The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-02-15
BIG QUESTIONS AT CAPITAL
KEEPING STATESMEN BUSY
National SquabbIes and International Items
Presenting ACKNOWLEDGMENT Is
Cooling Toward Taft.

of the little Republic of Panama. He,
by implication, accused Mr.. Cromwell
of being party to ambitious schemes
for despoiling the young republic Mr.
Rainey claims to have knowledge of the
organization of a company to secure a
CHARGER for railroad of $50 kilometers
in length on the Pacific side ofMPana-
ma, for the construction of which a
large part of the valuable timber lands
of that portion of the country are to
be given free; and also Mr.. Rainey
claims that another company is seek
ing concession from the Panama
Congress to gobble up all the valuable
timber lands on the Atlantic side of
the isthmus. He used the names of
Mr.. Cromwell and his secretary, and
also of C. p Taft, in connection with
those efforts, saying that President
Obaldia told some Panama Congress
men late in December that those men
were back of the efforts to secure the
concessions.
Mr.. Charles P. Taft has denied any
part or any knowledge of the schemes
in most emphatic terms He says he
never had any business dealings with
Mr.. Cromwell But Mr.. Rainey also
accuses the Presidentelect of having
aided Mr.. Cromwell in furthering a
big deal by which the latter's old
enemy, Obaldia, should win the Presi-
dency of the Republic and thus be able
to exploit and despoil the country,
whose people are not alive to the value
or Importance of its timber and other
natural resources.
AS part of the Rainey charges, it
was asserted that Senator Lodge of
Massachusetts had been a party to
framing legislation by which the pur,
chase of two boats, the fremont and
Shawmut, owned by Boston Company
and operated on the Pacific Ocean, was
forced upon the government This
stirred some of the New England con-
tingent profoundly and denials abound
ed. There were two or three days of
heated debating at the House, at in
tervals, and probably the last of the
fracas has not come yet.
Meanwhile Mr.. Cromwell is clamoring
for an opportunity to show that Rep
| resentative Rainey is four flushing. He
| is laundering at the doors of Speaker
| Cannon s Offices and claims to have
| papers and documents to back up all he
has to say. Mr.. Rainey, on the other
| hand, is meeting all the denials with
assertions that they do not touch the
| vital points of his charges. They ac-
cused him of having gotten his informa-
ton from New York newspaper, the
President is trying to get indicted for
| libeling the government, but Mr..
| Rainey retorted that that was I'M
| equivoeally and unqualifedly false in
/ every particular.
There is little doubt among the wiser
men in Congress that the Panama Canal
/ operations of recent years will stand
the fullest investigation. They are not
quite so sure of the result of investi,
cations touching the Republic of
| Panama for the governments of Cen
| trail and South America will not always
stand being judged by the standards
| that prevail in the United States There,
: fore the Speaker is very loath to grant
that part of Mr.. Cromwell s request.
| The latter has been very prominent in
arranging and conducting Panama Canal
matters for years. He has been a fire.
quent visitor in Washington and has,
beyond question, been very close to the
/ administration of President Roosevelt
! and to the management of the Panama
! Canal, while Mr.. Taft was Secretary of
War. He has generally defed commit.
tees Of the Senate in their efforts TO
secure information about his operations
and consequently has been the target
of numerous fierce newspaper attacks.
He has smarted under these so long
that he is now very insistent upon some
kind of hearing before a House Com.
mittee.
/ Roosevelt's Says It's Tafts Job.
President Roosevelt has talked con.
siderably in the last few days about
the future of the Panama canal He
seems to expect that Mr.. Taft. on the
Isthmus, is likely to decide that a sea
level canal is preferable to the lock
project, which Congress decided upon q
) couple of years ago, chiefly at his in
stigation.
81 was anxious that the canal should
be completed quickly the President
said in substance to a visitor the Other
day during a rather contemplativt
mood. But if the people want to wait
, for the opening of the canal and pay
) as much as canal with locks woult
cost that is their privilege | am now
: going out of office and my view Of
things is changing. perhaps. The cana
is Mr.. Taft problem from now on
not mine
} 1t is current gossip in Washington
, that the President selected to go to tn,
7 isthmus with Mr.. Taft engineers wht
2 would strongly advise the construction
: of a lock canal. As the story runs tn,
| President had intimations that Mr.. Tai
1 was inclined to favor a sea leve
l project and hoped by the influence O
G distinguished engineers to dissuade hin
4 from recommending il.
i Furthermore the story goes that Mr.
t Taft comprehended fully the Presi
/ dent s purpose in the selection of engi
neers but that he rather welcomed tn
company of advocates of the loci
+, canal He wanted to learn during tn
: visit to the isthmus reasons in full re
. garding that form of project and de
: termine whether he was warranted il
: ur"'ng the sweepin0 change involved.
This representation of conviction
: | held bv the two mon-which is prob
: Hhlv frue ~ essentials, although. know
:. here mostly through the channels O
rnsS' p-is heirr cited as evidence o
barriers that. it is claimed are risin
: hn+r~ee~ n" two men. It does no
= mean that they have quarreled or ar