The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-04-29


aseribed to the sudden and unexpected
termination of his services. Further
more Mr.. Stevens, on arriving in Wash
ington, paid his respects to ". j
Oliver, the contractor who expected to
secure the award for digging the ditch.
He says he never opposed the eonstruc-
ton of the canal by private contract
although he was opposed to Oliver and
he adds: "The refined statement of
a ~disgruntled bidder (referring to
Oliver that because I opposed the let
ting of the contract I was fred is
a Justification pure and simple
Mr.. Oliver had already contributed
considerable vigorous English to the
literature of the Panama canal. His
anecdote of the poker game, the sucker
and the whangdoodle, although taken
from the poker lore of Montana, was
very Naptly applied to his own position
when the government refused to award
him the contract on the lowest bid.
And just as soon as Mr.. Oliver down
in Knoxville read what Mr.. Stevens
had said about him he retorted. Mr..
Oliver directed the shafts of his
ridicule upon Mr.. Stevens as a ''paper
collar patriot He continued: "In
all my experience I have V had an
associate presented with any loving
cups (referring to Er. Stevens inter
view calling atta,tim t. the great
send-off canal e-~ni)Es gave hin at
Colon) upon leaving u live I>h. ana tiis
tearing away from 20 ing rrHthers TO
up against a goo ~stlar> lii Il mes
o~usto-proof bungalow. I 1.nsi isr a tribe
AS a nl5t..r If fact il
is the man in the ditch who is en-
titled to this consideration, be he high
or low, official or lahar,r.'
This proved interesting reading ii
the White House ana IN the Canal
Commission offices. Mr. oliver is known
in both places as a breezy kind of citi-
and more thar once his comments
about canal affairs nave been very
much in point. Empty eulogy has been
as a feature IN official life
Of Washington and the evil, if evil
t be, has crept into the a.imiuIstra-
ion cf canal affairs. Since the Pr ST.
lent 8 experience with Wallace, every
body, even Shonts the inefficient, ha. ,
zone out with praise an.; the blowing
# horns. And everyday Of any sta
ion on the isthmus Id; been serving
because of his patriotism and
himself on the altar of his country.
There has been little mention of the
alary, which, as everyone who Stops
take a sensible view, knows is The
ontrolling consideration with all canal
Employees in this very materia. era.
Secretary Taft will soon be back in
Washington with some recommends
ions for the President about canal
obstruction and it is expected that
ill have ample opportunity to show
he can make the dirt fly as
asst as Chief Engineer Stevens did.
Ill the Congressional parties are now
have given their opinions to
country, and the second educational
eriod with reference to canal affairs
to be well under way. The first
EDUCATIONAL period, it might be ex-
dated from the visit of Presi- {
planned chiefly for the purpose I
educating the country to the idea :
lat everything on the isthmus was all /
ght and that the criticisms were I'M t
:
The verdicts of the Congressman who
been travelling on the isthmus
nee adjournment largely bear out the e
,nclusions which the President reach /
|. There is an occasional note of dis @
mt. Probably the administration .
embers are a little too enthusiastic
their statements, for they want to
e things through Roosevelt specta-
es. But no very serious criticisms OF
e canal have developed, further than
at the project is likely to cost much
ore than has been estimated and that
will take much longer to build the 4
nal than the country has been led l
believe. ERNEST G. WALKER.