The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-16

plopeIlE- ana says II was no SolaS~A-A u
the president what the new Panama
Canal company did with the money.
Explaining the method Of eoncludihg
the purchase. the president says
| The Panama canal transaction was
actually carried through not py either
the then secretary of state, John may
| or the then secretary of war, Ehhu
Root, both of whom, however were
cognizant of all the essential 1eatures'
put by the then attorney general r. Z
Knox, at present senator from Penn
| sylvania. l directed.or approved every
| action, and am responsible for all mat
was done In carrying out the VIII OF the
congress; and the provisions OF lhe ia"'
enacted by congress after exhaustive
examination and discussion, were scru-
pulously complied with by the execu-
i've While the transaction was pend
ing L saw Mr.. Cromwell but TWO or
| tnree times, and my communications
with him were limited to the exchange
OF purely formal courtesies. Secretary
Hay occasionally saw him in the same
manner; I doubt whether Mr. Root held
| any conversation with him. The attor-
ney general saw him frequently. as he
was counsel for the Panama company;
their communications were officiai as
representing the two SIDES.
Government Not Influenced.
The action of the government, he
says, was wholly uninfiuenced by any
question of who were or were not stock
| holders either in the new or old COM
pany.
IF. as matter of fact" he explains.
the canal company, either or both, had
been owned by American citizens Gr by
citizens of any other nationality, il
would not have altered in the slightest
degree the action taken by this govern
ment. Our concern was TO get the canal
property, which was owned by the
French company. and to see that the
title was clear. These transactions
were carried on openly and published
in detail, and we dealt solely $50 far as
! the interests OF the old Panama COM
pany was concerned with the liquida-
| tor appointed by the proper French
governmental body. the civil tribunal of
| the Seine, and it was the decree Of this
same tribunal, with the new Panama
| Canal company, which also went into
! liquidation upon the sale to the United
| States. All transactions were carried
| on openly, and were published in de-
| tall
Morgan Handled the Money.
The president states that the money
was paid through the New York bank
| ing house of j. Pierpont Morgan into
In these payments" he says, I'VE
| followed to the letter the decree of the
| governmental tribunal of France which
| had the authority to make such n de-
| cree, the civil tribunal OF the Seine. We
| had neither desire nor. authority to go
| behind the decree of this proper gov
ernmental body, as all the conflicting
| rights of the security holders of both
| companies had been settled by the de-
| of hx-r Of he
| arbitration which resulted in that d.
vision.
| 81 wish TO make as clear as possi-
bic, and as emphatic as possible, the
statement that we did not have any
| thing to do with the distribution of
! dollar of the s40.O0000O we paid as re-
CARDS any stakeholder or bondholder of
the French capitalists, save that We
| followed out the award of the arbitra-
| tors appointed in accordance with the
decree of the French court which lad
dealt with the subject in awarding a
| certain proportion TO the old company
and certain proportion to the new
/ company, Any question concerning the
| stockholders, bondholders or other bene-
| ficisries of the proceeds of the sale was
| purely a question for the civil tribunal
of the Seine, the French governmental
body with which this nation had moth
! ing whatever to do.
Cromwell Upheld.
| Under these circumstances there was
not the slightest need for Mr.. Cromwell
| TO give any Information on the subject
of the companies for which he had been
| counsel. This government has no con-
| Germ with Mr.. Cromwells relation TO
| these companies, or either of them, or
with the amount of his professional
| compensation; il was not the affair of
| this government to inquire who were
| the security holders of the company.
/ Nevertheless, Mr.. Cromwell, of his own
accord, has submitted to me. together
| with a copy of his statement published
on the 18th instant, and which 1 trans
nit herewith, full list of stockholders
of the new Panama Canal company of
France on Jan. To- 1900 Numbering over
5000 and list of all stockholders who
were present at a special meeting of the
company held Feb. 2S, 1902, Immediate
| ly after the cable offer of the company
was made TO the United States (Jan.
ell. 1902, TO accept the appraisement
of $4,000, 900 made by the isthmian
canal commission, and to sell for said
sum the Panama canal, concessions and
| other property and the shares of the
Panama Railroad company"
Money on Deposit.
Referring to accompanying docu-
ments, the president says no payment
will be made upon the stock of the old
Panama Canal company, and he is in
| formed the payments on the bonded in
debtedness VIII be but 10 per cent.
About 5000 shareholders of the new
| Panama company will receive pay
ments. and they will recover their orig
inal investments with annual interest
of about per cent.
THE accounts and records of this
| liquidation which was concluded in
June last" he says, ARE on deposit
with the Credit Lyonaise of Paris as
proper custodian of the same. appointed
upon such liquidation. Recently re-
| quest was made by a private individual
| to inspect the records of these pay
ments. but answer was made by the
/ custodians that they saw no proper
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.