THE INTEROCEANIC CANAL PROBLEM 181 



With this understanding of the word "neutralization," 

 (and it admits of no other interpretation) the issue is sharp 

 and clear between an American-owned canal, controlled by 

 the United States, and a neutralized canal as desired by the 

 commercial nations of the world and called for by the 

 CFayton-Bulwer treaty. 



The question resolves itself into this, should the Nicara- 

 gua or Panama Canal be neutralized ? 



Arguments for or against this proposition may spring from 

 three sources, viz. : 



(a) International Law. Are there any legal duties im- 

 posed upon the United States as owner of a ship 

 canal passing through the territory of another state, 

 and connecting two high seas, in other words, is 

 the United States under any legal obligation to 

 accept the neutralization of such a canal? 

 (5) Precedents. Is the United States obliged by any 

 precedents relating to ship canals in general, or to 

 the Central American Canal in particular, to unite 

 with other nations in a joint guarantee of canal 

 equalization ? 



" Precedents " as here used would naturally include all the 

 treaties, agreements, or official declarations of the United 

 States which can be taken to indicate not only its interna- 

 tional obligations but also national sentiments upon the 

 subject. 



(c) Self Interests. Do the best interests of the United 

 States require her monopoly of the Central Ameri- 

 can Canal, or are they better subserved by a neutral- 

 ized Central American canal ? 



International law does not throw direct light upon this 

 question, and there is in consequence much confusion among 

 the various authorities as to the status of a ship canal in the 

 domain of public law. It is only in comparatively recent 

 years that the advances of science have made possible the 

 construction of great artificial channels connecting oceans, 

 and the very few such waterways already in existence have 

 not had sufficient time to establish for themselves a legal code. 



