The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-12-21

- $50 -
up buildings and even To erect towns, !
which in ten years viii once mor give
place TO jungle. or Will Their be at the 5
bottom OF the great lakes at the ends
of the canal.
CRITICS AND DOCiSTING E
THOMASES.
IT is not only natural. but inevitable. 4
that q work Is gigantic a. this which +
has been undertaken OH the iSthmus
should arous every species Of hostili- Z
ty and criticism. The conditions are
50 new and so trying. and work so
vast. that i; would be absolutely out
OF the question hat mistakes should
not be made. Checks will occur Tn
forescsn difficulties will arise From
time to time seemingly Seli-settied
plans Ntli haVe Ia be changed. Al
present 25.0oO men are engaged on the
task. After a while the number will
be Dubbed In uch Il mnltitud. 1t is
inevitable that there should tc here
AMI there a s~coundrei. Very many
Of the poorer class OF laborers Lack
the mental development to protect
themselves against either the rascality
Of others or their own folly. and il is
not possible for human wisdom lo de-
wise Il plan BY which they can invaria-
bly, be protected. In Il place which
has been for ages a byword for un-
healthfuIness. and with 50 large a con-
gregation Of suddenly put
down and set Ia hard work there VIII
now and then be outbreaks Of disease.
There will now and then b. short
comingS in administration there will
be u~rlookt-for accidents to delay the
excavation OF the cut or the building
of the da ms and locks. Each such in
cidcnt viii BE- entirely natural, and.
even tho serious. no n of them mean
more than a little extra delay or trou-
BILE. Yet each. when discovered by
sensation mongers and retailed u tim
id ok ~ little faith, will serve a. an
excuse FOR the belief that the whole
work is being badly managed. Expert
ments viii continually BE- tried in
housing, in hygiene. in street repairing.
in dredging. and in digging earth and
rock. Now and then an experiment
viii be 4 failure: and among thCSn who
near of it. q certain proportion Of
dOubting ThOntase@ will at once be
lieve that the whole work is a failure
Doubtless here and there some minor
r~ascality will be uncovered, but as Ia
this, / have to say that after the most
painstaking inquiry | have been una
bic to find q single reputable person
who had SO much as heard Of m Serl-
Gus accusations affecting the honesty
Of the commission or of any reSpOns.-
BILE officers under il. | append a letter
deaIing Win the most serious 'ldi *
that of THE ownership Of lots in Colon.
the charge was not advanced by a
reputable man, and is utterly baseleSS.
It is not too much to say that the whole
atmosphere of the commission breatheS
honesty as il brCatheS efficiency and
energy. Above all. the work has been
kept absolutely clear of politics. !
have eve heard even a suggestion OF
SpOilS IN connection with II.
brought to me for which there SEEM
ed to be any shadow of foundation. In
two or three cases. all of which | have
indicated in the course OF this mes
sage. ! came to the conclusion that
there was foundation for the COM
plant. and hat he methods Of the
commission in the respect complained
of could be bettered. In h other in
stances the complaints proved ahso-
lutely baseless. save in two or three
instances where they referred tie mis-
takes which the commission had al
ready itself found out and corrected.
SLANDERERS AND LBELERS.
So much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount of as
reckless lander as has ever been pub
lished. Where the ~slanderers are Of
foreign origin I have no concern with
them. Where they are Americans, I
feel for them the heartieSt contempt
and i~ndignation: because, in a spirit Of
WanIon dishonesty n malice, they
are trying to interfere with. and ham,
per the execution OF, the greatest work
ever attempted, and are seeking TO
bring to naught the efforts of their
countrymen to put to he credit Of
America one of the giant feats Of the
ages. The outrageous accusations Of
these slanderers constitute a gross libel
a. g ,,-hO
for trained intelligence, expert ability,
high character and devotion to duty.
| have never been excelled anywhere.
; There is not a man among those di-
recting the work on the SthlnuS who
has obtained his position on any other
basis than merit alone. n not one
who Id. used his position in any way
for his own personal or ~pecuniary ad-
V .ntag".
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
satisfactory terms with the contractors.
The whole work is Of q kind suited 70
the peculiar genius Of our people; and
our people hav" developed h typ Of
contractor best fitted to grapple with
it. It IS Of OurSe much letter TO DO
the work in large part by contract
tnan 10 90 II iii Dy tHe BoNcTHiiitliI
provided il is possible on the one hand
to secure TO the contractor 4 sufficient
remuneration to make it worth while
for responsible contractors OF the best
kind to undertake the work. and pro-
vided on the other hand it car be
lone on terms which will not give an
excessive profit to the contractor at
the expense Of the government. After
much consideration the plan already
promulgated by h secretary Of war
was adopted. This plan in its essential
features wah drafted. after careful
and thoro study and consideration. by
the CHIEF engineer, 3fr. Stevens. who.
while in the employment OF Mr.. Hill.
the president Of the Great Northern
Railroad, had personal experience Of
his very type of contract Mr.. stew
ems thcn submitted the plan to the
chairman of commission, Mr.. Shonts.
who went carefully over it with MT.
Rogers, the legal adviser Of the com
rh1~ oil t-nnf |