A MINIATURE REVOLUTION.
It was not to be expected that Panama, one of the constituent provinces
of the United States of Colombia, would be very enthusiastic about all
this haggling and intriguing at Bogota. Panama asked for nothing better
than that a rich and powerful country like the United States should
continue the French enterprise and carry it through. The canal would run
right through the province, and would bring it into the main stream of
the world's traffic and commerce. No doubt the central government at
Bogota would skim off as much as possible of this new wealth and
prosperity at the isthmus; but even so, Panama would reap a great
advantage from the running of this new and much-frequented highway of
communication between east and west through its territory. The dealings
of the central government with the United States had roused a growing
disgust and resentment at the isthmus.
The relations between the province of Panama with New Granada and its
successor Colombia had been very chequered ever since the revolt of the
Spanish colonies in Central and South America in the early years of last
century. Panama declared her independence in 1821, and allied herself at
once with New Granada. But troubles began forthwith. Again and again the
isthmian province seceded from New Granada or Colombia, and was induced
to return by promises of more favourable terms of union, these always
remaining unfulfilled. In his annual message to Congress in 1903,
President Roosevelt enumerated some fifty-three "revolutions,
rebellions, insurrections, riots, and other outbreaks" that had occurred
at the isthmus in fifty-seven years. Not long before these difficulties
between the United States and Colombia, Panama had received a new
constitution which was far from satisfactory to the people of the
province. There was in truth little to be gained by a continued
allegiance to the government at Bogota. Some idea of the depths to
which Colombia had sunk through a long course of bad administration and
corruption may be gathered from a passage in the official address of Dr.
Marroquin on his becoming vice-president of Colombia in 1898. He said:--
Hatred, envy, and ambition are elements of discord; in the
political arena the battle rages fiercely, not so much with
the idea of securing the triumph of principles as with that
of humbling, and elevating persons and parties; public
tranquillity, indispensable to every citizen for the free
enjoyment of what he possesses either by luck or as the
fruit of his labour, is gradually getting unknown; we live
in a sickly atmosphere; crisis is our normal state; commerce
and all other industries are in urgent need of perfect
calmness for their development and progress; poverty invades
every home. The notion of mother country is mistaken or
obliterated, owing to our political disturbances. The
conception of mother country is so intimately associated
with that of political disorders, and with the afflictions
and distrust which they engender, that it is not unusual to
hear from one of our countrymen what could not be heard from
a native of any other country: "I wish I had been born
somewhere else." Could many be found among us who would feel
proud when exclaiming, "I am a Colombian," in the same way
as a Frenchman does when exclaiming, "I am a Frenchman"?
This was a cheerful pronouncement for a people to hear from the lips of
a man who was just assuming high office in their midst. It suggests some
further reasons why the Panamanians should have so readily asserted
their independence once more when the negotiations between Colombia and
the United States fell through.
Long before that happened, before the Colombian Congress which was to
deal with the Hay-Herran Treaty had assembled, a much-respected citizen
of Panama, Dr. Manuel Amador (Guerrero), had written to the Colombian
president warning him that serious consequences would follow at Panama
if that treaty were not ratified. For answer the central government
foisted on Panama a candidate for Congress who was well known as an
enemy of the United States and of the isthmian canal scheme.
Representations to the government at Bogota were useless, and Panama saw
the prospect of a canal being constructed through her territory fading
into distance.
Then it was that an eminent Panamanian, Jose Agustin Arango, a senator
at the Colombian Congress of 1903, who had vainly urged the ratification
of the Hay-Herran Treaty, conceived the idea that Panama might declare
her independence and then make her own treaty with the United States
regarding a trans-isthmian canal. It soon turned out that the same idea
had struck many others, and a junta of zealous conspirators was quickly
formed. Senor Arango chanced to meet Dr. Amador one day at the offices
of the Panama Railroad, and unfolded his revolutionary design to that
gentleman. The doctor proved highly sympathetic. There was indeed no
difficulty in finding adherents. Senor Arango, Dr. Amador, and C. C.
Arosemena undertook the conduct of the movement, and among the other
leaders were Senor Arango's sons and sons-in-law, Nicanor A. de Obarrio,
Federico Boyd, Tomas and Ricardo Arias, and Manuel Espinosa. A very
important person, General Esteban Huertas, commander of the troops in
Panama, was easily enrolled, as were also alcaldes, chiefs of police,
and other important officials.
The first thing to do was to sound official opinion in Washington as to
what treatment the revolted province might expect from the American
government. Moreover, revolutions cost money, and supplies must be
obtained from somewhere. So Dr. Amador and Ricardo Arias were deputed to
go to the United States. There they called on Mr. Cromwell, the counsel
of the New Panama Company, who gave them very little encouragement.
Moreover, they were carefully "shadowed" by Colombian agents, so that
they were able to cable to their expectant friends at the isthmus only
the single depressing word, "desanimado" (disappointed).
Then Dr. Amador called at the office of a Panamanian friend and
sympathizer, Joshua Lindo, and asked for counsel in his difficulties.
Mr. Lindo at once suggested that the likeliest person to help was Mr.
Bunau-Varilla, who had been chief engineer under the French Canal
Company. It is interesting to know that this gentleman had been a
fellow-student of Alfred Dreyfus, and had given effective help in the
campaign which ended in that officer's liberation from the island prison
not so very far from the isthmus of Panama. Unfortunately, said Mr.
Lindo, Mr. Bunau-Varilla was in Paris; but even as the friends deplored
his absence the telephone rang, Mr. Lindo answered the call, and lo! Mr.
Bunau-Varilla announced his return to New York. Such a coincidence might
well seem providential, for Mr. Varilla proved a friend in need and in
deed. He promised the necessary funds as well as other practical help,
and asked for only one return--that he might be appointed minister of
the reconstituted Panama to the United States for just so long a time as
was necessary for the arrangement of the new treaty between the two
countries for the construction of the isthmian canal.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the next telegram sent home by the
revolutionary agents was more cheerful. It consisted of the single word
"esperanzas" (hopes). Dr. Amador now made some efforts to ascertain the
sentiment and intentions of the United States government. He called on
Mr. Hay, the Secretary of State, at the state department. Now it is
obvious that when a gentleman calls at a foreign office and announces
himself as a conspirator against a government with which that office has
friendly relations, the visitor cannot expect much practical help and
sympathy. But the authorities at Washington, whose nerves were raw from
the prolonged struggle with Colombia, would scarcely have been human if
they had not felt a secret joy at a movement which promised such an
ample retribution on Colombia and so easy a settlement of the Panama
problem. Dr. Amador was politely informed that he must pay no more calls
at the department. But he had seen and heard enough to assure him that
the United States would at least remain neutral, and, if the revolution
succeeded, would conclude a canal treaty with the new republic. He felt
that there were two very important conditions to be fulfilled. Firstly,
the revolution must be effected without bloodshed, for public sympathy
in the United States would be alienated by any fighting or violent
disturbance. The conspirators were also not without a certain natural
solicitude for their own skins. Secondly, there must be a brand-new
government ready to take the place of the Colombian administration so
soon as this was abolished.
The scene now changes to the isthmus. The conspirators were inclined at
first to be sceptical about Dr. Amador's report of the probable attitude
of the United States, but on November 2, 1903, the arrival of the
American gunboat _Nashville_ at Colon reassured them. The _Nashville_
had come, as American men-of-war had frequently come in the past to
Colon or Panama, not to take sides with any party in a scrimmage, but
calmly and impartially to maintain order and keep transit open at the
isthmus, in accordance with treaty obligations. The orders to the
_Nashville_, as subsequently to the _Boston_ and the _Dixie_, were
these:--
Maintain free and uninterrupted transit. If interruption
threatened by armed force, occupy line of railroad. Prevent
landing of any armed force with hostile intent, either
government or insurgent, either at Colon, Porto Bello, or
other point.[5]
A similar order was sent to Rear-Admiral Glass at Acapulco, who was to
proceed to Panama with the same object.
But the coming _coup d'etat_ was known at Bogota as well as at
Washington. The date fixed for the outbreak was November 4. General
Huertas was to be ready with his troops, and the signal to be given by
the blowing of bugles by the firemen. But the Colombian government at
last decided to act, and on November 3 the steamer _Carthagena_ arrived
at Colon, having on board General Tovar with a force of about four
hundred and fifty men. The commander with three other resplendent
warriors, Generals Castro, Alban, and Amaya, at once took train for
Panama; while their troops, many of whom had brought their wives, camped
out in the streets of Colon. These events were duly telephoned to
Panama. The news reached Dr. Amador and his friends at ten o'clock,
just an hour before the arrival of the Colombian officers. It was "a
crowded hour of glorious life" for the conspirators, some of whom found
the excitement too much for their nerves, disappeared from the scene,
and gave up the conspiracy business altogether. But the leaders were of
better mettle, and while the trans-isthmian train was rapidly bringing
the representatives of the established government to Panama a good many
plans were discussed. The desperate nature of the occasion may be
gathered from the fact that one of the proposals was to drug the
Colombian officers, and when thus disabled convey them to durance vile.
In great perplexity Dr. Amador sought General Huertas; but he had put on
his dress uniform and gone to the station to meet his superiors. So
matters were to be allowed to take their own course.
At eleven o'clock a gush of glittering uniforms, fifteen in all,
counting the generals and the staffs, descended upon the Panama
platform. One might almost have expected them to advance to the
footlights and announce their arrival and intentions in a four-part
chorus. Here obviously were the properties, the stage scenery, and the
artistes, principals and chorus, of a first-rate comic opera. In the
harbour lay three Colombian gunboats whose political views were not
fully ascertained, though it was thought the commanders had been won
over to the revolutionary cause. The new arrivals were welcomed by
General Huertas and conducted to headquarters, while the conspirators,
no doubt with quickened pulses, awaited subsequent events from a
distance.
The Colombian officers wished to be conducted forthwith to the
fortifications and the sea-wall. Now this was precisely what General
Huertas, whose heart beat loyally under his official gold braid to the
cause of freedom and independence, wished to avoid, and for two reasons:
firstly, it would have been easy for the federal generals to signal to
the gunboats in the harbour and thus get command of the entire
situation; secondly, on that same sea-wall there were some modern
quick-firing guns, behind which even fifteen men might quickly get the
whole city at their mercy. So General Huertas determined that on the
whole he would conduct his guests anywhere but to the sea-wall. He
suggested that there were better ways of spending the hot hours of the
day than in going round fortifications in stiff and sweltering uniforms.
After luncheon, followed by a little siesta behind sun-shutters, would
be a better time for the business of inspection. The generals were
probably both hot and hungry, and they allowed themselves to be
persuaded.
But even as they lunched their suspicions seemed to have awakened. Some
one, it is said, warned them of the trap into which they had walked. And
moreover, why did the Bogota troops not arrive from Colon? What exactly
happened is not recorded, but it is a fact that the generals suddenly
insisted on the Panama troops being paraded and themselves being
conducted to the fortifications.
General Huertas made some excuse for leaving the luncheon room, and
outside the door found Dr. Amador, the respectable physician of Panama,
now an arch-conspirator, though without the black mantle and stiletto.
"The contrast between these two men," writes Mr. Johnson, "was most
striking. The one was advanced in years, venerable and stately in
aspect, and yet impetuous as youth. The other was only a boy in stature
and scarcely more than a boy in years, yet at the time deliberate and
dilatory. The latter, however, quickly responded to the zealous
initiative of the former. 'Do it,' exhorted Dr. Amador in an impassioned
whisper, 'do it now.'"
The business was soon over. Huertas ordered out his soldiers, who knew
well enough what was going to happen. Then, as the military swells from
Bogota came on the ground, the little general gave the order, the rifles
were levelled on the Colombians, and they were walked off to police
headquarters and safely locked up. Then Governor Obaldia was also
arrested and taken to prison, but this was only a formality. He was an
ardent conspirator, but as he represented the central government, it was
thought desirable to perform the symbolical act of arresting and
deposing him. He was at once released.
There was now no going back. The next step was to announce the fact of
the revolution to the gunboats, in the harbour, which were still a
doubtful factor. Two of them, the _Padilla_ and the _Chucuito_,
remained silent; but the third, the _Bogota_, sent word that if the
generals were not released by ten o'clock it would turn its guns on to
the city. The generals were, of course, not released, so at ten o'clock
the _Bogota_ launched three shells into the city. One of these killed an
unfortunate and innocent Chinese coolie near the barracks, and that was
the only casualty that occurred during the whole course of the great
Panama revolution. Then the _Bogota_, that deed of slaughter
accomplished, steamed out of the harbour.
The next morning the gunboat _Padilla_, which had been considering the
situation during the night, suddenly made up its mind, steamed in to a
snug anchorage under the fortified sea-wall, and hoisted the flag of
free and independent Panama. The _Padilla_ might have been called upon
to make good its new allegiance, for a report was spread that the
terrible _Bogota_ was returning to bombard, this time to good purpose.
So a letter was drawn up by the consuls of the United States, Great
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Salvador, Denmark, Belgium, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, and Peru,
protesting against the bombardment of a defenceless city without due
notice to the consular corps as contrary to the rights and practices of
civilized nations. What answer the justly enraged commander of the
_Bogota_ would have returned to this rather representative address
cannot be known, for the _Bogota_, no doubt unnerved by the sensation of
casting three live shells into a live town, never returned to witness
the devastation it had wrought.
What in the meantime was occurring at Colon? Why had the 450 Colombian
soldiers not flown to the rescue and vengeance of their captured
officers? The explanation is simple, though perhaps unexpected--they
could not pay their railway fares! After the departure of the generals
for Panama on November 3, Colonel Torres, who had been left in charge of
the government troops, demanded a "special" to take them across the
isthmus. The superintendent of the line intimated that specials were
procurable, but that fares must be paid. And the fares of 450 persons
ran into money, in fact nearly $2,000 in gold, or quite a little
wheelbarrowful of the depreciated Colombian silver. Anywhere but in
Panama or Ruretania the plea of state necessity, which in presence of
the 450 needed no demonstration, would have procured some concession
from the railway authorities. But the railway rules provided for no such
emergencies. No fare, no journey--that was the immutable railway law,
and Colonel Torres had to lead his men back to their street encampments.
It is one of the many remarkable coincidences at this juncture that the
telegraphic and telephonic system also broke down, the wires refusing to
transmit any messages from Colon to the officers at Panama.
At last, on November 4, Colon received the news of the revolution and
the impounding of the Colombian officers. Some little impatience then
appeared among the Colombian troops. They actually threatened to seize
the railway and go across in spite of regulations. Also it was rumoured
that Colonel Torres, losing for a moment his self-command, threatened to
kill every American citizen in Colon unless his fellow-officers were at
once liberated. At any rate, that rumour was duly reported to the
commander of the _Nashville_, who, on the strength of it, at once
landed fifty bluejackets to preserve the peace of the town. The
commander also wrote to the alcalde of Colon and the chief of the
police, giving the gist of an official order he had received from
Washington. The order pointed out that to allow the passage of Colombian
troops from Colon to Panama would excite a conflict between the forces
of the two parties, and would thus interrupt the free and open transit
of the isthmus which the United States was bound to maintain. The
commander had therefore instructed the superintendent of the railways to
afford carriage to the troops of neither party. Never was officer so
outrageously impeded in the performance of his obvious duty as Colonel
Torres. And right in the middle of the situation thus created the
_Carthagena_, which had brought the Colombian troops to Colon, sailed
demurely home.
In a few days there assembled some nine or ten vessels of the United
States navy at Colon or Panama. On November 4 it was announced that the
United States would permit the landing of no forces hostile to Panama
within fifty miles of the city of Panama or anywhere at all on the
Caribbean coast. Was not the United States government compelled by
treaty obligations to preserve peace, the paying of fares, and "free and
uninterrupted transit" at the isthmus? How unreasonable to suggest that
the great and grown-up republic was protecting and taking the side of
the little baby republic which had just been born at Panama!
But the 450 soldiers encamped with their wives in the streets of Colon
were becoming an inconvenience, and it was highly desirable to remove
this substantial lump of grit from the machinery of revolution. The
commander of these troops himself helped to effect that object. He, in
fact, offered to take his little army away in return for a satisfactory
honorarium. The Panama treasury fortunately contained at that time a sum
of $140,000 in debased Colombian coinage, worth about $56,000 in gold. A
little of this might well be expended on clearing the country of the
Colombian troops. The commander accepted $8,000 in gold, and quickly
bundled the loyal troops and their spouses on board the Royal Mail
steamship _Orinoco_ for passage homewards. He himself did not propose
to return home and report himself. His scheme was to go to Jamaica and
spend his suddenly acquired wealth in "that loveliest of the Antilles."
Then a cruel thing happened. The 450 got wind of the bargain their
commander had made with the Panama government, and by a swift logical
process concluded that the $8,000 which had been paid for their
departure belonged to themselves as well as to their commander. So they
laid hands on the hapless officer and took all the money from him. We
may imagine the annoyance of the gentleman who had betrayed his country,
dishonoured his name, and then lost the "tip" which had made it all
worth while. His subsequent proceedings are nowhere recorded.
Just after the Colombian troops had set sail homewards a special train
arrived at Colon bringing the captive generals, who had promised to go
home without further fuss. They left Colon on November 12, so that they
had plenty of time to contemplate the beginnings of the new regime in
Panama. All kinds of reports began to arrive about the intentions of the
government at Bogota. A naval expedition was said to be on the way from
Buenaventura, but the United States navy had instructions to take care
of any experiments of that sort. Then the news came that a land
expedition was approaching along the isthmus. That would have implied a
real triumph of original exploration. It would have meant clearing a
road for troops through impenetrable jungle, through which it is hard to
cut the narrowest track by means of the machete or the long Spanish
cutlass. The untamed San Blas Indians, who permit no white man to spend
a single night in their territory, would have mobilized against the
invasion, and so would the wild cats and anacondas and monkeys, who
share with the Indians the sovereignty of that tangled wilderness.
The revolution was an accomplished fact, and Colombia could do nothing
but accept the inevitable and reflect on the disappointment of her
golden dreams. The revolutionists had been ready with their
constitutional arrangements. The municipal council of Panama had met
immediately after the _coup d'etat_. It was unanimously voted that
Panama should be a free and independent republic, and a provisional
ministry was at once appointed. These proceedings were ratified the
same afternoon at a mass meeting of the people of Panama held in the
cathedral square. A formal manifesto was also issued, constituting a
declaration of independence and a justification of the revolt. It opens
magniloquently: "The transcendental act that by a spontaneous movement
the inhabitants of the isthmus of Panama have just executed is the
inevitable consequence of a situation which has become graver daily." It
goes on to set forth the grievances of Panama under the Colombian
connection and the events which had led to the revolution. It ends in an
almost pathetic note:--
At separating from our brothers of Colombia we do it without
hatred and without any joy. Just as a son withdraws from his
paternal roof, the isthmian people in adopting the lot it
has chosen have done it with grief, but in compliance with
the supreme and inevitable duty it owes to itself--that of
its own preservation and of working for its own welfare. We
therefore begin to form a part among the free nations of the
world, considering Colombia as a sister nation, with which
we shall be whenever circumstances may require it, and for
whose prosperity we have the most fervent and sincere
wishes.[6]
By November 7 the new government had settled down so steadily to its
work, and so obviously commanded the adherence of the whole people, that
it received formal recognition from the United States in these words:--
As it appears that the people of Panama have, by unanimous
movement, dissolved their political connection with the
Republic of Colombia and resumed their independence, and as
there is no opposition to the provisional government in the
state of Panama, I have to inform you that the provisional
government will be held responsible for the protection of
the persons and property of citizens of the United States,
as well as to keep the isthmian transit free, in accordance
with the obligations of existing treaties relative to the
isthmian territory.
We need not dwell upon the desperate efforts made by the Colombian
government to retrieve the situation. A respected Colombian, General
Reyes, was sent to Washington to offer to revive the old Hay-Herran
Treaty, with modifications greatly in the American interest, if the
United States would help to restore Colombian sovereignty at the
isthmus. But all was in vain. Colombia must lie on the bed she had made,
and before the end of the year the new republic had been recognized by
all the leading Powers of the world. The new government was true to the
undertaking on the strength of which Mr. Bunau-Varilla had given his
help and support to the movement. On November 7 he was appointed
minister of Panama to the United States, and on November 18 the
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty[7] was signed at Washington, which finally
placed the United States in a position to begin the work of canal
construction at the isthmus.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] See "Four Centuries of the Panama Canal," p. 188 (W. F. Johnson).
[6] For full text of declaration see Appendix ii.
[7] Appendix iii.