Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-10-21

CHAPTER v.
The Roosevelt impetus.

"OREIGN activities In Panama
were watched. officially and
unofiicially. by the Americans
with profound interest and
with the desire that the construction
of canal should be the work Of the
United States. The thought Of COM
munication between the oceans being
In European hands was distasteful to
our statesmen.
In 1852. when the Panama railroad
was being built. captain of CON-
pany In the Fourth regiment of in
fantry. Ulysses 8. Grant. crossed the
isthmus at Panama on his way to the
new California post. An epidemic Of
cholera broke out. costing the lives Of
eighty men. and the general hard
ships of the transit deeply impressed
Captain Grant with the need of a bet
ter passage.
Several American exploring parties
had been on the isthmus. and in 1854
Lieutenant Arthur Strain. with TWEEN
ty-seven companions. attempted to
penetrate the jungle. They got lost.
and after ninety days Of living death
Strain and two or three Of his men
reached Panama.
was freeing the negro slaves. cast his
eyes upon the ChiriQui province Of Pan
anna as suitable place for cOlOnizing
the negroes Of the south after the civil
war. but his untilnely death prevented
the opportunity to work out the idea.
That Captain Grant who had CROSS
ed the isthm,is IN 1852 became presi-
dent In 1869. and the very same year
he directed General stephen A. Hur'-
but to negotiate a treaty with Colon
bia for Panama canal. He knew
from experience how advantageous it
would be to his country. Such a
treaty was signed ut BogOta ON Jan.
26. 1870 but the United States senate
did not ratifv 1t. and the senate Of Co
lombia mutilated II.
President Grant then sent Admiral
Ammen to Nicaragua to Investigate
that route. more In II piune Mt Colon
bia than from a belief IN its available
ity. Colombia returned the feeling by
turning to the French and giving
concession. At the instance Of rresi-
dent Grant the Panama route again
was surveyed by Commanders f. P.
Lull and T. o. Selfridge. In 1873. but
from this time onward the French had
the center Of the stage.
Their spread eagle operations served
to make the world and the Americans
think that canal was white ele
plant proposition. The Spanish Amer
lean war. however. suddenly brought
the American people to realization Of
the vital necessity. from military
viewpoint alone. Of an interoceuhic
canal.
Day by day as the battleship Oregon
steamed around Cape Horn this lesson
was impressed upon the people. A
10000 mile journey could have been
saved BY a Panama canal. The war
over and peace allowing the country
and the government to consider other
things. President Mckinley reorgan-
lied the isthmian canal commission
which be had appointed In 1897 with
the following personnel
Admiral John Il. Walker. chairman:
Samuel Pasco. George 8. Morrison.
Colonel Oswald II. Ernst.
q. g. A.: Colonel p. C. Hams. U. 3. A.:
Lewis NJ. Haupt. Alfred Noble. WILL
liam H. Burr and Professor Emory r.
Johnson.
This commission was appointed In
March. 1899. with instructions to in
vestigate all Central American routes.
The Walker commission unofficially
asked the French company what its
property might be bought for. and
when quoted" price Of $1O1.14l.500
promptly decided that Nicaragua look
ed better. The report made on Nov.
16. 1901. BY the commission frankly
stated that the Panama route was pref
cradle. but the price asked by the
French company was prohibitive. The
dropped the remark that
sc. 00O. 600 was about what the French
holdings were worth to the United
States.
When It had agreed to the com.
missions valuation the report to the