Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-05-01
WALKS AND TALKS
By Julius Chambers


In the Brooklyn Eagle
A few Democratic Congressman who
probably feel al inability to spend all
the money in the United States Treas
ury otherwise, are reviving plans for
"reimbursingn Colombia for property
taken from her for the construction of
the Panama Canal.n
This Is a matter wholly apart from
any oligations of the United States to
Great Britain, about which l have ex-
pressed my humiliation as an Ameri-
can citizen; but alleged statesmen who
are discussing this matter appear to
feel that because Secretary Hay was
tricked by P~auncefote he was also
captured by Thomas Herran, under
the treaty of January "a, 1903. They
do not appear to be aware that Senior
Herran's treaty was ~repudiated by the
Colombian Congress and Is as II 1t
never had existed.
My distinguished frieud, DR.. Lean
der T. Chamberlain, published an ar
ticle in the North American Review
shortly before his death, in which he
criticised President Roosevelt for "tak-
ing" the Canal zone-by purchase, for
$40, 000, 000-and advocated flair treat
ment for Colombia The gentleman
and Ilhad several talks on the subject,
but, like most other critics of the
course adopted by the President to ex-
tricate the United States from a most
difficult, embarrassing, even humilla-
ting, position, he declined to discuss
Colombia's conduct.
Therein lies. the kernel Of the whole
controversy
The course pursued at Bogota would
have justified an invasion of Colombia
and the holding of its capital until the
matter was settled; England or Ger
many would have taken that course
had lany petty nation attempted to
"hold her up" as did Colombia.
When ial traveller is stopped on the
highway and his valuabIes demanded,
the right of the one so 'held upn to
defeat his adversary is recognized by
the laws Of every civilized nation.
The Hay-H erran treaty will not be
found In the two bulky volumes of
"Treaties, Conventions" ETC., pub
lished by this Government In 1910, for
the good reason that after being accep-
ted by the United States Senate 1t was
rejected by the Colombian Congress,
and the sum of $3.50, 600 per annum,
that Colombia had asked, was first
doubled and finally quadrupled! Bot
the full text of that remarkable Her
ran document will be found Ia the
New York Sun of January 25, 1903. A
copy lies before me, and a reading
thereof proves thatthe terms conceded
to Colombia were more reasonable
than those finally secured from the
Republic Of Panama.
Permit me to talk about this utterly
irresponsible Colombia. 1t Is the most
back Of any South American
State, both in civilization or material
growth. Colombians know little about
their own geography, but depend on
foreigners for what information they
possess. Almost all the explorations
during the past century have been
made by foreigners. I can name
Humboldt, Codazzi, Eettner, RegeI
and Rothlisberger. Cartographists o.
today must depend upon Agostino Co
dazzl, an Indian, who made his own
surveys and produced the standard
map Of that country sixty years ago.
Americans are prone to regard Vene'
zuels as belonging to the barbarout
age; but Venezuela is a full century
ahead of it's neighbor. The two count
ries front upon the Caribbean sea
Venezuela's ports are pestholes and are
curses to the entire coast because Of
the diseases they spread, but Colombia
has nev developed a really good port,
She never has sought to build up o
trade. Having one-third greater pop
ulation than Venezuela, exports of the
latter country about equal both ex.
ports and imports Of Colombia!
1t is q dead nation in a dying landl
I find in "The Statesman's Yeal
Book" that Colombia is actually issu'
ing bonds, payment of which is "con'
tingent upon receiving compensation
from the United States for the seces
sion Of Panamaw These securities,
are finding market In Europe, prob
ably on the assumption that Uncls
Sam is the "easiest mark" in all this
world. Less than 100 miles of railroad
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