The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-01-11
u. 5. READY TO
SPEED GIANT
CANAL WORK
Congress Will Act Within
80 Days on Waterway
Across Nicaragua.
NO OPPOSITION TO JOB
Central American Nations
Pledge Cooperation
to Project.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP sIMMs

BY WILLIAM PHILIP SININTS
Foreign Editor, Scripps- Howard Newspapers
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11.-First
official step toward digging an inter-
oceanic canal across Nicaragua. the
most gigantic engineering project
ever undertaken by man, likely viii
be made within the next thirty
days, perhaps as early as next Mon
day.
The pending resolution of Sen
ator Walter E. Edge of New Jersey,
chairman of the senate committee
on inter-oceanic canals, providing
for a survey of the Nicaraguan
route,a will be voted upon as soon
as the cruiser bill is out of the way,
if not before. The resolution also
calls for report on the proposed
enlargement of the Panama canal.
1T is largely question of the
senate finding q, convenient hour to
discuss the measure" Senator Edge
told the writer today. There is no
real opposition to it. / think an
hour will be ample to bring it to 8
vote and 1 already am assured Of
majority in favor of its funda-
mentals whenever a vote is reached.
L may ask for its consideration
next Monday"
Plans to Be Rushed
Favorable action by congress will
be followed almost Immediately by
selection<of commission of engin-
GERS and othr experts to go to
Nicaragua and Panama to make the
necessary surveys. This work will
not take long.
Exhaustive reports already have
been made of the various canal
routes across Nicaragua, notably
those of 1901, and about all that
needs to be done now is to bring
these up to date. The main thing
will be to check on the 1901 report
in the light of modern engineering
methods, to arrive at approximate
present costs and time required for
the work.
Sentiment in favor of the Near
aguan canal has grown rapidly IN
the last few months, due, perhaps,
to President Elect Hoover's visit to
Central America and his conversa-
tions with the officials of the coun-
tries chiefly involved.
Boom for Trade
That the Panama canal has
proved the greatest single factor In
the development of Pan-American
trade and other relations, freely is
admitted by Latin-American states
men. All realize that within the
next ten or fifteen years Panama
will not be able to handle the traffic,
so they are asking what is to be
done. to. relieve the situation.
The answer the majority are MAX
ing is that q, second canal, rather
than enlarged facilities at Panama,
is desirable.
Commercial requirements, how
ever, are not the only consideration.
The national defense of the United
States is to be considered. Since its
opening, the Panama canal has be-
come the key to our national defense
and if it were put out of commission,
by landslide or the intentional act
of the enemy at the start of war,
our coasts would be laid wide open
to attack.
A second canal would not only be
a great commercial asset, therefore,
but added insurance against in
vaSion.
Nicaragua to Help
Nicaragua is especially eager to
have the canal begun at the earliest
possible moment. President Mon
cada, liberal head of the Nicaraguan
government, told Presidential
Hoover at Corinto last December
that this is one of his greatest de-
SireS.
Former President Diaz, conserva-
tive leader, and former Dictator
Chamorro, chief of the ultra-coIl-
servative faction, were present at
the interview and both agreed that
the canal would mean much to their
country.
Costa RIGA, Honduras and Saliva
dor also are interested in the canal
San Juan river, the generally ac-
cepted route from Lake Nicaragua
to the Caribbean sea, happens to
be the boundary between Nicaragua
and Costa RIGA, while the other two
countries named share the waters
of the Gulf of Fonseca with Nicara-
qua, upon whose territory the
United States proposes to establish
a naval base.
However, while Hoover was in
Honduras, Salvador and Costa Rica.
on his goodwill tour, he was given
to understand that no obstacles
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