| Show THE NICARAGUA CANAL antho in the senate this week the debate on the subject of the nicaragua agu canal has bus been of a preliminary character and suggestive of an early attempt to bring the matter mailer directly dire otly before the legislators for some definite action arte rte promoters of the doreme for the untied united states government to guarantee guarana gu arant bon thus enable the construction ui oi the canal 9 tj be pushed forward to c completion are performing herculean labors in behalf of the measure and are sanguine of favorable lavo rable results their opponents are no lew ion vigorous in to re slating the suggested action and are equally confident of success there la is no question that the nicaragua canal is the grant grandest iest protect project of the kind known to finan ciering or engineering gi la in modern times time it Is as a far ahead of beguez canal as wat bat ous enterprise enter prise was in advance of any other aril floiad waterway at the time it WOO wa constructed and ibi it friends fiends assert taits advant advantages axes tu In interra inter terna nao dional commerce will be of at proportion abely greater importance some of at those who oppose the tee united estates government giving aid to the nicaragua canal urge that it is not a nieces sity for the worlds world ld commerce at present or in the near future and that when constructed its ita value financial and otherwise will be by no means commensurate with the expenditure necessary to bring it into existence arguments of a nature were brought against be suez scheme but their fallacy having been shown by experiences experience they are not accorded much weight in the later osse case therefore it appears to be generally conceded that the canal bouli be beneficial to the world at large la in its commercial relations by greatly shortening the he time of water transit between the north atlantic and north pacific oceans avoiding the long and perilous journey around cape horn and at the same times time by direct competition r reducing transcontinental railway freights A specific inquiry with this country is whether the united states wants the canal bad enough to guarantee eua aua rantee funds to the amount of or more if this were answered in the affirmative as the friends of the canal insist that it should be there still re mains mat os the question of how that guaranty shall be made to operate vigorous opponents of the measure point out that the present proposed plan Is merely a job 21 by which too tie present pose possessors of the practically bankrupt canal company Ps property gl expect to sneak to out of the boodle s in that view of the case if the charge chaice be well fou founded oded there will be little sentiment among the veneral public in favor of doing anything that will give opportunity for such BUCQ robbery an illustration of subsidies euba idles that is ie cited as aa a warning against giving so ae gig tance to the canal project is quoted in the experience of the government regarding rezard ioe the pacific railways the united status states guaranteed the bonds bond but the ra iwaya have not paid the money according to agreement it is freely asserted and with good show of reason that on the contrary they have been made the sources of great pecuniary profit to certain stockholders thus virtually robbing the government for private interest so far as that accusation is concerned however it is hardly a logical argument against subsidies except in so far that when giving them the government should secure and to in abs tbs case of the railways it can proceed to collect the forfeit should it be deemed proper but granting all that has baa been charged against the pacific roads in this respect there eau caa be no question among intelligent well informed people that the united states state as a nation has profited by the building of the pacific line to an amoust vastly in excess of the financial ost to the government it was these roads road wat that made possible the rapid development the west wes has bus experienced the past quarter of a century gary and without which much of the rocky mountain region which to is now ibn location of prosperous cities and towns town still would have been an uncultivated waste if government had bad not guaranteed the railway bonds bond a transcontinental road might still have been an accomplishment of the he future in urging upon congress the necessity of favorable action in the canal matter frequent ube is made of the bugaboo that it if the united states does not stop step in at once great britain will be sure to do so BO at the ear earliest libet opportunity to the prejudice of american interests interest this thies of courses course to is merely to catch a passing popular sentiment of patriotism and not because there is in any fact on which to base the assertion its use as an argument is in because of its disreputable character rather to confirm the abe sus aue clelon of a job than otherwise but ut financiers like politicians catch at every breeze to help their craft along so BO the english domination scarecrow Is being worked to its utmost should the united states decide to guarantee the canal bonds it is reasonably certain that a consideration will be that this government will insist on naming the majority of the directors it would be unwise to require ws em than this in view of the vast responsibility assumed this done and the administration of the abe canal is practically in the hands bands of the united states as against all other powers power it was to the question of the effect of existing watles treaties on this branch of the subject that senator morgan directed a great portion of his speech of wednesday this brings the matter to an important phase of the situation the clayton clay ton buler Bulwer treaty of 1850 between the united states and great brit a has especial reference to trans isthmus canals agals both the panama and nicaragua propositions then abea being under discussion I 1 a that treaty both powers agree that the projected canal shall be it a neutral highway and pledge themselves to maintain this neutrality the united states promises that it will not obtain or maintain for itself any ex elusive control over the said ship canal nor acquire any rights or advantages in regard to commerce or navigation through the said canal which the citizens of great britain do not possess poe eess and gret gre t britain makes the same promises of abstention on her bor part in addition both parties promise that delther will blockade the canal in time of war against the other and neither will capture it both powers promise conjointly oon jointly to protect the interests of the canal builders and the canal itself and to keep it open ns no an unobstructed ted waterway for the commerce of the world notwithstanding the attempts to explain how bow the united states can secure and maintain control of the canal and still be in accord with the terms of this tb Is treaty the stubborn fact remains that the plain intent of the treaty is against such control and cannot he be honorably disregarded by the united states and in this matter it would at stem em that the fi first rat stop step to be taken in the way to the american national support of the canal scheme is to modify or abrogate that treaty action by Co congress tigress without with out this thin would be futile and inadvisable so far as regard tor for treaty stipulations to is concerned for the country woula not net be likely to approve riding roughshod over an agree ment what will or will not be done with the canal as may be seen by these statements Is in a matter of great uncertainty certa luty there we many arguments on both sides of the proposition and the most ardent friends of the project must confess that there Is in yet a vast work to do to clear the way for constructing ting the proposed great waterway between the atlantic and Paci pacific it is likely therefore that the country will bear a great deal of discussion relative thereto before government either rejects or adopts adolte the suggested plan |
