In the meantime I made myself familiar with the wonderful American project which brought the Panama Republic into existence. The Canal then was a sorry sight. The public clamour in the United States was for “making the dirt fly,” but it did not look to a mere layman as if we could ever make it fly fast enough or in sufficient quantities to really bring the two oceans together. All along the line of operations the old French machinery lay buried in pathetic ruin in a tropic jungle which had all but effaced the evidences of the French enterprise, and such conditions of general unhealthiness prevailed as made it seem almost too much to expect that any kind of cleanup programme could be made effectual.
But all that story has been told; told in actual accomplishment with which all the world is familiar. I am only glad that I saw Colonel Gorgas and his men in that initial and contagious enthusiasm which, being sustained, resulted in a record of which we are all so proud.
The Panamanians are nothing if not expansively hospitable. On the 4th of December, after we had been on the Isthmus a couple of weeks and while the results of the official negotiations were still, as far as anyone knew, “in the lap of the gods,” an ocean steamship was chartered by a company of hosts, and about three hundred guests, the elite of the whole republic, were invited for a picnic party to the Pearl Islands in the Bay of Panama, and a sail out into the Pacific Ocean. It was an all-day expedition and included the exploration of the beautiful little group, some pearl-diving for our especial benefit, a most amazing luncheon, and a dance on deck, to the music of a stringed band in gay and most decorative uniforms, at which Mr. Taft made a tremendous “hit.” The tiny Panamanian woman who first danced with him was thought to be very courageous, but as one after another followed suit his reputation grew and it finally was conceded, in the midst of great merriment, that he was as light of foot as the slimmest Panamanian of them all.
Having always been used to my husband’s dancing, and knowing how much he likes it, I never thought of it as anything unusual, but during the days when he was being “boomed” for the Presidency and was therefore much in the public prints, it was made the subject of frequent jest. I have one bit of doggerel in my scrapbook which appeared in the Baltimore American after the reception we gave on the occasion of General Kuroki’s visit to this country, and the last verse of which runs:
That Taft is just a wonder
Is a thing which we all know;
That as Presidential thunder
His big boom is like to go.
But as butterfly, blooms sipping,
And as waltzer, simply ripping!
’Tis a sight to see Taft tripping
On the light fantastic toe!
As a matter of fact he dances exceedingly well, if his wife who has been dancing with him for the past thirty years may say so.
When we returned from the Pearl Islands to Panama City that evening we were met by a pleasing surprise. The text of the agreement which had been reached by Mr. Taft and the government of Panama, and which had not been mentioned by anybody all day, had been made public during our absence and newsboys were crying “extras” in all the streets, while excited groups stood about here and there wreathed in smiles and talking with great animation. Everybody seemed wholly satisfied and wherever we went we were met with cheers and cries of “Viva!”
The keynote sounded in this agreement was that justice should be done at Panama. Mr. Taft interpreted the treaty between our country and the infant republic; he adjusted the differences with regard to postal regulations and the tariff; he defined the harbour boundaries; and, much to the satisfaction of the Panamanians, he kept within the hands of the American authorities all matters pertaining to the public health. The people realised the necessity for a pure water supply, for sewer systems, clean and well-paved streets, and the elimination of the dread diseases which made the Isthmus a death trap for white men, and all these things America offered to Panama as a free gift that the great work of building the Canal might go on. If vociferous cheers are an expression of gratitude the people were grateful.
The next day a great demonstration took place in Cathedral Plaza. We stood on a balcony of the Grand Central Hotel, on one side of the square and opposite the Cathedral, and looked out across a veritable sea of moving, swaying, white-clad humanity. As far as one could see in every direction there were people, and when Mr. Taft stepped to the balcony rail to address them they gave voice to a cheer which made it seem certain that all cause for quarrel between us had happily been removed.
There had been vague rumours that the deposed War Minister of the Panama government who had attempted to start the rebellion would, with his followers, take this occasion to make a hostile demonstration, but he was evidently sensible enough to realise that his was an unpopular cause. Moreover, his original army of two hundred and fifty men had been reduced to twenty-five, and if that were not discouraging enough he had only to contemplate the natty American Marine corps in the Canal Zone and the Pacific squadron, including the New York, the Boston, the Bennington and the Marblehead, lying out in Panama harbour unobtrusively but very positively guaranteeing peace.
Mr. Taft in his
