The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-05-12
Canal Work is Turned Over
to War Department.
is ORDER Of PRESIDENT
Conference Is Held in Washington, a.,
Which Regulations Of Commission
in Great Undertaking Arc
Decided Upon.

A washington special says: PreSl-
dent Roosevelt held a long conference
Monday with Secretaries Hay and Iatt
and Attorney General Knox, at which
the regulations to govern the 18TH
mian canal commission were determin-
ed on finally. Secretary Taft gave a
brief resume of their provisions at the
conclusion of the conference. While
the creation and work of the comnis-
sion is committed by law to the pres
ident, whose authority in that regard
is practically SUPP enc, the president
by the regulations directs that the
! commission shall exercise it's powers
under the direction and supervision
Of the secretary of war. General Geo.
W. Davis, the army member OF the
commission, is appointed governor OF
the American zone on the isthmus. I'm
til the expiration of the fifty-eighth
congress, the iSthmian commission will
exercise executive authority over the
American strip. Governor Davis is
given authority to appoint one Judge
who shall exercise judicial authority.
If in the opinion of the commission
er an additional Judge is necessary to
the proper conduct of the judicial
work on the isthmus the regulations
confer on the commission authority
to appoint him. "a
Secretary Taft explained that it
manifestly would be impossible for
the president in the execution Of his
duties to give that personal attention
to the canal work which is absolute
ly necessary and as the war depart
ment hitherto has exercised superVls-
ory control over public, civil and mill
tary works and governmental control
over the territory dependent upon the
country, it was deemed advisable that
the isthmian commission should oper-
ate under the direction of the war de-
partment. What particular bureau or
the war department the commission
will be under has not yet been deter
mined by Secretary Taft, but he indi-
Gated that it might. not be the bu-
reau of insular affairs, whichs he IN
timated, already had enough work on
its hands. ~ '-- '----
"a Under the operation Of what IS
known as the dockery law, the audit
ing OF the commissions accounts will
fall to the duty Of the auditor Of the
state department, but beyond the mat
ter Of auditing, the state department
will not be charged with any control
over the commission. The commits
sion itself will establish an elaborate
system of bookkeeping, through which
it's accounts may be handled very rea-
sonably by the state department audi
tor. The committee will report direct
ly to the secretary of war as often
as he may direct, upon all phases OF
it's operations. It will be under the
same sort of control of the secretary
of war as in the Philippine commits.
sion. All directions concerning the
operations of the commission are set
out fully in the regulations. #and
recitation is made Of all the opera
tions leading up to the acquisition of
the canal property and appointment OF
the commission. The details still re-
main to be worked out, but they are
largely administration in nature and
are not regarded as essential Ito the
reeuIations themselves.