Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1904-12-10

Ndsnln5ton, u. u, Dec. 0.--Repre
sentative Shackelford, Of Missouri
member OF the house committee on in.
terstate and foreign commerce, will
throw a bomb into the house Of the
tifty-eighth congress tomorrow in the
form oi a resolution. The explosives
in the bomb were gathered while the
committee was in Panama looking
over the great lsthmian canal property
at close range.
The resolution to be introduced to
morrow will ask congress to empower
the committee on interstate and
foreign commerce TO investigate the
affairs of the Panama Railway Com
pany, going into every detail of man
agement, operation, condition of prop
erty, franchises and to ascertain If
dividends have been paid to any stock
holders not authorized by law. The
committee also desires to ascertain II
the Panama Railway Company has en-
tered into a contract with any steam
ship company or companies to monop.
ollze traffic in restraint of trade. The
resolution will set forth that the
United states is the owner OF 98 per
cent Of the shares of capital stock OF
the Panama Railway Company ana
that congress should have knowledge
Of its affairs.
1t is understood that the proposed
resolution Of Representative Shackei'
ford Is based upon sensational as
closures made to the committee on IN
terstate and foreign commerce whlle
inspecting conditions in Panama. II
is understood that the United States
suffered to the extent OF Sl50,00o III
the purchase Of the Panama Halfway
and that the loss thus sustained was
the result Of job perpetrated upon
this government by certain French
stockholders. 1t Is claimed that aiter
the United States had negotiated TOT
the purchase of the railway in ques'
tion. the old company declared divl'
dends in excess Of the gross receipts
TO the extent OF about S150,000. rms
Is understood to be one of the dis'
closures which the committee pro
poses to show by its investigation
That the whole Panama canal proj'
ect has been fearfully handled up to
this time is practically the opinion Of
REPRESENTATIVE f. G. Stevens, a Re
publican, of Minnesota, a member OF
the committee on interstate and
foreign commerce. His statements
are sensational. He claims that the
estimates furnished up to date are not
worth the paper they are written on;
that no man can determine at this
stage Of procedure what 1t will cost
the United States to dig the canal
Anything like an intelligent idea OF
the vastness of the undertaking and
the necessary expenditures, in Repre-
sentative Stevens opinion, cannot be
arrived at until Chief Engineer Wal
lace and Gen. Davis make their report
He thinks the canal is just as liable
to cost million million as it is s100,
100000 He thinks that the lsthmian
Canal Commission as at present or
ganized is failure, save as to Chief
Engineer Wallace and Gen. Davis
He thinks the commission should be
reorganized with view to better ser
vice.
In the opinion Of the Minnesota
representative there has been too
much sitting around in Washington
in dress suits, while the real exigen-
cies Of the canal situation were al
lowed to suffer for lack of earnest of
fetal attention. In contradistincton
to this program he would have Pana-
ma divided into five districts, and
place one member of the commission
in charge Of district This arrange
ment, he thinks, will facilitate the
work of strengthening out the tangle
in the canal zone,