Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-13
ARRANGE DETAILS
OF CANAL BOARD
MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE MEET
RESULTS ARE SATISFACTORY
Lonq Discussion Held With Taft,
Shonts TO Be President Of the
Panama Railroad
Company
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
WASHINGTON. April 12.-Chalrman
shonts, Governor Magoon and Chiet
Engineer Wallace met in Secretary
Taft's office today. 1t was the first
meeting Of the executive committee OF
the Isthmian canal commission and the
details of the organization were con-
sldered
on the whole, the commission had
long and satisfa ctory discussion with
Secretary Taft and reached some con-
clusions as to the organization of the
Panama railroad directory at the meet
ing, which is to take place next Mon
day in New York Chairman Shonts
of the canal commission will be the
next president of the Panama Railroad
company and every member of the
commission will be made director OF
the company. That will leave four
members of the directorate to be named
and they will be civilians.
Another important conclusion related
to the assignment to DUTY of the four
engineer officers of the canal commits
sion, who are not members of the
executive committee, namely, Admiral
Endicott, Colonel Ernst, General Hains
and Mr. Harrod.
1t was decided to make these four men
a special engineering commission quite
apart from the board of consulting en-
gineers provided for in the presidents
order To this engineering commits
sion will be assigned the various en-
gineering problems arising in the
course of the construction of the canal.
To them are to be submitted all plans
of an engineering character of capital
importance and on these they will ask
the opinion of the board of consulting
engineers, which body is so far incom-
plete. The commission and this body
in turn will make recommendations
thereon to the president of the United
States.
Will Employ Orientas
The labor problem was discussed at
length and it was resolved that con-
tracts should be made for the em-
ploymeht of 1000 japanese and 1000
Chinese coolies in the canal construc-
ton.
This is merely a preliminary and ex-
perimental move, but if it succeeds
the engineers will have an almost un-
limited force of labor to draw on. No
opinion has yet been had from the
attorney general as to the right Of the
commission to employ it's labor under
contract This conclusion is based on
the theory that, while the United
States exercises control over the canal
the titular sovereignty over the strip
remains in Panama, over which no
American labor law can be held to
extend.
An interesting feature of the discus
sion today was a statement by Engi-
neering Commissioner Wallace to the
effect that it is entirely feasible to con-
struct either a tide level or lock canal
across the isthmus, though he himself
strongly favors the tide level project.
1t also developed that Mr.. Buneau-
Varilla, who recently visited Washing
ton and it was supposed was to be "A
member of the board of consulting en-
gineers, did not desire any such con-
nection with the project but came prin-
cipally to submit to the president and
Secretary Taft an original plan of his
own under which he thought the great
canal could be constructed within the
term of four years. This project, to-
gether with one submitted by Lindon
w. Bates, a Chicago and New York
engineer, will be referred to the newly
created engineering commission for ex-
animation and report.