The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-12-23
HOW We GOT 1T
One Feature Of the so-Called
Panama Canal Scandal
THAT NEEDS PROBING

cuses the Republic Of Panama
l How it Was Formed and An1eri
can Participation in the Event o.
the Isthmus at the Time.
The Louisville Courier-Journa
says the story Of how the United
States came into possession Of the
Panama canal ought to be Of interes
: to all readers. It is neither SO tech
nical nor so complicated, as to pu1
: any strain upon the popular mind
On the contrary, it is perfectly sim
pie.
The New French Company having
acquired for twelve millions the
rights of the Old French Company
and sold these to the United States
j for forty millions, treaty between
the United States and the republic
of Columbia was all that was need
ed to ,nfrm the deal. Mr.. Hay
was our Secretary Of State. Mr..
Herran was the Minister Of Colum-
bia at Washington. They made a
treaty known as the Hay-Herran
| treaty which, promptly ratified by
our Senate, was sent to Bogota to
be ratified by Columbia. This done
a ;stock-jobbing scheme, begun in
Payis and successfully exploited III
Washington, would be completed,
vastly enriching its promoters, Mr..
Edward Lampre, Mr.. W. N. Crom-
well and Mr.. Phillips Bunau Ferilla
representing a blind-pool of these.
| Being bhnd-pool, with its head
quarters abroad, it will not be posi-
Eble for the American Congress to- get
at the bottom Of the facts.
But, mark the sequel.
The "act to authorize the construc-
ton Of the canal connecting the wa
ters of the Atlantic and Pacific
ocean," approved June %, 1902,
| authorized the president to obtain
'by treaty''-and in no other way
| control of such territory from CO.
lumbia," as might be necessary for
that purpose; and it proved also
that if he should be unable to do
so within reasonable time" and
| upon reasonable TERMS" he should
then proceed to acquire the neces-
sary territory from Costa Rica and
Nicaragua. This act, known as the
spooner Act, appropriated ten mil
lion dollars TO be used by the pres
ident toward the project contem-
| plated by either route" Let it be
| borne in mind that this was the
bill which authorized him ito pay
Tor the property Of the New Pana-
ma Canal Company forty million doh
| flars," when he shall have obtained
by treaty the necessary territory
from Columbia"
OF course it did not contemplate
| any arrangement with Panama di-
rect, but was based on the hkell-
hood that the treaty authorized by
it, signed by Messcs. Herran and
HAY, and ratified by the senate Oh
March IT, 1908, would be ratified
| by Columbia. The act did not au-
| thorize the president to employ the
navy of the United tSates to "pre-
vent ,the landing Of Columbian
troops within fifty miles of Pana-
ma - which he subsequently, did, OF
to commit any other act hostile to
| Columbia. It did not authorize him
under any circumstances to wage
war, but required him, in case Of
i failure to come to terms with Colun-
bia, to seucre another route for the
canal.
In October, 1903, Columbia, act
ing strictly within her rights, re-
iected the Hay-Herran treaty. The
work done by Messrs. Lampre, Crom"
well and Bunau Varilla, was about
to be wrecked il port, as u were.
Then the first overt act in the Pan
ANA "reyolution" was performed b.
the administration at Washington.
and not upon the 1sthmus Of Pana-
ma. 1t was in the direct interest OF
the New Panama Canal Company.
On November 2, 1908, the gunboat
Nashville reached Colon in the De-
partment of Panama, Republic OIL
Columbia, having been ordered there
by our government: and on the same
| day an order was sent from the
Navy Department at Washington to
! the Nashville, the Boston and the
Dixie, also in those waters, contain
ing these instructions:
| prevent landing Of any armed
force with hostile intent at any polnL
within fifty miles of Panama. Gov
ernment forces reported approach
| ing the Isthmus in vessels. PreVenr
landing, if in your judgment land
ing would precipitate conflict. +"
This meant war with the "gov-
ernment forces of Columbia, if 1t
meant anything. From this point
things went forward at lively pace.
At 2:40 p. M, the very next day
November 8, 1908. the assistant sec
retary of State cabled from Washing
ton to the consul general of the
United States at Panama, which is
less than fifty miles from Colon
and on the opposite side of the
Isthmus, as follows: Uprising or
Isthmus reported. Keep department
promptly and fully informed. The
consul general replied: mo upris
ing yet, reported there will be to-
night" showing that he had notice
of the secret revolutionary program
During the day the Columbian
warship Cartagena arrived at Co
Ion, within fifty miles of Panama,
and Generals Tobal and Amaya land
ed, and sought transportation TO
5 their troops to Panama city. Thi
2 was denied by the officials Of tn
). Panama Railroad Company; but tn