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About Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1906)
z cniini critics hit. president in Special Message Calls Thcra Slanderers. JELLS OF HIS TRIP. lade Thorough Inspection of the Work Now In Progress. t'aelt that Is aa Eple aad ( World-Wide Importance Health Cendltloaa Excellent, Malaria ul Tellow Fever Being- Drivea Oat Workmen Are Seca at Work u la Their Quarters and Are later. k viewed by the President. President Roosevelt sent a apodal fciecsngo on the ranaiua cannl to Con fress Monday. Ho tells at great length ft his personal experiences on bis re lent trip to the canal sone, and scares (be critics and slanderers of the caaal Commission. ' Following is the President's message fat part: ' In the month of November I visited the Isthmus of Panama, going over the Canal Eone with considerable care ; and alio vis ited the cities of Panama and Colon, Shich are not In the Zone or under the nlted States flag, but as to which the tJnltcd States government, through Its J gents, exercises control for certain san tary purposes. I was three days ashore jj not a sulficlent length of time to allow Jin exhaustive investigation of the mln (Otlia of the work of any single depart Dent, still less to pass judgment on the fcfirineerinr problems, but enough to en able me to get a clear idea of the salient ieatares of the great work and of the progress that has been made as regards (he sanitation of the Zone, Colon and tanajna, the caring for and bousing of the employes, and the actual digging of Cm canal. The Zone Is n narrow strip Of land, and it can be inspected much as lie can Inspect fifty or sixty miles of great railroad, at the point where it mns through mountains or overcomes Other natural obstacles. I chose the month of November for my Jrtsit partly because it Is the rainiest month of the year, the month in which the work goes forward at the greatest disadvantage, and one of the two months which the nodical department of the French Canal Company found mo.it ua freaJlhy. ' f InHpected the Aneon Hospital, goiog through varions wards both for white pa tients and for colored patients. 1 inspect ed portions of the constabulary (Zone po lice), examining the men Individually. I also examined certain of the schools and caw the school children, both white and colored, speaking with certain of the tatcnera. At the Culebra cut the spot in which meat work will have to be done in any vent, we watched the different steam hovels working; we saw the drilling and blasting; we saw many of tho dirt trains Kof the two different types used), both carrying the earth away from the steam hovels and depositing it on the dumps tome of the dumps being run out in the Jungle merely to get rid of the earth, jwhile In other cases they are being nsed for double tracking the railway and In preparing to build the great dams. I visited many of the different villages, In- iipecting thoroughly many different build ngs the local receiving hospitals, the louses In which workmen live, as well as the commissary stores, and the machine hops. "H .ZaI&j with Scores of Workmen. X talked with scores of different man ' superintendents and head of departments, divisions and bureaus ; steam shovel men, machinists, conductors, engineers, clerks, wives of the American employes, health officers, colored laborers, colored attend ants, and managers of the commissary tores where food is sold to the colored laborers; wives of the colored employes who lire married. Each day from twelve to eighteen hours were spent in going over and Inspecting II there wns to be seen, and In examin ing various employes. Throughout my trip I was accompanied by the surgeou general of the army. Dr. Itlxev; by the chairman of the Isthmisn Canal Commis sion, Mr. Shouts; by Chief Engineer Ste vens; by Dr. Uorgns, the chief sanitary officer of the commission ; by Mr. Bishop, the secretary of the commission; by Mr. Ripley, the principal assistant engineer; by Jackson Smith, wbo has had practical charge of collecting end handling the la boring force; by Mr. Blerd, general man ager of the railway, and by i. Rogers, the general counsel of the commission; and many other officials joined us front time to time. An Inspection of the ground at the beight of the rainy season served to con vince me of the wisdom of Congress In refasing to adopt either a high-level or sea-level canal. There seems to be ami versa 1 agreement amoug all people competent to judge that the Panama route, the one actualy chosen, is much superior to both the Nicaragua and Darien routes. The wisdom of the canal management bss been shown in nothing more clearly than in the way in which the foundations f the work have been laid. To have Iieldtd to the natural impatience of 111 iformcd outsiders and begun all kinds e( experiments In work prior to a thorotiah sanitation of the Isthmus, and to a fairly satisfactory working out of the prohlera of getting and keeping a sufficient labor supply, would have been disastrous. The various preliminary measures had to be taken first : and tiiese could not be taken so as to allow us to begin the real work of construction prior to Jan. 1 of the present year. It then became necesaarv to bsve the type of the canal decided, and the only delay has been the necesaarv d- lay until the 2!th day of June, the date wtien tne uongress delfnttely and wisely settled that we should have an H5-fout level canal. Immediately after that ill work began in hard earnest and has been continued with increasing vigor ever since; eud ft will continue so to progress In the future. When the contracts are let. tue conditions will be such as t in sure a constantly increasing amonat sf performs uce. Sanitation Is Successful. The first great problem to be helwd upon tho solution of which the soocess of the rest of the work depended, wns the problem of sanitation. It must be remem bered that Dr. Uorgas' work was not mens sanitation as the term is understood ia our ordinary municipal work. Through out the Zone and in the two citiss of Pan ama and Colon, in addition to the sanita tion work proper, be has had to do all the work that the murine hospital service does km regard the nation, that the bfn'ih department officers do in the various btntea and cities. Just at present the health showing on the isthmus is remarkably good so much setter than in most sections of the I'uit ed States that I do not beiiere that it can possibly c-ontinuo at qnite its prevent average. There hit bean for the past six month a well-niKU steady decline In the death rate fur the population ef the Aran, this hing largely duo to the doerease in death from pneumonia, which has been luoxt fulfil disease on the Uthitiu. in tktober there were ninety-nine deaths of every klud among the enfployes of the l(4h-,iiH. There were then on the rolls &&00hile. seven-eighths of thc.ni being JUnericau. Of theso whites but two died of disease, and It happened neither tsu was Aster! can. Of the 0.000 Wbiss Ajnerk-sas, including some 1,200 wsizten and children, not a single decth bss occurred In the past three months, whereas In an average city Is the United States the number of deaths for a sim ilar number of people In that lime would have been about thirty from disease. This very remarkable showing caaoet of coarse permanently obtain, but It eertainty goes to prove that if good cere is taken the Isthmus is net particularly unhealthy place. In Panama and Colon the death rate as also been greatly reduced, this being directly due to the vigorous work of the special brigade of employes wbo have been Inspecting bouses where the eteee siyia moequlto Is to be found and de stroying its larva) and breeding plan, and doing similar work In exterminating the malarial niosgtiitoes in short, is performing all kinds of hygienic Isbor. The ssnjtatlon work In the citiss of Panama and Colon has been just as im portant as la the Zone Itself, and is many respects much mors difficult Criticism la fJnlnat. Csre snd forethought bsve been exercised by the commission, sad nothing bss refect td mere credit upon them Uian their re fnisl ettker to go sbssd too fait or te be deterred by the tear ef crltlelam frem sot going ahead fast eaough. It Is curious te note the fart that many ef the suit oevere crltles ef the eoisralsslon criticise them fee prertaely eppoalte reason, some complaining bitterly that the work Is sot In a more ad vanced condition, wblle the other complain that It has been rubed with sucb baate that there baa been InsurarUDt preparation far the hygiene and comfort of the em ployes. A s mat (or of fact neither erltl tlm Is juit. It would have been impetwh bis to go more quickly than the commission ha gone, for sucb quickness would bsve meant InsntSclent preparation. Oa the oth er band, to refuse to do ytblac; until every poaslble future contingency linrl been mot would nave canned wholly unwarranted delay. The right rooms to follow waa ex actly tho conne which ha been followed, very reasonable preparation wns made 'n advaaea, the hygienic conditions Is especial being made ss nearly perfect a possible; while os the other hand there bss been no timid refusal to push forward the work be cause of Inability te aatlclpate every Feasi ble amonroocy, for, of course, masy defect, can only be shewn by tbs working of the yseaai la actual practice. la sedition to attending te the health ef the employes, It la of coarse aecosaary to provide far policing ths Zone. This I don by a pellce force which at present somber over aou men. ADmit one srtn or tne men srs white sad the others Mark. Inasmuch as e many both ef the white ssd colored eataSeyaa hare brought their famtllee with them, lohools have boon eetablmhed. For the while pnplls whits American teachers are employed ; for the colored pviplls tkoro are sine oooie white Amerlcaa teachers, one paslab teacher, ssd one colored Amerlcaa teacher, stoat ef tsem berag colored teach er front Jamaica, Barhado sad St. Lacla. There seemed an me to be too mssr sa- teeas In ths goes; bat the sew blgh-lleesse isw wbib goes isto effect on Jsnnery l next will probably close fonr-Ofths ef them. lute ana successful efforts sre being made te minimis ssd centre! ef sale ef ikjivor. Next la Importance te the problem ef san itation, and Indeed now of eaaal Impertssre, is cse srostesa or seenrmg ssd coring rer the SMehsalcs, laborers, ssd ether employes who sotually de the work en the easel snd tbs railroad. This great taek bss been na dsr the oentrel of Jaoksea Smith, snd on tue waele na been well dene. At present those am soma 6. A0 white employes snd seme lS.OOe colored employes os the lath mas. I went over the dlfforest Pisces where the different kinds ef employes were werslsg; I think I saw representatives ef every type both st their work snd In their : and I conversed wltn srebaMy a couple ef hundred ef tbess all told, cheesing them st random from every elsss snd In tlndlsg the who came especially te pre seat uertala grievances. Prows' of the Amerleaas. Nesrty 0,000 ef the white employes had bm frem the United gtoes. No man can see these young, vigorous mes energetically tneir suty wttseet a term ec atide la them ss Amorlcsns. They represent os the average a high class. Donatio t Ceagreae lae wages fsia tnera win seem nign, one ss s mstter of fact the only goaersl complslst which I found had any real bails among ths complaints made te me upon the lathmn tsar, owing to tne peculiar surronna- Iscs. the cost of living, and the distance from horns, the wages were really not as high as thsy should be. In fact almost very aian I spoks to felt that he ought to be receiving mure money a view, however, which the average man who stsys st hoots la the United States probably likewise holds ss sogsrds himself. The white, Amsoiesns ars employed, some ef tbasi In offlce work, but ths majority la hasdllsg ths great steam shovels, aa engi neers sad conductors on ths dirt train, ss machinists In ths great repair shops, as car- panters ass timekeepers, superlntesdent. ssd foremen ef divisions snd of gasgs, ssd so en snd so on. Many or ta.m nsv brought dowa their wive and families; snd ths eulldres wbsn not Id school sre running a hoi it and behaving precisely ss ths Amer icas snail soy and small gin senava at home. The bachelors among the employe live, sometime In small separate bouses, sometime In large houses ; quarter belnir fsrsUhod free to all the men, married and aamarrlcd. Tbs housewives purchase their uppll directly, or through their husbands. tb commbaary stores of tne commis sion. All te whom I aimke sgreed that the eepniiaa were excellent, snd sil but two stated that there was ss complaint te be mess ; tneee two complained mat tne prices wore oxcoaalve as compered to ths prices In the Btstes, I earns te the conclusion thst, spesklng rails', there was ne warrant for com- plaint about the food. Tho Labor Question. Of the alaotoan or twenty thousand day laborers employed on the caaul, s (w hun dred are spealsrd. These de excellent work. Their fereinea told me thst tbey did twte as well as the Wait Isdls labor er, fa.y keep healthy sad ne dlfUculty Is sxpersssced with them In sny wsv. sums I saltan Is borers sre slso employed in con Beetles will ths drilling. As might be ex pected, with labor as high priced ss st present In the United States, It has not ao far proved practicable to get any ordinary laborers (rum tho United Htate. Ths Aassrtosn wage-werkei on the Isthmi are ths highly paid skilled mechanics of the typos mentloued prevlonaly. A steady ef fort Is being made to secure Italians, and especially to procure more Spaniards, be eauae ef the very satisfactory molts thst here rem from their employment; and their numbers will be Increased far a possible. It be not proved possible, how ever, to get them In anything like the num ber needed for the work, ana irein p Tre nt appearances wo shall In the inn In have ut rely, ror tne ordinary unsuiueu won, oartlv nnoa colored laborers from tb West Indies, partly upon Chinese labor. It cer tainly eugkt to s unnecessary 10 pnini oui that the American worklugmnn In the United Htate ha n concern whatever In the question as to whether the rough work sn the Isthmus, wlilcn Is performed by aliens In any evont. la dona by alien from ne eoentry with s Muck akin or by alien from a not tier country with a yellow skin Our bnslnesa I to dig the renal a etll clently and a quickly n iKHWlble; provided aiwsys tnat nothing is aue met I iunu' man to any lulxirurs, nnd nothing that In terfere with the wiigc of or lower the iandard of living of our own workman Havlnd In view this principle, I have ar ranged to try Severn 1 thoiixaud Chinese In borer. This Is desirable both because we must try te find out whnt laborers are most egsclont, snd, furthermore, becauao we should sot Ua re ourselves at the mercy of any one type or foreign iniior At present the grout bulk of the mmktlled labor on the iKthmos 1 done by nest India negroes, ch telly from Jamiilrn, liarhados, nnd the other Kngllan poHwasuona. tue of the gov amor of the binds In question has shown sn unfriendly dlsMHtltlon to our work, aud has thrown olMtuclea In the wny of our setting the labor ueeded ; and It Is highly undesirable lo give auy outsiders the Im pression, however 111 founded. Hint they are Indlspeusuble nud cuu dictate term to us. The Weet Indln laborer are fairly, but only fairly. sut'Ufactin y. Home of tue men do very well Indeed; the better class, who are to De round as foremen, aa skilled me chanics, as pollcemeu, are good nien, and many of the ordinary day lulwrt-r are also good. Hut thousand of those who ure brought over umb-r contract tut our ex prmwl go oh Into the Jungle to live, or loaf n pound t own, or wore so nudiy artcr tin prat three or four (leys its to emme a stri on diminution ot tue amount of lulior iter formed en r'rldny snd Hntnnhty of each week. 1 questioned ninny of IIiim Jamaica lnlierer a to lite condition of ilielr work and what. It any clinu, tliey wuiied. received inuny complaint from tlu-m, but ns reus r ils luoxt of theue roniplnluls, they t lie in wives contradicted on uiiollter. In nil case where tbo complaint was I tbclr treatment by sny Individual It prived on exsmlimtlon (bat this Individual wns himself a Wett India mnn of color, either a glleenian, a torel;ecier, or an MslKtnut ktoruket-per. Loubtles there must be wuur eomp'slnts sgntnst Americans; but thoss To w,Mm I spoke aid not nappen to mass any such tnmpmrnt te me. 'there wns no complaint ef the honslng. I was strook by the snperlor com fort snd respectability of the lives ef the sinrsied men. It weald, la my opinion, be s moat admirable thing If a much larger number of the men had heir wives, for with their advent all complaints about the food and conking nre almost sui-e te cease. One ef the greatest needs at present 1s te provide amusemrnts both for tho white men and tbe Mack. The koung Mens ChrLtlaa Association Is trying to do goni Work snd sbonld be Is every wsy encour sged. Hut the government should do the main work. I have aserUcally called the attention ef the commission te thm matter. and something ha been aocomptlsbed al ready. Anything done for the welfare of tbe men add te their eAoleary snd money devoted te thst parpesa I therefore prop erly to he considered ss spent In bulldlne ths canal. It la hnperstlvsly necessary to firoviue ample recreation and amusement t tbs men sre to be kept well ssd healthy. Work ot Construction. J he work Is now going on with s vigor efficiency pteaennt to witness. Thi three Mff problem of tbe canal sre the I.r Rocs dams, the (Jatus dam and ths (Mile brs cut. Tbe Culebra cut must be made anyhow ; trot ef course changes ss te tin dams, or at least as to tbe locks aJJscen te ths earns, may still occur. Ths la Bncr dams offer no particular problem, ths hot torn material being so good thst there Is r practical certainty, net merely a to wha ran he achieved, but a to tbe time o achievement. The (letun dam offer th. most ermu problem which we bsve ti solve; and yet the sblest men on tbe Isth mils believe that this problem Is certain o solution slong ths line proposed ; sltbottgb of course. It necessitates great toll, energy and Intelligence, and although equally, course, there will be some little risk n connection with the work. The risk arise from the fart that some of ths materln near the bottom la not so goad as could l desired. If the bnge earth dam sow con templnted Is throws across from one foot bill to the other we will have wbet Is prac tlrally a low, broad, mountain ridge belilnC which will rise the Inland lose. This artl ftrlnl mountain will probably shew lea seep age. that Is. will save greater restralnlnr capacity than the average astursl mountain range. The exact locality or the locks at this dnm as at the other dams la now being determined. In April next Secretsry Taft, with three of the ahteet engineer of the reustry Messrs. Noble, Stearns snd Elpley will visit tile 1st lira us, and the three engineer will make tbe flaal sad conclusive jnuuuiena ss te ine exact sue ror eacn lock. Meanwhile tbe work Is going anead whlieut a break. 'Hie Culebra cut doe not offer such great risks; that Is, the dHmage liable to occur front occasional land sups will not repre sent what may lie called major disasters. Tbe work will merely cell for Intelligence. perseverance and executive capacity. It Is, however, tbe work upon wblcn moxt labor will have to be spent. Tho dame will be composed ef the earth tnkeu eat ef the rut and vary posmDiy ins suuuing or tne iocks and dam will taktta even luuger than the cutting hi Culebra Itself. Tne mam work is bow beisg done in tne Culebra cut. It wns striking and Impres sive te see the huge steam shovels In full play, the dumping trains carrying away the rock and earth they dislodged. The imple ment of French excavating machinery, which often stand s little way from tbe line of wsrk, though of excellent construction. look like tbe veriest toys when compared with these new steam shovels. Just as the French dumping cars seem like toy cars when compared with the long train of bugs ears, dumped by steam plows, which sre now In use. Thi represent tbe enor mous advene thst bss been niade In ma chinery during the past quarter of a cen tury. No doubt a quarter ef a century hence this new machinery, ef which we are now so proud, will similarly n out of dnte, but It la certainly serving lis pur pose well now. Tbe old French csrs hsd to be entirely discarded. We etlll bsve In us a few of ths mere modern, but not moot modern, cars, which hold but twelve yards ef earth. They caa be employed on certain lines with shsrp curves. But the recent csrs hold frem twenty-five to thirty yard apiece, sad lastosd of the eld clumsy wemeas or unloading tusm, ieuui piu,, I draws from sad te ead of the whole ves tibule trsln, thus Immensely eeonomlr.tng labor. In the rainy season tbs steam shov el can do but little In dirt, but they work steadily In rock and In tbe harder ground. There were seme twenty-five at work dur ing the time I was on tb leiumu, sou their tremendous power and efficiency wore moist Impressive. The most advanced methods, not only lu construction, but In railroad management, hnvo been applied In the Zone, with c-rre-upending economies In time snd coBt. Ibis bus been shown In the handling oi m tonnage from whips Into csrs, and from cars Into ships on ths Panama railroad. Seores the Critic. It Is not nnlv nntursl. but Inevitable, thst vnrk n oloanHe us till Which tin been undertaken on the Uthmu should s reuse every specie of hostility and criti cism. The conditions sre eo new end so trying, snd the work so vast, tbut It would be absolutely out of tne question thnt mis takes should not bo nfcde. Checks will oc cur. Unforeseen difficult! will srise. From time te time (ecuilugly well-settled pinna will huve to bo chunked. At present 'JS, 000 men sre engnged on the task. After a while the nnmhei- will lie doubled. In such n multltudo It Is Inevitable that there should be here and there a scoundrel. erj many of tbo poorer class of laborers incs the mental development to protect them selves ngnlnst either the rascality of others or their own roily, snd It Is uot poasiuie for human wisdom to devise a plun by Which thev esq Invariably be protected. In a place wlilch bat been for ages & byword for unhcnlthfulnesa. and wltb so large S congregation of strangers suddenly put down and set t bard work there win now and then be outbreaks of disease. There will now snd then be shortcomings In ad ministration ; there will be unlooked-for ac cidents to delay the excavation ot the cut or tbe building of the dams and locks. Kara such Incident will be entirely niitnrui, and, even though aerlous, no one of them will mean mure than a Utile extra neiny or trouble. l"et each, when discovered by sensation monger and retailed to timid folk of little faith, will serve us sn excuse for tbe belief thst the whole work Is being badly managed. Experiments will contluu- sily be tried in bousing, in uygieue, in street repairing, In dredging, nnd lu dig ging earth snd rock. Now snd then tin experiment will be u failure; snd among those who benr or It, a cettslu proportion of doubting Thomases will at ouce believe that the wholo work Is a failure. Doubt less here aud tbers some minor rascality will be uncovered; but a to this, I have to aay that after the most uulustaklng In quiry i nnve been unublo to nnd a single reputable person who bud so much aa beard of uny Sertoli accusation affecting ths honesty of the commission or of nny re- siwuulble officer under It. I Investigated the moat serious charge, thst of the owner- ship of lot In Colon : tbe charge u not sdvnnced by s reptnoble man. and Is utter ly baseless. It Is uot too much to say that tue whole atmosphere of tbe commission breathes honesty aa It brouthes etltclcncy aud energy. Above all, tbe work bus been kept absolutely clear of politics. I have never heard even a auggestlon of spoils poll tics In connection with It, riaa to trulld by Contract. After most careful consideration we have decided to let out moat of tbe work by contract. If we can come to satisfactory term wltb the contractor. Th whole work I of n kind suited lo the necnllnr genius ot our people ; and our people linv developed tue up oi contractor ixt tilted to grapple with It. It I of course much better to do tue work Hi large part bv con tract than to do It all by the government, pcovlded It la possible on the one hand to secure to the contractor a siiflUlent remun eration to make It worth wblle for respon sible contractors of the beat kind to umtur. take the work; nud provided ou the other bund It can ne nou on terms which will not. give an excessive profit to the rout met or nt the expense of th government. After much consideration the pluu nlrcsdy prom ulgated by tb Secretary of War wa adopted, in plan as promulgated la ten. tntlve; doubtless It will have to be changed In some respect before we can com to a satisfactory agreement with ronuonslble contracture perhupa even after the bids have been revolved; and or course It I jhis sllile thnt we cannot come to an agreement In which esse tbe government will do the work Itself. Meanwhile the work ou the Isthmus is progressing steadily and with out sny let up. fwafldent of Success, Of the Biiece-HB ef the enterprise I am a well convinced us one can be of any enter prise that Is human. it Is a tiiendous work upou which eur fellow countrymen ar engaged down there on the Ulbiuus, and while w should bold them to a strict ac counting for tb way In which they per form It, w should yet recognise, with fiauk generosity, th epic nature of tho tuxk on which they are engaged and its world aid Importance. They ar doing oaiothlng which will redound lmmeaui-alilv to th credit of America, which will bene it t all ths world, sud which mil last fur i;ea to come. I 1 1 U.U I'U 1 1 1, itoo s n v K LT, Deep chested Hurled treasure CHICAGO, The utitlerlyliig conditions generally fnvor sustained strength In commercial operations, but there Is, as expected at this tiiiw, a smaller volume of new de mands In the leading industries. Tra duction mill distribution, however, mt with no Interruption, Ilallroad ouriiltiKS nre tho Inrgtwt over known, bank oxcbangi stendily gain. Christ mas lines enjoy unprtHvdciitetl demand snd. notwithstanding the sLuIn of dear moiipy, hitttlncw dt'fHiiIt remain low. Tht' most serious obstacle Is the scarcity of freight enr, causing In ability lo secure prompt forwarding at vorloiiH Western points, but It Is seen that huge additions to rolling stock .ire now belli? made nnd thnt railroad effort nre more effective toward re ducing congestion. Crop marketings have lieeonie smaller than expected, due to had roads, hut there U as un usually heavy carrying; of furnnce and factory products. The pressure upon Iron, steel and rail etpilpmeiit penults ns diminution In outputs nnd It is evi dent thnt holiday shutdowns will be cut short. Lake navigation is ended nnd re ceipts of ore nre made ample for the winter. Lumber receipts fall short of estimated needs and cause npprehes slou ns to adequate supplies, yard stock having become much depleted nnd lucking variety for manufacturing uses Additional large con.structloa p'uus announced consumption of build ing materials. IJookinss nre fair for plates, wire and other finished steel shapes. The wood and leather working branches have considerable orders la hand, and outputs run better than a year auo in heavy h:rdware, laucbJn ery, electric goods, furniture and im plement. Retail dealings are highly stimulated by the close approach of Christmas aud sales lu the seasonable lines show substantial gnliia over eorressoBdlng IKH'lod of Inst year. Articles of luxury sell freely. Reports from the Isterlor reflect heavy business going oa nnd well sustained absorption of wearing apparel nnd household needs. Whole sale orders for spring delivery make a satisfactory exhibit in dry goods, woolen, footwear and food products. Failures reported in the Chicago dis trict numbered tweuty-five, against twenty-six last week and twenty-two year ago. Dun' a Review of Trade. NEW YOBK Holiday trade, sow In full swlsg, at tracts most attention. Business, which la of foremost proportions, bids fair to eclipse previous records, a significant feature being the demand for high grade goods. lu other respects retail trade is (regular, good in sections fa vored by cold weather, but backward lu the Northwest and parts of the South, where mild weather has restrict ed demand for heavy wearing apparel. Car shortage still prevails, and It is alleged that tho railways are diverting rolling stock from grain to other high er revenue paying freights. Collections range from fair to good, though the car shortage defers payments in various parts of the country, particularly rn the Northwest. Dusiuess failures In the United States for the week, ending Dee, 13 number 2'JO, aaginst 210 last week, 220 In the like week of 1905, 239 In 1004, 2.19 In 10015 nnd 223 in 1902. Canadian failures for the week number 31, as agulnst 32 laat week and 33 this week a year ago. llrudstreet's Com mercial Report. Chicago Cattle, common to prime, $4.00 to $7.10; hogs, prime heavy, $4.0C to $0.25; sheep, fair to choice, $3.04 to $3.50 ; wheat. No, 2, 73c to 74c ; corn, No. 2, 43c to 44o ; onts, standard, 32c to 34c; rye, No. 2, 05c to 07c; hay, timo thy, $13.00 to $19.50; prairie, $9.00 to $10.50; butter, choice creamery, 24c to 31c; esRs, fresh, 24c to 30c; potatoes. 35c to 41c. Indianapolis Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $7.00; hogs, choice heavy, ft 00 to $0.30 ; sheep, common to prime, $2.50 to $1.50; wheat, No. 2, 73c to 75c; cors, No. 2 white, 43c to 41c; oats, No. 2 white, 34c to 3flc. St. Ixmis Cattle. $t.50 to $7.00; hogs. $4.00 to $0.23; sheep, $3.50 to $0.00; wheat. No. 2, 75c to 70c; corn, No. 2, 40c to 41c; oats, No. 2, 33c to 35c; rye, No. 2, 01c to 0;ic. Detroit Cattle, $4.(K) to $.0u; hogs, $1.00 to $0.10; aheep. $2.50 to $5 23; wheat, No. 2, 70o to 77c; corn. No. 3 yellow. 45c to 40c; oats. No. 3 white, 35c to 37c; rye. No. 2, Gc to 70c. Milwaukee Wheat, No. 2 northern, 7Sc to 81c; corn, No. 3, 41c to 42c; o:its, standard, 34c to Hlie: rye, No. 1, 07o to tiile; barley, standiinl, 54c to 50c; pork, incus, $lA.!s). ituffalo Cattle, choice flipping Bteers, $l.tH to $0.25; boss, f:iir to choice, $4 00 to $0.00; sheep, common to good mixed, $1.00 to $5.73; luuihs, fair to choice, $5.00 to $8.00. New York Cat tie. $4.00 to $0 00; hogH. $1.00 to $0.50; sheep. $3.00 to $5.50; wheat. No. 2 rod, 7Sc to 79c; corn, No. 2, 51c to 52c; oats, natural white, 3!e to 40c; butter, crenmery, 30c to 33e ; eggs, western, 3th? to 32c. Toledo Wheat. No. 2 mixed, 71c to 70c; corn. No. 2 mixed, 42c to 43c; oat. No. 2 mixed, 3ic to 35c; rye. No. 2, 05o to 07e ; clover seed, prime, $3.23. Cincinnati Cottle. $i.00 to $S.02; hogs, $1.00 to $0.33; sheep, $3.00 to $1.50; wheat, Ko. 2, 75c to 77c; corn. No. 2 mixed, 42c to 43c; oats, No. 2 mixed. 35c to 37c; rye, No. 2, iV2 to 72c. The Son Francisco Chamber of Com merce hns ltisned a bulletin showing that the total liank clenrings of the city for tbo year ended Oct. 31 were $1.570.740,. 70!) nnd the sales of real estate $59, 719.85S. The report that the Italian minister of finauce would declare a reduction ia the duty on petroleum is otncluliy denied. LASH ON LAND 8EIZURE. Pveoldeat, la Mcasage, Aake fas Heoaedlal I.earllalloa. President Roosevelt In a message to Congress vigorously disenssrd public land frauds and asked larger appro priations so that more special agents may bo employed In preventing these swindles. Legislation for the preserva tion of the national forests auu the transfer of national parks and tue pub lic g rasing range to the control of the Secretary of Agriculture are recom mended. Tbe President says: I am gravely concerned at the ex tremely unsatinfactory condition of the public land laws and at the prevalence of fraud under their present provisions. For much of this fraud the present Inws are chiefly responsible. There Is but one way by which the frandulent acquisition of these lands can be definitely stopped, and therefore I have directed tbe Secre tary of tbe Interior to allow no potent to be issued to public lands under any law until by an examination on the ground actual compliance with that law has been found to exist. For this pur pose an increase of specinl agents in the general land office is urgently required ; unless it is given, bona Bile settlers will be put to grave inconvenience, or else the fraud will in lnrge part ge en. Further, the Secretary of the Interior should be enabled to employ enough min ing experts to examine the validity of all mineral land claims, and to under take tbe supervision nnd control of tbe use of the mineral fuels still belonging to the United States. The present coal law, limiting the In dividual entry to 160 acres, puts a pre mium on fraud by making it impossible to develop certain types of coal fields and yet comply with the law. It is a scandal to maintain laws which sound well, bnt which make fraud the key, with out which great natural resources must remain closed. Tbe law should give in dividuals and corporations proper gov ernment regulation nnd control (the de tails of which I slinll not at present discuss), the right to work bodies of coul land large enough for profitable develop ment. My own belief is that there should be provision for leasing coal, oil and gas rights under proper restrictions. If the additional force of special agents and mining experts I recommend is provided and well nsed, the result will be not only to stop the land frauds, but to prevent delays in patenting land claims, and to conserve the indispensable fuel resources of tho nation. The President urges further that ex isting laws affecting rights of w y snd privileges on public lands be revised and re-enacted into ona comprehensive act Some arrangement by which tje for ests on railroad lands within national forest reserves may be preserved by the removal of tbe present crop of tim ber under rules prescribed by tne forest service is recommended. Of legislation needed to protect the range the President says: I recommend that a bill be enacted which will provide for government con trol of the public range through the De partment of Agriculture, which alone is equipped for thnt work. Such a bill should Insure to each locality rules for grazing specially adapted to its needs and should authorize the collection of a reasonable grazing fee. Above all, the rights of the settler and homemaker hould be absolutely guaranteed. CUBANS MUST BE GOOD. MSB ecrclarr of War Taft Warn tbe Island' Inhabitant. Secretary Taft Monday made public a report on Cuba. Summing np the pur poses of the mission to Cuba of himself and Assistant Secretary of State Bacoa and what was done, Secretary Taft soys : "We went to Cuba for the purpose of securing pence; when we went we knew the island was divided between two hos tile nnd armed forces, and we desired to avoid a conflict between them for the rea son that it would cause loss ot life te the Cubans and a great destruction of prop erty, a large part of which belonged to American citizens, nnd it would neces sarily require the intervention of Ameri can troops and the expenditure of Amer ican lives and treasure. If this insurrec tionary habit persists, if again the Cu bans divide into armed forces, the strong hand of our government will have to be imposed at whatever cost of life and prop erty, and permanent peace should then certainly ensue, because it should he of our ewa keeping. "We hope, however, that no such dras tic remedy will be needed and thnt the lesson taught in this recent experience of tbe evil ot unjust methods in elections will not be without its warning to future governments in Cuba." All Aronnd the Globe. At the inquest held over I.inford L. Oil worth at Pittsburg, a verdict of sui cide while insane was rendered. William C. Sanderson, a factory fore taan, has been elected Mayor of Spring leld, Mass., on the Kc ublican ticket. In the municipal election at Las An geles the Democrats clnim a victory for therr mayoralty candidate, Harper, by 3,000. Bernard L. Carter of St. Louis, repre senting St, Louis and Chicago capital, at Denver, hns offered the Colorado hind board $1,000,000 for 100,000 acres of In demnity land in Routt county, between Ilayden and Steamboat Springs. It is belitved to contain coal. The wugee of the 20,000 operatives in the Rhode Inland cotton itills will tie ad vanced from 5 to 10 per cent. It is un derstood that a corresponding advance will be given 5,000 operatives in Massa chusetts and Connecticut factories con trolled by Providence officers. The Corn Products Company, a mem ber of the alleged glucose trust, it wns announced at Philadelphia, by the pay ment of $500,000, has settled the cases brought against 450 dealers charged by the food commissioner with selling can dies containing glucose. Fire that burned for more than twenty-four hours in the forward hold of the steamer Cretan, which arrived in Phila delphia from Itoston ciiused an estimated loss of $200100. The flames were burn ing fiercely when the Cretan came Into port ami were extinguished only after hard work by the Philadelphia fire boats. John Muhic, a New York laborer, soot his wife Josie urn! then sent a bullet into his own brain because he upbraided hiui for Intemperate habits. Co. Terrell of (leorgia has refused to Interfere in the ctse of J. (1. Rawlins and Alfred Moore, who are seuteuccd to be hanged at Valdosta. Mayor Smith of St, Paul received an anonymous letter saying thnt a band of thirteen meu is organized to assassinate Gov. Johnson of Minnesota. In the election of Massachusetts Re publicans wen in nine cities and the Dem ocrats in two. There was a reduction ia the vote fuvotln the sale of liquor CONGRESSIONAL SALARIES. Washington Chicago Tribune. BISHOP M'CABE DIES. Methodist Dlgnltarr Sacenmba to Stroke of Apoplexr. Bishop Charles C. McCabe of the Methodist Episcopal church died In the New York hospital Wednesday. Death was due to apoplexy, with which the bishop was stricken several days before while passing through New York City on his way to Philadelphia. Mrs. Mc Cabe and the bishop's niece -were at the bedside when tbe noted clergyman suc cumbed. Bishop McCabe was born in Athens, Ohio, on Oct. 11, 1830. Having decided to enter the ministry, he enrolled as a student at Ohio Wesleyan university, but his health was not good and he was obliged to discontinue his - studies. In 1800 he joined the Ohio conference, his first pastorate being at Putnam, Ohio. Two years later he was commissioned chaplain of the One Hundred and Twen- BI8IIOP M'CABE. ty-second Ohio volunteers. While caring for the wounded on the field at Winches ter he was captured and taken to Libby prison, where he remained four months. After recuperating in a Washington hos pital, he rejoined his regiment. At the close of the war Chaplain Mc Cabe returned to the North and entered the regular ministry again, being station ed at Portsmouth, Ohio, and for sixteen years he was agent for the Church Ex tension Society. In 1884 he was elected by the general conference to the office of secretary of the Missionary Society, and raised the cry of "One million dollars a year for missions." In 1SS7 the Income of the society had reached $1,044,000. Ilis elec tion to the bishopric came in 1890, at the general conference held in Cleveland, O. Bishop McCabe is said to have used his voice as much in singing for tbe ser vice of the church as in preaching, and he was well known as a lecturer. His most popular lecture was "The Bright Side of Life In Libby rrison." With it alone he is said to have made $150,000 for the church. GREAT MEAT AND DAIRY TRADE. Rxport for 10OO Will Be More than 2SO,OOO,0OO. According to a statement issued by the bureau of statistics of the Department -of Commerce and Labor more than $250, 000,000 worth of meat and dairy pro ducts will have passed out of the United States into the markets of other parts of the world in the year ending with the present month. This totnl Is made up of a little over $21X1,000.000 worth of meats, $35,000,000 worth of cattle, nnd about $10,000,000 worth of butter, cheese and milk. No feature of the export trade in ag ricultural products has shown a more steady and rapid growth than that of meat and dairy products, of which there was an increase of about 00 per cent during the last decade. Ship Ilroasrht 000,000 Letters. One of the largest mails ever received in New York City reached port the other doy on the steamer Celtic. There were 2,050 sacks of mail matter, and it is esti mated that the number of letters con tained therein must have been at leust 1500,000. Urooktyn Tunnel Thruuuh. There was much rejoicing under the East river at New York when a 10-inch pipe was driven through the intervening 65 feet betweeu the two headlines of one of the pair of subway tunnels being built to connect Brooklyn and Manhattan. There had been a wager made by the two superintendents that the two sections of the bore would and would not meet with in a distance of otie-temh of a foot. When tbe measure was made the dis tance wss found to be one-tenth of an inch. The tunneling was begun ia Sep tember, 1003. The south tube will be Joined Bp In about oil week. lfe?M Washington In 1872. )- in 1806. WORSE THAN BLACK PLAGUE. Vet AnierU-nn Pronle Accept Iteanlt with Stolid Indifference. We look with horror on the biack plague of the middle ages. The Hack waste was but a passing cloud compared with the white waste visitation. Of the people living to-day over 8,000,000 wMt die of tuberculosis, and the federal gov ernment does not raise a hand to help them. This scathing arraignment is pen ned by J. Pease Norton, Ph. D., assist ant professor in political economy at Yale university, who says further: "The Department of Agriculture spend $7,000,000 on plant health and aaiaial health every year, but, with tho earns tion of the splendid work done by Drs. Wiley, Atwater and Benedict, Oasxgrsss does not directly appropriate ee ent 1 for promoting the physical weU-bciag ef A babies. Thousands have been expended in stamping out cholera among swiae, hat not one dollar was ever voted for eaadt cating pneumonia among human beings. Hundreds of thousands are consumed ia saving the lives of elm trees from (fcM attacks of beetles; in warning fsrsucrfc against blights affecting potato stasis; in importing Sicilian bugs te fertiliae fig blossoms in California; in ostracizing various species of weeds from the ranks of the useful plants, and In exterminat ing parasitic growths that prey on frait trees. In fact, the Department of Ag riculture has expended during" the last ten years over $40,000,000. But ne a wheel of the official machinery at Wash ington was ever set in motion far tho alleviation or cure of diseases of the heart or kidneys, which will carry off over 0,000,000 of our entire population. Right millions will perish of pneumonia, and tbe entire event is nccepted by the American people with a resignation equal to that of the Hindoo, who, in the midst of inde scribable filth, calmly awaits the day ef the cholera. "During the next census period m re than 0,000,000 infants under 2 years ef age will end their little spans of life while mothers sit by and watch in utter helplessness. And yet this number coald probably be decreased by as much as ene half. But nothing is done." INHERITANCE TAX BY STATES. Half of Commonwealths In Vlea (Jet Revenue from Wealth. Investigation by the bureau of r casus shows that, in 1002, about one-hsJf ef the States of the Union had inheritance tax laws, which yielded to them an aggre gate of a little more than $7,9M,000. This amount is believed by the census officials to have increased in the prosent year to fully $10,000,000 or 12,00,000. ?3 In a report, based on the forthcoming re port on "Wealth, Debt and Taxation tne census otiicmis say tnat at lessct dozen States are materially assisting ia the support of the State governments from this source of revenue." As shown by the census bulletin, she amount of inheritance tax collected is 1002 by the States which had laws tax ing inheritances wns as follows : IX1IKRITAXCE TAXES. California $ '9U,447!Nev York. t3.804X( Colorado.. lill'llN. Carolina. ltl Connecticut Delaware. . Illinois ... Iowa Maine .... Maryland. . Miss Michigan . . Minnesota. Missouri. . Montana . . Nebraska . . New Ji!re.v :m,7:i.- Ohio 11.056 ISH r.o.'t.Hiti ln.sui IVnnsylv'a. 1, til, 70S Tennessee .IfcOftS Sl4 ermont ... Vlrclnla ... :ilt,877 s:i,7.sni Wcshlnirton. i.r24 0,80 4:i;i.7Ki;V. Virginia. lt!4,t!x:t t!."77 Continental 2LM),Rfi4 It. 8. ...$7,zt,IM liu,:i:ti i Hawaii ... 1! :v 110,3771 Total ..7,tI,lT Odds and End. The volrano Kilauca, in Hnwaii, is agaiu active. Theodore Itoosevclt, Jr., being initialed into the Harvard ."internity, ''Dickies," did a week of odd stunts. Kdna Irvine, the .voting daughter of the treasurer of Wyoming, is now to faoe a charge of aggravated assault nt Sheri dan, Wye, instead of the original charge of ill templed murder, for which sho. wew facing trial. She shot a cowboy on her father's ranch because he was "siuwy." At the biennial municipal election is ' Atlanta, Ga., W. It. Joyner was chosen to succeed Mayor Woodward. The-Mayor-elect has been for twenty-see year connected with the Atlanta tire de partment and has been president of the Intcrnationul Association of Fire Hagi neers. The factory building at lKti WooatrC street. New York, occupied by rippels ht imer & Co., tjreeuberg & Co. und Ureaa -v wald tt Co. was burned, with a loss ef $100,000. The Chinese meiliial and other teaas j for recruits are so otric t this year tlsaC ojt of 0,Ot. men wishing to join use northern army, recruiting for which he can IVe. 9. only 4011 were nccentml. Orover Ford, reported under arrest at Hartford, lnd., shot and killed Oh-erg Cash and badly wounded Lydia lack minger aa they were returning f room church in Kock Bridge comity, Virginia, June 2 11)05.