The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-12-21

protected. In a place which has been
Tor, ages byword for unhealthfulness,
hard work there win now and then be
outbreaks Of disease. There will now
ton; there will be unlooked-for acct
dents to delay the. excavation of the cut
or the building OF the dams and locks.
ural and, even though serious, no one
OF them. will mean more than little
extra delay or trouble. Yet each, when
tailed to timid folk of little faith, will
serve as an excuse for the belief that
the whole work Is being badly managed.
Experiments will continually be tried in
housing, in hygiene, in street repairing,
In dredging and in digging earth and
rock. Now and then an experiment will
of it, certain proportion of doubtina
Tnomases will at once believe that the
wnoie work is failure. Doubtless here
and there some minor rascality will be
uncovered; but as to this, I have to say
that after the most painstaking inquiry
l. nave been unable to find single reput-
OF any serious sG;usations affecting the
honesty of the commission or of any
responsible officer. under it. 1 append a
letter dealing with the most Serious
charge, that of the ownership of lots in
Colon; the charge was not advanced by
a reputable man, and is utterly base
whole atmosphere OF the commission
breathes honesty as it breathes efficiency
and ana energy. Above all. the work has
P Peen Kept absolutely clear of politics. !!
| spells politics in connection with it.
| l nave investigated every complaint
prought to me for which there seemed
| to be any shadow of foundation. In
Two or three cases. all of which ]
have indicated in the course of this
message, I came to the conclusion that
plant. and that the methods of the
commission in the respect complained
OF could be bettered. In the other in
uteIy ne complaints proved abso
| instances where they referred to mis-
takes which the commission had al
ready round out and corrected.
ISLANDERS and Libelers.
SO much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount of as
| reckless SANDER as has ever been pub
illshed. Where the slanderers are of
foreign origin 1 have no concern with
them: Where they. are Americans. ]
feel for them the heartiest contempt
and indignation;. because. in a spirit
Of wanton dishonesty and malice,
they are trying to interfere with and
work of the kind ever attempted, and
are seeking to bring to naught the eff
| forts of their countrymen to put to
the credit Id of. Of America one of the giant
accusations of these slanderers con-
stitute gross libel upon body of
public servants who, for trained intel
ligence, expert ability, high charac-
tetr and devotion to duty. have never
been excelled anywhere There is not
| a man among those directing the work
| position on any other basis than merit
| alone, and not one who has used his
position in any way for his own per-
sonai or pecuniary advantage.
Plan to Build by Contract.
After most careful consideration we
have decided to let out most of the
work by contract if we can come to
ors. The whole work is of a kind
suited to the peculiar genius of our
people; and our people have devel-
to grapple with it. 1t is of course
much better to do the work in large
part by contract than to do it all by
sible on the one hand to secure to the
to make it worth while for respon-
sible contractors Of the best kind to
| undertake the work; and provided on
the other hand it can be done on terms
| which will not give an excessive profit
to the contractor at the expense OF
gated by the secretary of war was
adopted. This plan, in its essential
and thorough study and consideration
/ by the chief engineer, Mr.. Stevens
who, while in the employment of Mr.
ern railroad, had personal experience
Of this very type of contract. Mr.
Stevens then submitted the plan to
the Chairman of the commission Mr.
with Mr.. Rogers, the legal adviser OF
the commission, to see that all legal
difficulties We're met; He then submit
tary Taft and myself. Secretary Taft
| submitted it to some of the best coun-
sci at the New York bar, and after
with Mr.. Taft and Mr.. Shonts. and we
! laid the plan in it's general features
before Mr.. Root. My conclusion is
vantage with the minimum of disad-
vantage. Under 1t a premium will be
| put upon the speedy and economical
atty imposed on delay and waste The
plan as promulgated is tentative;
| doubtless it will have to be changed
in some respects before we can am, come
| sponsible contractors-perhaps even
after the bids have been received;
and of course it is possible that we
| can not come to agreement, in which
case the government will do the work
| itself. Meanwhile the work on the
| iSthmuS is progressing steadily and
without any let up.
Single Commissioner Desired.
A seven-headed commission is of
| course a clumsy executive instrument.
| We should have but one commission
/ err, with such heads of departments
and other officers under him as we
/ may find necessary. We should be
| expressly permitted to employ the
/ best engineers in the country as con-
| sulting engineers.
| I accompany this paper with map
| showing substantially what the canal
will be like when 1t is finished. When
the Culebra cut has been made and
present proposed) there will then be
| at both the Pacific and Atlantic ends
/ of the canal two great fresh-water
| lakes, connected by a broad channel
| running at the bottom of a ravine.
| across the backbone of the Western
| Hemisphere Those best informed be-
| lieve that the work will be completed
| in about eight years; but 1T is never
| safe to prophesy about such work
as this, especially in the tropics.
! Confident of Ultimate Success.
OF the success of the enterprise !
! am as well convinced as one can be
/ of any enterprise that Is human. 1t
| is a stupendous work upon which our
/ fellow countrymen are engaged down
| there on the isthmus. and while we
| should hold them to a strict accounta-
| bility for the way in which they per-
| form it, we should recognize, with
| frank generosity, the epic nature of
! the task upon which they are engaged
and its worldwide Importance. They
! ,faI,