Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-16

NORTY years ago on NoVem-
ber II, 1869. the Suez canal was
n opened formally to the traffic of
the world. Already the American peo-
pie are planning the celebration of the
completion of the Panama canal, and
1t is interesting in that connection to
recall the events of forty years ago.
Both the Suez and the Panama canals
| forever will serve to keep alive the
memory OF Ferdinand de LeSseps, the
French diplomatlst and f1nancler VINO
builded for everlasting fame at Suez
and for. eternal disgrace at Panama.
1t is remarkable, however, how 1eW
are the points OF resemblance in the
history of these two great interoceanlc
ship canals. The Suez canal presented
no difficult problems to the engineer,
nor did it cost anything like as much
as the Panama canal viii cost or the
500, 900, ,00O which the Suez canal COST
more than half was spent in bribes ana
excessive discounts The present Amer
lean canal administration probably
could dig the Suez canal for $4,000, ,OOO
The Suez canal also cost the lives Of
thousands of miserable human beings.
The Egyptian peasantry, or fellaheen,
were obliged by the khedive to do the
work without remuneration. Every
three months $4,000 men We're drafted
into the canal service. Instead of the
high-power steam shovels used at Pan
anna they had only their bare hands to
dig with. Instead of the elaborate sys-
TEN for disposal of dirt in operation
at Panama, they had to take every
ounce dug from the canal in palm-leaf
baskets and carry them on their heads
to the dumps. There were no sanitary
precautions, and the food was bad and
insufficient. The consequence was that
the workmen died like rats. Perhaps
the greatest triumph of the Americans
at Panama will be, not the canal it.
self, but the victory over disease. For
centuries regarded by the whole world
as a pit of pestilence and a den OF
death, the Isthmus of Panama under
American sanitary control has come TO
be one of the most healthful places in
the world.
The contrast between the two canals
will be even greater in the manner OF
celebrating completion. The great tes-
tival held in Cairo and along the canal
forty years ago was the high-tide or
the extravagant splendor of the reign
of the Khedive Ismail. 1t cost 2l,OOU,-
900. II the United States were to spend
a proportionate sum in celebrating the
opening of the Panama canal II would
amount to more than S150,0O0,0OO
Although the waters of the Mediter-
ranean and the Red Seas first met in
the Suez canal in March, the canal was
not formally opened until November IL.
On that day forty-eight ships conveyed
the khedive and his distinguished
guests through the canal. The empress
Of the French. the unfortunate Eu-
genie, as the representative of Napo-
leon III. and sponsor for the proud de
Lessons. was the chief guest. The
emperor and empress of Austria, the
prince and princess of Wales, and
score of lesser royalties from conti-
mental Europe with their complement
of ambassadors, statesmen and celebri-
ties made up the party. The empress
of the French still lives, but there is
no French empire; the emperor Of Aus
tria still reigns, mourning his murdered
empress: the prince and princess OF
Wales are now king and queen of Eng
land. The Khedive Ismail lies in a
splendid tomb in Cairo, but he died in
disgrace and exile; his grandson oc-
cupies his throne but is bound hand
and foot by the mortgages signed by
Ismail: and American tourists overflow
Ismails palace, now done over into
hotel.
The Egypt that Ismall sought
to make glorious by the canal is now
in bondage to that very ditch. The
France that Napoleon III and de Les
seps sought to make supreme by the
canal is no longer a competitor In the
strife for the mastery of the seas, but
is content merely to aid England-the
same England she then thought to sup
plant. Surely many things may happen
in the course of forty years.
Then, as now, the British empire
rested upon the foundation of its mar |
itime trade. The trade route to India |
was controlled by the English railroad, |
which crossed the isthmus of Suez and |
which transferred cargoes from Alex
andria in the Mediterranean to Suez in |
the Red sea. France intended to con- |
troll the canal and thus have its fingers |
all the time at England's throat. The |
French influence was supreme at Cairo, |
and under it Ismail borrowed and bor- |
rowed, at ruinous rates, from French |
financiers The cupidity of de Lesseps |
and the Partisan bankers proved the |
undoing of the French imperial plans.
The day came when 1smail could not |
pay. The sultan deposed him, British |
influence being great with the sublime |
porte. Benjamin Disraeli came to Is
mails rescue and drove a sharp bar
gain for John Bull by paying the khe-
dives shares in the canal company.
Thus England obtained control of the
canal that was intended to destroy its |