JANUARY 1, 1909
The Commoner.
3
PLAYI
Henry Watterson Gives Joseph Pulitizer Timely Warning and Incidentally
Makes Interesting Contribution to Panama Canal Literature
''.
WITH
Henry Watterson prints in the Louisvlllo
Courier-Journal this editorial:
PLAYING WITH FERE
I.
Says the Times-Star, of Cincinnati, owned
and edited by Mr. Charles P. Taft, elder half
brother of the President-elect:
"Regarding the Panama canal matter, the
vociferous Mr. Watterson calls upon Mr. Joseph
Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, 'to
step to the front and the Courier-Journal will
stand directly behind you.'
"Mr. Watterson's choice of words is excel
lent. A position 'directly behind' the man who
is getting the rough end of an encounter is
sometimes a post of safety, if not of honor.
"Somehow we suspect that Mr. Pulitzer
has had about all the stepping to the front in
this Panama affair he cares for. The part that
his paper has taken in the development and
spread of that silly story always seemed highly
discreditable to those who knew anything of
the matter in hand. The vicious emptiness of
the story was apparent from the beginning. But
it remained for the statement of Mr. William
Nelson Cromwell who, to use the World's own
words, is the 'one man who knows all about the
distribution of the Panama loot' to utterly an
nihilate it. We have heard forceful denials
before, but never in our experience have we
come across a denial which took a charge and
tore it to pieces as ruthlessly and completely
as did Mr. Cromwell's remarks on Panama."
It would be just as well if "Mr. Taft should
rest content upon the general acceptance of
his denial that he made any money out of the
Panama canal job. It might, perhaps, be
equally well if he employed a little circumspec
tion in the use of his parts of speech. There
has been no "vociferation" in these columns,
nor can the term "vociferous" be justly applied
to the editor of the Courier-Journal. It is in
deed only applied by those who find themselves
unable to meet his statements and to answer
his arguments.
In the matter of Panama the Courier-Journal
knew too much to fall into the solecism of
personal accusation where proof was either in
accessible, or impossible. Mr. Taft, the president-elect,
had nothing to do with the deal.
He was in the Philippines. Tho attempt to im
peach the president through his brother-in-law,
aside from having no. evidence to support it,
was rather far-fetched. Two such "breaks" gave
the president a clear advantage in his come-back,
which fie has made the most of. But, when Mr.
Taft, the elder, says that there was anything
formidable about the blatant observations of
the Chevalier William Nelson Cromwell, he be
trays an ignorance of the case which at least
furnishes corroborative testimony of his own
innocence.
If Mr. Joseph Pulitzer cares to go on with
the war invited by the president's bellicose man
ifesto, the final result may vindicate the truth
of the saying, that he who laughs most and
best is he who laughs last.
For example, Mr. Cromwell has supplied
the president with some thousands of names
all Frenchmen to show, not only that there
were no American subscribers to the Panama
canal shares, but that there was no close cor
poration, or syndicate, since so many were in
terested in the distribution of the forty millions.
The president has sent this list to the senate.
Mr. Pulitzer's first business, therefore, should
be the investigation of these names. If they
are not pure inventions men of straw, having
no real existence we have a very strong im
pression that they will bo found to be the share
holders of the old broken and bankrupted De
Lesseps company, whose rights, properties and
concessions, the Varilla-Cromwell, i. e., the new
French company, purchased for about twelve
millions of dollars.
This is merely a pointer for which tho
Courier-Journal charges the World nothing.
As we said tho other day, the trail is prob
ably lost. The bucket-shops of Paris may bo
inaccessible even to Mr. Pulitzer's agencies. As
suredly since Credit Mobllier and Pacific Mall
the lobby at Washington has kept no books.
The suggestion that there are hidden "docu
ments" among the government archives, gavo
the president another advantage, because, in tho
nature of the case as to the forty millions to
the forty thieves, there could bo none that in
criminated anybody. In controversy an accusa
tion which is unsustained proves a boomerang,
and Mr. Roosevelt Is too old a hand at tho bel
lows of controversy not to have used this for
all it was worth.
Tho weak point in. tho Roosevelt armor Is
not the forty million job, but its corollary, the
fly-by-night republic of Panama. There tho ac
cusing facts are plentiful. Mr. Pulitzer has only
to go after them. Although the transaction is
as the French say "un fait accompli," that is
an accomplished fact, to which recurrence can
have no practical bearing, it being too lato
either to recall the millions wasted, or to im
peach the president, the story is interesting and
as a lesson and a warning will always bear re
telling. Tho new French company having acquired
for twelve millions the rights of the old French
company, and sold these to the United States
for forty millions, a treaty between the United
States and the republic of Colombia was all
that was required to confirm tho deal. Mr.
Hay was our secretary of state. Mr. Herran
was the minister of Colombia at Washington.
They made a treaty known as tho Hay-Herran
treaty, which, promptly ratified by our senate,
was sent to Bogota to be ratified by Colombia.
This done, a stock jobbing scheme begun In
Paris and successfully consummated in Wash
ington would be realized, vastly enriching its
promoters, Mr. Lampro, Mr. Cromwell and Mr.
Bunau Varilla, representing a blind pool of
these. Being a blind pool, with Its headquar
ters abroad, it will hardly be possible for tho
World to get at the leading facts.
II.
The "act to authorize the' construction of
a canal connecting the waters of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans," approved Juno 28, 1902,
authorized the president to obtain "by treaty"
and in no other way control of such terri
tory "from Colombia" as might be necessary
for that purpose; and it provided also that if
he should be unable to do so "within a reason
able time" and upon "reasonable terms," ho
should then proceed to acquire the necessary
territory from Costa Rico and Nicaragua.
This act, known as the Spooner act, appro
priated ten million dollars to be used by tho
president "toward the project contemplated by
either route." Let It be borne In mind that
this was the bill which authorized him "to pay
for the property of the new Panama Canal com
pany forty million dollars," when ho "shall
have obtained by treaty the necessary territory
from Colombia." Of course It did not con
template any arrangement with Panama direct,
but was based on the likelihood that the treaty
authorized by it, and signed by Messrs. Herran
and Hay, and ratified by the senate on March
17, 1903, would be ratified by Colombia.
The act did not authorize the president to
employ the navy of the United to "prevent the
landing of Colombian troops within fifty miles
of Panama," which he subsequently did, or to
commit any other act hostile to Colombia. It
did not authorize him under any circumstance
to wage war, but required him, in case of fail
ure to come to terms with Colombia, to secure
another route for the canal specified by the act
itself
in October, 1903, Colombia, acting strictly
within her rights, rejected the Hay-Herran
treatv 'The work done by Messrs. Lampre,
Cromwell and Bunau Varilla, was about to be
wrecked in port, no It wore. Then tho flrnt
overt act in tho Panama "revolution" was per
formed by tlie administration, and tho navy,
not upon tho Isthmus of Panama, but within
tho state department at Washington. It wao
In tho direct interest of tho now Panama Canal
company.
Tho Courier-Journal leavca Mr. Pulitzer
and tho World to relate tho revolting story;
how tlie administration made itself the collector
general of the French company; how tho navy
of tho United States was deployed for tho pur
pose; how a huddlo of men In buckram, set
up as tho republic of Panama by tho Chovalior
William Nelson Cromwell on tho Isthmus, wan
recognized Instantor, its envoy extraordinary
and minister plenipotentiary no othor than M.
Philippo Bunau Varilla, Mr. Cromwell's part-,
ner; how the ten millions were diverted from
their original purpose to tho fly-by-nlght gov
ernment of Panama, all In defiance of tho ox
press terms of the Spooner act precodocl by acta
of war In explicit disregard of tho constitution
of tho United States.
These things the Courier-Journal exposed
and assailed at tho time. With Mr. Morgan, of
Alabama, in the senate, there was hope of some-,
thing; Morgan dead, the "incident closed," we
can only shoot arrows Into tho air, so to ay,
Yet the president having thrown down the gauge
of battle, the World seems In for picking it up,
and, from the ethical point of view, It will have
the intelligence of tho country with It.
In conclusion, we can not do better thaa
quote the following from our article of last Sat
urday, which had roferenco both to the Now
York World and tho Indianapolis News:
"If the late Senator Morgan of Alabama
and the Courier-Journal could havo hnd'itho,)
active co-operation of tho Now York World and'
tho Indianapolis News, vhilst the fight was on,1
we might have dofeated tho forty million Job,
for job It surely was. Now that their editors
have' been drawn into tho foreground by tho
bitter personal attack of tho president, and tho
impudent denials of William Nelson Cromwell,
the Courlor-Journal promises them Its hearty
sympathy and backing if they will keep right
along bravely and truthfully to press the in
famy homo to everybody concerned. 7,
"The quarrel, as Sir Lucius observes, Is a
very pretty quarrel as It stands. Originally tho
Courier-Journal was a principal. Cromwell was
its 'meat.' It had lots of fun out of Me bon
Cousin Edouard Lampre' and 'little Vanila
Bean,' not to say the 'forty thieves,' twenty In
Paris and twenty in Washington, dividing tho
'forty million,' a million a thief, there or there
abouts, i , ,
"This shall not hinder us now from playing
second fiddle to tho World and the News, and
willingly doing that than which It has been
said that 'Angels can do no more.' Morgan of
Alabama was our file leader. But Senator
Morgan Is dead, more's the pity! Senator Tal
liaferro of Florida, however, remains. And then
there Is Rainey of Illinois, over in the house.
"Cromwell has shot his gun. It ought to
do more execution at the breech than at the
muzzle. Where are you, Mr. Pulitzer? Step
right to the front and the Courier-Journal will
stand directly behind you, even as it stood di
rectly behind Mr. Morgan. But, these few pre
cepts, Joseph; skin your eyes and your 6ye
teeth, old man; don't let them ever catch a
weasel asleep; and don't send any hoys to mill.
To run down a red fox, like Cromwell, to cir
cumvent a flea In a skillet like Roosevelt, Is a
man's work, not child's play; and, if you are
not resolved to strip to it, you had best call
off the dogs and go gallumphing home!
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