The American Type of Isthmian Canal
Speech by Hon. John Fairfield Dryden in the Senate of the United States, June 14, 1906
9781465555397
40 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
1915 PRUDENTIAL PRESS, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY It was on June 14, 1906, when the Canal subject was up for final consideration, that Mr. Dryden addressed the Senate. The official records show that "S. 6191, to provide for the construction of a sea-level canal connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the method of construction," was before Congress, and it was in opposition to this measure that Mr. Dryden patriotically pledged his devotion to American enterprise and American ability by declaring for the lock-level type of canal, built by American engineers and under American supervision, concluding with the following words, which deserve to be recalled on this memorable occasion as a tribute to the native genius and enterprise of the American people: "I am entirely convinced that the judgment and experience of American engineers in favor of a lock canal may be relied upon with entire confidence and that such an enterprise will be brought to a successful termination. I believe that in a national undertaking of this kind, fraught with the gravest possible political and commercial consequences, only the judgment of our own people should govern, for the protection of our own interests, which are primarily at stake. I also prefer to accept the view and convictions of the members of the Isthmian Commission, and of its chief engineer, a man of extraordinary ability and large experience. It is a subject upon which opinions will differ and upon which honest convictions may be widely at variance, but in a question of such surpassing importance to the nation, I, for one, shall side with those who take the American point of view, place their reliance upon American experience, and show their faith in American engineers." The Panama Canal problem has reached a stage where a decision should be made to fix permanently the type of the waterway, whether it shall be a sea-level or a lock canal. An immense amount of evidence on the subject has in the past and during recent years been presented to Congress. An overwhelming amount of expert opinion has been collected, and an International Board of Consulting Engineers has made a final report to the President, in which experts of the highest standing divide upon the question. The Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals has likewise divided. It is an issue of transcendent importance, involving the expenditure of an enormous sum of money, and political and commercial consequences of the greatest magnitude, not only to the American people, but to the world at large
