The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-09-01
.SUEz CANAL STOCK PART OF SECURITY FOR NEW WARLOAN Shares Are Considered Gilt Edged Security and Are
 Closely Held RECALLS STORY OF
 COUP BY DISRAELI British Premier Made Deal With the Khedive of Egypt Giving Eng
 land Large Interest in
 the Canal
By HOLLAND

New York, August 31.-(Special)-Cu- rlous and interesting sidelights which re- veal good deal of information about the securities held by France and Eng land have been furnished by the deposit of collateral securities made directly by England and indirectly by France in or- der to protect recent loans made to those countries. For instance, it has been dis covered that the corporation which was organized for the purpose of financing the recent French loan of s100,000,0 900 received as part security shares of the Suez ca- nal which are of the market value of s11.6 ,0o0.
 This Is the first time, so far as the public knows. that Suez canal shares have been deposited with banks or held as collateral security for loans made by banks in the United States. It Is of course possible that individual investors who temporarily or permanently live in the United States possess some of these shares.
 The building of the Suez canal was undertaking which at last completed the Panama canal that there is a sentiment tai as well as political (not partisan) interest in this deposit of Suez shares to secure in part the French loan A most sensational and dramatic incident long known only to the British government and to France, as well as % the khedive of Egypt, tells a story of the sudden possession by Great Britain of a large block of Suez canal shares. There have f,co fr,fi hQ in history was known to the state department at Washington in the administration Of President Mckinley, and it may be that John Hay learned of it while serving as ambassador to the court of St. James be- fore he became Secretary of State.
 Great Britain had long opposed the con- struction of a ship canal by means of wEich the Mediterranean and the Red seas would be connected. The oppositions was due to the fear that a canal of that kind might greatly inpaIr England's com merce with the far east. Probably the Crimean war was the chief influence which led France a few years after the close of that war to undertake under De Lesseps the construction of the Suez ca- nal He completed that work a few months after the beginning of President Grants first administration. Before the Suez canal was opened to navigation, De Lesseps had already in contemplation the construction of the canal across the Psrama isthmus. 1 M q
 canal which would furnish naviga- tcn for the largest ships between the Att lantic and the Pacific had long been con t,mplated, though in a vague way. by the american government. At the time of s'se great commerce between the east al 2 California, which was occasioned by the discovery and mining of gold in large amounts, 1t seemed likely that Commo- dcre Vanderbilt might construct canal across Nicaragua, utilizing the great cen- tral lake of that republic, which was so large that it would furnish deep water navigation for considerable part of the distance The building by William H Aspinwall and others of a railroad across the Panama sthmus put an end for many years to various projects for the con structOn of a canal.