The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-11-30
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

From our Regular Correspondent
Washington d. c. Nov a7, 1905
That the friends of the Panama
canal are respondent over the re-.
port of consulting engineers recon-
mending a sea level canal instead
Of a lock canal is putting the case
as mildly as possible. The feeling
almost amounts TO dismay and it is
very possible that it will result in
the hanging up of the project for
long period of wraugle and debate
in Congress even ii it does not end
by a congressional investigation,
the abolition of the canal commiss-
ion and the turning over of tie
whole work to the Army. Indeed,
the latter course is freely discussed.
1t it is adopted it will be high
compliment to the army engineer
corps and the worst kind OF dig
for the high priced commission that
according to its own confession has
done almost nothing up to date but
spend money. The last speeches
of Secretary Taft and Chairman
Shonts are veritable apologies fer
the lack of progress made. The
report OF the consulting engineers
intimates as plainly as possible
that the commission does not know
its business and has been proceed
ing on the wrong lines even as to
the essentials of the work that it
was thought week ago were fixed
beyond per adventure whatever
type of canal was decided on.
Xxx
The opponents of any canal, and
there are many of them in congress
who are afraid to fight the project
as whole, have been furnished
with just the sort of excuse for de-
lay that they wanted and there will
be fresh canal debate as soon as
congress can get around to it.
Meantime there will have to be an
emergency appropriation of from
ohS w wv lnlIllOu NOIldl lDI SdldI-
les above passed before the HOLIDAYS
and probably S26,o appropriated
out of the Treasury to carry OH the
work before the canal bonds can be
sold and the money paid back. Al
together the outlook is anything
but bright.
Xxx
Aside from the canal fight the
President is attempting almost the
impossible i'll sticking 10 hrs deter
mination to force the Esh Town
send rate bill through congress.
There was meeting of the Senate
Committee on inter state commerce
this week at which it developed
that five republicans and one demo
crat were opposed to the Presidents
position while four democrats aud
three republicans favored it. With
this division on what ought not to
be party measure but which un-
doubtedly is, there is not much
prospect Of harmonious action when
the bill gets into the house.
*s#
One evidence of Uncle Joe Can
mons ability as a political manager
was shown this week in his an
nouncement as to committee places
for the minority. There are seven
ty-four democrats going out Of the
House this congress, and siXty-fve
of them will be replaced by repub
.icans. Now there was much fear
that there would be more than
corresponding decrease of demo
cratic appointees OH committees.
But Speaker Cannon said mo"
He went back to the records of the
fifty second, and fifty-third congress
and found from the books that
Speaker Crisp when the republicans
were much in the minority had let
cut thirty of them from committee
appointment; "But, said Uncle Jo-
seph, 81 will treat you better than
we were treated. Probably won t
take fifteen committee seats away
from you altogether. Now that
was sheer politics. Speaker Can
non knows he can do as he wants
with the House as it is. He has a
big enough working majority to do
it. But there will be fifteen or
more democrats who will know they
are under deep personal obligations
to him and well, fifteen OF the op-
position may come in handy almost
any time.
XXX
1t is announced that Gen. Corbin