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.
