The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-12-15

AAAelii va IuSle VI ulldl ulSllouSSIy vi any I
kind, and man guilty as Mr.. Joseph .
Pulitzer has been guilty in this in /
stance. 1t is therefore high national
duty to bring to justice this villifier
of the American people, this man who
Wantonly and wickedly, and without
one shadow of justification. seeks to
blackeL the character of reputable pri- !
vate citizens, and connect the govern
ment of his country, in the eyes of the
civilized world, of wrong doing of the
basest and foulest kind, when he has
not one shadow of Justification of any
sort, or description for the charge he
has made. The attorney general has
under consideration the form in which
the proceedings against Mr.. Pulitzer
shall be brought"
After referring to the various docu-
ments accompanying the message, in
Guiding statements by former attorney
general Knox, who was the govern
ment's representative in the negotia-
. tons, and by William Nelson Crom-
| well, counsel for the new Panama
canal company, the President gives
complete history of the actions of
the government in connection with the
purchase of the canal property, and
! continues:
Payment of the purchase price was
thereupon made to the new Panama
canal company, in accordance with the
act of the congress and the property
| was conveyed by the company to the
! United States. 1t was no concern of
| the President or of any officer of the
/ executive department, to inquire as to
what the new Panama canal compan.-
did with the money which it received
As matter of fact, the new Panama
canal company did distribute the
money between it's shareholders and
the shareholders of the preceding Pan
ANA canal company, in accordance
VITA the decree of French court and
/ the records of the French court show
who were the shareholders who receiv-
ed the money, but that is no concern of
! ours.
Il call your attention to the accom-
panying statement as to the attempt to
form an American company in 1899,
for the purpose of taking over the
property of the French company. This
attempt proved abortive. There was
no concealment in its efforts to put
through this plan. its COM lete failure
and Abandonment being known to ev-
eryone.
4 The Panama canal transaction was
actually carried through, not by either
the then secretary of state, Mr.. John
Hay, or the then secretary of war, Mr.
Elihu Root, both of whom, however
were cognizant of all the essentia
features, but by the then attorney gen
eral, Mr.. P. c. Knox. at present sena
tor from Pennsylvania. | directed OF
approved every actio and am re
sponsible for all that was done in car
rying out the will of congress, ant
the provisions of the law. enacted b.
congress- after exhaustive examina
ton and discussion, were scrupulousl,
complied with by the executive.
L
; erty was vested in the new Panam;
canal company of France, which wa
the legal owner thereof. and the old o
so-called DeLesseps company had
large equity therein. The title wa
l not in a New Jersey company nor il
: any other American company, nor di'
this government have any dealing
! with any American company through
t out the affair.
|. The action of the United States gov
e eminent was, of course, wholly unil
/ fluenced by, and had nothing What
e ever to do with any question as
who, or who had not been the secul
J. ity holders of either the new or tn
s old company, who such security holt
n ers were, was not or affair. II, as
J. - after of fact, the canal companie:
n either or both, had been owned b
q American citizens or by citizens {
!. anv other nationally, it would nc
a have altered in the slightest degre
y the action taken by this government
q II wish to make as clear as possible
u and as emphatic as possible the stat
= ment that he did not have anytf ing
: ldo with the distribution of dollar
- the s40,O00,Oo0 as paid, as regards an
- stockholders or bondholder of til
!. French companies, save that we fo
y lowed out the award of the arbitrator
:. appointed in accordance with the q
cree of the French court, which ne
;. dealt with the subject, in aWardl1
!. certain proportion to the old cor
~ pany, and certain proportion to tt
u new company. Any question co
n corning the stockholders, bondhol
n ers. or other benefciaries of the pr
H. ceeds of sale, was purely a questle
Or for the civil tribunal of the Seine, ii
Ia French governmental body, witt whi'
this nation had nothing whatever
or do.
II. "A of these documents | herewi
be transmit as a part of this message.
n appears from them that the credlto
n of the old company number 22o2
rt nortiec who have received dlvlden