El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-28

canal The treaty as it was then pend
ing provided that the Colon bIan gov
eminent should permit the New Pan
anna Canal company 10 sell an It's
rights. privileges and CONCESSIONS 10
the United States. Later 1t sought 10
force the Canal company to cancel all
its obligations 50 that colombia itself
could sell the whole thing TO Uncle
sam. This was followed by a cam
paign against the treaty on the grounds
that it violated the cOnsLltution-per
haps the first time in score o.
years that Colombia ever acted as II
IL realized it had constitution The
result was the defeat Of the treaty.
An effort was made to have negOtla-
tons reOpened, but il failed 1t IS as
serted that the reasons why they were
not reOpened was that the concession
Of the New Panama Canal company
would expire in 1904, and that this
would give the Colombian gOTernn ent
the property and rights which the New
sell to the United states II Is true
that legislation was enacted IN 1ygJ
extending the concession to 1870 put
it was held that this extension was IL
legal Therefore, reasoned the COLON
blanS, II We can let this thing 80 over
until the first of January, 1905, the
republic would become the possesSOr
and owner, without any need OF a pre-
VlOus judicial decision and without any
indemnity, of the canal itself and Of
These were the words Of the Panama
canal committee of the Colombian
congress, and it is asserted that they
revealed purpose not to negotiate
treaty until that time should be
1t is but natural that the New Pan
anna Canal company, discovering
through this an attempt TO euchre 1t
then estimating at $3.50, 100000 but for
which il afterWard took 100000 600
should be only too willing TO take ad-
vantage of the atisfactlOn In Pana-
ma and to finance the revolution whose
end IL thought would be TO save to u
the assets Of which il believed Colon
bla was attempting to deprive il. 1t
was this that led 10 the financing OF
the dissatisfaction Of the Panamans and
the loss Of tbs province of Panama 10
Colombia.
President Roosevelt took the ground
that Colombia had entered into a treaty
to permit the United States to con-
strucr the canal, and that its refusal
to rdt1fy that canal treaty or to re-
open negotiations after its defeat, was
tantamount to q violation Of the treaty
Of 1876 He felt that the United States
was about to be made a victim OF a
douole-acting holdup game; that Co
lOmDla was not only maDeuTerlng 10
force Uncle sam TO pay an extortiOn-
ate price for the canal rights, but also
deliberately to d4spOu the New Panama
Canal company Of what belonged to it
Roosevelt says He Did Not start 1t.
Mr.. Roosevelt always has held that
he had nothing whatever to do with
beginning the Panama revolution, and
that while Panama might have had rea-
son to believe that he would pursue the
course he did after that revolution
was started. that reason lay more in
the assumption that the United States
1eit that colombia was playing an
indecent hOldup game than in any d.
rect or indirect assurances that the
United states could be relied on to
help the revolution once IL was started.
1t is certain as the Americans claim
that Colombia had agreed TO permit
the United States TO build the canal;
that IL thereafter refused to ratify the
treaty which would make the thing
agreed TO possible, that IL furthermore
practically refused to reopen negotia-
tons looking to doing what it had
agreed to do, that Ii did seek to post
pOns the building Of the canal until
such time as the rights Of the New
Panama Canal company would expire
and its S40,00O,000 interests revert to
Colombia 1T is equally certain as the
COlOmbians claim that president ROose-
welt welcomed the revolution as a So
luton of the difficulty; that he did
prevent Colombia from attempting to
put down q revolution within its Dor
ders; that he had been thinking OF
exercising a sort Of international en-
inent domain before the revolution
took place But from whatever point
It IS viewed, Americans generally
might well wish that the Panama canal
were not now the bone Of contention
in such a controversy.
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