"in perpetuity," the army, navy and air corps have woven a
network of secret fortifications, laid mines and placed anti-aircraft
guns. Foreign spies and international adventurers play a sleepless
game to learn these military and naval secrets. The Isthmus is a
center of intrigue, plotting, conniving, conspiracy and espionage,
with the intelligence departments of foreign governments bidding high
for information. For the capture or disablement of the Canal by an
enemy would mean that American ships would have to go around the Horn
to get from one coast to another--a delay which in time of war might
prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.

Because of the efficiency and speed of modern communication and
transportation, any region within five hundred to a thousand miles of
a military objective is considered in the "sensitive zone," especially
if it is of great strategic importance. Hence, espionage activities
embrace Central and South American Republics which may have to be
used by an enemy as a base of operations. Costa Rica, north of the
Canal, and Colombia, south of it, are beehives of secret Japanese,
Nazi and Italian activities. Special efforts are made to buy or lease
land "for colonization," but the land chosen is such that it can be
turned into an air base almost overnight.

For decades Japanese in the Canal Zone area have been photographing
everything in sight, not only around the Canal, but for hundreds of
miles north and south of it; and the Japanese fishing fleet has taken
soundings of the waters and harbors along the coast. Since the
conclusion of the Japanese-Nazi "anti-Communist pact," Nazi agents
have been sent to German colonies in Central and South America to
organize them, carry on propaganda and cooperate secretly with
Japanese agents. Italy, which had been only mildly interested in
Central America, has become extremely active in cultivating the
friendship of Central American Republics since she joined the
Tokyo-Berlin tie-up. Let me illustrate:

The recognized vulnerability of the Canal has caused the United States
to plan another through Nicaragua. The friendship of the Nicaraguan
Government and people, therefore, is of great importance to us from
both a commercial and a military standpoint. It is likewise of
importance to others.

Italy undertook to gain Nicaragua's friendship when she joined the
Japanese-Nazi line-up. First, she offered scholarships, with all
expenses paid, for Ni