The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-09
SCENTS SOMETHING WRONG IN PANAMA World Makes Grave Charges
 Against President ASKS FOR INVESTIGATION Think Presidents Recent Letter En- tireIy Inadequate In Answering the Charges Made Against crom-
 we'll and Others.
ASKS FOR INVESTIGATION


 York World, to which Delavan Smith, editor of the Indianapolis News referred in his reply to President Roosevelts at tack on him as the authority for the articles on the Panama canal" which appeared in his paper and called forth the Presidents letter, says today:
 "In view of President Roosevelt's de- ] 1iberate misstatements of facts in his scandalous personal attack on MT. Della van Smith, editor of the Indianapolis News the World calls upon the Con gross of the United States to immediately make a full and impartial investigation of the entire Panama canal scandal.
 "The investigation of 1906 by the Sen ate commission of the inter-oceanic ca nals, was blocked by the refusal of Will liam Nelson Cromwell to answer the most pertinent questions of Senator Morgan of Alabama. Since that time nothing has been done because after Senator Mor- gan's death there was no successor to carry on his great work of revealing the truth about Panama corruption.
 "rhe Indianapolis News said in the ed i itorial for which MT. Roosevelt assails i Mr. Smith:
 ." It has been charged that the United States bought from American citizens for $4O,Oo0 GOO property that cost those citi- zens only $12OOJ,Ooo There is no doubt that the government paid s4O,OoOoO0 for the property. But who got the money? 1 President Roosevelt's reply to this ] most proper question is for the most part a string of abusive and defamatory cpl ! thets. But he also makes the following statements as truthful information to the American people:
 The United States did not pay a cent l of the s40,OO0,OOO to any American citi- zen. The government paid tho slO,0O00 00O direct to the French government getting l the receipt of the liquidator appointed by the French government to receive the ! same
 ," The United States government has not the slightest knowledge as to the particular individuals among whom the French government distributed the same.
 ' So far as l know there was no syn dicate. There certainly was no syndicate in the United States that to my knowl- 1 edge had any dealings with the govern ment, directly or indirectly To the best of the Worlds lSnowl- l edge and belief, each and all of these | l quoted above are untrue and MT. 1 Roosevelt must have known they were untrue when he made them.
 "As to the detailed distribution of the Panama loot only one man knows 1t all. And that man is William Nel- son Cromwell. The two men who were l most in MT. Cromwells confidence are Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, and Elihu Root, former secretary of war and now secretary of state. It was those who aided MT i Cromwell in consummating the Pan 1 anna revolution, arranged the terms of | the purchase of the Panama canal, made 1 the agreement to pay $4O,O00,0O0 on the canal properties and an additional $10, l diN000 for manufactured Panama repub- lic every penny of both of which sums was paid by check on the United States treasury to J. P. Morgan & Co.-not to the French government as MT Roosevelt says, but to J. P. Morgan 6 Co.
 "The natural query of the Indiana | polls News as to who got the money? was based on the Worlds historical sum- mary of Mr. Cromwells connection with l the panama canal. The inquiry was or iginally the Worlds and the World ac- cepts MT. Roosevelts challenge. If Con- 1 gress can have all the documents in | the case as MT. Roosevelt says, let Con- | gress make a complete investigation of
 
 William Nelson ChomwelPs connection with the French government with Pan anna and with the government of the United States. Let Congres officially an 1 swer this question: Who got the moneyr
 ''The old French company, organized by Ferdinand De Lesseps in 1879 failed 1 in 1SS9 years before MT. Cromwells rela- tions with President Roosevelt began. As 1 MT. Cromwell testified before the Senate committee February 26, 1896, We never l had any connection with the so-called De Lesseps company. Neither did the United States conduct negotiations with the old French Panama canal company l What Mr. Cromwell did represent was l the new Panama canal company the l American Panama canal company and the | $5 O000G0 syndicate which he formed to 1 finance the new companies. After MT l Cromwell had testified I do not recall my contract Senator Morgan produced contract reading (Panama canal hear l ing, volume ?, page 1146)
 MT William Nelson Cromwell is ex i clusively empowered under the formal agreement with the board of directors of | the Campaign NouYelle Du Canal De l Panama (new Panama Canal company of | France) to effect with an American syn ! dicate the Amercanization of the Pan | anna Canal company on the following | basls:'
 '"Ihe basis on Wnlch MT. cromwell l was exclusively empowered in this con | tract was that an American Panama l Canal company with a capitalization of | s6,O000oO preferred and $45, coo, 600 common | stock should be organized to take over l the Panama Canal company, which had l bought the same from the old De Lesseps l company. This company was ineorpor- | aied in New Jersey with dummy direc- l tors
 There was also incorporated in New | Jersey with dummy directors the Inter- | Oceanic Canal company.
 Senator Morgan unearthed copy of the $5,0O0, ,00O syndicate agreement, which provided that the subscribers should con- tract with William Nelson Cromwell to pay $5oO000O in cash and to take their several ailotments in the enterprise
 Five million dollars was more than ample to buy the majority Of the old Pan- anna stocks. AS the World said on Oc- tober 25:
 MT Cromwell applied to the canal situation the methods of American high finance by which syndicate takes over the property of bankrupt concern, then creates holding company, and recapital- ization. keeping a majority control in a syndicate trusteeship."
 Finding that to quote from MT. Crom- wells testimony in May, 19O1 I, and Attorney General Knox, consummated the lr5nsfer and sale to the United States
 "Mr Roosevelt says, the government paid this s4tooo.0o0 direct to the French government