The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-19
COL. GORGAS MAY RESIGN AT PANAMA  Reported Friction Between
 Him and GOethals TO DISBAND MEN SOON Will Be Great Task to Muster Out Great Army of Panama Work
 men-Toll Rate Should
 Be Fixed
TO DISBAND MEN SOON

New York, June Especial Aft
 hard at work at his desk in the of
 fees of the Panama Railroad Steamship
 company, Col. George W. Goethals,
 chairman of the Isthmian canal com | mission, left today on board the AL 1 lance for Colon His presence in the | city was known only to half dozen of his associates. When he left Wash ington, after spending three weeks in conference with President Taft, and the committee on interstate and foreign
 commerce, he let 1t be understood that he would return to the Isthmus by way
 of New Orleans; instead, he took train
 to this city, arriving here Thursday.
 Colonel Goethals' presence here and
 his conference with Joseph Bishop, sec
 retary of the commission, are taken to indicate that he has given credence
 to the report from Panama that Colonel
 Gorgas, in charge of the sanitation of
 the canal zone may resign as a result
 of rnwillingness longer to submit to the chairmans ideas as to future sani- tary plans.
 With the coming of the rainy season
 last month on the Isthmus there arose scores of complaints that mosquitoes were more numerous than at any time since Colonel Gorgas effected his sani- | tary measures To these Colonel Gorgas
 referred as the inevitable results of the
 handicap my department has suffered by
 lack of funds adequate to maintain the
 high state of efficient sanitation here
 tcfore reached. Colonel Goethals to-
 day declared that no discrimination had
 been shown against any department. He
 said that he had been cutting down ex- penses in all departments.
 You could make anything sanitary if you spent enough" he added. Refer ring to his visit to Washington he con firmed the statement that President
 Taft was in full accord with all the de-
 tails of his radical programme for con trolling the operations of the canal. "One of the most important facts in
 connection with the canal said Colonel Goethals, "has been overlooked up here and that is that in less than a year,
 June l, 1912. to be exact, the work will have reached a stage where it will be necessary to disband or begin to dis band the force of workmen. This is at best a very serious matter and be- cause they form an organization of high
 efficiency. l want action taken now
 that will settle definitely what is to happen to them. The three things that have asked Congress to settle at this
 session are. first, the question of tolls; second, the question of organization,
 and third the question of relation of
 the Panama railroad to the completed canal.
 'It is absolutely necessary that every
 thing be thoroughly tried out before the canal is officially opened and to do this | it is necessary to have ships of various dimensions pass through the canal. On January 1. 1915, the President is to ask for the assembling of the fleets of the
 world in Hampton Roads preparatory
 for trip to San Francisco through the
 canal If anything happened to delay
 that fleet the canal would be damned.
 "on the canal zone now is an agent
 of the United Ctates Steel corporation
 who wants to know if we can put shin through by January l, 1914 As | soon as the toll rate is made known the l Steel trust will if trade does not pro- hibit it, begin building ships to supply their trade in South America and west coast of North America. It takes two years to build this kind of ships. I | have had agents of many other big cor pura tions hammering at me for a year l trying to get information on this point. ..At the same time there is the
 strongest opposition to Congress fix ing the toll rate now and it comes all together from the trans-continental roads who realize the loss of business from the canal will suffer the longer this question is left unsettled and they have done their best to help along the delay.
 T am glad to say that President Taft has given me his hearty support and has let Congress know that my plan in l fun has his approbation.