Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-07-27


In European hands vas distastetnl TO
our statesmen.
In 1852. when the Panama railFpad
was being built. a captain OF asyNm-
pany in the Fourth regiment OF In
fantry. Ulysses S. 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 bet
ter passage.
Several American exploring parties
had been on the isthmus, apd In 1854
4 Lieutenant Arthur Strain. with TWEEN
| ty-seyen companions. attempted to
/ penetrate the jungle. They got lost.
and after ninety days OF living death
Strain aud two or three Of his men
| reached Panama.
President Lincoln in 1863. when be
was freeing the negro slaves. cast his
eyes upon the Chiriqui province Of Pan
/ anna as a suitable place for colUnlzing
the negroes Of the south after the civil
war. but his untimely death prevented
the opportunity to work out the idea.
That Captnin Grant who had cross
ed the isthmus In 1872 became presi-
dent In 1862. and the very same year
he directed General Stephen A, Hurl-
but to negotiate u treaty with (olam-
bia for Panama canal. ~ knew
from experience how advantageous 1t
would be to his country. Such a
treaty was signed ut Bogota on Ian.
%. 1870. but the United States senate
did not ratify IL. and the senate Of Co
ionbia nlutilated Il.
President Grant then sent Admiral
Ammen to Nicaragua to investigate
that route more In u pique at Colon
bia than from belief In It's available
litw Colombia returned the feeling by
turning to the French and giving a
concession. At the instance OF Presi-
dent Grant the Panama route again
was surveyed by Commanders E. P.
Lull and T. o. SelfridGe. In 1878. 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 a realization OF
the vital necessity. from military
viewpoint alone. OF an interoceanic
canal
Day by day as the battleshIp Oregon
steamed around Cape Horn this lesson
twas impressed upon the people. A
10000 mile journey could have been
saved BY Panama canal. The war
over and peace allowing the country
and the government to consider other
things. President Mckinley reorgan-
lied the isthmian cunaI c0mmission
which he had appointed In 1897 with
the following personnel:
Admiral John q. Walker. chairman:
Samuel Tasco. George s, Morrison.
Lieutenant Colonel Oswald II Ernst.
q. s. g.: Colonel T.. c.. Hams. II. s. A.:
| Lewis II. Haupt. Alfred Noble. Will
liam II. Burr and Professor Emory r.
| Johnson.
March. 1900. with instructions to In
vestigate all Central American routes.
The Walker commission unofficially
asked the French company what its
property might he bought for. and
when quoted price q $i0i .f4fs500
promptly derided that Nicaragua look
ed better. The report made on Nov
rs, 1901. by the commission frankly
suited that the Panama route wa4pef-
efabie. bnt the price asked d lhel
French eofnpaiiy was prohibitiyek The
commission dropped the remark that
10000. 900 was about what the French
holdings were worth to the United
States
When It had agreed to the com
Missions valuation the reportste the
president promptly was revised IN IA
yor of the Panama route.
| Theodore Roosevelt upon assuming
the Office Of president promised 70 car
ry out the policies of President Nc
AIHicts duu, % luz as tie Cu044 DOiIcy
is concerned. he succeeded so eminent
" that deliberate Judgment. formed
fIom perspective view Of the whole
undertaking. warrants the assertion
that his energy, decision ands sOund
Judgment made an interoceanic xanal
possible in this generation. 81
The moment his dynamic personality
got behind the idea it received an i'm
petus. aud he bucked the line OF OBJ
stacles that arose In the pathsOf the
project until he retired in 1909. when
the enterprise was advanced beyond
! the possibility of failure
1t was to President Roosevelt that
the Walker commission reported inNo-
vember. 1901. His first message q
congress Erged Immediate action. and
after a good deal OF wrangling over
the Hepburn act In favor OF Nicaragua
the Spooner act was passed on June
% 1902.
The Spooner act. written by Senator