The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1903-12-18
The OUTLOOK.

The There is great dis
Suppressed cussion in some of
Panama the papers over
r1essage. suppressed mes
sage of President Roosevelt which is
now made public in which he advocat-
ed carrying through the Panama canal
whether the country through which it
was to 20 was in favor of it or not.
The message has been made public to
show that the Government had no
hand In the Panama Revolution. Pa
pers that oppose the Administration
in general and the President in partic-
ular profess to see in the proposed
message to Congress sort of land
grabbing and disregard Of treaty
rights which is revolutionary and
which proclaims Roosevelt as an I'M
safe man for President. What justice
is there, they ask, in making canal
through another country by force be-
cause we are the stronger nation? On
the other hand, the papers that up
bold the Administration assert that
the position taken is sound and in ac-
cordance with all our previous history.
We should take the land needed and
use it on the idea of the general inter-
national right and benefit to the world
of the canal. They point out that
the Suez canal had to be built on that
principal of international eminent do
main. Turkey might have resisted
because of her control in Egypt but
the whole of Europe needed the Suez
canal for commercial benefit. In like
manner a few men might refuse to al
low their land to be taken on any rail-
road or road route yet the state takes
the right of way without their con-
sent If necessary. In our history JET
ferson in Washington's cabinet and as
president himself advocated the sa me
thing for the Mississippi river; Monroe
did the same in our country with Spain
over the possession of Florida, so that
the president has plenty of history
back Of him to come to his support in
this matter of making the canal
whether some petty chief will listen
to reason or forbear to grant the con-
cession. 1t is plain to see that the ca
nal will prove when finished a great
life saver and mighty stimulant to
inter-ocean traffic. 1t is big enter
prise and although the Panama Rev
olution made the presidents message
needless, nevertheless the principal of
Humanity irst," must be the sound
one and we trust that will meet with
the approval Of right minded people.
Wages A new depart
and the ment has been
Cost of Living. created at Wash
ington which is called the Department
Of Commerce and Labor. They have
been Investigating the wage question
and the cost of living as compared with
the past Their statistics show that
it costs 16 per cent more for the food
for the average family in 1892 than it
did in 1896. On the other hand the
wages have also increased in like meas
ure, SO that we live better and spend
more money because we have more
money. The general conclusion drawn
by the department is that on the whole
wages have increased IS per cent and
that the cost of living has increased II
per cent. 1t is interesting to notice
that the articles which have made the
main increase in living are coal and
meat. In the West the cost of food is
lower than it was in 1898 owing to the
larger production and the splendid
crops of the last few seasons. II man
lives on vegetable diet and burns