The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1906-01-12
PANAMA
CANAL
WORK is PROGRESSING WELL
AND Is FAITHFULLY DONE
AND ExPEDlTloUSLY.
SOME SHARP RAPS ARE GIVEN
THE KNOCKERS" IN AND
OUT OF CONGRESS.
The Canal Work.

President Roosevelt transmitted to
congress Monday the annual report OF
the isthmian canal commission and the
Panama Railroad Co. with a scorching
letter in which he raps sensation
mongers and gives the highest praise
to the work so far accomplished.
THE work on the isthmus is being
admirably DONE" he says, "and great
progress has been made especially dur
ing the last nine months. The plant is
being made ready and the organization
perfected. The first work to be done
was the work of sanitation, the neces-
sary preliminary to the work OF ac-
tual construction, and this has been
pushed forward with the utmost en-
ergy and means. In short while
shall lay before you the recommends
tons of the commission and of the
board of consulting engineers as to
the proper plan TO be adopted for the
canal itself together with my own
recommendation thereon.
"All the work so far has been done,
not only with the utmost expedition,
but in the most careful and thorough
manner; and what has been accom-
plished gives us good reason to be-
lieve that the canal will be dug in
shorter time than had been anticipat-
ed, and at an expenditure within the
estimated amount
"All our citizens have a right TO coll
graduate themselves upon the high
standard of efficiency and integrity
which has been hitherto maintained by
the representatives of the government
in doing this great work If this high
standard of efficiency and integrity can
be maintained in the future at the
same level which it has now reached,
the construction of the Panama canal
will be one of the feats to which the
people of this republic will look back
with the highest pride.
From time to time various publica-
tons have been made, and from time
to time in the future various similar
publications doubtless will be made,
purporting to give an account OF job
berry or immortality, or inefficiency, or
misery, as obtaining on the isthmus.
have carefully examined into each Of
these accusations which seemed
worthy of attention. In every instance
the accusations have proved TO be
without foundation in any shape or
form. They spring from several
sources. Sometimes they take the
shape OF statements by irresponsible
investigators of sensational habit Of
mind, incapable Of observing or repeat
ing with accuracy what they see and
DESTROYS of obtaining notoriety by
widespread SANDER. More often they
originate with, or are given currency
by, individuals with a personal grieV-
ance.
THE sensation mongers, both those
who stay at home and those who visit
the isthmus, may ground their accusa-
tions on false statements by some
engineer who, having applied for ser.
vice on the commission and been re-
fused sucn service, now endeavors to
discredit his successful competitors;
or by some lessee or owner of real
estate who has sought action or in.
action by the commission to increase
the value of his lots and is bitter be.
cause the commission cannot be used
for such purposes; or tales Of disap-
pointed bidders for contracts; or Of
oficeholders who have proved incom-
petent or who have been suspected of
corruption and dismissed, or who have
| Dttu ONSICOLuS Ny phulS anu nave hSu
| from the isthmus.
THE only discredit inhering in these
false accusations Is to those who or
| iginate and give them currency, and
who to the extent of their abilities
thereby hamper and obstruct the COM
pletion of the great work in which
both the honor and interest of Amer.
lea are so deeply involved.
Amy attempt to cut down the sal
aries of the officials of the isthmian
canal commission or of their subor-
| dinates, who are doing important
work, would be ruinous from the
standpoint of accomplishing the work
effectively. To quote the words of one
of the best observers on the isthmus
Decentralization of the service is GER
tain If the reward for successful en-.
deavor is a reduction of pay"