Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-17
is progressing steadily and without any
A sinsl. Commissioner Desired.

lct-uQ.
A Single Commissioner Desired.
A seven-headed commission is of course
a clumsy executive instrument. we shouid
have but one commissioner. with such
heads OF departments and other Officers
under him as we may ind necessary we
should be expressly permitted to employ
the best engineers in the country as con-
su!ting engineers.
accompany this paper with a map show
ing substantially what the canal will be
like when it is finished. When the Culebra
cut has been made and the dams built Gf
they are built as at present proposed)
there will then be at both the Pacific and
Atlantic ends of the canal two great fresh
water lakes, connected by broad chan
mel running at the bottom of a ravine,
across the backbone of the western hemi-
sphere. Those best informed believe that
the work will be completed In about eight
years. but it is never safe to prophesy
about such work as this, especially In
the tropics.
1 am informed that representatives OF
the commercial clubs Of four cities-Bos-
ton, Chicago. Cincinnati and st. Louis
the membership of which includes most
of the leading business men of those cities.
expect to visit the iSthmus for the pur-
pose of examining the work or construc-
ton of the canal. l am glad to near II,
and | shall direct that every facility De
given them to see all that 1t to be seen In
the work which the government Is doing
Such interest as a visit like this would IN
dictate will have good erect upon tne
men who are doing the work. on one hano,
while on the other hand it will offer as
witnesses of the exact conditions men
whose experience business men anu
whose impartiality will make the result OF
their observa tons of value to the country
as whole.
Confident of Ultimate Success.
riS 7 m a G
we'll convinced as one can be of any en-
terprise that is human. 1t is stupen-
dous work upon which our fellow eoun-
trymen are engaged down there on the
isthmus, and while we should hold them
to a strict accountability for the way in
which they perform it. we should yet rec
ognize, with frank generosity, the epic ma
ture of the task on which they are en-
gagged and its world wide importance.
They are doing something which will re-
dound UNNECESSARILY to the credit OF Amer
lea. which will benefit all the world, and
which will last for ages to come under
Mr. Shonts and Mr.. Stevens and DR..
Gorgas this work has started with every
omen of good fortune. They and their
worthy associates, from the highest 10 the
lowest. are entitled to the same credlt that
we would give to the picked men OF VIC
torious army; for this conquest of peace
WILL in its great and far-reaching erect,
stand as among the very greatest con-
quests, whether OF peace or OF war winch
have ever been won by any of the peoples
of mankind. A badge is to be given to
every American citizen who for a specified
time has taken part in this work; for par
ticipation in it will hereafter be held to
reflect honor upon the man participating,
just as it reflects honor upon a soldier
to have belonged to a mighty army in a
great war for righteousness Our fellow
countrymen on the isthmus are working
for our interest and for the national re-
nown in the same spirit and with the same
efficiency that the men of the army and
navy work in time of war. 1t behooves
us in our turn to do all we can to hold up
their hands and to aid them in every way
to bring their great work to triumphant
conclusion. THEODORE ROOSEVELT
The White House, December. II, 1906.