The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12
MIR. TAFT AT
 NEW ORLEANS President Elect Accorded
 an Ovation. REVIEWS A CIVIC PARADE Attends One of the Carnival Season
 Balls. wssh the Return of Mr. Taft to the ceu.try. Cssaaet speeuiatiea Became at 0nce
 ..G Attractive. @
REVIEWS A CIVIC PARADE

elect William Howard Taft landed here shortly before o'clock this afternoon from Panama and was most enthusi- astically received by the entire city. whose guest he is to be until Saturday morning.
 MT. Taft mads a brief speech this afternoon in which he heartily approv- ed the present lock type of canal across the Isthmus of Panama. He reviewed a parade of enthusiAstics citizens miles in length and tonight attended one of the carnival season ballas that Qf the Elves of Oberon. Mir. Taft will to- spend several hours In autonobiltn@, and at night be the gusst of honor at an elaborate banquet at whlchs nearly EO0 prominent citizens will pay &2B . plate to participate. Saturday morn ing, the President elect will so to Cincinnati. from where on Monday, he viii leave for Washington, returning again to Cincinnati Wedssday. Acr. Taft received the first news of the constitutionai question which had been raised against the appointment of Mr. Knox to cabinet position, by wireless yesterday, when he was ap- prised not only by press messages. but by wireless dispatch giving the views of Senator Knox. That he was sope- WHEY 0A1kutDCA OfgE sAA0 1tAnAehQM A0~t night was admitted but early today he received the news of the disposition of Congress to amend the Cabinet sal. ary law by making the pay of the Sec- retary of State what it was before the recent increase and he was inclined to take this as a happy solution of the difaculty Pending a conference on the matter which will take place between Mir. Taft and Senator Knox in {, Washington next week. the President elect regards 1t as inpoiitic to discuss , the question for publication.
 Cnbasst Speculation.
 With the return Of Mr. Taft to- Che country, Cabinet speculation became at once attractive. No information is to be given to the public. however, from the one authoritative source. Mir {. Taft. safd he should adhere to his pre- vtcuelg announeea plan ok keonlaN hileAAE and @iaw kehpanm Gmhane& aia~ p0intnSen4n open sHniil EisS very last rnnment to pFOvitie with. thA iesst Atia. barragsnasht asainat vaas lle soilslla
 It ia regarded, however as hiwhIv probable that offers of cabinet posi- tions ere to be made without great de-l lay. Mir. Taft said he expecsed to he placed in possession Of Information he desired and had asked to he obtained for him during his absence. The aBfsv. al here this afternoon of Frank H. i. Hitchcock. who was granted an imme- diate conference and the presence here of J. c. Shaffer. owner of The Chicago Evening Post, on whose judgment Mr. Taft said he should place weight re- Earding cabinet aspirante from the vi- cinity' of Chicago. made lt apparent that cabinet activities have begun. Tn this connection there was rumor here today that !. c. M. Dickinson, of Nash vile, formerly general, counsel for the Illinois Central Railway, was being considered for the war portfolio. but DO confirmation in the way of positive statement could be obtained. =.
 From what Mir. Taft said today. 1t is a fair inference that he has as yet de- cided on no one for the treasury port folio. but that-.aB to the other places, his ideas are decidedly moro definite.
 On the trip from Panama, Mfr. Taft made the first draft of his inaugural address. This he intends to submit to certain friends in Washington on his forthcoming visit there next week.
 The inability of the Board of Engi- neers to complete their report of qnes- tions reaarding which their advice has baen asked regarding the Panama canal made the washington visit planned by Mir. Taft necessary, The eti- yineers will go at once to Washington to complete their work, 1t may be stated that their report will be a conn plete approval of the present plans and methods on the Isthmuss
 Gafun Dam Sa1ss
 They will not only recommend the construction of the GAtun dam. but give 1t as their judgment that the dam win be perfectly safe if built to height of 11e insetad of 1sS feet, thus saving expense in construction. Other features of their report will deal with the tlatcknesa of cement required for the walls and floors of the locks; de- vices for handling ships in the locks, and the approval Of the $1O,0o0,000 breakwaters at Colon, the construction of which will create a harbor out of the present roadstead.
 The failure of, the engineers to com ,nlete their report was said to be their desire for careful consideration regard ing lust the manner of stating their conclusions rather than any disagree- ment regarding what those conclusions are. ....f Hall here today, Judge Taft made what he. said was his summing up of his re- cent trip.
 constructive work" he said. after pay ing his compliments to his audience. 'srhe greatest entered upon by any na- tion during the past two centuries. and | am glad to say 10 you Wno pSrn3pS are more interested in that work than any other pert of the people of the United States. that the work is going on as you would have it go on. That on the first of January. 1915. at least. If not before-and 1 am very much tns terested in having it within the next four years-that canal will be com pieted. And when that time comes, you will see loading down this liver your great commerce bound through those straits to the West Coast of America, to the west coast of South America and to the Orient and to Aus traiia.
 ''The board of engineers that accom-. , panied me have examined the whole work and they say it Is good; that it shall go on as 1t has gone on; that the reorganization on the Isthmuss the Amer ican push and the good feeling that is there, commends Itself to them as men who understand great works of that class and convinces them that the ca- nal is now an immediate prospect"
 A PlctureSque EntRy.
 Mir. Taft's entry into New Orleans was picturesque and thrilling. He came up the hundred miles of the Mississippi from its mouth on the scout cruiser Birmingham at the rate of nearly thir- ty miles an hour, breaking all reaoFds.