Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1908-12-18
Ending Panama Scandals


From the Philadelphia Press.
The purchase of the interests of two
successive French companies in the
Panama Canal for $40, 000, 900 was a
transaction SO large and covered SO
many complex and complicated ques-
tions and transactions, that it was GER
tain to be the subject both of charges
and Of investigation.
Nc great public financial transaction
to-day escapes these, and the certainty
of early and complete publicity is a
protection to all concerned, a protec-
ton to character and a protection
to public interests.
Senator Morgan began and pushed
with all his vigor and minute knowl-
into the purchase of the rights of the
two French companies. Nothing was
brought out in this inquiry or in the
later investigation of the Panama
revolution" affecting anyone. Mr..
William Nelson Cromwell, counsel in
the matter, refused to answer certain
questions, in which he was later fully
justified; but his refusal raised a GER
tain public cnaffenge which needed to-
be settled.
This has now been done by a full
statement by Mr.. Cromwell. He has
repeatedly denied that he or any Ameri-
can was interested, directly or indirect
ly, in the purchase. Each step OF this
vast transaction has been open and of
record. But there was needed the spe-
cifc and detailed denial Mr.. Cromwell
now makes. The canal was originally
owned by the old Panama Canal Com
pany, which went into bankruptcy. 1t
was then acquired by the new Panama
Canal Company, also in liquidation,
smaller and held by a few shareholders.
Aside from all recent charges, there
has been from the start an indefinite
public impression, fostered by some
phases of the Morgan investigation,
that the second company got all and
was a speculative corporation, organ
lied by French promoters to make the
sale. Later, 1t has been charged, sun
dry Americans were behind these. Mr..
Cromwell now ends all ground for any
possible misapprehen sion, suspicion or
vague question by a minute, explicit
statement.
He shows from the French court rec
ords that Of the $40, 900 900 paid, $685.
600, 600 was paid to 226, 296 sharehold-
ers of the old company and S15, 400, 900
to 6796 shareholders of the new. This
record authoritatively settles all pos
sible question. The purchase money
f r the Panama Canal, instead of go
ing to a few promoters or spectators,
was instead distributed by the French
courts to 1888 ,092 in all shareholders
of record in both companies.
Profound satisfaction will be felt by
every American at having this matter
SO thoroughly cleared up. Indiscrimi-
nate charges, doubtless, do much evil
in public life and to national self-re-
spect, but when for several years, first
financial gossip, then wider political
whispers here and in France, and at
last widespread charges, come to sur
round a subject, it is far better that
all rumors of this kind should be drag
ged out and cleared up than that they
should for years be passed about under
cover, reaching publication, but
leaving with thousands in touch with
finance and politics a vague, pestilent
suspicion that something may be
wrong.
Such a suspicion spreads like a foul
odor, indefinable but doing infinite
harm. The facts are now all known
and constitute a record clear and clean
at every point, substantiated by French
court proceedings, showing the most mi
mute division of a large sum ever made
in financial history. Every dollar paid
by the United States for the canal
went, as it should, to the army ofsmall
and unfortunate shareholders who lost
in the Inflated enterprise begun by De
Lesseps.