vators, other machines, tools, etc. Much of this property was in good condition last summer, when the examination was made. The maps, drawings and records owned by the Panama Company are perhaps the most complete ever prepared for any great engineering project. These are valued at $2,000,000.

Hence if the Government takes the property it will have much in the way of available assets besides the privilege of finishing the work. If the sale is made it is thought that the United States can obtain more generous concessions from Colombia than from Costa Rica and Nicaragua,. but these matters will be settled in detail before the Government commits itself to either route.

HISTORY.-The history of the Panama Canal may be said to begin with the Clayton-Bulwer treaty in April of 1850. By this treaty the joint protectorate of the United States and Great Britain was given to the proposed isthmian canal, but it was some years before the scheme took practical shape. The survey of Lieut. L. A. B. Wyse was made in 1875 and published in the autumn of the following year. In May, 1879, a congress upon the subject was held in Paris, F. de Lesseps being the president. Seven schemes were there proposed and finally the route from the Bay of Limon to the Bay of Panama was recommended by a large majority, but the matter was held in abeyance for want of funds. Various lines have from time to time been suggested, the most northern being the Tehuantepec, over which a railroad now runs (see pp. 664-5), and the most southern the Aratro, following for some distance the course of the Aratro River.

In 1897 the site was selected for a canal across the narrowest portion of the isthmus, where the central ridge is also the lowest, but a tide level required a cutting across the Cordilleras at Culebra Pass 274 ft. deep, mainly through rock. The work was begun in 1882 but the difficulties and expenses of the undertaking had been greatly under-estimated, the capital employed was nearly exhausted in 1887, only about one-fifth of the excavation being completed, and on December 14, 1886, the company stopped payment.

Under the auspices of the French Government a parliamentary inquiry was started, corruption as well as miscalculation was discovered, fines and imprisonment followed for seven of the directors, and the

affairs of the organization went from bad to worse. There were changes of ownership, the old company being dissolved and a new one started for the completion of the work, but it went into liquidation. All attempts to handle the gigantic enterprise have so far been unsuccessful and government ownership will be the only possible solution of the problem. If the United States should fail to avail itself of this opportunity to purchase the Panama Canal at a fair price, it is feared that some European government may take hold of the matter, and this might result in awkward complications. ELIZABETH A. REED, A. M.

PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS. Ever since the founding of the republics of Latin America, about 1821, efforts have been made to get their representative men together in international conferences for the discussion of topics of general interest. Various meetings were held, which were attended by delegates from some of the Spanish-American republics, but not from all. In 1889 the International American Conference met at Washington, D. C. The moving spirit of this gathering, which did much to promote friendly relations and reciprocity between western nations, was James G. Blaine.

The second meeting of the kind was begun in the capital city of Mexico, Oct. 22, 1901. Invitations had been sent by the Mexican government to all the republics of the New World, and representatives from the various countries came. The list of delegates is as follows:

Argentina Antonio Bermejo, Martin Garcia Merou, and Lorenzo Anadon, besides two secretaries.

Bolivia-Fernando E. Guachalla, with one

Mexico-Genaro Raijosa, Joaquin D. Casasus, Jose Lopez-Portillo y Rojas, Emilio Pardo, Pablo Macedo, Alfredo Chavero, Francisco L. de la Barra, Manuel S. Marmol, and Rosendo Pineda, with two secretaries.

Paraguay-Cecilio Baez.

Peru-Dr. Isaac Alzamora, Dr. Alberto Elmore, Dr. Manuel A. Calderon, and three secretaries.

Salvador-Francisco A. Reyes and Baltasar Estupinian, with one secretary and one attaché.

Santo Domingo-Luis Felipe Carbo and Quintan Gutierrez, with one secretary.

United States of America-Henry G. Davis, William I. Buchanan, Charles M.

LIC. GENARO RAIJOSA. President of Conference and delegate from Mexico.

Pepper, Volney W. Foster, and John Barrett, with one secretary and one commercial attaché.

Uruguay-Dr. Juan Cuestas, with one

secretary.

Venezuela-Dr. Jose Gil Fortoul and Dr. M. M. Galavis, with one secretary.

The Bureau of American Republics was represented by the Secretary of the Bureau, William C. Fox.

Mexico City was a fitting place for the Congress. The assembly was held in the hall of the National Palace, specially prepared and decorated for the sessions of the Congress. The first session was held on the afternoon of Oct. 22, 1901. The address of welcome was delivered by Ignacio

Mariscal, the Mexican Minister of Foreign Relations, who spoke of the influence of the American Conference of 1889 and of the importance of such gatherings. He held that this Congress, like the one at The Hague, will lead to practical results and make for peace.

The name of Henry G. Davis, Chairman of the United States delegation, was proposed as that of the president of the Conference, an honor declined because of his not knowing Spanish. The chairman of the Mexican delegation, Genaro Raijosa, was then elected President of the Congress. The delegate from Brazil, Jose Hygino, was elected first Vice-President, and Baltasar Estupinian, delegate of Salvador, second Vice-President.

Several sessions were given to discussions of rules, and on Oct. 30 the establishment of 18 committees was approved. The several committees were appointed Nov. 4, as follows:

Water Transportation-Bermejo, Argentina; Davila, Honduras; Foster, United States; Guachalla, Bolivia; Orla, Guatemala; Pineda, Mexico, and Walker Martinez, Chile.

Commerce and Reciprocity-Alvarez Calderon, Peru; Anadon, Argentina; Baez, Paraguay; Gil Fortoul, Venezuela; Guachalla, Bolivia; Gutierrez, Santo Domingo; Macedo, Mexico; Martinez Silva, Colombia, and Pepper, United States.

Pan-American Court of Equity and Claims-Barrett, United States; La Barra, Mexico; Carbo, Ecuador; Corea, Nicaragua; Duarte Periera, Brazil; Lazo Arriaga, Guatemala, and Matte, Chile.

Pan-American Railroad-Calvo, Costa Rica; Davis, United States; Elmora, Peru; General Reyes, Colombia; Estupinian, Salvador; Leonard, Honduras; Lopez Portillo y Rojas, Mexico; Matte, Chile, and Orla, Guatemala.

Reorganization of the Bureau of American Republics-John Barrett, United States; Calvo, Costa Rica; Carbo, Ecuador; Corea, Nicaragua, and Sanchez Marmol, Mexico.

International Law-Alzamora, Peru: De la Barra, Mexico; Bello Codecido, Chile; Bermejo, Argentina: Corea, Nicaragua; Duarte Pereira, Brazil, and Guachalla, Bolivia.

Extradition and Protection Against Anarchy-Cuestas, Uruguay; Chavero, Mexico; Galavis, Venezuela; Francisco Reyes, Salvador, and Walker Martinez, Chile.

Pan-American Bank and ExchangeDavis, United States; Elmore, Peru; Garcia Marou, Argentina; Fortoul, Venezuela; Lazo Arriaga, Guatemala; Leger, Haiti, and Macedo, Mexico.

Pan-American Sanitary Regulations-Alzamora, Peru; Anadon, Argentina; Cuestas, Uruguay; Foster, United States; Galavis, Venezuela; Martinez Silva, Colombia, and Pardo, Mexico.

Patents, Trademarks, Weights and Measures-Alvarez Calderon, Peru; Baez, Paraguay, and Chavero, Mexico.

Practice of the Liberal Professions and Literary Relations-Blest Gana, Chile; Garcia, Merou, Argentina, and Sanchez Marmol, Mexico.

Resources and Statistics-Calvo, Costa Rica; Estupinian, Salvador; Fortoul, Venezuela; Leonard, Honduras; Lopez Portillo y Rojas, Mexico; Matte, Chile, and Pepper, United States.

Interoceanic Canal-Carbo, Ecuador; Davila, Honduras; Foster, United States; Leger, Haiti, and Pineda, Mexico.

Agriculture and Industries-Baez, Para

guay; Galavis, Venezuela; Gutierrez, Santo Domingo; Orla, Guatemala, and Sanchez Marmol, Mexico.

Rules and Credentials-Barrett, United States; Calvo, Costa Rica, and Corea, Nicaragua.

Future Pan-American Conferences-Anadon, Argentina; Buchanan, United States; Duarte Pereira, Brazil; Quintin Gutierrez, Santo Domingo, and Lazo Arriaga, Guatemala.

General Welfare-Bello Codecido, Chile; Buchanan, United States; Cuestas, Uruguay; Chavero, Mexico; Leger, Haiti; Garcia Merou, Argentina, and General Reyes, Colombia.

Engrossing-Blest Gana, Chile; Martinez Silva, Colombia, and Pineda, Mexico.

The main object of the Conference is the same as that of the former Pan-American Congress, in which Blaine was the leading figure. Besides working for reciprocity. treaties, the chief aim of the delegates was to formulate "an agreement upon, and recommendation for the adoption to their respective governments of, a definite plan of

arbitration of all questions, disputes and differences that may now or hereafter exist between them, to the end that all difficulties

VOLNEY W. FOSTER.

A delegate from the United States.

and disputes between such nations may be peacefully settled and wars be prevented."

Besides the principles of reciprocity and arbitration, a number of other questions were to be discussed at Mexico. Mr. Volney W. Foster, U. S. delegate, writes of several topics: "Another important matter which will be considered is that of establishing a uniform professional standard. Today, for example, a physician cannot in all instances go from this country into one of the South American States and be admitted to practice without securing a diploma from a Spanish or Latin-American college of medicine, although he may have attained to the highest honors in the foremost medical college in this country. We shall seek to establish some basis upon which the standing of the applicant for permission to practice medicine may be certified by this govern

ment.

"A system of reporting the presence and movements of contagious and infectious diseases will, it is hoped, be formulated. This should be made as comprehensive and effective as the Weather Bureau system, for it is as important that the electric wire should give alarm of the threatening pestilence as that it warns us of the coming storm. Also a co-operative International

Weather Bureau system should be established."

It is said that the instructions given to the U. S. delegates by our government were elastic and along the lines of President McKinley's views as expressed in his speech at Buffalo in September.

"The American delegates were instructed upon general measures that would tend to preserve and promote the prosperity of the several American States, including the formation of a sort of protective union under which the trade of the American nations. with one another shall be promoted; to establish a uniform system of customs regulations in each of the independent American States to govern the mode of importation and exportation of merchandise and port dues and charges, a uniform method of determining the classification and valuation of such merchandise in the ports of each country, and a uniform system of invoices, and the subject of sanitation of ships and quarantine; the adoption of a uniform system of weights and measures and laws to protect the patent right, copyrights, and trademarks of citizens of either country, and for the extradition of criminals; the adoption of a common coin to be used by each government, which is to be considered legal

delegates here had lengthy interviews with the officials of the Supreme Court and other law departments of the government, and found a hearty approval of such a plan."

On Nov. 6 the Conference went into secret session to consider the project of the Mexican delegation for an arbitration treaty. The Mexican plan (so far as can be learned) is somewhat different from The Hague Convention, in that it restricts matters open to arbitration to minor and technical points, thus excluding treaties like that of Ancon, a decision favorable to Chile.

In open session the members then listened to the proposal of the Guatemala delegation for a Pan-American Court of Claims. The object of this tribunal is to facilitate the settlement of controversies between governments. Each nation participating is to appoint three jurists learned in international law, to compose the Court. When a controversy arises, the two countries interested submit the case to a tribunal of three selected from these judges, who must not be citizens of either country. Each country appoints one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators appointed select a third. If the decision of this court be not unanimous, appeal can be taken to an international court of five members.

On Dec. 26 it was reported that all of the delegations had reached an agreement to sign The Hague Convention. The sentiment of the Conference was divided in respect to compulsory arbitration. Several of the nations became parties to a scheme of obligatory arbitration, Argentina and Brazil strongly favoring it. Chile refused. article CHILE, p. 706.)

(See

The report of the Committee on Water Transportation contained the following recommendations, suggested by Volney W. Foster, of the United States:

"1. That so far as may be practicable all port charges upon ships be combined in one charge, to be called tonnage dues, and levied as such, due consideration being given to equitable adjustment of such dues upon ships in cargo and those in ballast.

"2. That gross tonnage of vessels be taken as a basis for the collection of tonnage dues.

"3. That each of the republics here represented be recommended to modify port and harbor regulations so that vessels entering and clearing may do so with all possible dispatch, and that to assist in securing this result the respective countries shall encourage

"1. All matters relating to maritime quarantine should be intrusted solely to the national governments, which shall establish the necessary quarantine stations, define the length of time during which a vessel may be detained, and adopt measures to prevent the introduction of contagious disease.

"2. In the ports of each of the signatory states there should be established two kinds of quarantine, first the quarantine of inspection or observation, and second the quarantine of detention and disinfection.

"3. The signatory parties agree to recommend that prohibitive quarantine on all kinds of new manufactured merchandise between ports and territories of the parties shall be abolished.