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Show Enabling Act Is Adopted, i Quthrlo. Okla. The couvoutlon -which wU mnko tho constitution for tho now state of Oklahoma Inaugur-atod Inaugur-atod Its third week by unanimously adopting its first ordlnanco, which ac-copts ac-copts Olio enabling1 act. Monday's' session was marked with a lively run LH of business, l'lanks providing for a IB disposition of tho prohibition, rail- BH road and labor questions woro among tho most Important submitted. Natural gas interests of Indian Tcr-, Tcr-, i rjtory havo a lobby, on tho ground looking to tho promotion of tho gas ' Industry. eB 1 i THE PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL MESSAGE ON PANAMA CANAL Gives Results of His Observations Obser-vations While on Tour of Inspection to Congress, THE WORK IS BEING PUSHED Perfection of Sanitary Conditions in Canal Zone Has Taken Much Time. He Found But Little Ground for Complaints Com-plaints and Refutes Statements of Critics Calls Some Writers "Slanderers "Slan-derers and Liars" Approves of Type and Route of Canal. Tho following In tlx text of President Hoosovolt's special message to congress nn tlui subject of the Panama rnnnl: To the Henato ntul House of Representatives: Representa-tives: In the month of November I visited the iNthmiiM of I'nnuiim, going over the Canal Zone with considerable care; anil also visited tho I'ltli'H of I'uniitnu anil Colon, wlileli lire not In thu zone or under the United Stated Hag, but ns to which thn United Ktales government, through Its HKentH, exercises control for certain sanitary purposes. I chose the month of November for my visit partly because It Ik the ralnpst month of tho year, the month In which tho work goes forward nt the greatest disadvantage. and one of the two months which thn medical department of tho French Canal company found most unhealthy. Following tho Introduction to thu message mes-sage tho president gives a resume of his programme during tho days he wan on tho Isthmus, and then says: At the .outset I wish to pay tribute to tho amount of work dono by tho French Canal rompany under very dllll-cult dllll-cult clrcuinBtnnces. Many of the buildings build-ings they put up were excellent and nro still In use, though, naturally, the houses are now getting out of repair and are being used as dwellings only until other houses can bo built, and much of tho work they did In tho Culebra cut, nnd sntno of the work they did In digging dig-ging has been of direct and real bcnellt. This country has never mado n better Investment than tho $10,000,000 which It paid to the French company for work nnd betterments. Including especially the l'anama railroad. An Inspection on the ground nt thu height of the rainy season served to convince con-vince mo of the wisdom of congress In refusing to adopt either a high-level or u sea-level canal. There seems to be n universal am cement among all people competent to Judgo that the l'anama route, tho one actually chosen, Is much superior to both tho Nicaragua ami Darlcn routes. Preliminary Work Being Done. The wisdom of tho canal management has been shown In nothing more clearly than In tho way In which the foundations founda-tions of the work have been Iald To have yielded to the natural Impatience of Ill-informed outsiders nnd beirim all kinds of experiments In work prior to a thorough sanitation of the Isthmus, and to u fairly satisfactory working out of the problem of getting and keeping n sulllclent labor supply, would have been disastrous, Thu various preliminary measures had to be taken first; and theso could not be taken so as to allow us to begin the real work of construction construc-tion prior to January 1 of the present year. It then became necessary to have tho typo of the canal decided, and the only delay has been the necessary delay until thn 29th day of June, the date when tho congress definitely and wisely settled that w should tiavn an 15-foot level canal. Immediately after that tho work began In hard earnest nnd has been continued with Increasing vigor ever since; and It will continue so to progress In the future. Whun tho contracts con-tracts are let the conditions will be such as to Insuro a constantly Increasing amount of performance. Successful Sanitation. The first great problem to be solved, upon the solution of which the success of tho rest of the work depended, was the problem of sanitation. This was from the outset under the direction of Dr. W, C. Gorgas, who Is to bo made a full member of thn commission. It must be remembered that his work was not more sanitation as the term Is understood In our ordinary municipal work. Throughout Through-out tho zone and In tho two cities of l'unamn and Colon, In addition to the sanitation work proper, ho has had to do all thu work that thn Marino hospital service does as regards tho nation, that the health department olllcers do In thu various states and cities, and that Col. Waring did lu Now York when he cleaned Its streets. Tho results huvo been astounding, Thn Isthmus had been n byword for deadly uiiheaUhfillnPss. Now, after two years of our occupation the conditions as regards sickness and tho death rate compare favorably with reasonably healthy localities In thu United States, Nspeclal euro has been devoted to minimizing the risk due to the presence of those species of inoxiiltncs which have been found to propagate malarial and yellow levers. In all the settlements, thn little temporary towns or cities composed of tho white and black emplo)ps, which grow up here and there In the tropic Jungle us thu needs of thu work dictate, thu utmost earn Is exercised to keep tho conditions healthy. Everywhere are to bu seon tho drainage ditches which In removing thu water have removed thu breeding places of thu mosquitoes, while the whole Junglu Is t ut away for a conslderablu space around the habitations, thus destroying thu places In which the mosquitoes take shelter. shel-ter. These drainage ditches and clearings nre In evidence In every settlement, und, together with the Invariable presence of mosquito screens around thn piazzas, and of mosquito doors to thu houses, lint to speak of thn careful fumigation that has gone on In till Infected houses, doubtless explain tho extraordinary absence of mosquitoes. As n mutter of fact, but ii slnglu mosquito, ami this not of the dangerous species, was seen by any member of our party during my three days on tho Isthmus. Kqunl earn Is taken by thu Inspectors of thu health department de-partment to secpre cleanliness In the houses and proper hygienic conditions of every kind. 1 Inspected between W and SO water-closets, both those used by tho white employes and thosu used by the colored laborers. In almost every case 1 found thu conditions iterfect. In but ntm case did I llnd them really bad. In this cuse, affecting a settlement of unmar- I rled white employes, I found them very bad Indeed, but tho buildings were all I Inherited from the French company and I were bolng used temporarily while other buildings were lu the course of construction; construc-tion; and right near tho defective water closet a new und excellent closet with n good sewer pipe was In process of construction con-struction ami nvurly Mulshed. Nevertheless Neverthe-less this did not excuse the fact that the bad condition had been allowed to prevail. pre-vail. Temporary accommodations, even If only such ns soldiers use when camiHiil In the Held, should have been provided. Orders to this effect were Issued. I append ap-pend thu report of Dr. (lorgus ou tho Incident. In-cident. 1 was struck, howuver, by the fact that In this Instance, as In almost every other where n cnmplulut was made which proved to havu any Justlllcallon fvhatevrr, It appealed that steps had ul eudy been taken to remedy Ihu evil complained of, nnd that the trouble wan mainly dun to the extreme difficulty, and often Impossibility, of providing In ovcry place for thn constant Increase In the numbers of employes. Generally the provision pro-vision Is made In advnncu, hut It Is not possible that this should always bn the casn; when It Is not them ensues a period of tlmo during which the conditions condi-tions nio unsatisfactory, until n remedy enn bo provided: but"! never found n case where the remedy was not being provided ns speedily lis possible. Improvements In Cities. The sanitation work In the cities of l'anama and Colon has been Just ns Important iik In the zone Itself, anil In many res pic Is much moro dllllcult, because be-cause It was necessary to deal with thn already existing population, which naturally hud scant sympathy with revolutionary changes, the value of which thoy wen; for n long tlmu not utile- to perceive. In Colon the population popula-tion consists largely of colored laborers labor-ers who, having eomn over from the West Indies to work ou the canal, abandon the work ami either take to thn brush or lie Idle lu Colon Itself; thus peopling Colon with tho least desirable de-sirable among thu Imported laborers, for the good and steady men of course continue at the work. Yet astonishing astonish-ing progress has been made In both cities. In Panama 90 per cent of the streets that are In be paved at nil are already paved with an excellent brick pavement laid In heavy concrete, a fow of tho streets being still In process of paving. Thu sewer and water services in the city are of the most modern hygienic hy-gienic type, some of tho servlcu having hav-ing Just been completed. In Colon thn conditions nr peculiar, and It Is as regal ds Colon that most of tho very bitter complaint has been made. Colon Is built on n low coral Island, covered at morn or less shallow depths with vegetable accumulations or mold, which affords sustennncn and strength to many varieties of low-lying low-lying tropical plants. One-half of thu surface of the Island Is covered with wnter at high tide, the average height of thu laud being 1V4 feet above low tide. Thn slight undulations furnish shallow, natural reservoirs or freshwater fresh-water breeding places for every variety varie-ty of mosquito, and tho ground tends to bu lowest In the middle. When the town was originally built no attempt was made to till thu low ground, cither In the streets or on tho building sites, so that the entire surface was prae-tlrnllv prae-tlrnllv n nnngmlrtv when the otlllir mlro becunio Impassable certain of the streets were eruilelv Improved bv lining lin-ing especially bail mud holes with soft rock or other material. In September, 11)05, it systematic effort was begun to formulate a general plan for the proper prop-er sanitation of the city; In February Inst temporary relief measures worn tnken. while In July the prosecution of tho work wus begun In good earnest. Tho results are already visible lu the sowerlug. draining, guttering and paving pav-ing of thn streets. Some four months will ho required before tho woik of sewerage and street Improvement will bo completed, but tho progress already mado Is very marked. Ditches have been dug through the town, connecting thn salt water on both sides, and Into these the ponds, which have served ns breeding places for tho mosquitoes, are drained. These ditches have answered their purpose, for they aro probably tho chief cause of thu astonishing diminution of mosquitoes. Moro ditches of the kind nro being constructed. Unjust Criticism. Cam and forethought have been exercised exer-cised by the commission, nnd nothing has reflected more credit upon them than their refusal either to go abend too fast or to bo deterred by tho fear of criticism from not going ahead fast enough. It Is curious to note thn fact that many of the most sovero critics of the commission crltlclso them for precisely opposite reasons, rea-sons, snino complaining bitterly that thu work Is not In a moro advanced condition, condi-tion, while tho others complain that It has been rushed with such haste that there has been Insufficient preparation for thu hygiene and comfort of the employes. As a matter of fact neither criticism Is Just. It would havo been Impossible to go quicker than tho commission has gone, for such quickness would have meant lnsulllclent preparation. On tho other hand, to refuse to do anything until un-til every possible future contingency had been mot would havo caused wholly tin-warranted tin-warranted delay. Tho right course to follow wns exactly tho course which has been followed Kvery reasonable preparation prepara-tion was made In advance, tho uyglonlc conditions In especial being mado ns nearly perfect as possible; while on tho other hand there lias been no timid refusal re-fusal to push forwurd tho work because of Inability to autlclpato every possible emergency, for, of courao, many defects can only bo shown by the working of the system In actual practice. Inasmuch us so many both of the white and colored employes have brought their families with them, schools havo been established, thn school service being under un-der Mr. O'Connor. For thu white pupils white American teachers are employed; for the colored pupils there are also some white American touchers, one Spanish teacher, and one colored American teacher, teach-er, most of them being colored teachers from Jamaica, Uurbados and St. I.uclu. The schoolrooms were good, und It was n pleasant thing to see tun pride that tho teachers wcro taking In their work and their pupils. Care of Employes. Next In Importance to the problem of sanitation, nnd Indeed now of equal Importance. Im-portance. Is the problem of securing nnd curing for tho mechanics, laborers nnd other employes who nctunlly do tlm work on the canal and thn railroad. This great iji.lt Iii.m lieen under tho control of Mr. Jackson Smith, and nn the whole bus been well done. At present there nre some fi.ouo white employes and some Vj.OoO coloicd employes on thu Isthmus. I went over the different places where the different kinds or employes were working! I think 1 saw representatives of every type both at their work and In their homes; and I conversed with probably prob-ably a couple of hundred of them all told, choosing them at random from every class und Including those who camo especially to present certain grievances olmnst Invariably expressed far gi eater content and satisfaction with the conditions con-ditions than did those who called to make complaint. . . Nearly S.uoo of the white emploves had come from tile I'nlloil Slates. .N'o man can see these young, vigorous men energetically doing their duty without a thrill of pi Id" lu them as Amerlcnus. Thoy represent on the nverngn o high class. Doubtless to congress thu wages paid them will seem high, but as a matter mat-ter of f-t tho only general complaint which 1 found had any leal basis umoiig the complaints mudu to mo upon thu Isthmus V'as lh.it. owing to the peculiar surroundings, the cost of living, and the I distance from home, tho wages weru really not us high as they should lie. lu ) fnct, almost eeiy man 1 spnlco to felt that he ought to bn lecelvlng more money lew. however, which the nver-agu nver-agu man who stays at home In the I United Stales probably likewise holds as regards hhnsolf I append figures of thu wages paid, so that tho congress can Judge thu mutter for Itself. Ijiter I shall confer on the subjeit with certain representative repre-sentative labor men here In the United States, as well ns going over Willi Mr. Stevens, tlie coinpnratlve wages paid ou the zone and at home; ami I may then , conunnniutn n. ilndlngs to thu canal cnmnilltcCH of the two houses Chinese and Other Labor. Of the l'J.01'0 or jo.iioii dav hthonrs I employed on the canal u f. w hundred nru Spaniards. These do excellent work. Their foreman told me Unit they did twice as well us the West Indian laboiers. TIley keep healthy and no dillleiilty Is oxp-rii need with them In any way. Some Italian laborers labor-ers are also employed In connection with tlm drilling As might be i x- pectcd. with labor as uigii pricni as at present In thu United StiiUs. It has not so for proved practicable I" gut any ordlnnr laborers from thu United States. Tho American wage-workers on tho Isthmus am the highly paid skilled mechanics or the typos mentioned men-tioned previously. A steady eftoit Is being mado to secure Italians, and is-pcclally is-pcclally to procure mnro Simnlaids, because of tin- very satisfactory results re-sults that huvo coinu from their employment em-ployment and their numbers will bu lncrcuscd as far us possible. It has not proved possible, however, to get them In anything like the iiumln rs needed for the work, and from Present appeurnnces wu shall In thu main have to rely, for the ordinary unskilled work, purtly upon colored lalinrrs from tho West Indies, purtly upon Chinese labor. It eirtalnly ought to bo unnecessary to point out thai the American worklngrnnn In the United Stntes has no concern whatever In tho question as to whether thu rough work on the Isthmus, which Is performed by aliens In any event, Is done by nllens from one country with a. black skin or by nllens from another country with n yellow skill. Our business Is to dig tho canal an efficiently and as quickly ns possible; provided always that nothing Is done that Is Inhumane to any laborers, and nothing thnt Interferes In-terferes with tho wages of or lowers tho standard of living of our own workmen. Having In view this principle. prin-ciple. I hnve arranged to try several thousand Chinese laborers. This Is desirable de-sirable both because we must try to find out what laborers are most efficient, effi-cient, and, furthermore, because we should not leave ourselves nt the mercy of any one type of foreign labor At present tho great bulk of the unskilled labor on the Isthmus Is dono by West India negroes, chiefly from Jamaica, Uurbados, and tho other Kngllsh possessions, One of the governors gov-ernors of the lands In question has li'iwn all unfrledly disposition to our work and hits thrown obstacles In tho way of our getting tho labor needed; ntttl It l tilifhlv iiOfleMlra hlo tn glvu any outsiders the Impression, however III founded, that they are Indispensable Indispensa-ble nnd can dlctnto terms to us. Tho West Inilln laborers are fairly, but only fairly, satisfactory. Somo of the men do very well Indeed; the better bet-ter class, who nre to be found as foremen, fore-men, ns skilled mechanics, as policemen, police-men, are good men; nnd many of the nrdlmivv iluv laborer nro also good. Hut thousands of those 'who are brought over under contract (nt our expense) go off Into tho Junglu to live, or lo.if around Colon, or work so bail- IV (trier Hie OrMf tli-n ,e four daVS as to cause a serious diminution of the amount of labor performed on Friday Fri-day and Saturday of euch week. I questioned many of these Jnmalca laborers ns to the conditions of their work and what. If any changes, they wished. I received many complaints from them, but as regards most of theso complaints they themselves contradicted con-tradicted one another. In nil cases where the complaint wns ns to their treatment by nny Individual It proved on examination that this Individual was himself a West India man of color, either a policeman, u storekeeper, or an assistant storekeeper. Doubtless there must be many complaints against Americans; but thosu to whom I spoke did not haiipen to make any such complaint com-plaint to me. Work of Construction. The work Is now going on with a vigor and eincleney pleasant to witness. wit-ness. The three big problems of tho canal nre thu I .a Iloca dams, the Uatun dam, and the Culcbrn cut. The Culebra Cule-bra cut must be mnde. anyhow; but of course changes as to the dams, or at least as to the locks adjacent to the dams, may still occur. The l.a Iloca dams offer no particular problem, prob-lem, thu bottom material being so good that there Is a practlcnl certain ly, not merely as to what can lie achieved, but as to the time of achievement. achieve-ment. Thn ditun dam offers thu most serious problem which we havo to solve; und yet the ablest men on tho Isthmus believe that this problem Is certain of solution along the lines proposed; although, of course, It necessitates ne-cessitates great toll, energy, and intelligence, in-telligence, and although equally, of course, there will be some little risk In connection with the work, Tho risk tirlses from the fact that some of the material near the bottom Is not so good ns could bo desired, If thu huge earth dam now contemplated Is thrown across from one foothill to the other wo will havo what Is practically a low. broad, mountain ridge behind which will rise thu Inland lake. This artificial mountain will probably shnw less seepage, that Is, will havo grenler restraining' capacity than thu average natural mountain range. Thn exact locality lo-cality of the locks at this dnm as at the other dams Is now being determined, de-termined, In April next Secretary Tuft, with three of the ablest engineers engin-eers of the country Messrs. Noble, Stearns nnd Itlploy will visit tho Isthmus, nnd thu three engineers will make tho final nnd conclusive examinations exami-nations as to tho exact situ for each lock. Meanwhile tho work Is going ahead without n break. Tho Culebra cut does not offer such gieat risks; that Is, tlio damage liable to occur from occasional laud slips will not represent what muy bo called major disasters. dis-asters. Thu work will merely call for Intelligence, In-telligence, perseverance and executive capacity. It Is, however, tho work upon which most labor will havu to be Bpent. The dams will be composed of the earth taken out of the cut and very possibly the building of thu locks nnd dams will take oven longer than tho cutting In Culebra Itself. In Culebra Cut. The main work Is now being done In tho Culebra cut. It was striking and Impressive to seo thn huge steam shovels lu full play, thu dumping trains carrying nwuy the rock and earth they dislodged. The Implements of French excavating machinery, which often stand a little way from tho line of work, though of excellent ex-cellent construction, look like the veriest toys when compared with these new stenin shovels, Just as tho French dumping dump-ing cars seem like toy cars when compared com-pared with the long trains of huge cars, dumped by steam plows, which ure now In use. This represents the enormous advance that has been mnde In machinery machin-ery during the past quarter of a century. cen-tury. No doubt a quarter of a century hence this new mucliliiery, of which wo nro now so proud, will similarly seem out of date, but It Is certainly serving its purposu well now. Tho old French cars hail to bo entirely dlseurded. We still have In use a few of the more modern, but not most modern, cars, which hold hut 12 yards of earth. They can be employed em-ployed on certain lines with shaip curves, lint tho recent cars hold from i5 to 30 yards niilece, and Instead of tho old cluuisv methods of unloading them, a steam plow Is drawn from end to end of the whole vestlbuled train, thus Immensely Im-mensely economizing labor. In thn rnlny leason tho sleani shovels can do but llttlo In dirt, hut they work sleadllv In rock and In llje harder ground. Tlieiu went some at work dm lug thn tlmu I was on thn Isthmus, und their tremendous power und utllclciu y were most Impies-slvo. New Records for Excavation. As soon as the type of canal was decided de-cided tills work begun In good earnest Tho rainy seuson will shortly bo over and then there will bn an Immense Increase In tho amount taken out; but even during tho Inst threu mouths, lu tho Vnlny season, sea-son, steady progress Is shown by tho figures; In August, 242,000 cublo yards; In September, Sl,ViO cubic yards, and In October, 323.1MI cubic yurds, lu October new records wero established for tho output of Individual shovels as well as for tho lonnago haul of Individual locomotives, loco-motives, I. hope to sen tho growth of a healthy spirit of emulation between tho different shovel and locomotive crews. Just such a spirit us bus grown on our fiuttln ships between thu different gun ciuws in matters of mutksinanshlp. I'nsslng through the cut tho amount of now work run be seen at n Klunco. In ono place tho entire sldo of a hill had been tnken out recently by 27 tons of dynamite, which weio exploded at ono blast. At another place 1 was given a presidential salute of 21 charges of dynamite. dyna-mite. On the top notch or the t ulebra : cut the prism Is now as wide us it will I he; nil told, tlm e ui.il bed at this point has now been sunk a it feet below what It originally was. It will huvo to bn sunk ubout 130 feet further. Throughout Through-out the cut thn drilling, blasting, shovel-Ing shovel-Ing and hauling are going on with cou-1 cou-1 Htuntly Increasing energy, the hugo I siiovofs being piessed up, us If they weru t mountain howltzeis, Into tho most un-I un-I likely looking phiccs, where thoy eat their wuy Into the hillsides. Critics and Doubting Thomases. It Is not only natural, but Inevitable, that a work as gigantic us this which has been undertaken on, tho Isthmus should arouse every species of hostility and criticism. Tho conditions aro so new und so trying, und tho work so vast, thut it would bo absolutely out of the question ques-tion that mistakes should not bo made. Cheeks will occur. Unforeseen dlfllcultles will arise. From tlmu to tlmo seemingly well-settled plans will have to be changed, At present 23.000 men art engaged en-gaged on tho tusk. After awhile the number will bu doubled. In such a multitude mul-titude It Is Inevltublu that there should bo hern and there a scoundrel. Very muny of thn poorer cluss of laborers lack the mental development to protect them-sches them-sches atalust eltliir the tuscullty of others or their own fully, and It Is not 1ib b!e for h lUiuii wisdom to Uevlso plan by which they can Invariably be protected. In a flace which has been for ages it byword for unhealthfulntss, nnd with so large a rongregntlon of strangers suddenly put down and set tit hnrd work there will now and then ItW outbreaks or disease. TllCrc will now and then bn shortcomings In administration; administra-tion; there will bo unlooked-for accidents acci-dents to delay the excavation of the cut or the building of tlm dams and locks Knch such Incident will bo entirely natural, nat-ural, and. even though serious, no one of them will mean more than a little extra delay or trouble. Yet each, when discovered by sensation mongers and retailed re-tailed to timid folk of little faith, will servo as an excuse for the belief that the whole work Is being badly managed. Kxpcrlmcnls will continually be tried lit housing, In hygiene. In street repairing, In dredging and In digging earth und rock. Now and then an experiment will be n failure; and among those who hear of It. n certain proportion of doubting Thomases will at once believe that the whole work Is n failure, Doubtless here und there some minor rascality will b uncovered; but as to this, I have to say that after the most painstaking Inquiry I have been unable tn llnd n single reputable reput-able person who had so much us heard of any serious accusations affecting tho honesty of the commission or of nny responsible oftlcer under It. 1 append a letter dealing with the most serious charge, that of the ownership of lots In Colon; the charge was not advanced by a reputable man, and Is utterly baseless. base-less. It Is not too much to say that tho wholo atmosphere of the commission breathes honesty as It breathes efficiency and energy. Above nil, the work has been kept absolutely clear of politics. 1 have never heard even n suggestion of spoils politics In connection with It, I havo Investigated every complaint brought to me for which there seemed to bo nny shadow of foundation, In two or three cases, all of which 1 havo Indicated In the course of this message, I enmo to the conclusion that there was foundation for the complaint, com-plaint, and that the methods of thn commission lu thu respect complained of could be bettered. In tho other Instances In-stances thn complaints proved absolutely abso-lutely baseless, save In two or three Instances whom they referred to mistakes mis-takes which the commission had already al-ready found out nnd corrected. Slanders and Llbelers. So much for honest criticism. There remains un Immense amount of as reckless slander ns hns ever been pub-Ulshed. pub-Ulshed. Where tho slanderers nre. of foreign origin 1 huvo no concern with them. Where they are Americans, I feel for them the heartiest contempt and Indignation; because. In a spirit of wanton dishonesty and malice, they are trying to Interfere with and hamper tho execution of, thn greatest work of the kind ever attempted, and aro seeking to bring to naught tho efforts ef-forts of their rountrymen to put to the credit of America ono of the giant feats of tho nges. The outrageous accusations of these slanderers constitute con-stitute a gross libel upon n body of public servants who. for trained intelligence, intel-ligence, expert ability, high charac ter and devotion to duty, have never been excelled anywhere. There Is not n man among' those directing tho work on the Isthmus who has obtained his position on any other basis than merit alone, and not one who has used his position lu nny wuy for his own personal per-sonal or pecuniary advantage. Plan to Build by Contract. After most careful consideration wo have decided to let out most of the work by contract. If wu can come to satisfactory terms with the contractors. contract-ors. The whole work Is of a kind suited to the peculiar genius of our people; and our people have developed devel-oped the typu of contractor best fitted to grapple with It. It Is of course much better to do tho work In largo part by contract than to do It nil by the government, provided It Is possible pos-sible ou tho one hand to securu to tho contractor a sulllclent romnueratlon to make It worth while for responsible respon-sible contractors of the best kind to undertake the work; nnd provided on the other hnml It can bo dono on terms which will not give an excessive profit to tho contractor nt the expense of the government. After much con. slilerntlnn the plnn already promul-gnted promul-gnted by thn secretary of war was adopted. This plnn In Its essential features was drafted after careful nnd thorough study and consideration, by tho chlof engineer. Mr. Stevens, who, whllo In tho employment of Mr. Hill, tho president of the (Ireat Northern North-ern railroad, hail personal experience of this very typo of contract. Mr. Stevens then submitted the plan to the chairman of the commission. Mr. Slionts. who went carefully over It with Mr. Itogrrs. the legal adviser of tho commission, to seo that all legal dlfllcultles were met. He then submitted submit-ted copies of tho plan to both Secretary Secre-tary Tart and myself, Secretary Taft submitted It to somo of tho best counsel coun-sel at thn New York bar, und afterwards after-wards I wont over It very carefully with Mr. Taft nnd Mr. Shouts, and we laid thn plan In Its general features bofore Mr. lloot. My conclusion Is that It combines thn maximum of advantage ad-vantage with the minimum of disadvantage. disad-vantage. Under It a premium will be put upon thn speedy nnd economical construction of tho canal, and a penalty pen-alty Imposed on Uclny and waste. The plan as promulgated Is tentative; doubtless It will have to be changed In some respects before wo can come to a satisfactory agreement with responsible re-sponsible contractors perhaps even after the bids hnvn been received, nnd of course It Is possible that wo can not come to a agreement, In which casn the government will do the work Itself. Meanwhile the work on the Isthmus Is progressing steadily and without any let up. Single Commissioner Desired. A seven-headed commission Is of eourso a clumsy executive Instrument. Wo should havo but one commissioner, commission-er, with such heads of departments und other olllcers under him us wu may tliiil necessary. Wo should he expressly permitted to pmploy tho best engineers In tho country, as consulting con-sulting engineers. I accompany this paper with n man showing substantially what the cjnnl will be like when it Is finished. When thu Culebra cut hits been made and the dams built (If they nro built ns at present proposeui mum win men Hint Hi-nt both thn I'nclllo nnd Atlnntlc ends of tho cnnul two groat fresh-water lakes, connentpd by a broad channel running at the bottom of rovlnn, across thn backbone of tho Westprn Ilpinlsphern, Those best Informed believe be-lieve that the work will bn completed In about eight years; but It Is never safe to prophesy about such a work us thlB, especlnlly In tho tropics. Confident ol Ultimate Success. Of the success of thn enterprise 1 nm ns well convinced ns ono can bo of any enterprise that Is human. It Is n stupendous work upon which our fellow countrymen nro engaged down there on the Isthmus, nnd whlln we should hold them to u strict nccounta-lilllty nccounta-lilllty for the wny In which they perform per-form It, wo should recognize, with frnnk generosity, tho opto nature of the task upon which thoy nro engaged nnd Its world-wide Importance. They urn doing something which will re-douil re-douil Immeasurably to tho credit of America which will benefit nil tlm world, and which will lust for nitcs I to come. Under Mr. Shouts ami Mr Stevens nnd Pr (Jorgas this work has started with every omen of good fortune. for-tune. They nnd their worthy associates, from the highest lo thn lowest, nru entitled to tlm ssmn credit that wi) would kIvh to thn picked men of n I victorious nrinv for tbl conquest of 1 pcuco will. In Its greut nml far-reach- ' loir effect ulnnil mm union ir the Verv I greatest conquests, whether of pence or of war. which havu ever been won by nny of tho peoples of mankind. A badge Is to be given to every Amerl-1 Amerl-1 can citizen who for u speclled tlmo ' has taken part In this work; for par-I par-I tlclpatlon lu It will hereafter ho held to reflect honor upon tho man participating par-ticipating Just as It rellects honor upon , n soldier to huvo belonged to a mighty I army In a great wur Tor rlghtuous-I rlghtuous-I ness. Our fellow countrymen on the Isthmus aro working for our Interest I and for tho national renown In tho same spirit and with the same efficiency effi-ciency that th" men of thn army and navy work In tlmn of war. . It behooves be-hooves us In our turn to do all we can to hold up their hands and to nld thum In every way to bring their great work to u tr'uinpnnnt conclusion. conclu-sion. TIPWDOnB KOOHKVKI.T. Tho While House December 17. ISOB |