84 AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC QUESTIONS 



over the ratio of their interests in the Maritime Canal Company. 

 Their mutual dislike had proved unappeasable by war. Did 

 Nicaragua desire to oust Costa Rica from her concessionary 

 rights, or did Costa Rica demand a more substantial interest 

 in the canal ? Whatever may have been the inner motives that 

 prompted her to do so, Nicaragua continued to give evidence 

 of a purpose to declare the forfeiture of the Canal Com- 

 pany concession. On June 5, 1897, she entered into contract 

 with the Atlas Steamship Company, whereby the latter se- 

 cured exclusive rights of navigation and railroad construction 

 on the lagoon at the mouth of the San Juan River and along 

 the bank of that river. Sole privileges of navigation on Lake 

 Nicaragua were also granted to this English company. While 

 it was expressly stated in this contract with the Atlas Com- 

 pany that nothing in the instrument should be considered as an 

 obstacle to the carrying out of any contract the Nicaraguan 

 Government may have previously made in regard to the 

 opening of an interoceanic canal, yet the contract certainly 

 bore upon its face an affront to the Maritime Canal Company. 

 The latter company made vigorous protests, alleging gros& 

 violations of its rights under its concession of 1887, and 

 called upon Congress to lend its support in resisting this 

 unwarrantable act on the part of Nicaragua. 



The limit of grievances was not yet reached. , IiL~U&4, 

 just after the failure of the Construction Company, which, it 

 will be remembered, had lu-ld the contracts from the parent 

 (Maritime Canal) company, for the actual construction <>l 

 the canal, a number of wealthy men in New York and 

 Chicago became sufficiently interested in the ship-canal pro- 

 ject to make an investigation into the conditions of the work 

 along the route, with a view to purchasing necessary righl 

 and unTteTtaking the fulfilment of the contract themselves. 

 Having visited the scene of operations the following year, 

 they reported that the Maritime Canal Company had been 

 unable, according to the terms of its concession, to keep 

 pace with fleeting time in the fulfilment of its obligations. 

 They discovered that the Nicaraguan Government was dis- 

 posed to agree with them in that the existing company could 



