New-York tribune., 1910-11-24
TAFT BACK At CAPITAL NEW PARLIAMENT SOON
Does Moi Intend to Call Extra
Session of Congress.
DAY SPENT IN RICHMOND
He Believes Battleships Gan
Pass Through Canal by Jan
uary /, 1918.

| vashi,r.o, Sor 4s-President TAFT re-
! turned tn Washington at s:2e clocH
night after having spent DAY =" ~
mcnd Va. on his way home iio'''
| 1sthmus of Panama. IT.
The President announced soon ai'ei "''
arrival that he would make "0 -
ments for the next five days III 'l,o@ -.
| he hopes TO have his message 10 -,
| completed Only Cabinet oficerS anu ~.
ers he des,rae IN consult Tegardihs hiS
, message will be formally receisea
White House. The message wiz ' -,
on Tie night of the 18th or earl! o'
2eth. ,,,
In his regular message the President WIZ
deal with his visit to Panama, in".o
recommendations on number Oh S'D'
he desires considered and discusseo win "
view to early legislation. -.
Coincident with the President
was learned that there is not the si7
chance for an extra session OIL CoHS ~
following the coming short sesSio'.
President, it is said. sees no heces''
calling Congress to sit after March =.
Mr. Taft had an interesting day in Rich
mond, the most important features VI
which were an Informal address on 'io
Panama Canal at the luncheon given III
ginia educational conference There was
an amusing incident connected with his
departure from the old Confederate capital
Ev mistake he was driven to the SUBURBAN
railway station at Elba, and, not hndlns
his special train there, hao ia le'uiA ~
the Main street station.
The Presidents speech on the Panama
Canal was heard with great interest lie
hi; 4, 4 iJrI tja SatiSfactOry
he found on tne isthrnus, and aroused great
enthusiasm by his prediction that the canal
would be thrown open TO the world well Ill
advance of the official date of opening,
January /, 1915. He declared that. if ne
cessitv demanded he believed American
battleships could be sent through the wa
terWay by January !, 1918
Prompt Completion of Canal.
What the American people want. II
understand it, he said, ''is the prompt
completion of the canal, and they are Will
ing to pay fairly for it. 1t does not require
the Imagination of an engineer to see that
the canal is there and Is being put through
and that it will be great canal
The President went into some detail in
dealing with the problem presented by the
Chagres River and declared that the lock
and lake plan finally adopted was the only
feasible one for controlling that turbulent
stream.
II think generally the people OF the
United States favored a sea level canal
he said They thought of lock and It's
gates as difficult and complicated machin-
cry, and they thought the idea OF hfting
vessel of 1000 tons by water and machin-
ery was so full of difficulty that 1t would
present obstacles every time a steamer
went through. But the advantage or VS.
iting the isthmus is 10 confirm the judgment
Of the engineers in the mind or the laymah
that the thing is now easy. 1t is shaPine
itself. The dam. which seemed such tre-
mendous work. is long way toward COM
pIetion. and when you walk over 1t you
don't realize that it is dam 1t is so big
if seems as If It were work of nature it
self They are preparing on the outside toe
of the dam to have golf links, and there is
plenty of room there for it.
The Day in Richmond.
Mr.. Taft spent the night at the jefferson
Hotel in Richmond. At $50 he took break
fast with Governor Mann at the executive
mansion. A salute of twenty-one guns was
fired by the Richmond Howitzers as the
President entered the Capitol square At
80 the President was escorted ont Frank
lin street and Monument avenue to the
Jefferson Davis monument, where he re-
viewed the cadets of the Virginia Poly
technic Institute and the Richmond Blues.
Following this ceremony the President was
taken for an automobile trip over the coun-
trv surrounding Richmond He was ac-
co,,panied by Colonel w. Gordon McCahe.
who pointed out all the places of particular
interest Mr.. Taft was the guest of two
hundred and fifty citizens of Richmond at
luncheon ar the Jefferson. This afternoon
he made a address before the Virginia
Educational Conference.