The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-04
soMnMHAr rANGLrn.

the editorial columns of The Chicago Journal. asit Is on a subject of general interest. and of which it seems ditfi- cult to obtain reliable data. The Jour- nal says:
 Conflicting reports of the state of things at Panama can hardly be re- conciied. The other day the country sn was told that work had had charge were delighted. Later 1t was reported that funds are so scarce that work in many places has been aban- Four thousand men have been laid off and another thousand are about to meet the same fate. A reduction in the it is not g fortnight since Secretary Cortelyou announced that no more Panama bonds would be sold on &C., count of the. enormous size of the treasury surplus, and that he would pay all bills out of money now in his hands.
 There is something about the Pan- understand Resignation of one chief engineer after another, under peculiar circumstances, placing the work in the hands of the army. varying accounts Of what is being done. some of them ia; vorable and the rest unfavorable, all combine to make the people suspicious of the whole scheme.
 
 datory account of the proceedings as he found them on his. brief visit to Panamaa does not satisfy everybody ss fha all ba is rfs 5 SssS it of ss.ry sse and enthusiasm while he was there were only a show, and that after his departure shovels became idle and men
 Many powerful interests in this country are opposed to building the canal. and it is possible that they are exist. The President should look into the matter and see what, if anything, is wrong.
 The people are entitled to be kept exactly Informed of the progress of the canal. but at present they are not able to know whether they may hope for speedy completion or whether they French experience with Panama.
 The Advertiser, as is well-known was never an enthusiastic advocate of the Panama plan, for reasons which have been amply discussed and are not nec- essary to be repeated. Aside, however. from any predilections for or against any location for the great undertaking, we feel the just pride which all good Americans should feel in any great progressive work involving such im- mense results to the country and the people. Taking merely a narrow sec tional view of the matter. we should wish for the speedy and successful com pletion of the work. for it promises much for the South and its commer- cial and industrial future. These ad- vantages are 50 apparent and have been so often set forth that 1t is un- necessary to so into them now. Suf- flee 1t to say that in our judgment noth- ing ever proposed or undertaken by our Government promises more mat,- rial benefits to our section than this canal project does.t
 And yet, with all our national pride, and our patriotic desire that the na- tion may succeed in all just undertak- ings, we are forced to admit that there has been little so far to give encour- agement to any good citizen. It seems utterly impossible to get at the truth regarding the progress and conditions on the IsthnAs. Well may The Jour nal say that there Is something about the canal that the public does not un-' derstand." The reports Of alleged ex- perts are apparently of little more value than the stories told by casual visitors.
 We all remember what an uproar followed the statements made by Poult- ney Bigelow on his return from a brief visit to the canal zone, but events have shown that he was not such a thorough ly worthy disciple of Ananias as the tried to make him out. His charges may have been highly col ored, and in some respects lacking in accuracy, but there was a large thread of truth running through them. There have been a number of other reports scarcely less complimentary than his. Some of the reports made by so-callsd experts have left the country as badly tangled as 1t was before.
 It has been but a few months since President Roosevelt took 1t on himself to go down there and settle things once for all. Some of his ardent admirers joyously informed all concerned that now we would learn all about 1t, bat his hop, skip and jump trip added prec- ious little to the sum of our knowledge, and there were good reasons why the country should not have been gratiaed and satisfied at his report. In the first place, he is not aR~expert engineer, and could not possibly have arrived at any thing approaching a correct understand ing of the diflcuities and requirements of such a vast engineering job. In the second place, his stay was so brief that it was humanly impossible for him to Have properly informed himself on the subject and in the third place, he was prejudiced, and desired to impress the country with the assurance that the work which his administration was doing was heing done satisfactorily and with credit to all concerned.
 However, leaving out the statements of Bigelow. on one side, and of Rooss- welt on the other, and laying aside all prejudice for or against the location of the canal, no one who keeps up with