America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 625 Panama Canal

1901, Isthmus of Panama.

A train lurches through the tropical rainforest.

In the compartment of the carriage, a bearded gentleman in a white shirt kept fanning himself with a cardboard.
His collar was soaked with sweat and turned yellow, and his beard was also wet.

He complained grumblingly:
"Damn, it's only been a few years, and the French have ruined it like this since they took over the railway. You know, this railway was not so bad when it was in the hands of Chen Jianqiu."

He raised his head and glanced at the interior decoration, which had been eroded into disarray due to the humid climate.

"Boss Chen really knows how to do business."

Another gentleman sitting across from him snorted.

Not caring about his image, he unbuttoned more than half of his shirt, revealing his golden, fluffy chest hair.

"His railway was worth at most US$750 million at the time, but in the end he extorted US$2500 million from the French. What a bunch of injustice."

The bearded man chuckled:
"Who made the French risk their lives to dig this canal? The transportation of materials and people, and even the transportation of earthwork depend on this parallel railway. Boss Chen did not cooperate. In addition to buying it at a high price, these French guys also bought it at a high price. Are there any other options?”

"The canal company of those French guys should have gone bankrupt, right?" Golden Chest Hair thought for a moment and asked.

"Yeah, otherwise what are we doing here? Isn't it just to re-evaluate the feasibility of building the Panama Canal?"

The bearded man took out the map and spread it on the table in front of him.

His name is William Walker, and he is the chairman of the Canal Preparatory Committee; and the blond-chested man named Jamie Barrow is the vice-chairman.

Logically speaking, this kind of thing does not require the two of them to personally go out.

However, the new President Roosevelt told them that this matter was of great importance.

The French guys who had been digging here for twenty years finally couldn't hold on any longer. The canal company fell into a lack of funds and a bribery scandal, and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The president wanted to take this opportunity to explore the possibility of a breakthrough.

However, the current mainstream opinion in Congress is to build a canal in Nicaragua, not Panama.

Walker and the others just came from Nicaragua.

They need to make a report comparing the two plans.

This report was placed on President Roosevelt's desk a few months later.

Roosevelt sat down in his large chair and began to read the report.

On the left hand side is a report submitted by Secretary of State John Hay on the acquisition of the rights and all shares of the bankrupt French Panama Canal Company that was auctioned in Paris.

After quickly reading the report, Roosevelt sorted it out and put it together with the report on his left.

He pressed the bell on the table.

The door of the office was opened, and Presidential Secretary Cortliu walked in.

"Call Mr. Hanna for me," the President said.

Soon, Hanna rushed from Capitol Hill to the White House and walked into the president's office.

"I have decided to pursue the plan to build a canal in Panama." Roosevelt handed the two reports to Hanna.

Hanna was a little stunned.

While taking the report, he said:
"But the House of Representatives already approved the plan to build a canal in Nicaragua on January 1?"

"The strategic location of the Isthmus of Panama is far more important than Nicaragua."

The president, who was born in the navy, understands the significance of the canal to the navy.

"Leaving aside the difficulty of building it, the House of Representatives almost unanimously passed the proposal to dig a canal in Nicaragua! Isn't it a little late now?"

Hanna still has doubts.

Although he leads the Senate, he still knows everything about what is happening in the House of Representatives.

A few days ago, this proposal was passed with a disparity of "308 votes in favor and 1 vote against."

The congressmen were immersed in the excitement that "the United States can finally realize its centuries-old dream of building an inter-oceanic waterway controlled by Americans."

Telling them to change their plans now is indeed not a good thing.

"The Senate and I haven't passed this yet." Roosevelt crossed his fingers and placed them on his stomach, saying, "Besides, I didn't say we won't dig the canal, just find another place."

So, a few days later, it was Saturday, January 1th.

The president held a press conference at the White House.

He published the Isthmian Commission's cost accounting for the construction of the Panama Canal and the Nicaragua Canal, using detailed figures to illustrate that Panama was the most ideal place for canal construction.

"First of all, if we choose to build the canal in Panama, we will save 20% of the cost than building the canal in Nicaragua."

"Comparing the mileage of the two routes, the Panama route is only 50 miles, while the Nicaragua route is 180 miles."

"Panama already has a railway across the entire region, but Nicaragua currently only has road transportation and Great Lakes water transportation!"

Mr. President’s explanation was detailed, logical and well-founded, which shocked the reporters present.

On Monday, January 1, reports that Panama was an ideal location for a canal made headlines in newspapers across the country.

Before lawmakers understood what was going on, the president's supplementary report on the situation in the Panama Canal was sent to Congress.

People were shocked by the great prospect, and building the Panama Canal became every American's dream.

In the Senate, party leaders from all parties were persuaded by the report to shift their attention from the Nicaragua Canal plan to the Panama Canal plan.

On January 1, Congress passed the Canal Amendment, giving President Roosevelt the prerogative to choose the route of the canal.

"Hey, we got it!"

After returning from Congress, Roosevelt looked like a victorious general, just as he had in the Spanish-American War. However, Hanna, who was behind him, was not as optimistic as his president.

He said meaningfully:
"This matter is not that simple."

Yes, although Congress agreed, the reality is much more skinny than the ideal.

First of all, the Isthmus of Panama at that time was still within the boundaries of Colombia.

In order to dig the canal, the French canal company proposed extremely favorable conditions to the Colombian government, including but not limited to profit sharing and partial control of the operation after the excavation.

This was unacceptable to both the United States and Roosevelt.

Therefore, in order to fix the canal, we must first fix the Colombian government.

Secondly, the Isthmus of Panama is an extremely underdeveloped place with lush rainforests and rife with disease.

The French had been digging here for more than 20 years at a huge cost. The canal was not dug long, and the French ended up with the company going bankrupt.

But President Roosevelt didn't seem worried at all.

He patted Hanna on the shoulder and winked at him:

"Don't we have Boss Chen?"

Chen Jianqiu, who was far away in Oklahoma, sneezed.

He is very busy, not just ordinary busy.

Since President Roosevelt officially fulfilled his promise and repealed the Chinese Act, a large number of Chinese immigrants have poured into New Mexico and Oklahoma.

This will inevitably cause anxiety and dissatisfaction among some people of other ethnic groups who originally lived in the area.

Fortunately, these two places, especially Oklahoma, are big enough.

Boss Chen had also been well prepared and, together with his business partners, had invested in some labor-intensive factories here, such as Ford's automobile assembly plant and some parts production plants.

Roswell Electric Company also built three or four assembly lines in Tulsa.

If you have a job, earn money and live a decent life, the conflicts generally won't be too big.

"Mr. Chen, the president is calling on line 2."

Aniu walked quickly into the workshop and said to Chen Jianqiu who was inspecting.

Chen Jianqiu had an ominous premonition.

It seems that there is nothing good about the president looking for him.

He gave some instructions, turned around and went back to the office with Aniu.

"hello?"

Chen Jianqiu picked up the receiver.

"I have something to ask you."

The president's voice came from the other end of the phone.

He didn't even say hello and went straight to the point.

"I have just received permission from Congress to build a canal in Panama. I think you have enough manpower. Your people are hardworking and brave, and they are also rich."

"Hello? Hello! Hello." Chen Jianqiu stared at the ceiling, acting as a repeater, "Damn it, what's wrong with this line? I can't hear a single sound."

After talking to himself for a while, he hung up the phone.

I knew that finding him would not be good.

Panama knows the situation best.

The Pacific Railroad previously had a railway there, which served as the only hub connecting the two oceans on the isthmus.

Although the business was good, it was later sold to the French who ripped them off heavily.

However, it did take a lot of effort to build it.

That's really not a place for people to stay.

Building a railway is already so difficult, let alone digging a canal.

Just as Chen Jianqiu was about to turn around and leave, the phone rang again.

After the phone rang for a while, he finally decided to pick up the receiver again.

"I'll give you a small portion of the operating profit later. Is that okay?" The president put forward the conditions again.

In Roosevelt's eyes, he valued control of the canal more than the revenue.

Chen Jianqiu's eyes lit up.

This is the Panama Canal! It may become the busiest waterway in the Americas in the future, just like a money printing machine!
So, Chen Jianqiu's "broken line" suddenly became better.

"I hope the military can come forward to ensure the rationing, transportation and supply of materials, and provide experienced doctors to accompany them to ensure the cleanliness of the living area and the health of my workers."

This time it was Chen Jianqiu's turn to make a request.

The two people bargained on the phone and finally reached a preliminary agreement.

Chen Jianqiu contracted the project of digging the Panama Canal. The federal government will assist him in dealing with the Colombian government and provide all the help it can.

"There is one last thing. The congressional appropriations for the canal construction may come later, so you will need to make a little advance payment. But I know that you are the richest man in the world and you have the ability to do it."

Before Roosevelt finished speaking, Chen Jianqiu's "repeat" came from the other end of the phone:
"Hello? Hello! Hello! Damn it, this line was fine just now."

(End of this chapter)