Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-06-25
ROOSEVELT FLAYS


to the blackmailers. If this proposed
treaty submitted by President Wilson
and Mr.. Bryan Is right, then our pres
ence on~the isthmus is wrong. In such
case Panama should at once be restor-
ed to Colombia and we should stop
work on the canal and abandon the
place. bag and baggage. There should
be no halfway measures. II we as q
nation have been guilty of theft we
should not pay blackmail.
1.-THE handling OF our foreign affairs
by President Wilson and Secretary
Bryan has been such as to make the
United States a figure OF fun in the
international world.
This proposed Colombian treaty
caps the climax, and. If ratified, will
rightly render us an object Of con-
temptuous derision to every great ma
ton. In view Of its submission to the
| congress wish to call attention to ex-
actly what was done under my admin
| istration.
Because Of the action of that ad-
ministration the people of the United
States acquired what they could by
no other means have acquired, the
right to build the Panama canal. In
! 1903 1t was still doubtful whether we
would adopt the Nicaraguan or the
| Panama route. The government of
Colombia was exceedingly anxious that
we should adopt the latter and offered
| to arrange, and did arrange, a treaty
with us in order to prevent our going
| to Nicaragua. Partly in consideration
Of this treaty we abandoned negotia-
tons with Nicaragua. We acted in
good faith and the course of action we
thereby entered upon was conditioned
upon their proposal, their promise. 1t
was our right and also our duty to our
own people and to the rest of the world
to exact the performance of this prom
Use.
Time for Conversation Passed.
| For 400 years there had been con-
versation about the need of the Pam
anna canal. The time for further con-
versation had passed, the time to
| translate words into deeds had come.
! II / had followed President Wilson'S
| policy of watchful waiting 1t would
have insured half a century OF addi-
tional conversation and the canal
1
| 1t Is only because the then administra-
ton acted precisely as it did act that
we now have the Panama canal"
| The colonel then declared the United
States was in duty bound" to build
| the canal itself because 1t could not
| permit an old world power to gain such
a foothold In America and would not
allow the usefulness of the canal to be
arrested because of the greed of private
capital.
Colonel Roosevelt said that until the
present treaty negotiations were en-
tered into he did not believe it possible
that an American administration
would thus betray the honor and in
terest of the American people by sub
hitting to blackmail." The colonel had
made 1t plain, he said that the Colom-
bian government was in error when 1t
inaulged in such superstition about
my administration
| Colonel Roosevelt says he has no
quarrel with the people of Colombia
and does not question their fine pri-
vate qualities"
But the statement continues, "un
fortunately In international affairs a
nation must be judged by the govern
ment that speaks for it,
Colonel Roosevelt, in mentioning the
proposal of the Colombian government
to confiscate the property of the French
government In Panama. for which the
United States has offered to pay s4o.-
100000 said it was simply a scheme
on the part of Colombia to ."get $40,-
100000 from u.s..