Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-01-29

GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE HE
WILL BE MADE GOVERNOR
OF CANAL ZONE.
IS WELL FITTED FOR PLACE
Qualified by His Military. Sanitary
and Civil xperience-ColoneI
Goethais May Have Position
for Erief Tinae.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

SSethatS NAY rave FoSttfcB
for Brief Tinse.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington.--In this city recently,
especially in and about army head
quarters, one of the chief questions
Of interest has been, rs Major Gen
erai Leonard Wood to be made gov
| ernor Of the Panama Canal zone?''
When the country was first in
formed through Washington dis
patches that this question was being
| asked with apparently some sound
| ness of base. the secretary of war
| said that General Wood was TO be
| sent 10 command the eastern division
of the army with Governors Island.
New York harbor. as his headQuar-
ters
For some reason or other the coun-
try seems to have accepted this word
OF Mr.. Garrison as intended TO mean
| that General Wood was not 20 be
! made the governor of the Canal Zone.
1t seems certain, however, that while
Mr.. Garrison spoke. the exact truth,
the fact that he eyaded answering the
direct question makes it seem likely
that the present chief of staff. after
going to Governors Island for a short
rule, will pack the furniture of his
quarters and take up the march
via the steamship for the lsthmus Of
Panama. Colonel Goethals. the canals
chief engineer, may be made governor
for few months.
Would Solve Problems.
II General Wood is given the Pana-
| ma appointment to succeed Cocktails,
the act will solve many of the prob
lens which have been vexing the a6-
EnlnIstratiOn. IN the course of few
| months there will be troops enough,
cavalry, infantry and artillery on the
Canal Zone to constitute a proper
command for a major general. More
over, Leonard Wood has had more
experience in military-civil govern
| mental matters than any other man
in the United States army. It is gen
| orally conceded in Washington that
he would be good governor Of the
zone.
The differences OF opinion which
exist in Washington as to the proper
form of government of the Canal
Zone have been frequently explained
The present law provides for a one
man rule while q proposed amend
| ment to the law provides for a rule
Of three men. One OF the stronger
,{1
calfe's plan OF a three-man commits
sion is that no one man probably
could be found possessing the neces-
sary qualifications to make final an
swers to military, sanitary and civil
administration questions.
General Wood not only is a mill
tary man Of admitted merit, but he
| is a graduate physician and surgeon,
IN sympathy and touch with modern
sanitary methods, and further, he has
had long experience as an executive
in tropical climates and among tropI-
cal people General Wood was mill
taTy governor of Cuba from December
-, 1899, until the transfer Of that
country's government to the Cuban
Republic, May 20, 1902. From 1909
to 1906 he was governor of the Moro
province in the Philippine Islands,
and for two years thereafter he COM
handed the troops Of the Philip
pine division.
GoethaIs Doesn't Want Place Long.
1t is generally understood in Wash
ington that Colonel Cocktails, the
chief Of engineers Of Panama canal
construction, has no great desire to
be the zones governor for any length
OF time. There is nothing in the
place which can add anything to his
fame. He has worked for seven
years on the isthmus and probably
with his engineer chiefs Of division he
will be given the thanks of the Ameri-
can congress for the great work done
on the isthmus. It is likely, however,
that Colonel Goethals may be made
the governor of the zone for a month
OF two to give him the distinction Of
having been the first ruler Of the
work
It will take an executive order to
abolish the Panama Canal commission
and this order may be delayed long
enough to enable the present com
missioners to be present in an official
capacity when the first great ships
of commerce pass through the canal
next June. They will also be present
as the builders OF the canal at the
celebration next January
Trust to Antitrust Laws.
Most Of the Democrats here seem
TO believe that the party has better
chance to be made permanently popu-
lar by antitrust legislation than by the
tariff and currency laws. The Demo
Gratis VIII put through their antitrust
measures this winter and if the result
ing law works as they seem to think
it will work. they will hold that their
judgment of it's popularity was well
based
1t has been shown definitely that
there has been a considerable change
IN the minds of the members of the
dominant party in the matter of anti
trust legislation. One year ago it
seemed from the temper CT the mem
bers that every big business concern
IN the country was to be dragged cut
CT its counting room or its machine
shop and fayed alive. The salt Of