Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-14
THE PANAMA CANAL
PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE SENT TO
eoHcfEss.
Regards Present Provision Of Law for
Constructing the Waterway as
Clumsy and Inelastic.

The President yesterday afternoon sent
to Congress the following message rela-
tive to the Panama canal:
"To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives:
IT transmit herewith the report Of the
isthmian canal commission, accompanied
by letter of the Secretary of War, under
whose supervision I have by executive
order placed the work of the commission. 1
concur with the Secretary of War in the
view that the present provision Of law by
which the work of building the canal has
to be done only through a body Of seven
members, Is inelastic and clumsy, and I
earnestly recommend change SO that the
President, who is charged with the re-
sponsibility of building the canal, may ex-
ercise greater discretion In the organiza-
ton OF the personnel through whom he is
to discharge this duty
Actual experience has convinced me that
II VIII be impossible to obtain the best and
most effective service under the limitations
prescribed by law. The general plans for
the work must be agreed upon with the
aid OF the best engineers of the country,
who should act an advisory or consult
ing body. The consulting engineers
should not be put on the commission, which
should be used only as an executive in
strument for the executive and administra-
tive work. The actual work of executing
the general plans agreed upon by the COM
mission after receiving the conclusions of
the ADVISING engineers must be done by
an engineer II, charge, and we now have
an excellent engineer. It IL in my judg-
ment inadvisable, therefore, to restrict the
executives choice of commissioners to rep
resentatives of the Engineer Corps of the
army or the navy.
THE commission should consist of five.
or preferably of three. members. whose re-
spective duties powers and salaries should
be assigned to them by the President, and
VINO should be placed under the member
OF the cabinet whom the President desires.
or these men the one appointed as admin
1strator of the canal strip should also serve
as minister to Panama.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Secretary Taft's Letter.
In his letter Secretary Taft says the COM
mission has done great deal Of the work
of organization, sanitation and preparation
to build the canal. The chaotic condition
of affairs in the isthmus however, due to
the time which has elapsed since the new
French Canal Company ceased to work, the
lack OF care of the plant and equipment
and the rapid growth of vegetation in that
soil and climate, brought about such state
of confusion that 1t will require several
months yet to restore proper conditions of
the work of canal building. Decided prog
ress has been made in the verification of
the data obtained by the French engineers
and in procuring new data necessary to
enable the engineers of the commission to
determine the proper plan for the canal.
Cutting Railroad Expenses.
The report contains the first annual re-
port of Maj. Gen. Davis, governor of the
canal zone, dated November 1, 1904.
Gen. Davis comments ON the high tele-
graph and railroad rates on the isthmus
He advises making the railroad telegraph
line government line and says that if the
government would go out of the steamboat
business and would reduce rates across the
lsthmus 90 per cent private competition
would reduce steamboat rates between New
York and Colon and Sane Francisco and
Gen. Davis says this suggestion would
result in large diminution of the revenue
of the railroad, but also in a very large
oiminutlon OF expense of mana cement. The
New YORK office can be given up entirely
Tor there will be no excuse for its mainte-
nance, which last year cost sos. 600 and
whose agency expenses at that point and
IN Ia osher places cost more than 100000. The
chief engineer of the isthmian canal conn
mission could take charge of and manage
the Panama railroad forty-seyen miles
long, mere trifiing incident of his enei-
neering duties
Work of the Commission.
The report of the canal commission re-
cites that its first visit to the canal zone
was In April last, during which time the
only work in progress was the excavation
of the Culebra cut
The French surveys. although scientific
ally conducted, were found to be of little
value on account of the changes which have
taken place, not only in the size of vessels.
but in the existing conditions and methods
of construction. Under these conditions it
was decided that the most effectual stem
toward progress was the immediate organi-
zatfon of surveying parties to determine,
among other things the practicability of a
sea-level canal.
The report says that the development of
the final plans for both the deep-water
channel and the inner harbor at either end
of the canal, including about mile of the
canal line, will be concluded within the next
two or three months, in connection with
which large amount of filling of low
ground will be performed within the limits
of Christobal and the city of Colon which
has most important bearing upon the SAN
ftatiOn of that city
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