OCR Text |
Show COLOMBIA HAS MORAL CLAIM The Republic of Colombia will never have a reeling of friendship for the United States until there is some settlement over the bitter i.i ferences that arose between the two countries in the fall of 1903, when the United States espoused the cause of Panama in breaking away from Colombia. President Roosevelt took the view that the future of the whole canal project was at stake and didn't hesitate to throw the fortunes of this country in with those of Panama. No person can doubt President Roosevelt's honesty of purpose, and few Americans at the time were willing wil-ling to attempt to maintain the sovereignty sov-ereignty of Colombia in Panama's revolution Senator Hiram Johnson can rave about infamy and make all of the spread eagle appeals and bitter attacks at-tacks upon the new administration that he wants to, but the fact remains re-mains that there continues to be serious ser-ious feeling on the part of Colombia Colom-bia that she has not been properly recompensed for this country's participation parti-cipation in the events that caused her loss of Panama, to say nothing of all the canal rights therein. While we are not prepared to say that Colombia is entitled to $25,-000,000, $25,-000,000, the original canal treaty-called treaty-called for an initial payment of $10,000,000 and annual payments of $250,000 after the tenth year. Presidents Pres-idents Taft and Wilson both recognized recog-nized the need for some sort of final settlement of the Colombian difficulty, diffi-culty, and neither of these presidents in so asking cast any reflections upon up-on the honor of President Roosevelt. President Taft in his December message in 1912, said: "The- diplomacy diplom-acy of the present administration has sought to respond to modern ideas of commercial .intercourse. This policy has been characterized as substituting sub-stituting dollars for bullets The diplomacy of the United States is active ac-tive in seeking to assuage the remaining re-maining ill-feeling between this coun try and the Republic of Colombia." President Woodrow Wilson, in his sixth annual message, delivered December Dec-ember 2, 1918. said: "While we are adjusting our relations with the rest of the world, is it not of capital importance im-portance that we should clear away all grounds of misunderstanding with our immediate neighbors and give proof of the friendship we really real-ly feel? I hope that the members of the senate will permit me to speak-once speak-once more of the unratified treaty of friendship and adjustment with the Republic of Colombia. I very earnestly urge upon them an early and favorable action upon that vital matter. I believe that they will feel, with me, that the stage of affairs is now set for such action as will be-not be-not only just but generous and in the spirit of the new age upon which we have so hapily entered." The future of the Colombian congress con-gress to ratify the treaty as propos ed by the United States in 1903 to make possible the construction of the Panama canal, was the direct cause of a bloodless revolution and the formation for-mation of the Republic of Panama, shortly followed in 1904 by the ratification rat-ification of the Panama canal treaty between this country and Panama. There can be no doubt that the obdurate stand of Colombia not to ratify the Panama canal treaty offered of-fered her in 1903 and the expressed purpose of her statesmen to cause the rights of the New Panama canal company to become forfeited, was a source of considerable exasperation to President Roosevelt and most Americans. Am-ericans. It was therefore with considerable con-siderable satisfaction at home that our government immediately recognized recog-nized the sovereignty of the new Republic Re-public of Panama as an excellent means of avoiding further canal negotiations ne-gotiations with Colombia. The Republic of Colombia probably proba-bly has no legal claim upon the United Uni-ted States. That it has a moral Maim here can be no doubt. Senators Johnson John-son and Borah may call all of the hard names they care to, but such appeals to prejudice should not Mind the eyes of all justice loving Americans Ameri-cans to the fact that this country must also deal liberally w-;:h the smaller republics of the south. We believe, therefore, that President Harding's plan to close the Coloni- Man incident, which is now nearly 1! '""" old. diplomatically by the naymcnt of an indemnity, is sound business and also good government, I ' Hhough not in line with the grand-j grand-j stand rn' thuds of Senator Johnson, |