THE PANAMA ROUTE FOR A SHTl' CANAL. 541 



I>3' this time tlic period spccitied for coinpletion uiidcr the oriyiiiul 

 W3'se concession hiid yearly expired. The liquidator then souoht 

 from the Colombian Government an extension of ten years, >vhieh was 

 granted under the Colombian law dated December 2(!, IS'HI. Tliis 

 extension was based upon the provision that a new (•oni})any siiould 

 be formed and work on the canal resumed not later than Fe])ruar3' 2S, 

 18!>o. The latter condition was not fuitilled, and a second extension 

 was obtained on April 4, ISl))), wdiich })rovided that the ten-\'ear exten- 

 sion of time granted in 1S!H) might })egin to run at an\' time |)i'i()r to 

 Octol)er 31, 1804, but not hiter than (hat date. When it becaiiu; 

 apparent that the provisions of this last extension would not be car- 

 ried out an agreement l)etweeji the Colombian Government and the 

 New Panama Company was entered into on April 2<'), I !»()(), which 

 extended the time of completion to Octo])er 31, 1910. The validity of 

 this last extension of time has been questioned. 



A new company, commonly known as the New' Panama Canal Com- 

 pany, was organized on the iJOth of October, 1S94, with a ca])ital stock 

 of 650,000 shares of 100 francs each. Under the provisions of the 

 agreement of December tiO, 1890, authorizing an extension of time for 

 the construction of the canal, 50,000 shares passed as fidl-paid stociv to 

 the Colombian Government, leaving the actual working capital of the 

 New Panama Company at 60,000,000 francs, that amount having Ixhmi 

 subsci'il)ed in cash. The most of this capital stock was subscribed for l)v 

 certain loan assocititions, administrators, contractors, and others against 

 whom suits had been l)rought in consequence of the tinancial difficul- 

 ties of the old companv, it having been charged in the scandals attend- 

 ing bankruptcy proceedings that they had protited illegally. Those 

 suits were discontinued under agreements to sul)scril)e by the parties 

 interested to the capital stock of the new company. The sums thus 

 ol)tained constituted more than two-thirds of the 60,000,00i.> francs 

 remaining of the share capital of the new company after the Colond)iaii 

 Government received its 50,000 shares. The old company had raised 

 by the sale of stock and bond not far from $24(J,O0O.00O, and the num- 

 ])er of p(>rsons holding the securities thus sold has been estimated at 

 over i;o(),ooo. 



The l*anama Uailroad Company holds a concession from the CoK)m- 

 bian Government giving it rights prior to those of the Wvs(> concession, 

 so that th(» latter could not become eil'ective without th(> concurrence 

 of the Panama Railroad Company. This is shown l)v the language of 

 Article III of the W3^se cgncession, Avliich reads as follows: 



"If the line of the canal to be constructed from sea to sea should 

 pass to the west and to the north of the imaginar3" straight line wliicii 

 joins Cape Tiburon with (iarachine Point, the grantees must (Miter 

 into some amicable arrangement with the Panama Uaih'oad CompanN^ 

 or pay an indemnit3', which shall be established in accordance with the 



