which also went into liquidation upon the sale to the United States. All our transactions were carried on openly and were published in detail
 The distribution of our payment of $40, GOO. OO0 follows tue award of arbi- traitors chosen by the new company and the liquidator, authorized by the decree of this same civil tribunal of the Seine and providing for deter imitation of the proportionate division between the new and old companies. We paid the money through the New York banking house of Messrs l. P Morgan X Co.,. acting as fiscal agents of this government. into the Bank of
 
 counts of our treasury department show the payment of the money into the Bank of France and account for