Salt Lake Tribune | 1906-10-09 | Page 5 | Preparing Plans for the Canal Contract

PREPARING PLANS FOR THE CANAL CONTRACT President and Commission Agree Upon Letting Ont Big Job. WASHINGTON, Oct. 3. It has boon finally decided that tho Panama canal bill will be completed by contract. In a few days the commission will make public a statement setting forth its reasons for favoring the contract svs-tem, svs-tem, and at that time a form "of contract will nlso probably be published, pub-lished, showing exactly the sort of document believed by the Commissioners Commission-ers to bo necessary for safe-guarding the work. President Roosevelt is known to support sup-port tho commission in its position that the work can be done more satisfactorily satis-factorily b.y contractors than by tho Government. Ho had a long conforenco with Chairman Shouts today on tho subject, and tho various arguments in favor of tho contract 63'stcm were discussed dis-cussed full-, . This change in building the canal will in . no way effect the emplovment of Chinese labor. Proposals for furnishing the Chinese labor wero made under such conditions that they can be transferred to contractors, and tho terms can be fulfilled in such a manner that the Government can give the coolies just as much protection as it could iftho Government were tho direct employer. It is likely that no disposition will be made of the bids for supplying Chinese, Chi-nese, labor until after the return of Secretary Taft from Cuba, as he. assisted as-sisted in drawing the specifications under which proposals were offered, and is much interested in the conditions under which the Chinese are to be taken to the isthmus. President Roosevelt still intends to visit the isthmus this fall, and, unless there is some change for tho worse in the Cuban situation, will probably leave for Colon a short time after the election.