The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-10-22
Taft THE BgILDER
iiIS Directing Hand Has Insured
Success vi tho Mammoth !
Project
Raised Wages Of Isthmihn LabSrsrH'
BY Longevity order While War
Secretary.


The Panama Canal n one OF the
greatest achievements Of any Repub-
llcan administration.
Al secretary of War, Hon William
II Taft personally assumed the rcspcn-
sibility of ipauguratlng the work and
systematically shaping up the practical
operations until d degree Of efficiency
has been reached that may well as-
tonish the nations of the earth
Mr.. Taft has applied TO this world
project and history making enterprise
those same qualities OF careful, thought.
ful Investigation, penetrating judgment
and absolutely fair dealing, which have
made him 30 sIgnalIy successful IN the
performance Of all those duties Of state
which have brought him to the high
etninence be now occupies as one OF our
greatest living Americans.
Must Know Personally.
Like the Philippine project and other
great work laid upon him, he has
studied the situation al Panama az
close range and trusted 10 no second
hand information with which 10 In
sure his success There has been about
ninety million dollars expended on the
work to date and Mr.. Taft has had to
approve every dollar Of this expendi-
ttire, lie has not been satisfied with
single visit to the lsthmus. but has
made the long journey every year 50
that be might direct the work more
economically. The result ID that be has
rhanged the situation there from an ID.
hnsptahle region to locality where
Americans can live IN healthfuI se-
enrify without the fear of plaques Or
dread of contagious diseases. The rate
Of mortality on the isthmus IL about
the same ~ It is,ln our American cities.
stages Of the Work.
Work on the canal has passed
through two stages, those OF planning
and preparation. II Is now In the third
and iuai stage, that OF construction.
Both Of the earlier stages required the
presence Of a large working force,
necessarily quartered In temporary and
make shift accommodations Because
Of these conditions, inevitable at the
outset, early critics of the enterprise
miatook the Initial ana temporary out
A. for permanent equipment
Throuwhtful About Labor.
MF Taft's chief concern has been the
proper care OF the laborlng man on the
lsthmus Under his patient and ap-
proved methods the terrible scourge
of yellow fever, against which the
French struggled In vain, the 1lthy and
pest breeding state OF the principal
panamanian towns, the rough labor
camps, and other pioneer hardshlps OF
lhs two tirst eras, have been eliminated.
He has accomplished these things
through the activity Of the Department
of Sanitation, the Department Of Mu-
niclpal Engineering and the Building
Department To-day we dnd yellow
fever driven from the lsthmus. the
ieadly stegomyla mosquito thus rem
iered innocuous, malaria and pneu-
nonia greatly reduced and high
iverage Of health prevailing.
Mammoth Construction Project.
President Roosevelt appointed spe.
cial commission to examine the 18th.
milan situation last spring. and 1t re-
ported Aug, 0, 1908, According to this
special report there were at work al
The rsthmus April 80, 1905, 2e,l1s men
Tor the Isthmlan Canal Commission and
1910 at work FOR the Panama railroad,
total Of sS,19s men all told. Housing
this industrial army In quick time.
with due attention to sanitation ana
hygiene, was problem which would
have been beyond most men. But Mr..
Taft did It successfully.
To keep the machinery and tools in
three large machine and re.
pair shops, two shipyards and numer-
'us warehouses are maintained. When
We recall that this enormous plant is
operated at distance Of 1882 miles
rom its nearest base OF supply New
Orleans, and 1875 miles from its main
base Of supply New York, we can es-
Innate with more justice and accuracy
he magnitude and complications of the
Undertaking Mr, Taft has conducted 10
veil.
Workin9men Appreciate Taft.
He has succeeded In impressing labor
N the lsthmus with his kindly inter. |
st IN Its behalf. On this point the spe.
'lal commissions report says; oFrom |
he outset we were strongly Impressed
y the spirit Of good win and loyalty |
Il the employees t. The Venerall
entlment Of the workers was expressed
q the words Of mechanic, in one Of
he conferences which we held with
Of different trades, Said
le; I'VE want II understood that We
ne American citizens ana that we are
lroud 10 have . share III this great
work, we believe The government IL
reating rs right, and we are as much
nterested to see this thing success
8 anyone, This spirit ot loyalty ana
interest in the work was evidenced on
many occasions and should be account