Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1905-07-08
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

l is prODaDle tnat lew peOple have Iol-
lowed the details leading up to the
resignation of John f. Wallace Chief
Engineer of the Panama Canal and a
member of the Canal Commission, suffi-
ciently closely to appreciate the full
measure Of his lack OF loyalty in throw
ing up his office to accept a position
which offered greater remuneration, but
no one man can read the terrible arraign-
ment of the former Chief Engineer
which Secretary Taft delivered to him, i'll
person, without gathering some idea OF
the size, mentally rather than physically
of the Secretary of War, of the high
ideals which inspire his every action, of
his high conception of loyalty to his
government and the business and manli-
ness which prevades the man.
~
Briefly, the circumstances were these.
Wallace, at his own solicitation, was
made member of the commission. His
every suggestion was received with re-
spect and in practically every instance,
was carried into effect. As recently as
May 26th, Wallace wrote. to the chair
man of the commission that he was en-
tirely satisfied, delighted" in fact with
everything that had been done and
would throw himself into the work with
his whole heart and soul. The Chair
man had urged him to SO organize his
engineering force as to provide for such
an emergency as his illness, his being
suddenly called away from the isthmus,
etc., and Wallace had promised to do
this. Then, twelve days after his letter
of May 26th, he accepted proposition
from New York concern and according
to his own statement, his only stipulation
when asked if he would accept the new
place had been, at is simply matter OF
terms and conditions.
~
When Secretary Taft had heard what
Mr.. Wallace had done, heard it from his
own lips, he proceeded to express his
opinion of the Chief Engineers conduct
in unvarnished terms. He never lost his
temper, as the conservative character OF
his remarks demonstrates, but he did not
spare his auditor. There is nothing so
repugnant to the Secretary of War as
disloyalty, and in his judgement Mr..
Wallace had been guilty of the 'gravest
sort of disloyalty and of a dishonorable
selfishness which was contemplate, and
the Secretary proceeded to tell him go.
~
The new Engineer, John F. Stevens
appointed as successor of Wallace, is re-
garded as man of exceptional ability. He
constructed the Rocky Mountain division
OF the Great Northern Railroad, which
is regarded as one of the best built roads
in the country, perhaps in the world.
"Stevens spent between $60,000,000 and
$7O,OO0,000 for ]. ]. Hill, and Mr.. Hill
was so well satisfied that he recommended
Stevens to me in the highest TERMS, said
Mr.. Shonts chairman of the commission,
to your correspondent to-day, and he
added, ''Could anything be better test
of mans ability? Those who know
"Jim" Hill will unanimously answer no.
~
"Nhat we want on the isthmus is a
great big, brainy man, capable of exert
ing great driving power" continued Mr..
Shonts. "He must be man capable of
handling men, must know enough to
know what to expect from subordinates
and must possess the faculty of inspiring
them with enthusiasm. He must be too
big a man to lose the perspective of his
work by conining his attention to minor
details, or to the more abstruse engineer
ing problems of the great enterprise. We
have got a board OF expert engineers
right here in Washington for no other
purpose than to work out those intricate
problems and the Chief Engineer should
utilize that organization for all it is
worth" Asked who would be the assis.
tant chief engineer, Mr.. Shonts said
simply, Il don't know. You see, when l
ask a man to do work expect him to do
it. / don't care how he does it, what
f1en or what tools he uses SO long as he
does the work and it is satisfactory when
he gets through. Now am going to tell
Stevens to 60 ahead and organize his
own force, perfect his machine and dig.
Then shall look to him for results and
the personality of his assistants and
similar details will rest entirely with
him."
~
Secretary Taft left Washington last
night for the Philippines, accompanied
by seven Senators and twenty three men,
bers of the House, many of them with
their wives, by Miss Alice Roosevelt,
General Bliss and several other military
men, and by few newspapermen and
other guests. The Secretary and his
party will spend about month in the
Philippines and it will be busy month
for the Secretary who will assist in solv-
ing number OF difficult problems. There
are still some matters relating to the
Catholic Church to be settled, such as
the amount to be paid Tor churches
which were siezed and used by troops
during the insurrection. Then there is
the great question of transportation. The
Secretary is extremely anxious to have a
GOOD system of railroads ON the islands