The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-12-18

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pany. IT has not received and will
not receive penny. Even upon bond
ed Indebtedness the dividend. / am
thus informed, will amount in the ag-
gregate to only about 10 per cent IT
likewise plainly appears that this dis.
tribntion by the liquidator of the old
company has been openly conducted
at his office at Paris, No. so Rue
Etienne Marcel, where all the re-
ceipts, accounts and records of his
payments are on file.
New Company in Liquidation.
The new Panama Canal company
of France is in liquidation. AS the
accompanying papers set forth this
liquidated company received as its
proportion of the sum of $40,O00,000
the sum of 77.400,O00 francs and this
amount was distributed by the liqui-
dation in three payments through four
leading banks of Paris, covering a
period of the past four years, and to
shareholders numbering about 5000.
Every step of the transaction was not
only taken publicly but was, contem-
poraneously Herewith, advertised in
the financial papers of France and
the banks making the payments took
the proper receipts from all the par
ties to whom payments were made, as
is customary in such cases. The cap
ital of the new Panama Canal CON-
pany of France was 65,000.000 francs
and the distribution thus made
amounted to about $50 francs on each
share of 100 francs. No dividends
We're paid during the ten years of the
company's existence. It"therefore re-
suited that the shareholders only re-
covered their original investment with
annual interest of about per cent.
The accounts and records of this
June last, are on deposit with the
Credit Lyonnaise of Paris, as a proper
custodian of the same, appointed upon
such liquidation.
Inspection Denied Stranger.
Recently request was made by a
private individual to inspect the rec
ords OF these payments, but answer
was made by the custodians that they
saw no proper reason for granting
such request by stranger and, mas
much as there is not the slightest
ground for suspicion of any bad faith
in the transaction, it hardly seems
worth while to make the request, but
If the congress desires l have no
doubt that on the request of our am
bassador in Paris the lists of individ-
uals will be shown him. AS matter
of fact there is nothing whatever in
which this government is interested
to investigate about this transaction
So far as this government is con-
cerned every step of the slightest i'm
portance has been made public by it's
executive and every step taken in
France has there been made public
by the proper officials.
The congress took the action it did
take after the most minute and ex-
haustive examination and discussion
and the executive carried out the di-
rection OF the congress to the letter
Every act of this government, every
act for which this government had
the slightest responsibility, was in
pursuance of the act of the congress
here and following out the decree of
the civil tribunal of the Seine in
France.
Furthermore, through the entire
voluntary act of Mr. Cromwell, | am
now able to present to you full infor-
nation as to these actions in France
with which this government did not
have any concern and which are set
forth in the accompanying papers.
Value Fixed by Commission.
1t may be well to recall that the
new Panama Canal company of France
did not itself propose to fix the fig
ures, $40,000OO0, as the valuation of
the canal and railroad properties
That sum was first fixed by our 18TH
milan canal commission in it's reports
to the congress after two years of in
vestigation and personal inspection of
all the properties and work already
done whereby the properties and the
work done were in detail appraised
at that sum as their value to the
United States. The French company
steadily refused for over two years to
make any offer whatever in answer to
the many written requests of the 18TH
milan canal commission; and when its
president did approach the question
of price it was on the basis of $780,
100000. Later, under conditions not
necessary now to rehearse, the COM
pany, by cable, accepted the appraise-
ment of $40000,000 made by our COM
mission. This government, therefore,
acquired all the properties and con-
cessions. both of canal and railroad,
at its own valuation and price, the
congress approving the price and au-
thorizing the expenditure of the
money after the most exhaustive ex-
animation and discussion.
/ transmit herewith lists of the doe
uments in the possession of the de-
partment of state, the department of
justice and the department of war so
that, if the congress sees fit, it may
direct that they be printed. They are,
and always have been, open to the
examination of any member of the
congress. There is no object in print
ing them, but there is also no objec
ton to printing them, save that it is
useless expense.
7 also transmit a LIST of thp dOcu-