Weekly journal-miner., 1910-11-09
MIR. TAFT's PROBLEM.
(Phoenix Republican,

when RreSlQenI ldlt sIartS OH ms voyage to Panama this week it will be the second time that an Ameri- can President has journeyed to foreign shores-President Roosevelt's trip to Panama being the first instance - and his trip will be notable in an other respect; the, future existence of an independent government will in all probability hang on the con elusions reached by him.
 Whether the toy Republic" of Panama is to ,contiue doing business is one of the problems that will be settled by the American government in the near future.
 It mas always been obvious that the resources of Panama were scarce ly equal to the maintenance of an independent Republic, and the inap- titude of the people for self gov ernment has made the situation still more difficult. The revenues of the government are not equal to its ord mary needs, and .!extravaganee and mismanagement have plunged the country into hopeless debt.
 Sundry solutions of the problem have been suggested-that the gov ernment be continued, with an Amer ican resident agent in real control, and with the principal jobs ih the government filled by Americans; that the American zone be .widened 50 as to cover twenty-five miles on each side of the canal, the remaining fractions of territory to be absorb ed by Colombia and Costa Rica, and, as third solution, that Colombia re- assume sovereignty over the terri tory now included within the Re- public of Panama. A fourth sug- gestion is that all Panama be an- nexed to the United States.
 Whatever the Presidents recom- mendations may be, they are sure to preeipitate a lively debate in Con- gress, but MT. Taft's conclusions, reached after careful study, are like Iy to be accepted.
 And, incidentally, we may say that whatever the people of Panama may think about it, their fate will be decided at Washington, and not by themselves-a state of facts of which We of Arizona should have some understanding.
 The Republic of Panama, came in to existence like a meteor flashing across the sky. It developed from the exigeneies of situation which had sorely perplexed President Roosevelt Where the idea originated may never be definitely stated by history, but there is a robust belief that MT. Roosevelt could tell ,- the story. That he connived at the, rev oIution whereby the state of Panama seeded from the Republic of Co lombia and set up in the Republic business for itself, overnight, was violently charged by MT. Roosevelt s political enemies at the time, but if they were correct in their assumptions cuts no figure now, and history will deal kindly with MT. Roosevelt in the matter. If, indeed, the reVOlu- ton was not engineered from Wash ington, it happened most fortuitous- ly. for it cleared away very annoy ing obstacles to the building of the canal. As soon as it became known in Colombia that the negotiations between the American government and the French owners of the canal concession had taken a favorable turn, the grafters in control of the Colombian government attempted to perpetuate a villainous holdup on Uncle Sam. The blackmail demanded ran into many millions of dollars, and MT. Roosevelt was determined that he wouldn t pay it.
 Instead of getting several millions in gold, Colombia lost Panama, and got a ieering laugh from the world,
 So the "Repubie'i, of Panama has served its purpose; so far: as the American people are concerned, and