The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-24
DOING HIS BEST.
Continued from Page oneo

Continued from Page One)
prises in the river and harbor bill and
Tor the construction of the federal
buildings under a building act it Will
be very easy to consume or exceed the
entire surplus.
Every one must admit the wisdom
of providing for the payment of the
canal expenditure by bonds This is a
work of permanent character and it
| seems only fair that that which we
provide in such generous measure
for posterity should be paid for, in
part at least, by posterity.'
| Favors Bond Issue.
Mr.. Taft declared he favored issu-
ance of bonds to cover other projects
and continued:
This statement has peculiar appli-
cation to the river and harbor bill,
which now has passed the house.
There is the Ohio river improvement
to cost $63,000,000 if entered upon
and an appropriation made for its con-
tinuing. The same thing is true Of the
improvement of the Mississippi from
| st. Paul to st. Louis and the same
| river from st. Louis to Cairo, and of
the Missouri river from Kansas City
to st. Louis. These projects seem to
be warranted by the traffic in sight.
| while 1 am dealing with the PAN
| ANA canal however. I ought to refer
| to the discrepancy between the esti-
mated cost of the enterprise and the
actual cost. as we are now able to fix
| it with very considerable accuracy
within four or five years of its COM
| pletion. The estimated cost of the en-
cheering and construction of the
canal was 100000. It's actual cost
| for engineering and construction will
be $2e7 100000. an increase of about
| $157, 100000. This increase is to be
explained, first, by the very great APP
probation in the cost of labor and ma
terial between the time when the esti-
mate was made in 1900 and the time
when the work was done between 1904
and 1909; second, by the fact that the
canal has been enlarged substantially
beyond original dimensions. You know
that the great work of excavation in
| the canal is in the Culebra cut. This
is where the backbone of the continent
reduced to its lowest height is cut, and
| through five miles of that cut, which
altogether is about nine miles long, for
purposes of economy the original plan
and estimate made the bottom of the
canal in the rock 200 feet wide This
| would not enable two of the largest
steamers to pass each other with
safety. In order to avoid delay it has
been thought wise to increase the bot
tom width from 200 to 800 feet in a
place and in material that, of course,
makes the change most expensive. so
too, in order that the canal may be
adapted to the largest size of a steam
have been increased from 900 feet to
| 1000 feet disable length and 10 feet
wide. This was done at the instance
of the navy department, which pre-
feet.
Changes in Canal.
''It has also been found necessary to
change the character of the canal on
the Pacific side from a lake with
dam and locks on the shore of the bay
of Panama tc a sea level canal run
ming four miles inland, so as to remove
the locks four miles inward and beyond
the possible reach of the guns of an
| enemy in Panama bay. These two
changes also nave added very consid-
erably to the cost.
again, it mas beer. found wise to
enlarge the canal into a lake or basin
at the foot CT the Gatun locks and
experience in the construction has
demonstrated the necessity for the
more than doubling the cost of con-
struction and engineering has been
necessary. In addition to this the cost
of sanitation and government, without
which the canal could not have been
built, will be about $73.0OO,0OO and
will carry the entire cost of the canal
to $373,000,0C0.
s'To return to the state of finances,
1 repeat that the surplus for the year
ending June 80, 1911 for which we
are now making provision IN this con-
gress by appropriation Will be $S5,-
100000 if the estimates made by the
department and transmitted by the
secretary of the treasury to congress
are not exceeded. and if the revenue
from the tariff bill equals that which
the secretary of the treasury has esti-
mated it is likely to be. This surplus
is also upon the supposition that the
| $3S, 100000 necessary annually In the
construction Of the Panama canal viii
be met by the bonds.
viz Of fhrR9fpnad ShOTtQ
for the year ending June 80, 1911, I
| directed the heads of departments in
making their estimates to cut them to
the quick and ask themselves if every
possible economy and reduction had
been made. The result was that the
total of the estimates forwarded by the
secretary of the treasury was $42,81S,-
900 less than the total of the appro-
priation for the previous year ending
June 80, 1910.
ga river and harbor bill has now
been introduced and has passed the
house which appropriates nearly $40,-
100000. This is very considerable
increase over the amount estimated by
the secretary of the treasury. In adj
dition to this, if a building bill passes
congress appropriating $15,00O,0O0 or
S2O,O00,000 for the coming fiscal year,
there may still be deficit unless the
receipts from the tariff bill and the
| corporation tax exceed, what was
originally estimated from them. 1 am
bound to say that the results of the
! tariff bill thus far indicate consider
able increase over the estimate of the
| secretary.
Reduction in Estimates.
Nov L would like for moment to
go into the question of what it was
| that we cut down in our estimates for
the coming year in the departments.
The reduction in the estimate of the
lwar department below the appropria-
tions of last year amounted to $10,-
ono n00 The reduction in the estimate