Evening star., 1933-10-22

DHE visit to Washington of the
President of Panama has kept
the small but progressive Gen.
i trail American republic in the
front page for the past few days.
In the mind of the average Ameri-
can. the name of Panama Is intimately
associated with one of the greatest
achievements of human endeavor i'll
our time, and one which had con-
siderable part in making the United
States a world power-the construction
of the interoceanic canal across the
Panaman isthmuS.
But the history behind that enter
prise, the story of the changing atti-
tude OF the United States toward the
canal, is not commonly known. Yet
that story affords one Of the best ex-
amples of the appearance and evolu-
ton Of hegemony in the American con-
tinent as a distinct feature OF the for
eign policy of the United States.
When the possibilities Of an inter-
oceanic canal. either through Nicaragua
or Panama, were originally discussed
the United States showed interest in
the enterprise but displayed no eag-
ernesS to be the only or the main bene-
ficiary Of it. The proposed canal was
to be a blessing to the whole of mar
kind, and as such it was not to be eX-
plotted by any one nation to the ex-
clusion Of others.
Clay Voices Theory.
The instructions of Secretary Clay to
the United States delegates to the Pan
anna Congress of 1926 conformed with
that theory: IF the work should ever
be executed as to admit of the passage
Of sea vessels from ocean to ocean, the
benefit of it ought not to be exclusively
appropriated to any one nation, but
should be extended to all parts Of the
globe" $50
In 1885 a Senate resolution directed
the President of the United States to
open negotiations for the construction
Of a canal. and to secure by treaty stlp-
lations the free and equal right oi
navigating such canal to all nations
Obviously, this apprehension lest
"any one nation" should appropriate to
itself the benefit of the canal was
caused /, fear of Great Britain, then
the unrivaled queen of the seas. y
Thus when the advances OF Great
Britain in Central America at the END
of the first half of the nineteenth
century threatened with securing for
her a permanent control of any pro.
posed interoceanic way. the Un1ted
States eagerly sought accord with
England. The result was the Clayton
Bulwer treaty of 1850, which stipu-
lated that any line Of communication
across any part of the Central Amerl-
can isthmus should be controlled Joint;
ly by Great Britain and the United
States, the two countries guaranteeing
the neutrality and free use OF the
canal.
Sole Control Renounced.
Although by means of the 1846 treaty
| with New Granada (Colombia) the
United States had already given such
guarantees the Clayton-BulWer treaty
specifically provided that "the gov,
| ernments of the United States and
Great Britain hereby declare that
neither the one nor the other will
| ever obtain or maintain for itself any
| exclusive control over the said ship
| But as the years went by. and as the
| constantly growing power of the United
States in physical and financial re-
! sources became more and more evident
! the views of the statesmen at Wash
ington on the question of an inter
oceanic canal began to change.
The change is best exemplfied BY
the treaties signed from 1864 to 1855
with Honduras. Nicaragua and Colon
| bia. all of which. in spite of the stand
! ing provisions Of the Clayton -Bulwel
treaty with Great Britain. gave the
United States exclusive privileges ir7
the construction of a canal. The sig.
nificance of these almost forgotten
| treaties in the words of a Well-knON11
| American historian. is that they as
sumed that the United States had ar
interest in the canal which was SUI
! perior to that of any other country
and which ought to exclude all other
| countries
| After 1870 the claims of hegemony
of the United States over any pro.
! iected interoceanic canal in the New
| World are outspoken Secretary Of
State Fish denounced the proposal OF
| protectorate over the canal in which
other maritime powers should be Joined
| with the United States in equal con-
troll He stated that the President
regarded it "as an American enter
| prise. which he desires to be under
taken under American auspices"
Secretary Evarts. later on. reiterated
these views. making reference to the
paramount interest of the United
States in such projects.
Senate Takes Stand.
The Senate at Washington did not
wish to show itself less Jealous than the
administration. N 1889 it passed &
resolution providing that any connec.
ton of European government with the
construction of the canal, would bt