Evening star., 1921-04-12
COLOMBIAN TREATY
URGED BY LODGE

Ratification of the pending treaty
lombia. under which the United
| States is to pay $25,oO0,0o0 to in
demnify Colombia for her loss in the
Panama Canal Zone, when the Re-
public of Panama seeded. was
by Senator Lodge of Massachusetts,,
republican leader and chairman of the
foreign relations committee. Senator
Lodge spoke in open executive SeS-
sion of the Senate. and it is expected
that practically the entire debate on
the treaty will be in the open.
At the outset of his address Senator
! Lodge read letter from President
Harding advocating the ratification of
the treaty in the interest of more
friendly relations between the United
States and Colombia and the rest Of
Latin America.
Senator'S Concluding Statement.
In concluding his speech, Senator
Lodge said:
The President, who has given this
treaty the most careful consideration.
recommends it's prompt ratification as
part of large policy affecting most
gravely our trade and commerce and
our most important relations with
South America. 1 feel it my clear
duty to sustain the Presidents policy
and concur with his advice as to the
ratification of the treaty"
Senator Lodge pointed out that the
apology" feature of the treaty had
been stricken out. and that it had been
amended in other particulars, so that
the treaty was very different from the
pact originally submitted to the Senate
by former President Wilson. following
its negotiation by the then Secretary of
State. William Jennings Bryan.
The Massachusetts senator said that
he would as strongly oppose today as
he had in the past any treaty with
Colombia that tended to reflect upon
President Roosevelts action in sup
it broke away from Colombia in 1908.
President Roosevelt, however, he said.
had been the first to recognize the
fact that friendly relations should be
re-established between the United
States and Colombia and Panama and
Colombia
Would Protect Americans.
Particular stress was laid by Sena-
tor Lodge upon the desirability of pro-
tecting American prospectorS and in
vestors in Colombia and other coun-
tries, who, in accordance with the
laws of those countries. have UNDER
taken to develop oil resources. He
charged that Great Britain and other
foreign nations are doing all they
can to monopolize the oil resources of
the world. The United States. he said.
would be negligent in the extreme II
it overlooked this matter. American
investors have been given good treat
present administration there.
The amount Of the indemnity
s25,000, ,000-to be paid Is very large;
Senator Lodge said. 1T has seemed
to me too large" said he. but l
changed my mind after 1917 as to the
size Of the payment having any ef-
feet as to the attitude Of President
Roosevelt and the United States when
we recognized Panama and estab-
lished the canal.
Colombia in installments Of $5.000.0O0
a year for five years is obviously not
an attempt to pay for the province
of Panama. That province which
contains the Canal Zone, is worth many
times twenty-five millions.
U. S. Holdings Valuable.
"It is SO valuable that we have spent
over four hundred millions in building
the canal through it and all we tried
to buy under the -Herran treaty.
all that we have bought from Pana-
ma, is a properly safeguarded right of
way for our canal. The money claim
of Colombia is a very different thing,
rests on very different foundations
and on very real grounds. Under
Trans-Isthmian railroad to the Pan
anna railroad for a period of ninety
nine (ss) years, at the end Of which
period the railroad, with all It's i'm
provements, was to revert to Colom-
bia Second, the estimated value of
revert to Colombia, in 1867. will be
found in the report Of the Panama
railroad referred to by Mr.. Dubois.
and made to Mr.. Taft, Secretary Of
War, in 1906
The Dubois report, Senator Lodge
said, showed that the summary of
these claims showed a total of $780,
14694275, considerably more than the
$25,000.000 now proposed to be paid
to Colomb bia-