Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1906-12-27

8NN'ANA|NNA|
hard work there VIII now and then be
outbreaks Of disease. There win now
ton; there win be uniookod-for aeci-
dents to delay the excavation Of the cut
or the building. OF the dams and locks
Each such incident will be entirely matt
ural. and, even though serious, no one
OF them VIII mean. more than little
extra delay, or trouble. Yet each, when
tailed to timid folk Of little faith. viii
serve as an excuse Tor the belief that
Experiments will cbntinuaily be tried in
houging, In hygiene, IN street repairingf
IN dredging and In digglng earth ans,
be a failure; and among those who hear
of II, a certain proportion OF DOUBLING
whole work Ia "a faiinre po,,btleas here
and there some minor rascality will be
uncovered; but a. 70 this, have 70 say
have been unable to and a single reput-
able person who had so much as heard
OF any serious accusations Affecting the
honesty Of the commission OF OF any
responsible officer under It. I append a
letter dealing with the most serious
charge, that OF the ownership Of lots in
Colon: the CHARGE was NOT adyanced BY
q reputable man, and Is utterly baee-
less 1t is not too much to say that the
breathes honesty as Il breathes efficiency
been kept absolutely clear OF politics. I
have never heard even suggestion OF
spells politics in connection with It.
have Investigated tevery complaint
to Be ga any y shadow s of ITO Foundation. In
two or three cases, all of which I
have Indicated Ia the course of this
there was foundation for the CONE
plant, and that the methods OF the
cemmission IN the respect complained
stances. the complaints proved dbso-
lutely baseless. save in two or three
instances where they referred TO miss
ready found out and corrected
ISLANDERS and LIbelers.
SO much for honest criticism. There
remains an immense amount of as
reckless SANDER as has ever been pub
foreign origin I have no concern with
! them. Where they are Americans,
feel for them the heartiest contempt
Of on Want s@a Dishonesty SS and malice.
| they are trying to interfere with and
hamper the execution OF. the greatest
| are seeking 10 bring to naught the eff
| forts of their countrymen to put to
the credit Of America one of the giant
accusations OF these slanderers COM
| stitute gross libel upon body OF
Public public servants servants, who i, for trained intel
tetr and devotion to duty, have never
been excelled anywhere There is not
! position on any other basis than merit
alone and not one who has used his
sonal or pecuniary advantage.
Plan to Build by Contract.
After most careful consideration we
work by contract, IL we can come to
| satisfactory terms with the contract
Stsa the who pse TSTk q y SI kinq q
! people; and our people have devel-
/ oped the type OF contractor best fitted
much Better 70 do - the work in large
l'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 suficient remuneration
sible contractors Of the best kind to
the other hand it can be done on terms
which will not give an excessive profit
to the contractor at the expense OF
sideration the plan already promuI-
gated by the secretary Of war was
d9tgtea Ihis Paa IN ss
and thorough study and consideration.
by the chief engineer. Mr.. stevens,
Hill. the president Of the Great North
ern railroad, had personal experiences
g this very type Iu, 81 contract ttr MI r.
the chairman OF the commission, Mr..
ShQnts. who went carefully over ie
with Mr.. Rogers the legal adviser Of
the commission, to see that all legal
dificulties were met. He then submit
ted copies of the plan to both Score
submitted IL to some OF the best coun-
wards I went over It very, carefully
with Mr.. Taft and MIR. Shonts, and we
laid the plan in its general features
before Mr. Root. MY conclusion, 10
that It Combines the maximum Of adj
vantage with the minimum OF Bdisad-
vantage, Under 1t a premium will be
put upon the speedy and economical
construction, of the canal, and pen pen
plan as promulgated IL tentatiyei
to 4 satisfaetory agreement with re-
after the bids have been receivedi
cam can not come TO a agreement in which
case the government win do the work
/ itself. Meanwhile the work on the
Without any let up.
Single Commissioner Desired.
A seven-headed commission ls OF
course clumsy executive instrument
we should have but one commIsslon
ana other officers under him as va
/ may nnd necessary. We should be
, expressly permitted 70 employ the
best engineers IN the country as con-
I accompany THIS paper with mar
showing SUBSTANTIALLY WAAcL NtAl lalAAA-i
J win be like when It Is finished. When
! the Culebra cut has been made and
/ the dams built (if they are built as at
present proposedl there will then b
az both the Pacific and Atlantic ends
OF the canal two great fresh-watel
= lakes, connected by broad channel
running at the bottom OF favine
/, across the backbone OF the Western
Hemisphere Those best informed be.
Q Iieve that the work viii be completed
? in about eight years. but Il Is never
safe to prophecy about such q worl
as this. especially IN the tropics.
! Confident Of Ultimate Success.
2 OF the success Of the enterprise
> am as well convinced as one can ~
Z OF any enterprise that Is human. 4
Is a stupendous work upon which oul
Z fellow countrymen are engaged doWI
2 there on the isthmus, and while w
I. should hold them 70 q strict accounta
y bility for the way in which they per
: form IT, we should recognize Will
g frank generosity. the epic nature o
2 the task upon which they are engages
= onT ffa rvSrld-wfde ffuuorfnuca. The