The Daily Missoulian., 1914-09-06
a Brief History Of the Heroes
0f the Canal Work from the
Time Of De Lesseps To
the Present Day.

More than. 400 years ago Columbus
sought In vain for waterway across
the land now known as Panama, and
died still believing that such thing
existed. Today this dream is a reality
the result of American brains and
money.
AS far back as 1850 the United
States and Great Eritan entered into
an agreement known as the Clayton
Buiwer treaty the purpose OF which
was to extend a joint protection over
a canal between the Atlantic and Pa
cific oceans. When this treaty was
signed it seemed that the canal would
cross Nicaragua, but the contract
which had been made between that
country and an American company
in l849 was revoked on account Of
the financial difficulties of the COM
pany in 1856. Several other projects
were tried but they failed like the
first.
Just after the civil war the canal
subject again became uppermost in
the minds Of the American people, and
with 1t came an overwhelming senti-
ment that the canal should be con-
trolled by Americans alone and there
was great opposition to the ratifica-
tion OF the Clayton Bulwer treaty. The
canal agitation rose and fell at in
tervals until 1880 when Ferdinand de
Lesseps paid a visit to President Hayes
in the spring Of that year. The dis
aingnished Frenchman endeavored to
get the consent OF the American gov
ernment to what he called a European
control OF q projected canal across
Panama, President Hayes refused to
grant, the request, and again it was
decided that the canal must ba under
American control However, the Clay
ton Bulwer treaty stood like buga-
boo and continued SO until 1901, when
it exas abrogated and what is known
as che Hay Pauncefote treaty ratified
to supercede the treaty OF 1850 The
later treaty gave the United States
the right to construct a canal, and
also the right of providing for it's
regulation and management.
Do Lesseps Appears on the Scene.
When Ferdinand de Lesseps arrived
on the isthmus in 1879 he was in the
heyNay of his fame as the master
buildav of the Suez canal, which had
been completed several years before.
Two or three years before his arrival
on the isthmus surveys had been made
across Colombia and a French COM
rany had received a 99-year eonces-
sion from that government. One of
the stipulations or the contract was
that d commission Of competent indi-
viduals was to lay out the route and
report t. the Colombian government
not later than 1881 Through the ex-
ertions Of de Lfsseps a congress Of
1876 individuals was held in Paris in
May, 1879. More than half Of the men
were friends of de Lesseps ana only
% small per cent were engireers, and
fe v of them had ever visited the isth-
mlss
1t Naa n packed meeting in favor Of
de Lesseps, and they adopted n plan
a sea-level canal from the gulf Of
Limon 70 Panama bay, which was to
be completed in il years at a cost Of
$214.oOo,000. After q number OF trans
fers and selling OF shares de Lesseps
found himself in full control. and he
set TO work with a brain full OF vis-
ionary ideas OF his own greatness az
u canal builder and his impossibiiity
OF failure. but ere long he was destined
to believe otherwise
Fiasees At Start.
He was a man who loved displey
and he began operations with great
ceremony, which. owing to the fact
that the dynamite which was to start
tho excavation at Culebra failed TO