Ogden Daily Standard | 1916-08-21 | Page 3 | Japan Buying Land near Canal

JAPAN BUYING LAI NEAR CANAL Secretary Lansing Orders an Investigation of Attempt to Get 60,000 Acre Concession. Con-cession. SPANISH AGENT BUSY Admiral Said to Have Given Out Valuable Information About Canal. "Washington, Aug. 21. Investigation of reports from Panama that a sixty-thousand sixty-thousand acre land concession at the Atlantic end of tho canal is being by a Spaniard named Fernandez, presumably pre-sumably for Japanese Interests, was ordered today by Secretary Lansing. Rumors of a similar nature have been common since the canal was well under way, but It was not till several months ago that they reached a well-defined well-defined outline. At that time it was commonly believed in diplomatic circles cir-cles that private Japanese shipping egggpnoai ,i n mi i iiiiii3ma,.uiiua. 'nterests were seeking land through Spanish intermediaries to establish a base for storing coal at lower rates j han could bo had from the American government monopoly base. So far as is known, nothing definite came of that plan. The present reports are that Fer-nandez, Fer-nandez, Havana agent for Japanese interests, secured a 60,000-acre land concession through tho activity of Ramon Valdes, whose recent election to the presidency of Panama may possibly bo disputed by the United States because of alleged frauds and coercion. Admiral Concas or the Spanish navy, selected by the Panama govern-ment govern-ment .is umpire to settle the dispute with the "United States over tho pur-Abase pur-Abase price of canal property, is al-leged al-leged to have given valuable 2nforma-tion 2nforma-tion about the canal itself.