The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-12-20
T. Daniel Frawley to Stage Big
Spectacle.
REPUBLICS EARLY HISTORY
Several Hundred American
Actors to Play the Parts.
The Moving Picture Men Are to
Defray the Expense.


opening OF the Panama canal, when it
takes place. will not be devoid Of the
atrical features. The Republic of
ton on a large scale and grounds are
being prepared for the event near the
site OF the city Of Old Panama, some
seven miles from the present city of
that name. To take advantage Of this
fair and OF tho thousands Of tourists
who will flock to the waterway. T.
Daniel Frawley, general stage director
cal men are preparing an invasion Of
Central America next spring.
The plans Of Mr.. Frawley and his
associates are pretentious. the chief
idea being to present a pageant at the
fair covering the history Of Panama
from the discovery Of the country up
to the time Of the opening Of the
canal. Mr.. Frawley figures that the
cost Of staging a show of this sort, no
matter how great, would easily be off,
set by the income from the moving
pictures OF the event and that what
the tourists paid to see the perform
ances In Central America would be
clear profit
A few months ago Mr.. Frawiey.
who has made several tours around
the world with his own theatrical or
CARNATIONS. and Frank Daniels, the
comic opera star, made q trip to Pam
anna to. look over the field. They
talked over the matter at great length
with President Belisario Porras of the
republic, and received much encour-
agement from that official
Several hundred actors and act
resses will be taken down and the 9TH
er roles will be filled by natives of the
country. A battery Of camera men
ana other representatives of a large
moving picture concern will go along.
ITO begin at the beginning Of the
Fanama canal. said Mr.. Frawley.
yesterday. "One has to start with the
beginning of Panama itself, for with
IL few years after the Isthmus was
discovered, the nations Of the Old
World were figuring on a possible wa
terwaJ from the Atlantic to the Pa
OF Spain had survey made for a
canal which was practically along the
same route ns the canal being built
today. Up until that time the Span
ish adventurcrs believed that there
was a natural waterway across, and
when Columbus sailed into Limon
Bay in 1902 he thought that he would
have little trouble in keeping right
on. In 1880 the Chagres river was
used as a means Of crossing to within
anna. From the time of the survey
made by Charles v Of Spain canal
was actively discussed, and in 1914 the
first actual attempt to start work was
made by the Spaniafds. Revolutions
In the Spanish colonies put a stop to
the endeavor. and Spain's chance was
gone forever.
"But to understand the history of
the canal a brief history Of the coun-
try itself should be understood. There
are four great events in the history of
Panama-the discovery of the Pacific
ocean in 1873, the destruction OF Old
Panama in 1871, the separation from
Spain in 1921, and the construction of
the Panama canal. 1ss1-1914.
The first two and the last OF these
events are geographical, the third is
unimportans, except as it forms one of
several local events from which school
children reckon history. There Is one
big fact, however. Panama has never
destiny. It has always been ruled
from without, and generally misruled.
until the present time.
'.Alonza de Ojeda, q Spanish adven-
turer,s was the first European to land
upon the isthmus In 1899. Columbus
not touching there until his fourth
voyage in 1909. It was Columbus,
however, who made the first settle
ment q year later, although the at
tempt to establish = colony failed. az
who tried to settle down about twenty
miles east OF the present site of Colon
on the Caribbean.
"A Spanish lawyer named Encisco
in 1910 succeeded in establishing a
colony which he called Santa Maria,
and. although this was later aban-
doned, it became important because 1t
was here that vasco Nunex de Balboa
came to be known AZ a bold leader.
With a band Of some 800 adventures
no usurped the governOrship. sub
dued the indians, and ruled the land
%nv @vv<S venfa- until Qf1ain heard of his
higfa handed proceedings. and sum-
moned him tn return to Spain and be