Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1906-12-20

extra delay or trouble. yet 6acn, Wnen
discovered by Sensation mongers and re.
tailed to timid folk of little faith, will
serve as an excuse for the belief that
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
be a failure; and among those who hear
of it, certain proportion of doubling
Thomases will at once believe that the
whole work is a failure. Doubtless here
and there some minor rascality will be
uncovered; but as to this, l have to say
that after the most painstaking- inquiry
l have been unable to find single reput-
able person who had so much as heard
of any serious accusations affecting the
honesty of the commission or of any
responsible officer under it. l append a
letter dealing with the most serious
charge, that of the ownership of lots in
Colon; the charge was not advanced by
less. 1t is not too much to say that the
whole atmosphere OF the commission
and energy, Above all. the work has
been kept absolutely clear of politics. l
have never heard even a suggestion OF
spoils politics in connection with it.
1 have investigated every complaint
brought to me for which there seemed
to be any shadow of foundation: In
have indicated in the course of this
message. 1 came to the conclusion that
there was foundation for the COM
plant; and that the methods of the
of could be bettered. In the other in
stances the complaints proved abso.
lutely baseless. save in two or three
instances where they referred to mis-
takes which the commission had al
ready found out and corrected.
SANDERS and Libelers.
So much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount of as
reckless SANDER as has ever been pub.
lilshed. Where the slandercrs are Of
foreign ORIGIN i have with
them. Where they are Americans. +
feel for, them the heartiest contempt
of wanton dishonesty and malice.
they are trying to interfere with and
hamper the execution of. the greatest
work of the kind ever attempted. and
forts of their countrymen to put to
the credit of America one of the giant
f feats Of tt the ages The Tn, outrageous
stitute a gross libel upon a body Of
public servants who. for trained intel
ligence. expert ability. high charac-
been excelled anywhere. There Is not
a man among those directing the work
on the isthmus who has obtained his
position on any other basis than merit
alone. and not one who has used his
position in any way for his own per-
sonal 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 10 the peculiar genius of our
people; and our people have devel--
to graphic with it, 1t is. of course
much better to do the work in large
part by contract than to do it all by
the government, provided it is pos
sible on the one hand to secure to the
contractor sufficient remuneration
TO make it worth while for respon-
siblc contra ctors of the best kind to
undertake the work; and provided on
the other hand 1t can be done on terms
which will not give an excessive profit
the government. After much con.
sidera ton the plan already promu1-
gated by the secretary of war was
adopted. This plan in its essential
features was drafted after careful
and thorough study and consideration.
by the chief engineer. Mr.. Stevens.
Hill. the president of the Great North
ern railroad. had personal experience
Of this very type Of contract MI.
the chairman of the commission. Mr..
Shouts. who went carefully over it
with Mr.. Rogers. the legal adviser of
difficulties were met. He then submit
ted copies of the plan to both Secre-
tary Taft and myself. Secretary Taft
submitted it to some of the best coun-
-
wards | went over it very carefully
with Mr. Taft and Mr.. Shonts. and we
laid the plan in Its. general features
that 1T Combines the maximum of adj
with the minimum of disad-
vantage. Under it premium will be
put uDon the speedy and economical
construction of the canal. and a PEN
atty imposed on delay and waste. The
G Goubtiess f viii hase to be e CHANGED
in some respects before we can come
to satisfactory agreement with re-
after the bids have been received;
and of course it is possible that we
can not come to a agreement, in which
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.
er. with such heads of departments
and other officers under him as. we
expressly permitted to employ the
best engineers in the country as con-
Sulting engineers.
I accompany this paper with a map
showing substantially what the canal
will be like when it 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
at the bottom OF a ravine.
across the backbone of the Western
Those best informed be-
lieve that the work will be completed
in about eight years: but it is never
safe to prophesv about such a work
as this. especially in the tropics
Confident of Ultimate Success.
or the success of the enterprise
am as well convinced as one can be
of any enterprise that is human 1t
is n stupendous work upon which our
fellow countrymen are engaged down
there on the iSthmuS, and while we
should hold them to a strict accounta-
form it, we should recognize. with |
frank generosity. the epic nature of
the task upon which they are engaged
are doing something which will re-
doud immea surably to the credit of
America which will benefit all the
world. and which will last for ages
to come Under Mr.. Shonts and Mr.
Stevens and DIR. Gorgas this work has
tune. They and their worthy associates,
from the highest to the lowest. are
entitled to the same credit that we
would give t" the n,cted men of
peace will, in it's great and far-reach-
ing Affsct stand among the very
greatest conquests. whether of peace
or of war, which have ever been won
by any of the peoples of mankind. A
badge is to be given to every Ameri-
can citizen who for specified time
in it will hereafter be held
to reflect honor upon the man par
n soldier to have belonged to a mighty
army in p great war ror righteous
ness. Our fellow countrymen on the
fsthmus are working for our interest
same spirit and with the same eff
cheney that the men of the army and