Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-11
STATEMENT
!. !, ABOUT CANAL PURCHASE.
CONTINUED from Page One.)


through four leading banks. of Paris,
! ahe Credit Lyonnais. Societe Generate,
&c Compton National D'Escompt Paris,
~ and Credit Industrial Et Commercial,
IN three separate payments. July Is,
1904; Feb 8, 1908 and June 10, 1909 COW
ering period OF four years and was
completed in June, 1905. This liquida-
uon took place at the regular Offices
- OF the company at 10 Rue Louis La
III. Grand. Paris, readily found by any
IL body who honestly sought to find them
1.-The Facts concerning the liqudt.-
tion are a matter Of public report TO
r, the shareholders Of the company.
,(This company had no bond issuas)
-, and were the subject of official pUbli-
cation from time to time ering a
,.s period of years In the official papers
,,s pnder direction Of the courts. The
so paid to the shareholders Of
,.,..t tie new Panama Canal Co, as ! am
. informed by the shareholders. is APP
f., :. proximately 1.9..S francs on each STARE
r,tuf the par value of 100 francs that is,
z.they merely received back only. the
tneapital originally invested with inter-
est less than three per cent. per an
-: mum. l ain informed by the l!quldators
the shareholders to wnom distri-
- button were made number 6196.
.sE Neither ] nor my law firm nor any
one connected with fne. never owned.
.. directly or indirectly any share Of
stock in the new Panama Canal CO.,
nnr any of the obligations or securities
4~of the old Panama Canal 90, nor ever
bought or solo any of the shares of
securities OF either OF said COM
lanies. nor were directly or indirectly
interested in them.
Il am positive thar not mali in
public ii America, in out OF Con
sress. ever mad the least pccuniary IA
torcst in the Panama Canal.
II do not know and never nave
known Of any American citizen, who
has ever dealt in any of the shares
If the new Panama Canal Co, or the
shares or bonds of the old company.
"A further instance of the unwar-
ranted attitude of the indianapolis
:" News and Of other journals repeating
the statements is furnished With re-
spect to Mr.. c. P. Taft. and Mr.. Doug
las Robinson. In the same issue of the
Worlo COct. ,. 1909 said:
The mention Of the names of Mr..
Taft and Mr.. Douglas Robinson is an
other evidence that this is q fake story.
M member of the Taft family Mr.
Douglas Robinson ever had the remotest
connection with Panama canal matters
directly or indirectly. and | never saw
one of them on this subject before the
United states acquired the canal. | never
saw Mr. Douglas Robinson in my life.
The rames of Caesar and Napoleon might
well have been Used. for it could not
- be more impossible. All this except the
dragging in Of new names was threshed
ont before the United states Senate COM
Z, mttee by the late Senator Morgan. Out
of respect for the dead I refrain from
comment upon that proceeding, but feel
warranted in saving that it was pursued
with unparalleled energy and skill 1t
was, however, completely exploded and
refuted by. the facts in the case. and end
ed in complete discontinue There is not
word Of truth in it. and l would not
notice it at this time if it did not con-
Germ others
1.-THE Introduction of these gentlemen
in the Panama affair is like the creation
of character in work Of fiction They
did not exist in the sense OF having
any relation to the canal matter. Neither
OF them ever had the least peclniary in
terest in the business. 1t is matter of
public history that the Presidents lect
never had any official connection with tho
caral until months after il had been ac-
Quiied by this government He WAS ip
'e the Philippines as governor du ing all
the years In question
'"Equally perverted is the fact concern
ing the records and accounts Of the two
companies. They were not delivered t"
the United States because they were rec
ords of the companies transactions with
which the United States had concern.
But. as Il matter of fact, the records and
files cf tie liquidation of the old COM
panv are in the hands of the lquidatol
at 80 Rue Etienre Marcel Paris. and
''--~ those of the rev company were. on the
final payment in June. 1905. deposited with
the Credit Iicnnies Boulevard Des 1ta-
iens. to be preserved. in accordance with
French CUSTOM for i period of % years.
That corporation has the custody of the
records. as is wei, known to all part ies
- in interest
''The whole story Of Americans or some
American syndicate tuving up the Pana-
as ma canal securities at low price, at
~ any price and then turning them in upon
liquidation at profit is IA fiction and a
concoc ton The money of III" United
States went to France and was 6istribut-
ed to the hundreds of thousands of for
egn owners. none of whom. so far as I
know, were Americans"
Mr.. Cromwells statement was shown
to Henry w Taft. brother of the Presi-
dent Eect and half-brother of Charles
r. Taft tonight He read it through
and wrote the following statement;
+ Neither my brother Charles nor /.
nor any member of our family directly
or indirectly had any interest in or
made an profit from the purchase of
the Panama canal by our government.
None of us was Interested directly or
remotely in any syndicate or under
writing having any stock or interest in
the stock of any company which ever
had anything to do with the Panama
canal None Of us had any connection
directly or indirectly with any of the