The Grenada sentinel., 1906-12-22

ana with so large congregation : OF
hard work there will now and then ~
outbreaks Of disease. There will nous
una t,nu tnen De shortcomings In administra-
sou, tnere Will be unlooked-for accf-
oents to delay the excavation of the c,,t
or the building of the dams and locks
lac; mach such incident will be entirely nat.
of az than ano' even though serious, no one
Va .hem VIII mean more than a little
extra deiay or trouble Yet each. when
uiscovered by sensation mongers and ra
sarro saIIed TO timid folk of little faith, win
Inc tIl whole work Is being badly managed
t.AperiInents Will continually be tried in
in 5ra6.in in hygiene. In street repairing,
IN III ureoging and in digging earth and
rock. Now and then an experiment will
oe failure; and among those who hear
T1 rb IL, a. certain proportion of doubling
Wnoie work fs a failure. Doubtless here
ana thers some minor rascality will he
thrttverea; that aftsr; put as to this have to say
nave been unable to find single reniif.
ape person who had so much as heard
poray aIy serious accusations affecting the
resnons,b}a s Ja tae commission or of any
iietStpohsiDIe off1cer under 1t. I append a
letter dealing with the most serious
SGnddIge' that of the ownership of lots in
a ooiom; the charge was not advanced by
Tess. 1t is. not too much to saw that tbe
hraetba Mnoie atmosphere. OF the commission
and eI'ees eesre e0nesty va as.it breathes efficiency
pn ppeen Kept absolutely clear of politics.
sno;1. asG never heard even a suggestion of
'pY"5 5a%e ponies 3 IN connection with it.
nave investigated every compIaint
brought to me for which there Seemed
~ pe any shadow of foundation. In
Two or three cases. all of which 7
n, 1ase esso IN andicated in the course of this
there was! foundation for the com.
pant: and that the methods of the
commission co in the respect complained
stancas eso pc pe oettered; In the other in
iutely baseless, save in two or three
instances where they referred to mis-
taxes which the commission had al
leaoy round out and corrected.
ISLANDERS and LibeIers.
80 much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount of az
reckless slander as has ever been nuh-
lilshed. Where the slanderers are of
II0relgn origin 1 have no concern with
fnem: fne1 t Where they, are Americans. !
ana ana Indignation; because. in a spirit
or wanton dishonesty and malice,
sney s are trying to interfere with and
work OF the kind ever ATTEMPTED and
are seeking to bring to naught the ef-
.prts or their countrymen to put to
feats of the ages. The outrageous
accusations of these slanderers con-
stitute gross libel upon a body OF
!; o 'el FdHtS VINO, Tor trained fntet-.
Ilgence, expert ability, high chara4
[etr and devotion to duty, have never
oeen excelled anywhere. There is not
I man among those directing the work
ons;ti ol tHe lsthmus who has obtained his
position on any other basis than merit
lIone. and not one who has used his
2osltlon in any way for his own per-
'ohai or pecuniary advantage. ~.
Plan to Build by Contract. -
After most careful consideration we
nave decided to let out most of the
work by contract, if we can come to
'rs. The whole work is of a kind
suited to the peculiar genius of our
'eop2iei 2 and our people have devel-
ped the type of contractor best fitted
much better to do the work in large
art by contract than to do it all by
ne ne government, provided 1t is pos-.
ible on the one hand to secure to the
ontractor sufficient remuneration
o make it worth while for. respon-
ibie~ contractors Of the best kind to
ndertake the work; and provided on
ne ne other hand it can be done on terms
yhich will not give an excessive profit
. . the contractor at the expense of
derstion gtEernhent the n,an ftgr much con
ated by the secretary of war was
dopted. 'h,Ite This plan, in its essential
nd thorough study and consideration,
y the chief engineer, Mr.. Stevens,
no. while in the employment of Nh.
III, the president Of the Great North
this very type of contract Mr..
-evens then submitted the plan to
le chairman of the commission. Mr..
i4htsi ifb Mr wRo P rs went .,s carefully oyer it
le commission, to see that all legal
mcultles We're met. He then submit
Tpt and Gr the myse pfn So Peth
omitted it to some of the best coun-
! at the New York bar, and after
ith MT Taft and Mr.. shonts.. and we we
id the plan in its general features
fore Mr.. Root. My conclusion is
at it combines the maximum of ad-.
-ntage with. the minimum of disad-
-ntage. Under it a premium will be
It upon the speedy and economical
Instruction, of the canal. and a PEN
ty imposed on delay and waste. The
an as promulgated is tentative:
ubtless it will have to be changed
some respects before we can come
a satisfactory agreement with re-
ter the bids have been received;
d of course it is possible that we
Sc the government will do the work
elf Meanwhile the work on the
hmus is progressing steadily and,
thout any let up.
Single Commissioner Desired.
A seven headed commission is OF
lrSe a clumsy executive instrument.
e should have but one commission
with such heads of departments
d other officers under him as we
" find necessary. We should be
pressly permitted to employ the
st engineers in the country as con-
ting engineers.
owing substantially what the canal
IL be like when it is finished. When
Culebra cut has been made and
dams built Gf they are built as at
ssent proposed) there will then be
both the Pacific and Atlantic ends
the canal two great fresh-water
,es connected by a broad channel
ming at the bottom of a ravine.
'oss the backbone of the Western
misphere. Those best informed be-
We that the work will be completed
about eight years; but it is never
e to -prophesy about such a work,
this. especially in the tropics.
Confident of Ultimate Success.
( the success of the enterprise
as well convinced as one can be
any enterprise that is human 1t
4 stupendous work upon which our
ow countrymen are engaged down
re on the iSthmuS, and while we
uld hold them to a strict accounta-
ty for the way in which they per-
m it, we should recognize, with
nix generosity. the epic nature of
task upon which they are engaged
it's worldwide Importance. They
doing something which will re-
ID immeasurably to the credit of
erica. which will benefit all the