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Show iCDMPLAINT MADE BY lOllOFFMS Colonel Goethals Explains Why He Asked for Warships War-ships for Canal Zone MSV YORK Dec 33 Tho request of ne George CJoethale governor of he ca ml aone for the dispatch of A er can arsh ps to tl e canal to pre s rve I e neutrality of the United Stales suggested by na al officers In charge relasa plai ts and nava affairs In the to e as fo wa dd to Was liglon aa a a er of for n by Colonel OoetTia s aot K n 1 Is (.apac y as governor of the a al aone and t e Incident la ended so far as Colonel Goethals la conce ned so ann uncel tie colonel himself upon Ills sr al here today from Cristobal on the a ea er lanama. Co o el Goethals said tl at naval officers had reported to him that there had been wo olatlons of Anerlcan neutral ty He deol ned to give the names of tt e nu al officers or to mention t e names of a esaals n olved In tha al egod v o a ons of neutrality "One of the ncldants was that of a ah p cl sailed without clearance pa pars the o her was a si Ip that waa re ported o ave been s ng her w releas l n he anal aone Colonel Goethals aa d The na al offl ers In charge brought tho natt r to ny attention and asked me aa governor o request the govern nent o se d s sh ps o tho canal aone I X ansm ted elr request as a matter of f r anl t ore m responsibility ended In recon mend r t utt the ehlpa be sent I was go erned by the recommendations n ade by the na al offl era l.olo el Goetha a experts to go to VAashl if ton after the Christmas holidays to ra congress , to appropriate 110 000 OoO for the construction of dry docks barracks, machine shops and wharves In the canal aone He Intl ma ed t at he would ha e nothing fur thor to say on the matter of sending ar easels to the canal sons unless he were asked to gl e hla views. He said he expected to go to West Point first to see his son wl o Is an instructor at the m ar u ademy I also want to ask for an additional d edge when I go to Washington ha sa d 1 fear that we will have to keep a dredge working on the canal steadily for a yea or more The hills lit Culebra seem to be settling and th s ta the ause of frequent slides We have been able howo er to get snips tt rough the canal In much better time ban we tt ought wa could for nstance we calculated on half an hour to each of the three locks, but we find that a ship can be passed through ail three locks In forty five minutes Colonel Ooethals said that there are at the presest time still IS 000 men on the government a pay rolls u the canal aone. |