The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-07-01
THE ROOSEVELT CHALLENGE TO
WILSON,.

WILSON,.
Text of Mr.. Roosevelt's signed
statement:
The payment of $25,OOQ,00O to Co
lombia, together with the expression
81 what is in effect an apology for our
having secured the right to build the
Panama canal. is merely the belated
payment of blackmail with an apology
to the blackmailers. If this proposed
treaty as submitted by President Will
son, through Mr.. Bryan, is right, then
our presence on the isthmus is wrong.
In such case Panama should at once
be restored to Colombia and we should
stop work on the canal and abandon
the place bag and baggage. There
should be no hall, way measures. II
we as nation have been guilty OF
THEFT, we should restore the stolen
goods. If we have not been guilty OF
'theftFwe should not pay backmail.
The, handling Of our foreign affairs
by President Wilson and Secretary
bryan, has been such as to make the
United States q figure OF fun in the
international world. This proposed
Colombian treaty caps the climax, and
If ratified, will rightly render us an OBJ
iject OF contemptuOus derisiOn to every
great nation. In view of it's subms.
sion to congress, l wish to call atten-
ton to exactly what was done under
my administration. Because OF the
action of the administration the peo-
pie Of the United States acquired
what they could by no other means
have acquired, the right to build the
Panama canal. F"i't
lin 1903 1t was still doubtful wheth-
or we would adopt the Nicaragua or
1he 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 ,ussin order to prevent our
going to Nicaragua. Partly in consid-
Grafton OF this treaty we abandon
negotiations with Nicaragua. We act
ed in good faith and the course OF
action We, thereby entered upon was
conducted upon their proposal, their
promise. 1t was our right and also
o,lr. duty to our ,Own people and to the
restiof the world to exact the perform
ance of this promise.
For 400 years there had been con-
versation about the need OF the Pana-
ma canal. The time for further con-
versation had passed; the time to
translate words into deeds had, come.
i'll had followed President Wilson's
policy of "watcflful waiting" it would
have insured, half century of addi-
tional conversation, and the canal
Would still be in the dim future. And
II il only because the then administra-
ton acted precisely as 1t did act that
we, now have the Panama canal.
|. The interests of the civilized peo-
plei of the world demanded the con-
struction of the canal Events had
shown that it could not be built by a
private concern. We rs q nation
would not permit it to be built by a
|iforeien government. Theefore, we
were in honor bound not to permit
the great enterprise, so essential to
our own well being and fraught with
such usefulness to all the nations OF
mankind, to be arrested by the COR
|.rupt greed, Of a government, impotent
litselft to build the canal, impotent to
keep order ON the .isthmus Or to pre-
lSserve; at from invasion and from the
||doriiniOn, Of any old world power. and
at the same time SO ignorant of the
Of the American people and
Eof the, government as to believe that
they would tamely submit to extor-
ton, and blackmail. *
I Until the present proposed treaty
Twas negotiated by President Wilson
land Secretary Bryan ! had not sup
posed that, any, American; administra-
ltion would: thus betray the honor and
Interest OF the American people by
lsubmittinS to;;blackmail, but at any
lrate the Colombian government was
| in error wheniit INDUCED in such a
supposition about my administration.
In .havepno quarrel whatever with the
tColombian people, and do not question
their fine private qualities.
IfaBut, Unfortunately, In international
affairs. nation must be judged by
the government that speaks for it.
The then Colombian government was
| embodied In the person OF a single
man, a dictator, with absolute execu-
tive and legislative power. He had
been electeda as vice president. After
short timeEhe seized the president
and put him, in jail. lie then pub
lished an edict saying that under the
constitution, for he was an ardent
adherent Of the letter of the constitu-
ltion,, 1t was his right to assume all the
executive powers of the government
In the absence of the president. He
refused to permit congress to as
semble. He then published another
edict reciting that under the consti-
Tuition it was his right to assume all
1.-THE legislative powers in the absence
or congress-
The absence of the president soon
became permanent, as he died in jail.
Year after year went by and still no
congress was allowed to meet. So
elected the vice president continued as
absolute and uncontrolled dictator,
lembodying the entire government, all
power, OF Colombia. While this was
the situation he not only embodying,
but being the Colombian government,
he negotiated. the canal treaty with
us. Ten million dollars was the sum
stipulated to be paid. Remember that
the Colombian governmental power
I'll tsr<o 1,n ntHvu u