The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1906-12-21

nrotected. In a place which has been
Tor ages n byword for unfealthfuInessi
| and with so large congresasiola , ~
strangers suddenly put down anu rs, sv' be
| n,itbreaks of disease. There VIII now
and then be shortcomings IN admih'st SUI D
ton; there will be unlooked-ior acu ,tl
dents to delay the. excavation OF me 1oc L
ar the building of the dams ana locks
each such Incident will be entreiy n nns
ural, and, even though serious no ,, Vte
extra delay or trouble Yet each, when
discovered by sensation mongers ana ,y rn
tailed to timid folk of little faith' WI, wnt,
the whole work is being badly manages;
| Experiments will continually be tried ia
| housing, in hygiene, In street rep ,, nna
rock Now and then an experiment VIII
| be a failure; and among those VINO near
of it. certain proportion OF uou t ,hs
| Thomases will at once believe that tne
whole work is failure. Doubtless here
and there some minor rascality VIII DC
uncovered; but as to this, | nave 10 SAY
| have been unable to find a single reput,
able person who had so much as hearo
| of any serious accusations anectlng tno
honesty of the commission or OF any
| responsible officer under It, append
| letter dealing with the most serious
| charge, that of the ownership or lots IN
a reputable man, and is utterly base
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
have never heard even suggestion Oh
I have Investigated every company
brought to me for which there seemed
to be any shadow Of foundation In
two or three cases. all Of which !
have indicated in the course of this
message, I came to the conclusion that
there. was. foundation for the com
of could be bettered. In the other in
stances the complaints proved abso-
instances where they referred to mis-
takes which the commission had al
ready found out and corrected
ISLANDERS and Libeiers.
SO much for honest criticism. There
remains an Immense amount OF aY
reckless SANDER as has ever been publ
lilshed. Where the Slanderers are ON
foreign origin l have no concern with
them. Where they are Americans. |
feel for them the hearttest contempt
and indignation:, because. in a spirit
OF wanton dishonesty and malice.
they are trying to interfere with and
hamper the execution Of the greatest
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
accusations of these slanderers con.
stitute a gross libel upon a body or
public servants who. for trained intel
ligence, expert ability, high charac-
tetr and devotion to duty. have never
been excelled anywhere There Is not
n 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 MS
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
satisfactory terms with the contract
ors. The whole work is of a kind
suited to the peculiar genius OF our
people; and our people have deyel,
much better to do the work in large
part by contract than to do 1t all by
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 on
the other hand it can be done on terms
which will not give an excessive profit
to the contractor at the expense of
the government. After much con-
sideration the plan already promul-
gated by the secretary of war was
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; Mr..
Stevens then submitted the plan to
the chairman of the commission Mr..
Shonts. who went carefully over 1t
with Mr.. Rogers, the legal adviser of
the commission to see e, that al Legal
ted copies of. the plan to both Score
tary Taft and myself. Secretary TAFT A
sci sell at the New York bar and, after Y
wards l went over 1t very carefully
with Mr. Taft and Mr.. Shonts. and we
laid the plan in its general features
that It c6mbines the maximum OF adj
vantage with the minimum of disad-
vantage. Under it a premium will be
put upon the speedy and economical
construction of the canal. and pen
atty imposed on delay, and waste The =
alan as W StSd to is be ahanEed
in some respects before we can come
to a satisfactory agreement with re-
sponsible eontraetors-perhaps even
and of course it is possible that we
can not come to agreement, in which
case the government VIII do the work
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.
We should have but one commissions
err with such heads of departments
and other officers under him as we
may find necessary. We should be
expressly permitted to employ the
best engineers in the country as con-
sulting engineers.
accompany this paper with map
showing substantially what the canal
will be like when II is finished. When
the Culebra cut has been made and
the dams built or they are built as at
present proposed) there will then he
at both the Pacific and Atlantic ends
OF the canal two great fresh-water
lakes, connected by a broad channel
running at the bottom of a ravine,
across the backbone of the Western
Hemisphere. Those best informed be- a.
lieve that the work win be completed 4
in about eight years; but it is never .
safe to prophesy about such n work
as this. especially in the tropics.
Confident of Ultimate Success.
OF the success of the enterprise
am as well convinced as one can be
OF any enterprise that is human. It
is stupendous work upon which our
fellow countrymen are engaged down
there on the isthmus. and while we
should hold them to a strict accounta-
hility for the way In which they per-