Your TR Source
Acting Secretary of War Oliver sends William Loeb a copy of a report made by Rear Admiral John Grimes Walker, Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission related to transportation contracts and the shipping of materials to the Canal Zone.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-03
President Roosevelt asks Senator Knox whether it would be worth stopping the lies of Joseph Pulitzer about the purchase of the Panama Canal once and for all. Roosevelt has received a full list of the stockholders of the Panama Canal Corporation from William Nelson Cromwell, as well as papers regarding what those companies did in connection to the purchase of the canal. While the scandal has not touched the government, Roosevelt thinks it may be good to make these documents public and explains how Cromwell obtained them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-10
President Roosevelt has received a request for information regarding the purchase of the Panama Canal zone, and asks William Nelson Cromwell for any information he can provide on the subject. Roosevelt wonders if there is any way to access the stock books of the Panama Canal Companies. He wants to know whether the information may already be held by the United States government, or if it is held by private entities in the United States or France.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-08
President Roosevelt has been asked about the transaction to purchase the Panama Canal by Oscar K. Davis of the New York Times, and in turn asks Senator Knox about obtaining access to information on the matter. Roosevelt would like to know if the United States government got the stock books of the Panama Canal Companies with records of the votes of the stockholders, or if Knox knows where such records may be found. In a handwritten postscript, Roosevelt asks Knox if he knows who will be interviewed by Congress on the matter of the Panama Canal purchase.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-08
President Roosevelt, having reviewed the arguments and exhibits presented, informs the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell that he has decided against the New Panama Canal Company. Roosevelt believes the United States government does not need to pay more than the already paid forty million dollars, as the extra digging done by the company was both covered by the ten percent margin, and was done to preserve the rights of the Canal Company over the land.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-16
President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Taft to look over a report on a claim by the French Canal Company for overwork. Roosevelt believes they “have no claim in law at all, but they may have a claim in equity.” Special Assistant Attorney General Charles Wells Russell does not believe they do, but the company wishes to speak with Roosevelt on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-05
A joint resolution by the House and Senate resolving that purchases of material for use in the construction of the Panama Canal should be purchased domestically from the lowest responsible bidder, unless such bids are deemed extortionate or unreasonable by the President.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-25
In this journal article, George W. Crichfield proposes a plan for the completion of the Panama Canal. He begins by describing the environment of Panama and the current plans suggested by Admiral John Grimes Walker and the Isthmian Canal Commission before dissenting from these opinions due to his studies of the canal in January and February. Crichfield believes the canal should be divided into sections that are bid on by different contractors, as he does not think the Panama Canal should be in the hands of a single corporation. Based on his calculations, he recommends fifty-eight separate contracts. Crichfield also recommends that the canal is a tide-level canal rather than a lock canal. He disagrees with Brigadier General Peter C. Hains that African Americans are the best laborers for the job and instead recommends using people from the area. Crichfield encourages the government to guard against red tape and suggests the construction of the canal should be as serious as the prosecution of war: “The sooner it is finished the better.” Crichfield believes it is better to spend more and finish sooner than to spend less money but more time.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01
With the independence of Panama, Judge J. M. Dickinson has shifted his support in favor of an inter-oceanic canal through Panama. Although he deplores the manner in which the United States gained claim to the land necessary for the canal, he believes the canal will be of great economic benefit to ports in Southern states. He blames moneyed interests related to the existing trans-continental railroads and eastern port cities for trying to block the canal being built, first in Nicaragua and now in Panama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-12-27
Maurice Hutin, president of the Panama Canal Company, reviews the agreements and negotiations related to the valuation and transfer of the company’s Colombia concessions to the United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-30
Admiral Walker expresses his views on matters related to the privileges and property of the Panama Canal Company that were raised in a letter from the company’s president, Maurice Hutin. Walker defends the work of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the estimate of the Panama Canal Company’s worth at $40 million. He does not believe that further examination or arbitration as suggested by Hutin should be considered.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-12-06