The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-12-06

were from accessory works These re.
suits were achieved In the rainy sea-
son with a rainfall In August of li,Ss
inches and In September OF 1855 inches
Finally. in October, the record was
again ecllpsed. the total excavation be-
ing LS6S,12e cubic yards; a truly ex-
traordinary record. especially in view
of the heavy rainfall. which was III
inches. In fact. experience during the
last W rainy seasons demonstrates
that the rains are a less serious OBJ
stacle to progress than has hitherto
been supposed.
Work on the locks and dams at
Gatun. which began actively in March
last has advanced so far that 1t Is
thought that masonry work on the
locks can be begun within Is months.
Last winter bids were requested and
received for doing the work OF ANA
construction by contract. None OF them
was found TO be satisfactory and all
were rejected. 1t Is the unanimous
opinion of the present commission hat
the work can be lone better, more
cheaply, n more quickly by the gov
eminent than by private contractors
Fully 50 per cent, of the entire plant
needed for construction has been pur-
chased or contracted for: machine
shops have been erected and equipped
for making all needed repairs to the
plant; many thousands OF employees
have been secured, an effective organi-
zatioa has been perfected; n recruiting
system is in operation which is capable
OF furnishing more labor than can be
used advantageously, employees are
well sheltered n well fed; salaries
paid are satisfactory. IND the work Is
not only going forward smoothly. but
1t is producing results far in advance
OF the most sanguine anticipations,
Under these favorable conditions, a
change in the method Of prosecuting
the work would be unwise and u%njusti-
fable. for II would Inevitably disorgan-
lie existing conditions, check progress.
and increase the cost and l~ensthen the
time OF completing the canal.
President Recommend
Postal Savings Banks,
Il commend to the favorable consid-
Grafton OF the congress a postal saw
ings bank system, ar recommended by
the postmaster general. The primary
object Is to encourage among our peo-
pie economy and thrift n by the use
of postal savings banks to give them
an opportunity to husband their re-
sources. particularly those who have
not the facilities at hand for depositing
their money in savings banks. Viewed,
however, from the experience of the
past few weeks, 1t is evident that the
advantages OF such an institution are
still more far-reaching. Timid depos-
itors have withdraw their savings for
the time being from national banks. In
d%ividuals have boarded their cash and
| tho ttarlf1 10 I, a Al, thAtx an rtI ~ rQ, NJ NIL
of which money has been Withdraw n
and kept in hiding or in the safe de-
posit box to the detriment of pros
perity. Through the agency OF the pos
tai savings banks such money would BIO
restored to the channels of trade, to
the mutual benefit of capital and labor.
Il further commend to the congress
the consideration of the postmaster
generals recommendation for an ex-
tension of the parcel post. especially on
the rural routes. There are now 49,
215 rural routes, serving nearly Is, 900, :
600 people who do not have the ad-
vantages OF the inhabitants OF cities in
obtaining their supplies. These recon-
mendations have Zen drawn VI to
benefit the farmer and the country
storekeeper; otherwise. l should not
favor them, for ! believe that it Is good
policy for our government to do every
thing possible to aid the small town
and the country district. 1t Is desirable
that the country merchant should not
be crushed out.
THE fourth-class postmasters' con-
vention has passed a very strong reso-
luton in favor OF placing the fourth
class postmasters under the civil-serv-
Ice law. The administration has al
ready put into effect the policy Of re.
fusing to remove any fourth-class post
masters save for reasons connected
with the good OF the service: and 1t Is
endea voring 80 far as possible to re-
esiifics. 1t would be a most desirable
thing to put the fourth-class postmas-
tiers In the classified service"
He renews his recommendations OF
last year in regard to Alaska; calls at
tention TO the admission OF Oklahoma
as a state: urges the Importance of pro-
vlding shipping relief for Hawaii; asks
for citizenship for Porto Ricans. and
promises submission of Secretary
Taft's report on Philippines when that
official returns. w
He asks for the creation OF a bureau
Of mines; recommends the providing OF
funds for preserving The Hermitage,
the home of Andrew jackson; and the
erection OF a naval monument al
V~lcksburg.
Corporation Contributions
to Compaign Expenses.
Under our form of government voting
II not merely a right but a duty, and
moreover, q fundamental and necessar,
duty II a man is to be a good citizen
1t Is well To provide that corporation,
shall not contribute to presidential OF
national campaigns. and furthermore e
provide for the publication of both con,
tributions and expenditures. There Is
however, always danger In laws OF this
kind, which from their very nature arr
difficult OF enforcement; the danger belns
lest they be obeyed only by the honest
and ~disobeyod by the interruptions. sc
as to act only as a penalty upon homes
men. Moreover, no such law would ham
per an INSCRIPTIONS man Of unlimited
means from buying his own way into OF
fee. here 10 q very radical measur,
which would. l believe, work a substan,
tial Improvement in our system of con
Quoting a campaign, although i am wei
aware that 1t will take some time fol
people to 30 familiarize themselves witt
such a proposal as to be willing TO con
slider its adoption. The need for collect
ing large campaign ind would vanish 1
congress provided an appropriation fol
the proper and legitimate expenses o.
each Of the great national parties, an ap
preparation ample enough to meet tn,
necessity for thorough organization ain,
machinery. which requires a large OK
pendlture OF money. Then the stipula
ton should be made that no party re
ceiying campaign funds from the treasur,
should accept more than a fixed amour
from any individual subscriber or donor
and the necessary publicity for receipts
and expenditures could without difficult,
be provided"
Wants Improvement In the
Ocean Mnfl Service.
II call your especial attention to the lin
satisfactory condition of our foreign maj
service, which. because Of the lack o
American steamship lines, Is now Target,
done through foreign lines. and which
~particularly so far as South and Centra