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CUTTING THROUGH
the Continental Divide on the Panamanian lsthmus in 1913. Landslides were a constant problem
throughout Panama Canal construction. More than 200 million cubic yards of earth were excavated, one quarter of it
slide material.
zarre situation haJf a century later.
But the French government fell at
the crucial moment, and the plan
fell witb
it"
(Panama, 400 Years of
Dreams and Reality,
by David Ho–
warth).
After that , Bunau-Varilla was
forced to conclude tbat there was
only one country whicb could con–
ceivably finish bis dream canal. The
Frencb failure showed that tbe job
was too big for prívate industry.
lt
needed a government's resources.
But tbe government of Colombia
was weak and nearly bankrupt, and
no European government would
have dared stir up tbe Monroe Doc–
trine. The U. S. government was
left as the only alternative.
Financed REtvolution Out
of His Own Pocket
Bunau-Varilla worked tirelessly
behind the scenes cultivating friends
in American politics and industry.
He continually kept alive the falter–
ing glimmer of hope for the Panama
route. His big stroke of success carne
when he met the leader of Panama's
30
still secret revolutionary group,
Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero,
in
New York City
in
the summer of
1903.
The revolutionaries were short of
money. They needed $100,000 to
pay the back wages of Colombian
troops stationed in Panama -
troops whicb had professed sympa–
thy for the revolution.
Bunau-Varilla made a deal. He
offered to secure the entire amount
through a branch of bis own bank in
New York. In re turn, the Pan–
amanian revolutionaries agreed to
appoint him Minister Plenipoten–
tiary - with full power to conduct
canal tr eaty negotiations with
Washington after tbe revolution
succeeded.
Some members of tbe revolution–
ary dique group felt uneasy about a
non-Panamanian representing them
in
so delicate a matter. But needing
tbe money, tbey consented.
l ndependence for Panama carne,
virtually without a sbot, on Novem–
ber 3, 1903. With bis diplomatic cre–
dentials in hand, Bunau-Varilla
Ponomo Cana l Compony
worked fast. He took the montbs–
old Hay-Herrán Treaty and added
many points advantageous to the
United States to satisfy the U. S.
Senate and, especially, to overcome
objections from tbe Nicaraguan fa c–
tion.
Secretary of State Jobn Hay could
hardly believe tbe generous terms
offered in the new treaty. One sena–
tor, wbo had supported Nicaragua,
described the treaty as "more liberal
in its concessions to us and giving us
more than anybody in this Chamber
ever dreamed of having. " He
added: "We have never had a con–
cession so extraordinary in its char–
acter as this. In fact, it sounds very
much as if we wrote it ourselves."
(Many of Bunau-Varilla's additions,
in fact , had been originally pro–
posed as amendments to the Hay–
Herrán Treaty by Senator John T .
Morgan.)
On February 25, 1904, Bunau–
Varilla and Hay exchanged ratifica–
tions of the treaty. The next day,
Bunau-Varilla resigned bis short–
lived ministry, bis life work accom-
PLAIN TRUTH Moy 1973