The Ely miner., 1913-08-22

Everyone who writes of the Panama
canal feels bound to use that phrase,
and though it is trite, it is no less
true.
Possibly when Balboa first stood on
the Peak of Darien" and gazed en-
tranced at the waters of what he called
the Southern sea the thought of cut
ting through the isthmus came TO him.
Certainly, within three years after his
great discovery or in 1916, he had
transported two ships, in pieces, across
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
there put them together.
1t could not have been very much
later that the idea of an isthmian
canal was born, for during the reign
Of Philip II. Of Spain (1556-1598) the
Inquisition declared that any such pro
ject to alter the face of the earth was
impious, and the Spanish ruler forbade
its further discussion. The ban of the
church was effective for some time,
but in 1899 Scotchman of the name
of Patterson revived the scheme, es-
tablished a colony on the shores of
survey of the proposed route. Gale
donian bay, on the north shore of Pan
ANA, alone preserves the memory of
that attempt. French scientists in
1875 advocated Nicaragua canal, fifty
years later the Spanish government or
dered survey of the Darien route,
and early in the nineteeth century Won
Hum hnl
ticable. In 1926, Immediately after
Latin America had freed itself from
Spain, the Central American and
United States Atlantic and Pacific Ca
nal company was organized, and one
of the directors of the concern with
the high-sounding name was Dewitt
Clinton. Various schemes were start
ed and fell through, and in 1885 the
United States senate voted for the
building of Nicaragua canal. An ex-
pedition was sent to that country and
reported that the canal could be con-
structed at a cost Of $25,000,000.
After the Cival war there was much
negotiating by our government for
canal concession, bat when the Mica
ragua route seemed ts, be the favorite
the Bogota government became impa-
tient and gave the concession for a
Panama canal to Lucien Napoleon
Bonaparte Wyse, French lieutenant.
He made some maps and organized a
company which sold out to the finan-
ciers with whom Ferdinand de Lesseps
had associated himself.
Albert Edwards in his admirable
book on Panama tins describes the
beginning of the tragedy of de Les
seps and his company:
THE digging of the Suez canal was
the accomplishment of his life. All
his vigor and energy had gone into It.
He came back to Paris literally carried
on the shoulders of his nation. The
government made him a 'comte' and
the people called him lie grand Fran
cais.' But he fell among thieves. The
old man tumbled blindly into the trap
of spectators, who foresaw rich har-
vest in the drawing together Of his
great name and the shady concession
of Lieutenant Wyse. They set the
stage by summoning the scientists of
the world to a great congress to dis
though it was called scientific con-
gress, most of it's 1876 members were
spectators and politicians. Only forty
two were engineers or geographers.
They elected Count de Lesseps, rail-
roaded through resolution that the
Panama route was the only practicable
one, and formed the Universal Inter
oceanic Canal company by buying the
Wyse concession for 100000 francs,
before the bona fide members of the
congress knew what had happened and
in the face of much protest. There
can be little doubt that the congress
was packed like a ward caucus, but
there is no evidence that de Lesseps
realized that 1t was
"The company was launched with
many banquets, fiorid speeches by it
grand Francais, and champagne with
out end. And all the time those who
were on the in<i5e were playing the
market from both ends, sending the
stocks tumbling down the steps of the
bourse on a manufactured report that
the United States was again waving
the Monroe Doctrine, shooting them
up again with misquotation from the
presidents message to the effect that
we were enthusiastic in favor of the
French enterprise. A sorrier exhibi-
dom been SEEN"
Old de Lesseps, however, was in
earnest He sent over engineers who
discovered that Wyse's maps were in
accurate and that yellow fever was
deadly. Then in December, 1879, the
count himself, with his wife and three
children, arrived from France. After
receptions and speech-makiug in Colon
he crossed to Panama, and there, on
January /, 1850, the formal opening of
the canal was performed with elab-
crate ceremony. Mile. Ferdinande de
Lesseps struck the first blow of pick
ak at the point where the canal was to
enter the Pacific, each of the party fol-
lowed with a blow, and there was
vast quantity of applause and cham
payne.
From the very first the French COM
pany was beset with troubles. AS the
canal was not government under
taking the work had to be let out to
contractors, and many of these prov
ed to be dishonest. They would take
out the soft dirt, collect the stipulat-
ed price per cubic yard. and then go
into bankruptcy. At Bogota the poll