Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1905-04-05
CANAL BOARD SELECTED.
President Names Men Who Are
to Build Waterway.
MACON is GOVERNOR.
Powers of the Commission Are Also De-
fined by Roosevelt-Must
Rush Work.

Rush Work.
Washington, D. c., April 3.-The per-
sonnet of the new isthmian canal COM
mission is as follows:
Theodore P. Shonts, chairman.
Charles E. Magoon, governor of canal
zone.
John F. Wallace, chief engineer.
Rear Admiral M. 7. Endicott, U. S. N.
Brig. Peter c. Haines, u. S. A,
retired.
Col. Oswald NJ Ernst, corps engineers,
u. S. A.
BENJAMIN M. Harrod
These names were announced at the
war department today, and in connection
with the announcement Secretary Taft
gave out for publication a statement
showing the allotments of salaries to
the new commissioners and his own let
ter to the President and one from the
latter explaining the plan Of reorganiza-
ton of the commission; the reasons
therefor and the particular duties to be
assigned to each commissioner. Inc
first reads as follows:
Allotments of Salaries.
''The President has made an order al
lowing a salary of $500, with travelling
expenses, to each member of the com
mission, and to the chairman OF the COM
mission the additional compensation OF
so, 800; to the chief engineer the addl-
tional compensation of $4,000, and to
the governor of the zone the additional
compensation of $4,000 The head of
each department is allowed the use OF a
furnished house upon the isthmus, and
his travelling expenses when travelling on
the business of the commission.
THE total is $1O2,5O The salaries
and allowances under the former COM
mission amounted to S12O,OOO. The to-
tai compensation of the governor Of the
zone and the chief engineer are in effect
unchanged.
prof. William H Burr and William
Barclay Parsons, civil engineers. will be
appointed as members of the consulting
board OF engineers
Taft's Letter to President.
Sec, etary Taft's letter to the President
is as follows:
War Department, Washington, D. c.,
March 80 i9O5-NIr President: In the mat
ter of the reorganization of the machine by
which the Panama canal is to be built, |
beg first to call your attention to the eX-
with respect to which you may feel reason
able certainty, first, that it can be prac-
tically executed and will result in a navi-
gable canal, and, second, that the navi-
to the demands which may be made upon it
by the commerce of the world.
May Cost 5000, 900 900.
The act of Congress evidently contem-
plates canal with locks, the cost of
which shall be in the neighborhood of $780,
100000, including the money already eX-
pended. 1t is quite within the bounds of
possibility that the best form of canal Will
be q sea-leyel canal, with tidal lock only
at one end, and that the cost of it may
10 in hn min III of on.
gress by at least 500, 900 more
The work of the engineering department
of the present commission has been largely
devoted to obtaining the data upon which
the plan Of the canal must be determined.
These data include Typographical measure
ments, borings, the character of the soil,
the flow of water in the riVerS-al stated
with sufficient eXactness to secure the clos
est calculations by experienced engineers,
though not on the ground. 1t is probable
that within the next few months these data
chief engineer, Mr.. Wallace, and his as
SiStants that they may be submitted to q
board of engineers of the highest standing
Tor recClnmendatonS as to the best plan
upon which to proceed with the work
It also has been made apparent by the
reports of Mr.. Wallace and the commission
that whatever plan is likely to be adopted
work of excavation and construction, which
would have to be done under any plan,
may proceed without waste of energy for
a period quite long enough to enable YOU
to decide which is the best plan.
Advisory Board of Engineers.
suggest therefore, that the first work
to be done is the appointment of an adyis-
DRY board Of engineers, say seven Or nine
in number, to be selected from the engineers
having especial knowledge of hydraulic en-
cheering and canal construction, to whom
shall be submitted all possible informatio
with respect to the projected Panama canal
both that obtained by the French engineers
before our purchase of the plant and the
data obtained by the chief engineer of the
present canal commission, together with ali
projects suggested for the solution of the
problem which the canal commissioners
deem reasonably possible OR practicable
that the advisory board be invited to Wash
ington for the purpose of agreeing on Its
recommends lions In the premises and that il
possible such recommendations be made be
fore the regular meeting of Congress in De
cember; that the recommendations be sub
mitted to the canal commission as then
constituted, for its approval or modification
and with the recommendations of the cana
commission be submitted to the Presfden,
for his action and transmission to Congress-
AS already suggested, this work of securing
the best plan and it's approval by Congress
need not delay in any way the preliminary
highly critical work Of sanitation, the ex
IRENE Importance of which has already
been emphasized in your previous instruc
lions to the canal commission.
Old Board Slow.
1t is conceded, even by its own members
TDaL the present COMMISSION has 10
velOped itself into an executive BODY as II
give hope that it may be used successfully
as an instrrmentality for carrying on tht
immense executive burden involved in tht
construction of the canal, and it remains
for the President in the failure of Con
gress, to act, to reorganize the commission
both by change in personnel and by certain
instructions as to its internal procedure anf
distribution of powers and authority TO SO
cure greater rapidity and efficiency in tn,
doing of the work
1t is not to be supposed that Congress
intended that the commission was personal
~ to do the work come nearer to the
direct agencies in doing the work than tho
directory of a railroad comes to the con
structiOn Of railroad work, and we may as
sumo therefore that it was within the con
gressionaI intention that the commission
might, for convenience and rapdity of ac
ton. after formulating the general plan OF
work, delegate to a committee or commit
tees the doing of the work in detail the re
suit to be reported subsequently, of course
to the full commission The commission
should. therefore, appoint an executive
committee, to be constituted and empoU.
cred as hereafter stated
Radical Changes.
The secretary then states in details hi