The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-07
GREAT
HE DID ALL BUT SWEAR, SAYS MIR.
 WALLACE.
Chief Engineer of Canal sharp in His Criticism of shonfs, But Says Stevens Has Been
 Fair.

W4Snl0kIOH, FGD. h.-DuTlng the course of his testimony before the Sem ate Committee on Inter-oceanic Canals today, John F. Wallace, former chief engineer of the -1sthmian Canal, said that he did years work and that his
 successors had no benefit of his analy- sis or recommendations "because," he said, the Secretary of War told me he did not want 1t and had no use for me
 except on the isthmus as a directing engineer. He was so angry in his
 treatment that he all but cursed me- | Yesterday MT. Wallace was diverted
 from a description of conditions on the
 Isthmhs which he made today at the
 beginning Of the session, He gave a minute account of the conditions he found there and the difficulties he en- countered in getting material and supp plies and the delays that occurred In filling requirements. While he was cabling to have the orders expedited, he said he received word from Admiral Walker that cablegrams cost money. It was delicate hint, he said, that
 he had better not use the cables so much.
 At the afternoon session, of the com mission MT. Wallace said that in all Ehis experience in railroad construc-
 ton he had never seen men better fed
 than they were on the Isthmus. 4Tba
 complaint. he said, came from clerks
 who went to the Isthmus From Wash
 ington or New York, who had got the
 idea from musical comedies that life in a tropical climate was to lie In
 hamnocks and enjoy themselves Eff forts to establish a Young Mems Christian Association on the Isthmus for the benefit of the canal employees
 was stopped because of an official ob- lection to it, said Mir. Wallace. He was asked to be more explicit and said that Governor Magoon had said that Secretary Taft did not wish the work to go on.r MT. Wallace thought this
 was because the community was Cath ole
 When MT. Wallace showed some feel ing in referring to the statement Of MT. Shonts that dirt had been wasted by him, Senator Hopkins said: If you are as careful of the repu- tation of MT. Shonts as he was of yours when he came before the committee there will be ITO i'll feeling here" Nothing can repay the damage that has been done to my reputation" the witness replied. Many criticisms of me have been made which I had no
 chance to answer. This is my only op-
 portunity and 1 simply desire to set
 myself right. I hope you will pardon
 me if I show heat ~
 Senator's Simmons and Talaferro said that Mir. Wallace should be permit ted to make a complete statement even if it did involve criticism of others. It
 was pointed out that Chief Engineer Stevens had corrected the statement of Mir. Shonts and had set Mir. Wallace right and the latter said that so far
 as he knew Mir Stevens had been per-
 fectly fair.
 Discussing labor conditions, Mir. Wal lace said many civil service appointees were sent to the Isthmus who were not quite bad enough to discharge. yet
 were thoroughly incompetent. He said
 it had been shown clearly. that the civil service was not adapted to procuring
 expert labor for work on the 18th mus.
 Shocking of the Bahio dam, Mir. Wal lace said he discovered that solid rock
 bottom co . not be found nearer than 167 feet instead of 12s feet as had
 been shown by the Walker borings. He did not favor an eight hour day and recommended that as few restric- tions as possible he placed on MT. Stevens and that the wolves should be kept off his back" If the canal
 work should be let by contract said
 MT. Wallace, it would increase the con- tract price about 220 per cent, He thought the man ia charge should De l z mitted to get his labor in China, Japan, India, Spain or where he pleas | ed
 The hearing was adjourned until 1 two o'clock tomorrow.