The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-03-04

congress after tuil Cou~iutra liou of the conflicting reports of the majority and minority of the consulting board and after the recommendation of the war department and the executive upon those reports. Recent suggestion that something had occurred on the isthmus to make the lock type of the canal less feasible than it was sup posed to be when the reports were made and the policy determined on led to a visit to the isthmus of board of competent engineers to exam inc the Gatun dam and locks which are the key of the lock type. The re- port of that board shows that nothing has occurred in the nature of newly revealed evidence which should change the views once formed in the original discussion. The construction will go on under most effective organization controlled by Colonel Goethals and his fellow army engineers associated with him and will certainly be completed early in the next administration. if not before.
 Some type of canal must be con- sructed. The lock type has been SC lected. We are an in favor of having 1t built as promptly as possible. We must not now, therefore. keep up fire in the rear of the agents whom we have authorized to do our work on the isthmus. We must hold up their hands. and, speaking for thet coming administration, I wish to say that propose to devote all the energy possf- ble and under my control to the push Ing of this work on the plans which have been adopted and to stand behind the men who are doing faithful hard work to bring about the early comple- 1 hon of this the greatest constructtyo enterprise of modern times.
 Free Trade With Philippines.
 The governments of our dependen-{ cies in Porto Rico and the Philippines ! are progressing as favorabiy as ecuia be desired. The prosperity of Pofko 1 ness conditions in the Philippines arc l not all that we could wish them to be, . but with the passage of the new tari6 . bill permitting free trade between the United States and the archipeIaoos . with such limitations in sugar anA as shall prevent injury to the domestic interests on those products, we can count on an improvement an business conditions in the Philippines and the development of a mutually i profitable trade between this country and the islands. Meantime our gov- in each dependency is uphold Ing the traditions of civil liberty and increasing popular control, which might be expected under American auspices. The work which we are doing there rebounds to our credit as a nation.
 Words of Friendship For the South.
 I look forward with hope to increaS- ing the already good feeling between the south and the other sections of the My chief purpose is not to effect change in the electoral vote of the southern states. That is a second ary consideration. What I look for ward to is an increase in the tolerance of political views of all kinds and their advocacy throughout the south and the existence of a respectable po- litical opposition in every state-even more than than this, to an increased feeling on the part of all the people in the south that this government is their government and that it's officers in their states are their officers.
 The Negro Question.
 The consideration of this question cannot, however. be complete and full reference to the negro race. it's progress and its present condition. The thirteenth amendment secured them freedom. the fourteenth amend ment due process of law. protection of property and the pursuit of happi-
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