The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-02-07

doubt about its enforcement; and I
am in favor Of an attachment to that
law that will prevent q man who may
be treasurer Of the state from re-
ceiving interest even indirectly as
vico president of . savings or national
banking institution Of this or any
other tat (ApplauSs.) In looking
over the records, I have had but
little time to do it-just since 1 ar
rived in MITCHELL find that the al
legged reform legislature defeated two
bills Of that sort. l think that we
should enact such legislation. and /
am in favor OF doing it. lCries Of
That's right."1
A 2-Cent Rate.
There il another proposition of
local interest that has occurred to me
and that is the question of passenger
rates and freight rates. ! am in favor
Of the enactment Of a law by the leg
isture with An emergency clause at
fixing 2-cents as the lawful
rate for passenger fares; and | am in
favor Of reduced freight rates, and I
am not in favor of Sinking response
bility by clothing the railroad COM
missioners with authority in the pre-
misses. (Applause.)
The Type OF Canal.
Another charge that has been made
against me is that l favored the adop-
ton of a sea level type OF canal rath-
err han a lock type, and that l did 1t
because / was a railroad chap, tied
up. bound hand. DOT and soul to the
railroad companies. That is the
charge that has been made, and they
base it upon the statement that the
lock type of canal could be cOmplet-
ed within six years of time, and at a
cost, they say, of n hundred million
dollars less than the sea level type of
canal would cost. 1t has been DEM
onstrated by the experience had in
connection with the construction of
this great work that q sea level type
of canal could be completed in less
than eight years time, because in that
construction, finding as we did the
maximum height of that divide 100
feet o he level Of the sea and the
surface of the lake, where the lock
type shall be built eighty-fiye feet
above the sea level, it means that 1l5
feet of that divide must be lowered in
order that the loci type may operate,
and we at once began the excavation
of that lis feet, and we put at work
there forty steam nov working
eight hours a day when eighty steam
shOvelS could operate in that stanc
1t was not thought advisable or prac-
tical. or necessary, or good business
Judgment to put in eighty steam
o1loSCls "hcH loIty SlcdIu ShoNSIo
would have it completed long before
h locks n dams in that structure
would be fisished. and with those forty
steam Shovels, our experience has
been. that IL they were kept at work
for less than eight years, seven years
and a half at the present rate, We
would have that sea level canal con
tructed straight through from ocean
to ocean through which ships of war
and commercial vessels might sail up
on their own steam and in six hours
time.
And in this connection it is charged
that the reason we could not have the
sea level canal is ecaus the Pacific
ocean is lower than the Atlantic
ocean. 1t Is four-tenths Of a foot,
which is about our inches, not
enough to make a current. So that
the sea level type of canal could, by
demonstrations that have been made
Yin excavation, have been finished in
less than eight years of time. and the
lock type Of canal. the time to build
1t, has beer extended from six years
to nine years, and the chief engineer
Of h enterprise now engaged in that
work. stated before the committee,
.Of which / IL the hOnor to be chair
sman, (cheers), that the only way that
they could complete it in nine years
cot time. would be to work the last six
years a and night.
Objection OF Cost.
And about the ,cost-one hundred
million dollars. Why they did not tell
you that 1t costs one million dollars
annually more to maintain and Oper-
ate the c type of ana than the
sea level type Of canal, and the other
day the secretary OF war and the chief
engineer appeared before he inter
oceanic committee n told us that
A ~ HHr~t 1oDl vo nf poro
AcOsting q little less than one hundred
and forty millions of dollars it would
cost at least two hundred and fifty
millions OF dollars. and he was not
willing to assure that committee that
the type OF m would be completed
for four hundred millions OF dollars
Congress by Its vote decided to con-
sruct the lock type Of canal, and in
that judgment I have stated during
sthe past ummer, v and over again
that 1 acQuiesce in that conclusion in
absolutely good faith. I. had a judg-
ment about what ought to be done,
land I exercised it as a man bravely,
openly and above board. / decline to
be silent in the face Of those charges
when the facts are as they now ap-
pear. justifying completely the esti-
mates and conclusions which We're
then expressed. The sea level type
of canal was recommended by every
.G1l6lIlSCT VI liz tlllISCCn " Uc CdS
BILE proper, involving no unusual. nc
doubtful, no experimental PROPOSE
ton.
This commission was established in
1906, and President Roosevelt, in Civ.
Ing them instructions before they be.
gan their Investigations. said amona
other things:
There are two or three considera.
tons which I trust you will steadily
keep before you minds in coming t
q conclusion as to the proper type o.
canal. I hope hat ultimately 1t will
prove feasible to build a sea level ca
nal Such q canal would u%ndoubter
" be the best In the end, il feasible
and / feel that one OF the chief ad
rvantagcs Of the Panama route ia vi
stimately q sea level CANAL" and NOR,
along the same line.
SO these great engineeras in pass
sing upon that question. unanimousl
determined that the sen level type Q
canal was feasible: that 1t involved n
unusual. no doubtful. no experiments
oagineering question. Five Of ther
aid. I'VE can construct Z lock type 9
canal with an eighty-6ve foot eleva
stton above the level of the sea In 81
t-S~- >A-n end for ATTY ma}1linna 1oaa