The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-03
MAY BE A ROW
LIVELY TIME PROMISED OVER PANA-
 MA CANAL.
To Abolish the Commission If Members of House Committee Have Their way
 Spends Money Uselessiy.

ChicaRo-A telegram to the Inter Ocean from Washington City says: There promises to be something of row over the Panama Canal Commission when Congress resumes its sessions. -
 The members of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce who Visi- ted Panama and inspected the canal are Tn favor of dispensing with the expensive com mission and leaving the construction or the canal to Chief Engineer Wallace. under the direction of the Secretary of War.
 They believe that MT. Wallace is more ca- pable of making plans than the commission and that two such executive powers will only conflict and delay the construction "t the canal.
 Rear Admiral Walker. president of the comm ission, is ready to fight, and ms asso- ciates on the commission will appeal to the Senate to save them and their power. It is intimated that Secretary Taft IS Tn favor of one man power and making the administration of Engineer Wallace dlrecty responsible to the War Department and the President
 If ia further intimated that the President is disappointed in the commission. It Is ex- pected that the Senators who secured the ap- pointment of the commissioners will do all in their power to protect and continue them in office.
 The contest promises to be a lively$on and there may be some plain talk m debate which will reflect on the commissioners, es-
 peciaIly Admiral Walker and the others who were members of the former commission to report on the various canal routes Senators and Representatives who Visi' ted Panama a few weeks ago complain that Congress was "buncoed" by that commission, which reported. the ninety-foot level canal feasible at Panaena, when they did not know
 whether the proposed Bahia dam could be built not.
 These gentlemen deny that the commis- sion even made a thorough survey of the Chagres river and the Bahia dam. They say that Engineer Wallace is now making the first thorough survey of that project on
 which hinges the lock canal at ninety foot level. and far Wallace has discovered
 no rock foundation. even at depth of 1So
 feet below level, to support dam. It is this serious embarrassment which compels Wallace to consider plans for a sea level canal as possibly the only plan that can be carried out.
 The opponents of the canal commission
 say that Admiral Walker spent million
 dollars in investigating the two routes Tor A canal through Panama and Nicaragua and with many engineers at work for two years they made no reliable survey of the only
 serious project in connection with the Pana-
 ma canal
 They accepted the French surveys. which
 were unreliable. There may also be some criticism of the commission for the recom-
 mendation in favor of paying S4O,OOOOOO for | the Panama canal members who visited
 the canal asserting that there is not all told | $lo. oo0 900 worth of property there and not
 that much work done.
 | Commissioner Greene and Examiner Shy der, of the Civil Service Commission. re-
 turned here to-day from a three weeks
 visit to the Panama canal zone, where they
 went for the purpose of introducing the
 commissions rules for the employment O. people connected with the canal They es
 tablished local board for the examinatio ] Of skilled Iaborers and authorized the keel