The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1906-12-20

plan by which they can ri inyaF RAJ sse e
Tor ages a byword for unhealthtuIness;;
and with so large congregation ~
strangers suddenly put do"n "a ahd ihen be |
outbreaks of disease. There VIII now
and then be shortcomings In ADMINISTERS
tion. there will be unlooked-for accl.
dents to delay the excavation OF the GUY
or the building of the dams anu ioenss
Each such incident VIII be ehurety ia ,s
ural, and, even though serious no uttis
of them will mean more than NIUE
extra delay or trouble, Yet each, Wheh
discovered by sensation mOngers ana re,
tailed to timid folk OF h ,t h iSiisf that
the whole work Is being badly managed
Experiments will continually be trled III
housing in hygiene n d,, street e gh and
rock Now and then an experiment VIII
be a failure. and among those VINO near
of II, certain proportion OF uouo'i ,s
Thomases win at once believe that tne
whole work is a failure. DouDtless mere
and there some minor rascality VIII DC
uncovered; but as TO this, l nave 10 say
that after the most painstaking inquiry
I have been unable to find single reput,
able person who had so much as heara
OF any serious accusations anecung the
honesty OF the commission or OF any
responsible officer under 1t. append
letter dealing with the most serious
charge. that of the ownership OF lots IN
Colon tue tilhi Et was Al'N
n reputable man, and is utterly base
less IL Is not too much to say that the
whole atmosphere of the commission
breathes honesty as II breathes efhciency
and energy. Above all, the work mas
been kept absolutely clear of politics.
have never heard even suggestion Oh
spoils politics i'm connection with IL.
| have investigated every complaint
brought to me for which there seemed
to be any shadow of foundation; In
two or three cases, all of which
baN ipdiqn a1 in the course oil TINS
message, l came TO the conclusion that
there was foundation for the com
plant. and that the methods OF the
commission in the respect complained
of could he 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
ISLANDERS and Libelers.
SO much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount oil as
| reckless SANDER as has ever been pup
| lilshed. Where the slanderers are OF
foreign origin have no concern with
| them. Where they are Americans,
feel for them the heartiest contempt
and ndEnat0gni and nd malice sRic
! they are trying to interfere with ana
! hamper the execution of, the greatest
work of the kind ever attempted. ana
! are seeking to bring to naught the ell
| forts of their countrymen to put TO
the credit of America one of the giant
feats of the ages. The outrageous
stitute a gross libel upon body OF
public servants who, for trained intel
| ligence. expert ability high charac-
| tetr and devotion to duty, have never
! 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 pecunary advantage
Plan to Build by Contract.
After most careful consideration we
have decided to let out most OF the
satisfactory terms with the contract
ors. The whole work is of kind
suited to the peculiar genius Of our
people; and our people have devel,
much better to do the work In large
part by contract than to do 1t all By
the government, provided 1t is pos.
sible on the one hand to secure to the
contractor a sufficient remuneration
to make it worth while for ,respon
undertake the work: and provided or
the other hand it can be done on terms
which will not give an excessive prom
to the contractor at the expense o.
sideration the plan already promul
gated by the secretary OF war wa
HdODtpu. ms DlHn IN us tSStnllh
features was drafted after careful
and thorough study and consideration
by the chief engineer, Mr.. Stevens
who, while in the employment Of Mr.
ern railroad. had personal experience
OF this very type Of contract; Mr.
stevens then submitted the plan e
the chairman of the commission, Mr.
Shonts. who went carefully over /
with Mr.. Rogers, the legal adviser o
the commission. to see that all lega
] a ga o,,I . 10 Ctth
ted COPIES of the plan to both Score
tary Taft and myself. Secretary TAT
submitted it to some, of the best coun
wards I went over it very CAREFUL
with Mr.. Taft and Mr. Shonts, and w
laid the plan in its general feature
that It combines the maximum of ad
vantage with the minimum of disad
vantage. Under II premium Will b
put upon the speedy and economical
atty imposed on delay and waste. TIL
plan as Rromtp,,lgSS t Is tentati I've
in some respects before we can com
to a satisfactory agreement with re
sponsible contrac tors-perhaps eve,
after the bids have been received
and of course II is possible that W
can not come to agreement. in whic
case the government will do the wor
itself. Meanwhile the work on tn
isthmus is progressing steadily an
without any let up.
Single Commissioner Desired.
A seven headed commission is q
course n clumsy executive instrumen
We should have but one commission
err. with such heads of department
and other officers under him as W
may find necessary. We should h
expressly permitted to employ tn
best engineers in the country as cor
sulting engineers.
accompany this paper with a ma
showing substantially what the can;
will he like when 1t is finished, Whe
the Culebra cut has been made an
the dams built Gf they are built as
present proposed there will then /
at both the Pacific and Atlantic enc
OF the canal two great fresh watt
lakes connected by broad chann
running at the bottom Of a ravin
across the backbone of the Wester
| Hemisphere Those best informed h,
! lieve that the work will he complete
in about eight years; but it is new,
! safe to prophesv about such a wor
as this especially in the tropics.
] Confident of Ultimate Success.
OF the success of the enterprise
/ | am as well convinced as one can
of any enterprise that is human.
, is stupendous work upon which OF
: fellow countrymen are engaged dow
l there on the isthmus. and while "
should hold them to a strict accounts
] . tn, f.h