Time Essay: That Troublesome Panama Canal Treaty

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It may not be helpful, either, to overemphasize the guilt factor in giving up the canal. To be sure, the U.S. acquired the canal territory in a grandly imperialistic manner in 1903, and the waterway remains one of the last, most prominent vestiges of the colonial era. As Senator S.I. Hayakawa put it, not altogether whimsically, "We stole it fair and square." But it can be argued that ever since the canal was opened for business in 1914, the U.S. has more than made up for its initial land grab. It has managed the canal in an openhanded manner, allowing access to all the world's shipping, including that of Communist nations. It has deliberately kept fees and tolls as low as possible. Says David McCullough, author of The Path Between the Seas, a meticulous history of the canal's construction: "The fact is no power on earth could have done what we did. We've done a lot of small, stupid things in the Canal Zone over the years, but we've never done anything operating the canal that we need be ashamed of." With considerable reason, Americans can relinquish control of the great ditch out of a sense of pride—magnanimity combined with good sense.

Amid all the rhetorical smoke surrounding the canal treaty, people are understandably confused about the hard facts—and realities. Some key questions about the pact and what its approval would mean:

Q. How important is the Panama Canal for the U.S.?

A. Of course, it is still important, but not nearly so vital as it used to be. About 8% of U.S. international maritime trade passes through the waterway, much of it in non-American vessels. Some 4% of American coast-to-coast trade transits the canal, compared with 9% in 1964 and 50% in 1940. Few U.S. warships make the trip; the supercarriers are too big, and the nuclear submarines are vulnerable to detection and attack because they must be on the surface to make the crossing. Besides, the U.S. has maintained two virtually separate navies in the Atlantic and the Pacific since World War II. Strategic materials are increasingly transported across the country by rail and truck. While disruption of the canal would be troublesome for the U.S., it would be far from fatal.

Q. What claim does Panama have to the canal?

A. Historically, at least, not much of one. The U.S. will be ceding the canal to Panama but not "returning" it, since Panama never really possessed it. If anything, Colombia was the aggrieved party. With American connivance, Colombian rebels "liberated" the isthmus from the Bogota government in 1903 and turned the rights to build the canal over to the U.S. Panama and its canal came to life together; without the canal, Panama could scarcely exist as a viable nation. Canal revenues account for some 25% of Panama's gross national product, 20% of its employment and almost 40% of its foreign exchange earnings. Thanks to the canal, Panamanians have one of the highest per capita incomes of any nation in Latin America: a still very modest $1,060. In one sense, Panamanians can be grateful that America decided to build the canal.