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Show I THE MSIDENT'S" SPECIAL MESSAGE I I PANAMA CANAL H Gives Results of His Obser- H vations While on Tour of Hv Inspection to Congress, I THE WORK IS BEING PUSHED Perfection of Sanitary Conditions B in Canal Zone Has Taken M Much Time, M He Found Out Llttls Ground (or Com- M plaints and Refutes Statements of H Critics Calls Some Writers "Slan- M derers and Liars" Approves of H Type and Route of Canal. lH Th" f"J'l'Wlng I" tlin text of President m TMnsovelt's special inn. ," i TOnirSSi M lVv,-'" "'"' ",mi, ot ,tpl""oMta. H fn tli,' month or November I visited Hi,. H Isthmus or annum, going over m B Cnnal .one, will, conltftrablo 'caro; n J Ih.) visited the cltlM of l'unamu, ft U Colony which urn not In Hio ions or J under tint Untied Hlutes lag . Iiut ,'n to m through lis agents, exercises control for H oertnn miiinry purposes. I . 0rB' ," H lion li u( .November for my vl.li partly H because It Is the rnlucst month of tho ?'"' ''.,0 mo"!" '" w"lc" lio work Bo.". M forward nt tho greatest disadvantage" H and ono of the two mouths which "ho H medical dciiurlment or the I'roncli Catnil H co,m,V,,,ny, '"".ml ,,m,,,t unhealthy: H i-llovvlng tlin Introiliicllon to thn men. M nago the president gives a rcsumo of Til H programme during the days ho was on M thn Isthmus, mid then sayss IH . A'.. ,no """"t I wish to pny trlbuto H ?rJX ",","'lU of w"rk done by Tm M 1-rench Canal company under very illtll- H cult clrriitimtanrcH Many or the. build- H Iiir they put up wcro excellent and m ro "till In use. though, naturally, the m hous-s urn now gelling out or repair and M arn being ued an dwellings only until H other houses can be built, and much of H- the work they did In the Uulcbrii cut. m ami some of tho work they did In iIIk- IIB S.Y1. '"", ,M'0,1 ,lf direct ami real benefit. m Till country has never madu a better m Investment tlinu thu UO.Ow.Ouu which It H p . ,0. tlle Tench company for work K'iJSTi,a,nc,ud,,,lc 0M,cc"1"jr l" iH i,.'i,.ln.r,,.r.1,,lon, on t,, eround at thu M blight of thn rainy senso-y served to con- H 'v,nc". mo "f " wlmlom of, romcroK In H refu.lnit to ndnl either a iilKli-lmcl or H a. ert-lmtl raiial. Theru Krvmn to be a H unlvemal aifrc-ment iiiiioiir nil tM-opla iH S'',Ii1,r.nl "' J'"'K", that the Panama B route, thn one actually cIiok.mi, m much H ntiperlor to both thu Nlcarneuu unci B Uarleu routes. B m mi 'ii . -Preliminary Work Being Done. The wlHdiun of tho canal manaRoment Ji been kIiomii In nothliiK moro elearly I !!''l '" '.n. ""l" which tho fouiiilii. m tlons of the work have been lald To B '';, yljhled In the naturul Impatience m J of lll-lu(ormed outiildera and beKUn all m ) klndH or fXperlmentH In work prior to n m I thoroiiKh winlliillon or thu IMhmu. and m 5 ? n '" rly mthiractory uorKliiR out of M f ' problem or Kellluir ami kerphiR u H umcleiit labor supply would hao been H J , dlanstrouH. The varloiu prelmlnar m mcmuren had In be taken llrt, and H thme could not be taken hu as to allow H us to bealu the real work or foiiHtrur- m ilou prior to January I or tho prerent B year. It thin biciimo ueieimary to hau m tho type or the canal decided, and the H only delay bus been tho neiessitry delnj H until tho th day or June, tho date H when thn t'onitrmN ilellultely ami wisely H Milted tlixt we should havo uu M-fnot H lenl canal. Immediately after that thu H work liesan In hurd earnest and Mux H been ronllnued with IncreiiHliiR vtcor H nver Hliue; and It will coutlnuo so to m prmcienN In the Mture. Wlk.i tho con- H triit ts are let the cuudltlons will bo such m n to Insure u constantly IncreaaliiR m ainouiit of perfurmaiicn. B I Suocesiful Sanitation. K.. Thn first creat problem to be sohed, V . . -upon the Moliillou or which thn suciesi or B the rest r the work depended, wax tho H iirobleui or sinltatloii This was from B the outwl under the dlreitlon or li B AV (J. (loritas, who Is to bu madu a mil M memlier of thn rumuilsslon It must be B rrmemlMifl that Ids work was not mere B HHiiltalhin as thn term Is understood In B mi iiidluaiy municipal work TlinniKh- B out the June and In the two titles or B l'auama end Colon, In addition to the B Hrfnltatlon work proper, he has had to B bi nil the work that the Marine hoipltnl BBBJ enrlcn ilw as re irds the nailou, th.it BBBJ the heallli depurlmeut ollliera do In tne BBBJ various stales and cities, ami that Col BBBJ 'Warlnif did In Now York when he J tnilned Us streets The results hae BJBJI been asloundliiK The Isihiuns had bieu BJBJI a byword for ileadl uuhealthrulness BJBJ Now, nrier two eiirs or our oiciipatlon J Ihn roiidllliiim as regards slikness and BJBJ the death rate lompuro faorabl with J reiisonably hetllh liiciilltlcs In the SSSJ Ulilled Hiatus I '(lill nirn has In en BJBJ ttevnled to llllllimltllltf tho rllt due to the BJBJ pieseiu,,) of (Iiiisk species or Illosiiultoe', BBBJ which have been round to prop mite BJBJ inilurlnl and elbiw revers In all the BJBJ Httlimeiils, thu Utile tumporary tow us BJBB or tltliis ciimxiied or thn white and blink BBBJ employ m, which rfrow up here and BJBB there In the trople Junxlu as tho needs BJBB ut Ihn work ihi'i.ite, the utmost into Is BJBB Mtorclsed lo keep thn romllllons health) BJBB Kverywhere are to be seen the dr.ilniiKc BJBB ditches which In luiuovlluc the water BJBB lime removed lio luecdliiK plaies or the , JBJH musipiltoes, while the wholu JiiUKln Is BJBB cutaway lor j. lonsldi rablo spice around ' BJBB thn habltutlcins, thus destroyliiR tin- BJBB places In which thn miMoultoos take slicl- BJBB ier TIich, draumi;o dliches and cleurlnits BJBJI nrn In eildrme in eery settlement, nud, BJBB tiiKether with tho Invariable presence of BJBB moiiilto screens around tho plaixas, and ' BJBJB or inouiwlln Ucmiis In thn houses, not to , BJBJB spe.ik u r thu careful fumiuallon tint his BJBJb Riiue on In nil Inlitied houses, doubtless BJBJB iKptaln thu extraordinary absemu of BJBJB mosipiitixis As u matter of fact, but BBS! a sliiKle nuiMinltci, and this nut or the BBBJI diiiReruux spet'os, was seen by un BBBJI member or our party durliiR my three BBBJI 1j) on th Istlimus i:iinl tare Is BJBJB taken by thu lliipeclors or the health lie- l BJBJB imrltnent to seoure cleanliness In the ' BJBJB houses and pruper hyRlenlo Londlllons in BJBJB every kind, 1 Inxpeiied between "v and i BJBJB ) wiitur-c Iciwls. leitli those used by the BJBJB while rmiiloyes and those used by the BJBJB colored laboiers In almost every c.iso I BJBJBJ found the conditions perfei t In but one BJBJBJ case did I hint them leally bad In this BJBJBJ case, affectliiu u settle i ent of iinnim- BJBJBJ rled whllu employus, I round them vury BJBJBJ bad Indeix), but the biilldlnus were all BJBJBJ Inherited from the I'leinh company ami BJBJBJ were ladiiR used temporarily while ntlci i BJBJBJ bulldllKS were In till I nurse or construe BJBJBJ Hon, and rlKlit near the dtreitlvu watui BJBJBJ closet a new ami wx'fllcnl f Inset with a BJBJB sood sewer pipe was In iiriuuss of . nn- BJBJB strurttoii and nearly llulslied Neveithu BJBJB less this did not oxcuse the fact that the BJBJB bad condition had been allowed to pre- BJBJB vull Tetfiporary aicommodations, even BJBJB If only suih us soldiers use when fampol BJBJBJ In ths Held, should have boin provhlul BJBJB Orders to this effect were Issued. I up BJBJBJK pend thu reHirl of In (Juntas on the In- BJBJB f-ldenl, I wss struck, however, by the BJBJB ,' fsct that In this Inflame, as In almist BJBJBJ vrry othei where a tompluliit wus miiilu BJBJBJ which proved lo b.i e kiiy JiistltlCatlon BJBJBJ whatever, it appeared that steps had il BJBJBJ trtadjr Ih-ii take; itniudy thu evil BBBBaW t sBBBBBBiw- complained of, nnd thnt tho trouble wss mainly duo to the extreme dllllrulty, and often Impossibility, of prnvldlnif In overy place for tho constant Increase In the numbers of employes Generally the provision pro-vision Is made In advance, but It Is not possible tint this should always be the case, when It Is not thero ensues a period of time durlnR which the conditions condi-tions nro unsatisfactory, until a remedy cun bo provided, hut I lieier found a laso where the remedy was not bulnR provided as speedily as possible. Improvements In Cities. The sanitation work In the cltle of I'anamn and Colon hns hi en Just ns Important ns In the zone Itself, mid In many respects much more dllllcult, he ratlin It was necessary In deal with thn already exlsllmc population which naturally had scant sympathy with revolutionary chatiKes the vnlun of which they were for n Ioiik time not able lo perceive In Colon the population popula-tion consists larRily of color, d laborers labor-ers who. havlnR come ovir from tin West Indies to work on the canal abandon the work nnd cither tnki to tho brush or He Idle In Colon It-self thus piopllUKT Colon with the least desirable, de-sirable, nmotiK the Import, d hiborets for the iroixl nn, Htiud nun of cotirsi continue nt the work Yi I astonishing astonish-ing proKrcss lias been made In both cities In Panama HO per cent of the streets that are to be pavnl at nil are already paved with mi , xeellent brick pavement laid In hi in y comreto. n few of the HtrntH ImIiik still In process of liivluir The fewer nnd water services in the city are or the most modern hy-Klenlc hy-Klenlc type, senile of the sirvlce h.w-Intr h.w-Intr Just been coinpli ted 111 Colon the (iiiiiIIIIoiis nr peculiar and It Is ns rcKiirds Colon that mot of the vtry blttt r complaint has be, n made Colon Is built cm a low coral Island, cov, red at mure or less shallow depths vvllh fc tf, tilde nccitmiitntliin or mold vvhh h iifforils sustenance and slreiiRth to in inv varlilhs of low-Ivluir low-Ivluir lroiilc.il plants One half of tin surface of the Island Is covered with water at hlirh tide the nvernue licluht of the liiul beloif I't feet above low tide Thn sllitht undulations furnish shallow natural r, mrvolri or fresh-water fresh-water breeillnu pine, for every vnrl, -ly of moscpilto and the k mil ml tends to be lowest In the middle When the town was orlKlnally built no attempt was tnncle to till the low mound either In the streets or on the biilldlUR sites so that the entire surface was prm Henllv n niiciirinlre leen tle ouair mlrn beenmo Impassable certain nf the streets were irnilelv lintirovid bv Mil Iiir especially bad mud liolis vvllh soft rock or other material In Heplnmber I nor., a systematic effort wns beRUn to rormulnte a trcneral plan for the proper prop-er sanitation of the city, in I'ebruary lost temporary reller measures were taken, vvhllo In July the prosecution nt the work wns beituu In Komi enrnist Tho results are already visible In the sewcrlnn: dralnltm- KiiilerliiR and pav Inir or the streets Homo four months will bo reiiulred before tho work of sewcrnire ami street Improvement will be completed but the prmrress already made Is very marked Ditches have been diiir throuich the town conuectlnif the silt water on both sides and Into these tho ponds which have served ns breedlnir jiliic, s for the mnsciultncs lire drained These ditches have answered their purpose, for they are probably thn chief cause of the aatonlshltiR diminution of mosciulloes More ditches or tho kind are beini? constructed. Unjust Criticism. Care nnd rorethoURht havo been exer-clpi'il exer-clpi'il by thn commission, nnd nothliiK has reitected morn credit upon them than their refund either to ko ahead too fast or to be deterred by the fear or criticism from not irolmc ahead fast eiioiiKh. It Is curious to nole the fact that many of tho most Severn critics or the commission criticise them ror precisely opposite reasons, rea-sons, some comptalnlnK bitterly that the work Is not In n moro advanced rondb Hon, while the others cimphiln Hint it has been rushed with such haste that Hi, re has been Insulllrleut preparation ror the hyxleno and comfort of tho nmployes As n matter of fart neither criticism Is Just. It would have been Impossible to Kci qulrker than thn commission has Kono. for such uulekneas would have ine-mt Insufficient preparation. On the other hand, lo refuse to ilo anythlui; until un-til overy possible future contlmjency had been met would havo causeel wholly un warranted dcliy. Tho rlKht course In follow was exactly tho course which has been followed livery reasonable preparation prepara-tion was miile In ad value, tho liyKlcult conditions In especial heluif mucin ns nearly perfect as possible, while on the nt nor hnnd there lias been no timid refusal re-fusal lo push forward tho work because I of Inability to anticipate every posalbb I enieruency, for. of course, in vny defeits tun only bo shown by tho worklm: of the system In hi tuul pruritic Inasmuch as so many both of Ihn white I and colored employes have bioiiRht their families with them, schools havn been established, the school service beliiR under un-der Mr O'Connor. Cor thu white pupils white American teachers arn ompinycl for tho colored pupils tin ru are also some white American teachers, one Hpanlah teacher, and one colored American teacher, teach-er, most of them belnic colored teachers from Jamaica, llarbados and HI. I.ucla The schoolrooms were Rood, and II was a pie isant thlnR lo seo tb prlilo that the teachers were laklnir In thulr work and their pupils Care of Employes. Next In Importance to the problem of sanitation, and Indeed now of equal lm-portam.e. lm-portam.e. Is the problem of secuilnif uiul carina" for thn mechanics, laborers and other employes who actually do the work on the canal and the railroad This Kreat task has been under the control ;r Mr Jiukhon Hmllh, unit on tho wholu has leeen well done At present thero lire some G,W0 while employes ami some I'j.urn folored employes on thn Isthmus I went over thn different plaies where the different kinds or employes were worklUK' t think I saw repr, senUtlves of every type both at their work nnd In their homes, and I conversed vvllh probably prob-ably a couple of hundred nf them nil told, choosliiR them at random from every class and IncludlnK those who came ospcclully lo present certain nrlev nines utmost Invariably expiessed fur Rreuler content and satlsracilou wllh Hie con ellllema than did those who called to make complaint , . Nearly S.l0 of the while emploves hud I . nine ft inn the United Htates No mull i an sen these yniuiR. vlRorous .men enerirelhally doliiR their duly vvunoui a thrill of pride In them lis Americans They leiuesent on the aveniKe a hlKli class Ilciubiless lo ( niiRress thn vvuues paid them will seem IiIkIi. but as a mutter mut-ter of rurt tho only Reneral fomplalnl which I found hud any real basis amoiiit tun lomplalnls made In me nsui the Isthmus wus Hint, ovvlmt to the sfiillir surriiumlliiRS. the cost of IIvIuk, and the dlstnnre from home, the vv.iKes wire re illy not us hlKh as they should be In r.u.t. utmost every mm I spoke to relt that he uuitht to be leielvliiK more money a view, however, wlilrh the aver-aue aver-aue man who stays at homo In the I nlted Htates probably likewise holds us rcKiirds himself I apiwnd lluuies of the wuros paid, so Hint the ,oiiiesa inn Ju Iko the matter for Itself Utter I shall .oifei on tho subleit with certiilu repie sentatlve labor men hero In thn I'nllnl flates as well ns roIiik over with Mr Htevens the comparative wanes pild on I he lono uud at home, and I liny then (iiminunhate my IIiuIIiirs to tho (anal committees or tho two houses Chinese and Other Labor, or the IS 000 or 20 000 day lahorers emploved on the canal a few hundred are Spaniards Tluse dn excellent work Their foreman told me Ihut liny did twice as well as the Vi si Indian laboreis They keep healthy iand no dlltlculty Is experli neeil with them In any way Homo Italian labor-I labor-I i rs are also employed In connection with the drlllliiK- As mlRht be ex-p.ited ex-p.ited with labor as I IrIi pried as it prisinl In the I'llltecl rilatis It has not so far proved practicable to Ret coy ordinary laborers from the 1'nitcd "tilts The Ameilvan wiiRe-vvorkirs m the Isthmus lire the IiIkIiIv paid -killed nuchaulcs or the types men-ininiil men-ininiil ir, vlously A stiady eflort Is I, ln made In secure Italians and is ' in i billy lo procure more Spaniards localise of the very satisfactory n -nils that have come from their employment em-ployment and their numbers will be i nire-aseil as far as possible It has mil proved possible, hnwevir. to R I them In nnvlhliiK like the numbers , milled foi tin work, nnd from presuit ! eppe urn ill in we khnll In the main have to nly for the nnllniry uusklllrd i work. iMitly upon lolorrd labor, rs ' tiom the West Indies pirlly upon I I'i'i . Iitini It i.rti 'ilv oimlit to bu uunuc hcaiy lu po.nl out that till) BBBBBBBBBBBBJ 11 V It li Amerletn worklnKmnn In the tlnlted) Htates has no concern whatever In the' question us to whither the rnuifh work on the Isthmus which Is perronned by aliens In any event. Is dono by aliens rrom one country with a black skin or by aliens from another country with a yellow skin. Our business Is to din: tho canal ns efficiently nnd ns quickly as possible; provided always that notliltiK Is done that Is Inhumane to any laborers, and nothinR that Interferes In-terferes with tho wanes of or lowers the standard of llvlntc of nur own workmen HavIiiR In view this principle prin-ciple I have nrranKci! to try sovcral thousand Clilni sc laborers. This Is desirable de-sirable both because we must try to Unci out what laborers arn most cftl-elent cftl-elent and, furthermore bicauso we should not leave ourselves nt the mercy of any one typo of firolRn labor At prcstnt tho irrcut bulk of the unskilled labor on the Isthmus Is done by West India neRroes. chiefly from Jamaica, llarbados, and tho other HiiKllsli possessions One ot tlin rov-i rov-i mors of the lands In question has sli'iwu nn unfrbMlly illsnosttl! to our work and has thrown obsticles In the wny of our RettlUR the labor needed! 1 1-1,1 If lw Mettlv ,lfte!inh1 tn Rle any outsiders the Impression, however III founded thnt they are Indispensable Indispensa-ble nnd can dictate terms to us. The West India laborers nre fairly, hut only fairly satisfactory. Home of thn men do very well Indeed: tho better bet-ter class, who nre to be found as foro-men foro-men as skill, d mechanics its police, nun nre itnod men, and tunny of tho eiretlosrv eb, labored-. nre nl"n Rnnd Hut thousands of those who nre hroiiKht over limb r contract (nt our xp, use) ro off Into the JuiikIc to live, or lout iirdiiud Colon, or work so bad- l fflMr II. , lrif ,1 ro, er four dllVS is to cause ii serious diminution or the amount of labor p rfornud on I'rl-d.iv I'rl-d.iv and Saturday of , nil week. I tuestlnneil miinv of thrse Jamaica labor- rs us lo the conditions of their work and what If hid changes they wished I r-celved many complaints from lli-iii but as riRiirds most of Hi, se i eempl.iluts thev tlnmselves contradicted con-tradicted one another In all cases where Hie iiimplalnt was as to their treatment by any Individual It proved on examination that this Individual was himself n West I mil v man nf color, either a pullet man a storekeeper, or in assistant itorekeep, r Doubtless there must be many complaints nirnlnst Vine Hi nun. but those to whom I spoko did mil happen to make any such complaint com-plaint to tne. Work of Construction. The work Is now RotnR on with a vlRor and elllcli ncv pliasant to wit-ness wit-ness The three IiIr problems of tho canal are the Im linen dams, thn Oatun dam and tin Culebra cut Thn Utile-bra Utile-bra cut must be made anyhow; but of course thatiRcs as to the dams, or at least ns to the locks adjacent to tho damn, miiv still occur Thn Iji lloca itams offer no particular problem prob-lem thn bottom material being so Rood that thero Is a practical certainly, certain-ly, not inertly ns lo what can be achlnvid but ns tn the time or nohlnve-mi nohlnve-mi nt The llntun dam offers tho most serious problem which wo hnvn to solve, and yet the ablest men on tho isthmus believe that ibis problem Is cert tin of solution iiIour tho Unci proposed, iiltboiiub of nurse. It tie-ccestl.ileif tie-ccestl.ileif a rent toll enerRy and In- . lelllRi-nre and nlthoURh equally, nf course, thero wilt be some llttlu risk In toiim-i thin with tho work Tho risk arises from the fact that some of the mat, rial near the bottom Is not so Rood as could be desired If the IiUro earth dam now contemplated Is thrown icross rrom one roothlll to thu other I wo will have what Is practically a low. broad, mountain rblRe behind which will rise the Inland lake. 'I his artificial mountain will probably show less seepaRe, that Is will havo Rreatcr restralnliiR capacity thin tho nveruRu natural mountain ran we. The exact locality lo-cality or the locks at this dam -as at the other dams Is now lielnir determined de-termined In April next Secretary Taft, wllh three of tho ablest tniclu-eers tniclu-eers of the country Messrs, Noble, Stearns nnd IHplev will visit the Isthmus, and tho three eiiRlueers wlUJ tlin he the lln-il and conclusive i-xnuyjBJ mttlvns-iis m 'In- exact site fornr4BJ lock. Meanwhile the work Is Bolni ahead without a brink, Thn Culebra cut docs not offer such Kreat risks, that Is, thn damage liable to ts-cur from occasional bind slips will nut n present what may be called major disasters dis-asters Tho work will inertly call for In-It-lllKcncu, perseverance, and executive tiipaflty It Is. however, tho work Uhhi which most labor will have to be "pent The duns will be lomposod nf the mirth taken out of the cut and very possibly thn bullilliiR of the be-ks and dams will Inks oven loniiir than the cutting In Culebr.t Itself In Culebra Cut. , The main work Is now beltiR done In i tho Culebra cut It win strlkltiR and ; Impressive lo see the Iiiiko steam shovels In full pluy tin- tlmnpiiiei trains cnrrylinc away the rock and earth they illslotUeil Tho Implements of Clench excavutlnK machinery, which ofteii stand a little way from thn linn or work, HiourIi or ex lellent louatrui Hon look like thn veriest toys when rompaied with these new ateum shovels. Just as Hie I'reneh dump-Iiir dump-Iiir cars seem like toy cats when com-pired com-pired wllh Ihn loiiR trains of huiin cars, dumped by steam plows, width are now In use This npieseuls the enormous advante that has been midn In machinery machin-ery ilurltiR Ihn past quarter ot a ten lury No ilniibl a quiirler of a renlurs bent n this new mm luiierv of which we nrn now so proud, will similarly seem out . of date, but It is . -rlMlnlv servlnit lis j iiuroo well now The old Kieneh curs I had to be entirely illsinrdiil. Wo still I have In use a few of Hie inure modern, but not most misb-rn cars which hold I bill 12 yards of earih They ran bo em phiv cc on terlaln Urns with shutp curves Hill Hie tee ent tars hold from U lo Ji yards aPltie and Instead of the old ilumsy methods or iinloailhiR llieni I ii steam plow is drawn from end lo end of the who'e vestibule I train, thus Im mensely eccinoiiiliinu labor In the rainy reaum the sieam shovels (an -In Inn i Utile In dirl but Ibev work sliadllv In roe k and In the harder urnimd There I were some :' at weiik durliiR Hie time I t was on the Isthmus and their tremeudiiiii l-iwir and ellb len- y weiv most liuprva- I slve New Records for Excavation, As soon as tin tys or tiiliul was lie-, lie-, Idril this work bettHii In Rood earnest The rainy season will shortly be over Mild then I hen- will be an liuiueuse Increase In Ihn amount taken mil but tven durlnR Ihn last three months in thn rainy season, sea-son, steadv prom ess Is shown by the figures In Annum JC.'nv) cubic, yards; In Seplemler ltd un tula, yards, und In October :C"i.i , ubb yards lu October new lee ends vveie established for the output of Individual shovels us well us for the tiiuniiRn haul of ludlvlduul locomotives loco-motives I linx- In see the urowth or a healthy spirit of emulation between the illffenitt shovel and ItHoiuollve crews. Just set h a spirit as has crown on our-battle our-battle ships lulwiea thn different kuii trews In mailers of miiksiuanahlp I'iiuIiir IhroiiKb the ut His amount of new work can be si en ut a Rlanre. In I line plan- thn entire shlu nf a hill had ! been taken out retently by tl ions of lynamlle, which wire exploded at on 1 blast At another pi ire I wus clven a piesldtnllHl salute of Jl char ties of dyna-I dyna-I mile On Ihe lop noli h of the Culebra I -til the prism Is now as wlda as it will he all Inld Ihe canal bed at this iolnt has now been sunk about 0 feet below what It orlKlnally was. It will have to be sunk aluiut 130 fiet farther Throughout Through-out thu tut thn drilling, blasting, shoveling shovel-ing and hauling ure going on with constantly con-stantly tntieuslng energy, the huge shovels being pressed up, us It thoy were mountain bow liters. Into the moit unlikely un-likely looking plarrs, where they eat their way Into thn hillsides, , Critics and Doubting, Thomases It Is not only li ilurul but Inevitable, Ihut u work as gigantic us this which has lieeu undertaken on the Isthmus should arouse every sprites of hostility and criticism Tim iiindllloiij are so new and so trying, and Hie work si vast, that n would be absolutely out of the question ques-tion that mistakes should not be made, i-hriks will occur Unforeseen tlltllcultlrs will arise From time to time seemlncly well-KCItled plans will Imve to i ihangril At prrsent S.000 men are engaged en-gaged on Ihe tusk After awhltt the number will be doubled. In such it multitude mul-titude II Is Inevltuble Ihut there ihould be hern and thero u scoundrel Very many of hn imorrr rlass of laborers Uik the menial development to protect themselves them-selves against either the luscullty of others or their own folly, and It It not Hsible fur human wisdom to devlie s, ..BBBBBBBBH plan by which they run Invariably be protected lu a plate Willi li has been for ages a byword for uuhcitlthfulness, and wllh so largo a congregation of strangers suddenly put down nud sat til hard work there will now and then bo outbrenks or disease. There will now nnd then bo shortiomln-is In administration: administra-tion: there will be unlooked-for accidents acci-dents to delay Ihe excavation of ths cut or the building of the dams and locks Kach such Incident will be entirely natural, nat-ural, nnd, even though serious, no one of them wilt mean more than a little extra delay or trouble Yet cieh, when discovered by sensation mongers nnd retailed re-tailed lo timid folk of llttlo faith, will servo lis an excuse for Ihe belief that the vvholo work Is being badly managed Kxperlmeiits will tontlnuallv be tried In housing. In hygiene, In street repairing, tn dredging and lu digging earth and rock. Now and then an experiment will be a failure, and among those who hear of It, n certain proportion of doubting Thomases will nt time bellevn that ths whole work Is a failure Doubtless here and thero some minor rascality wlli b uncovered but ns to this I have to say that after the most painstaking Inquiry I have been unable In find a single reputable) reput-able) person who had so much as heard ot any serious accusations affecting the honesty of the commission or of nny responsible nlllrer under It. I append a letter dealing vvllh the most serious charge, that of tho ownership of lots In Colon, the charge was not advanced by n reputable man, nnd In utterly baseless base-less It Is not too muth to say that the whole atmosphere ot the commission breathes hntiestv ns It breathes elllclency nnd energy Above nil, the work has been kept absolutely clear or politics I have never heard even u suggestion of spoils politics In connection with It I hnve Investigated , v ery complaint brought to me for which theie seemed to bo nnv shadow' of foundation In two or three tases all of which I hive Itldlcatid In the t nurse of this message, I came lo the con -luslun that iheie was foundation ror the complaint com-plaint and thnt the miHnals of the commission In the respect complained of could be belt, red in the ntiur in-statues in-statues the complaints proved absolutely abso-lutely baseless save In two or three Inslancts where thev r ferred to mistakes mis-takes which the commission had already al-ready found out ami corrected Slanders and Llbelers. Ho much for honest criticism. There remains an Immense amount of as nckliss slander us bus ever been pub-lllslied pub-lllslied Where the slanderers are of foreign origin I have no concern with them Where they nre Amtrlcnns. I feel for them the heartiest contempt and Indignation because In a spirit "of wanton dishonesty and malice they nre trying to Interfile with and hamper the execution of, the greatest work of the kind ever attempted and aru seeking to bring to naught the efforts ef-forts of their countrymen to put to the credit or America one or the giant rents or the ages The outrageous accusations or these slanderers constitute con-stitute a gross libel upon a body or public servants who for trained intelligence, intel-ligence, expert nbllltv high chnrac-tetr chnrac-tetr and devotion to duty have never been excelled anywhere There Is not n man among those directing the work on the Isthmus who has obtained his position on any other basis than merit alone, and not one who has used his position In nnv way ror his own personal per-sonal or pecuniary advantage Plan to Build by Contract. Arier most careful consideration we have decided to lei out most ot the work by contract, If we can come to sitlsfiietory ttrms with the contractors contract-ors The whole work Is of a kind suited to tho peculiar genius of our people, nnd nur people have devel-npul devel-npul the typo of contractor best fitted tn grapple with It. It Is of course much belter tn do the work In largo pirl by contract than to do It nil by the government, provided It Is possible pos-sible on Ihe nne hnnd to secure to the contractor a suillelent remnuerallnn tn mike It worth while ror responsible respon-sible conlrnclors or the best kind tn undertake th work; nnd provided on her hand It can be done on terms will not give nn excessive profit conlraetor nt the expense or overnment After much con. linn the plan already promiil-by promiil-by the secretary of war was ntlonled. This plan In Its essential features wns drafted nfter careful and thorough study and consideration, by Ihn chief eiiRlneer Mr Htevens, who, while In the employment of Mr. Illll, thn president nf thn (Ircat Northern North-ern rnllrnid, had personal experience of this very type nf contract Mr Slovens then submitted the iibin to Ihe chairman of the commission Mr Hhnnls who went carefully over It vvllh Mr lingers Ihe legal adviser of the commission to see that all legal illltlcultles were met lie then submitted submit-ted entiles or tlie plnn tn both Sucre tnry Taft anil myself Secretary Tuft submitted It tn some or thn best counsel coun-sel nt thn New York bar nnd afterwards after-wards I went over It verv carefully with Mr Toft and Mr Hhnnls and we laid the plan In Its general features before Mr Hoot My conclusion Is that It combines the maximum nf sd vantUKo wllh the minimum nf disadvantage, disad-vantage, Cniler It a premium will lw put upon thn speedy and economical construction nf the cannl snd n penalty pen-alty Imposed nn delay and waste Thn plan ns promulgated Is tentative, doubtless It will hnve to he changed In some respects before wn can come tn A sntlsf.ieiorv SRreeinent wllh re-sponsible re-sponsible contractors-- perhaps even after Ihn bids have hern retelved nnd nf course It Is possible thill wn can lint come lo a agreement In which case the government will do the work itself Meanwhile the work on the Isthmus Is progressing steadily and without nuy let up Single Commissioner Desired. A seven-headed commission Is of course n clumsy executive Instrument Wn should have but nun commission er, with such heads of di partinents and other oltleers under him as wn may tlml nerrssnrv Wn should be expressly permit!, d to employ tho best engineers lu the country ns consulting con-sulting engineers I iirciimpiiuv this paper with n map showing substantially what Ihe cnnal will be like when It Is finished Whin thn Culebra rut has been made and the diims built fir they are built ns at present proposed! there will then Im lit both the I'aellle ami Atlantic ends or the cnnal two greit fresh-water lakes, connected by a broad channel running at Ihe bottom of a ravine ncross the backbone nr the Western Hemisphere Those best Informed bellevn be-llevn thnt Ihn work will be completed In about eight years but It Is never safe tn prophesy about such n work as this, especially In thn tropics Confident of Ultimate Success. Ot the success of the enterprise I nm ns well convinced as ono can bo of any enterprise that Is human It Is n stupendous work upon which nur fellow countrymen nrn entraged down there nn the Isthmus and while wo should hold them to a strb t accountability accounta-bility for thn way In which they ptr-form ptr-form It, wn should recognlz- with frank generosity the epic nature of tho task upon which they are engaged and Its world-wide Importance They arn fining something which will re-doud re-doud Immeasurably to the credit of Amerlcu, which will benefit all tho world, and which will last for ages to come. I'nder Mr Shonls and Mr Htevens ntl Pr florgss this work has started with every omen of good fortune. for-tune. They and their vvorlhv associates, from thn highest In the lowest are entitled tn the same credit tli.it wq would give to the p'eked men of n victorious rn,v for this conquest ()f peace will. In Its great nnd far-reaching effeel eelftr. I h nm.neir M' verv ' greatest conquests whether of peace) or of war. wllh h have ever b-eii vvti'i hy nny or the peoples or mankind A badge Is lo be given to everv American Ameri-can cltlten who 'or a specflcd time has tsken pari In this work, for participation par-ticipation In It vvlll hi mutter lie held to reflect honor upon the man participating par-ticipating Just ns It r, tleeiH honor upon a soldier to have belonged tn a mighty army In a g'eut war 'or righteousness. righteous-ness. Our fellow countrymen on the Isthmus are working for our Interest und for the national renown In the samo spirit and with the same efficiency effi-ciency that thn men nf the army and navy work In time of war It behooves be-hooves us In nur turn to do all we can to hold up their hands and to aid them In every way to bring their great work tn n tr'umiinsnt rn In-Sinn, In-Sinn, TIIKOtiOUK HOOSK Ul.1 Tlio White House, Uicrmber IT 1906 |