Reversion? Hogwash

As the surrender of the Panama Canal nears, the media are trotting out one of their favorite mindless terms: reversion.

In other words, the United States is "returning" the canal to Panama. Hogwash.

Panama, in 1903, was part of Colombia. When Colombia backed out of a proposed agreement with the United States on August 12 of that year, the stage was set for revolt in Panama. Over the previous 75 years, Panamanians had staged about 50 pocket revolts, seeking to break away from Bogota's control. All failed.

This one was different. The Panamanians had powerful friends. U.S. warships appeared off shore. Forty-two U.S. Marines, in dress white uniforms, marched ashore. The revolutionaries were unopposed, and there was but a single casualty: a Chinese man, hit by a stray round during a token artillery barrage.

On Nov. 3. 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence. Three days later, the United States recognized the new republic. Fifteen days later, Philippe Bunau-Varilla-chief engineer of the costly ($260 million), deadly (20,000 workers lost their lives) and failed French attempt (1881-1889) to build a canal-arrived in Washington to represent Panama in negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State John A Hay. They met in Hay's house-site of the present-day Hay-Adams Hotel.

After three days of negotiations, at 6:40 p.m. on November 18, the two men signed the 25 articles of the treaty bearing their names. Panama ratified the treaty on December 2, the U.S. on February 23.

President Theodore Roosevelt-with powerful assistance from Ohio Republican Sen. Mark Hanna (and, behind the scenes, Bunau-Varilla)-bulldozed opponents of the treaty who were holding out for a sea-level canal through Nicaragua.

And, the next year, TR also got his way in persuading Congress to pay $40 million for the French rights and work already done (30 million of the 78 million cubic yards of earth they had excavated were added to the 200 million the Americans would later dig out themselves).

Work began almost immediately. The first challenge: Defeat deadly diseases, and especially malaria and yellow fever. Building on lessons learned in Cuba, Dr. William Crawford Gorgas mounted a campaign so incredibly successful that, on a September afternoon in 1905, he entered a room at Ancon Hospital where surgeons were working on a cadaver. "Take a good look at this man," he said, "for that is the last case of yellow fever you will ever see." It was.

The engineering challenges-far too staggering, complex and numerous to record here-were met and overcome by men of iron will and boundless energy and talents: At the top, John F Stevens and Col. George Washington Goethals.

The number of workers grew to 4550,000--approximately 6,000 of whom were Americans, Most workers came from the West Indies, and many of them died.

As David McCullough observes in his landmark book, 77w Path Bem,een the Seas, Panamanians were conspicuous by their absence. "Panamanians," he says dryly, "refused to take a hand with the canal."

On Aug. 15, 1914@ the Panama Canal was opened to traffic-five months ahead of schedule. The final cost came in well below the $375,201,000 budget.

There was no Panama Canal when Panama-a disease-ridden tropical backwater inhabited then by 350,000 persons, a few very rich, most desperately poor-was raised up into life.

The canal was built with American money, with American ingenuity. perseverance and resourcefulness-and the sweat and blood of men from many lands. But few of them from the host country.

What reversion?

-JRW

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Nov 12, 1999
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