Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
COLOND|ANS ARE
BITTER AGAINST
UNITED STATES
South American Country
Cannot Get Over the Idea
That She Was Robbed of
Panama.
BY CHARLES p. STEWART.

Blenos Aires. Sept. 25.-CBy maiD-
AS /; highly important step toward the
development of better pan American
trade relations, it is the general opin-
ion among well-informed citizens of
the southern countries that the Unit
ed States should win the friendship of
the masses of the people in South
America.
There are few dissenters from the
view that a start must be made with
Colombia. Colombia considers that
she was robbed OF Panama. Her re-
sentiment Is a monomania with her. To
a less degree the other republics feel
the same way about it, To some ex-
tent this is mere abstract sympathy.
To very much more marked extent
It is an apprehension lest the same
thing, or something like II, happen to
one of them some time.
Colombians make 1t their business to
furnish plenty of fuel to keep this
flicker of uneasiness alight. They are
doing a lot of missionary work
throughout South America. About 3d.
600 Colombians are scattered among
the leading cities of other South Amer
lean countries than their own. For
some reason most of them seem to be
newspaper men. These newspaper
mon have considerable influence with
the papers which employ them, espe-
cially in view OF the fact that the pa
pers themselves have much the same
slant of thought. They will also sit up
until long after their regular bed
times any night to tell other South
Americans how, in their opinion. the
United States wronged Colombia
There is no question that they make
a big impression.
OUGHT TO BE COMPENSATED.
i, Pedro Sondereguer for instance,
Colombian, is one of the best known
newspaper men in Buenos Aires. He is
known at home as a philosophical
writer and essayist, has had diplo-
matte appointments from his& country
and represented her at the Buenos
Aires Pan-American conference of
1910 and at the Argentine independ-
ence centenary this year.
Panama has gone now" Sondere-
guer admits, land perhaps its surren-
d cir by Colombia, IN the interests of
the canals construction, was newt
able, but we don't like the way in
which it was taken and we think we
ought to be compensated.
1--WE want the ratification of the ex-
preston of North Americas regrets
for the manner in which she acted, as
already signed by Minister Thompson
al Bogota.
We want also the $25 10000 which
the original treaty provided for, as our
Indemnity. Ten millions isn't enough.
II isn't a fair price for what we lost.
Nobody in Colombia and nobody, I
think, in South America, considers 1t
So"
But aside from any moral ISSUE"
II was suggested, what good would
II do the United States to agree to
these things? Wouldn't the Colom-
bians take the regrets and the money
and continue their hating?'
TT would do this much good-it
would mean Colombian recognition OF
Panama's independence" was the an
swer.
MAKES BAD IMPRESSION.
AT present the isthmus continues to
appear in all Colombian school books
as Colombian territory Every time a
Colombian schoolboy studies his geog-
raphy his teacher has to explain to
him why his country does not actually
possess Panama. In this way the
United States is represented daily in
all of our 5000-odd schools as the very
worst country in the world. You can
imagine what kind of an impression 1t
produces.
"Columbias friendship, which the
United States might win If she chose,
would be worth North Americas while.
too. Not to mention what we could
buy there, we have resources it would
pay North Americans to develop.
1--WE are naturally the richest coun-
try in South America. We are the
fourth country in the world in coal de-
posits. We produce gold. platinum,
copper and many other minerals.
Nearly 10000 mining claims have been
taken throughout the country. One
year we produced 80 per cent OF the
Americans gold output. We have rich
oil deposits and tho only good emer-
aid mine in the world. Furthermore,
we are immensely rich as an agricul-
tural and cattle raising country
But why" it was suggested again,
can't North Americans buy and de-
velop these resources? Much as they
may be disliked in Colombia, the Co
lombians surely wouldn't refuse to sell
to them, If they could do it profit
ably?"
SEEKS HONORABLE SETTLEMENT
You can judge for yourself said
Sondereguer, from what happened to
the Bogota street railway company in
1910. The line belonged to North
Americans. There was a fresh strain
of relations between Colombia and the
United States that year. AS result
of it, all the company's Colombian en-
ployes quit. The company manned
the line with foreigners. Then a boy
colt started. For months, the cars
were run without carrying a single
Colombian passenger. Finally the
municipality bought the property with
money furnished, in part. by the ma
tional government. The owners had to
sell it for a song because 1t was a
dead loss to them