The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-03

i full share in the work of levee build Ing, and, incidentally to it's purpoAe Of vent the ruin of alIuvfal bottoms. by nopds. our Knowledge is not sum eteRtiy far advanced to enable me to speak definitely as to the pians which word of warming: The danEer of en- tering on any such scheme Hes in tho adoption of impossible and undesira bio plans. plans the adoption of which saas DsyUna an a sf Gasy o s which though feasible, are not rela- lively to other pfansA of an tenpoez.avw which warrant their adoption. It will Fundamentally cautious people like our own to the adoption of such policy as tn at hope to see adopted;s and even M we begin to follow out such 3 policy It is found to entaii reckless extravasans- or to be tainted with jobbery. The n. terests of the nation as whole must hS always the first consideration. - aiOvement n National.
 This is properly a national movement. because all interstate and foreign conas merce .and the Improvements and methods of carving 1t on. are subtects course the matter of the improvement of thesMississipps River and it's tribu- tarfes Ia one which especially concerns the great middle portion of our country
 
 the Rockies yet 1t Is of concern to the rest of the country also. for 1t cnn net too often be said that whatever Is reas- iy beneficial to one part of our coun- Exactly as it is good thing for tho Interior. of our country that the sea- ports on the Atlantic and the Pacific and the Gulf should be safe and conn dweI1ers on the coast that the interior should possess ample facilities for the transportation of its products. Que 3in- terests are all closely interwoven, ana go up or go down together.
 Take. for instance, the Panama Canal. If the Mississippi is restored to It's former place of importance as a nign- the Panama Canal will be felt as an I'm mediate advantage to the business of every city and country district ine tho Mississippi. Valley. think that the peciaf kdvantage to the States that lie Mlof,g the Pacific and the States that lie along the Gulf; and yet. after all, feel that the advantage will be shared the Interior and of the Atlantic coast. In other words. 1t is a thoroughly na- tional work. undertaken&for and re- founding to the advantage of all of us-- to the advantage of the nation as a whole Therefore am glad to be able to report to you how well we are doing with the canal
 There, is bound to be a certain amount of experiment certain amount of feeling our way, in a task 50 gigantic a task greater than any of its kind that has ever hitherto been undertaken in the whole histQsv of mankind: but the success so far has been astonishing, and we have not met with a single one of the accidents or drawbacks which freely confess I expected we should from time to time encounter. We, in the first place. laid the foundation fof the work by securing the most favor able possible conditions as regard the health. comfort. and safety of the men who were to do 1t: and now the Canal Zone Is in point of health better off than thes average district of the same sibe at home Then we went at the problem of the actual digging and dam building. For overa year past we have been engaged in making the dirt fly in good earnest. and the output of the giant steam shovels has stead fly increased. It Is now the rainy sea- son. when work is most difficult on the Isthmus, yet in. the month of Au- gust we excavated over a million and two hundred thousand cubic yards of earth and rock, a greater amount than in any previous month. If we are able to keep up substantially the rate of progress that now. obtains we shall