The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1905-10-26
CANAL PROJECT
IS A SURE co.
President Tells the Floridans.
That There Is No Use to
Rail Against It.
1T WILL DO GREAS GooD
Is of Immense Importance to Us and
Its Cost and Dangers HAYS Been
Grossly Exaggerated-Means
a Bigger Navy.

uled to make a stop of any length
It'll he reaches Mobile today.
The day in st. Augustine was a quiet
pne. He attended services in the Pres
tbyterian Memorial church at II o'clock
The pastor, Rev. James Coffin, Stout,
preached from the text, Worthy the
Lamb That Was Slain" He made no
reference to the president in his SER
mon. The church was crowded. At
the conclusion of the services tho pres
ident was taken for a short drive about
the city. After lunch the president,
accompanied by Secretary Loeb, Sur
geon General Rixey, John McIlhenny
and John Greenway, the last two Of
whom lave been his guests on the trip
south, drove to Fort Merton, where
they boarded a launch n went to
lAnastasia, an island. Here the party
doomed bathing suits and had a bath
In the salt water.
Jacksonville. Fla, Oct. 21.-President
Roosevelt arrived here at $3.50 this
morning. AT the depot were thou
sands of. cheering people and a spe-
'cial reception committee Of a hundred
leading citizens, headed by Governor
Broward, who gave the president q cor
dial greeting. The president looked
fresh and vigorous after his nights
sleep and expressed himself delighted
with being in Florida.
He was taken to the Seminole club in
the principal quare In the city, where
thousands Of people greeted him with
rousing cheers. Mayor Nolan well
coined the president on behalf of the
city and introduced Governor Broward,
who presented the president to the null
titude. He said:
Here in Florida, the first of the gulf
states which I have visited upon this trip,
| wish to , say a special PeGialo w q q a ape t,n 1ne
will be Of great benefit to all our people,
but most of all to the states of the south
Atlantic, the gulf and the Pacific slope;
a monument to this nation; Tor 1t will be
the greatest engineering feat ever yet &C
compllshed in the world. It will be a good
thing for the world as a whole. and for the
people of the isthmus and Of the northern
portions Of South America in particular,
Because of our especial interest In 1t,
and because of the position we occupy on
this hemisphere, it is a matter of special
pride to us that our nation, the American
nation, should have undertaken the per-
Torrance of this world duty.
A body of the most eminent engineers in
the world, both Americans and foreigners,
has been m to advise as to the
exact type of CANAL which should be built.
At no distant date I hope to be able to an
! nounce what their advice is, and also the
action taken upon their advice.
Meanwhile the work is already well I'M
der way, and has advanced sufficiently
far to enable me to announce with GER
, tainty that it can surely be accomplished,
and probably at rather less expense than
was anticipated.
But upon the last point. as we'll as Upon
the question Of time, no positive statement
mission of engineers as to the exact type
of canal has been received. The work Is
as difficult as 1t is important; and tits OF
course inevitable that from time to time
difficulties will occur and checks be en-
cOuntercd.
He "knocks" the "knockers."
Whenever such IS the case the men of
little faith at home will lose that little
terra with emphasis will act after their
kind. But our people as a whole possess
not only faith, but resolution, and are Of
too virile fiber TO be swept one way or the
other by mere sensational,Sm. No check
that may come will be of more than trivial
and passing consequence, will infiict any
delay.
The work can be done, is being done, and
will be done, What has already been ac-
complished IS a guaranty as to the future.
The veterans Of the civil war who are
here present will tell you that the very
rear of an army, even when it IS victorious,
is apt to look and behave as if the victory
were defeat. And Just the same thing is
true in any great enterprise in civil life:
there are, always weaklings who get
plants. They amount to nothing one way
or the other, so far as achievcing results
Is concerned, ana tNGlT Complaints anC
outcrieS need never detain us.
Hygienic Reforms Wrought.
7 call your attention specifically to the
matter of health on the isthmus. The cli-
mate was supposed to be deadly, and yell
epidemic. Yet since we have assumed con-
troll there has been far less yellow fever
than in our own country. The admintstra-
ton Is steadily becoming better and more
effective, from the hygenic as we'll as from
every other stand point.
The work OF building the canal is a great
American work. in which the whole Amer
icon people are interested. It has nothing
to do with parties or craftsmanship, and is
being carried on with absolute disregard to
all merely, political considerations; with
regard only to efficiency, honesty, and
economy.
The digging of the canal will, of course,
greatly increase our interest in the Carib-
bean sea. 1t will be our duty to police the
canal, both In the interest Of other nations
and in our own interest.
To do this 1t is, of course, indispensable
to have an efficient navy (and 1 am happy
to say that we are well on our way toward
having one), and also to possess. as we
already possess, certain strategic points to
control the approach to the canal.
In addition it is urgently necessary that
the insular and continental countries with
in or bordering upon the Caribbean sea
should be able to secure fair dealing and
orderly liberty within their own borders.
/ need not say that the United States
not only has no purpose of aggression upon
any SPbD'i " EDtidl " lllS
south Of US, but has the friendliest feeling
toward them. and desires nothing save
their progress and prosperity. We do not
wish another foot of territory; and I think
our conduct toward Cuba is a guaranty
that this is our genuine attitude toward
all our sister republics.
We Must Make Them Ee Good,
If ever we should AVE to interfere in the
affairs of any Of our ~neighbors 1t would
only be when we found it impossible long
er to refrain from doing so without serious
damage following; and even in such case
it would only be with the sincere and
effective purpose to make our interference
beneficial to the people concerned. In the
last resort, and only in the last resort, it
may occasionally be necessary to inter-
fere by exercising what is virtually an in
ternational police power, if only to avoid
seeing some European power forced to
exercise it. In short. while we must inter-
fere always cautiously, and never wan
tonly; yet on rare occasions, where the
need is great, it may be necessary - in
t%erfere, unless we are willing to confess
ourselves too feeble for the task we have
undertaken. and to avow that we are will
ing to surrender II into stronger hands:
and such confession and avowal l know