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TnE KEW AGE, POHTI-AXD, OREGON
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WORK ON THE CANAL
President Sends Special Message
to Congress.
PRAISES PROGRESS BEING MADE
Health on Isthmus Good and Much
Headway Has Been Made
on Canal.
Washington, Dec' 18. President
l.o.Hcvelt yesterday sent a special ines-
wigw Id congress on tint I'aiiainii canal
in ulih-li lu reviewed IiIh trip ncros
J lie isthmus and inuili' iniitiy liiiKirtiint
recommendations: Anions other things
jilt' Kit hi:
"An Inspection on the ground lit tin
Dioight of tin nilny season served lo
vonvinco mi' of I lii' wisdom of congress
in refusing In adopt cithern high level
fir a wu level eanal. There seems to
li' a universal agreement anions all
jpeojilc competent lo judge that the
.I'uiiiiiiiu route, the one in'tunlly chosen,
.in iiiim'Ii superior lo hot It Hie Nicaragua
Mind Dnrion route.-.
'"Hie wisdom of the ennui manage
uiienl Iiiih been shown in nothing more
clearly than in the uay In which the
JoutiilalloiiH of llio work havo heeii laid.
"J'ho llrst great prohlem lo besulvcd,
aipmi the solution of uhleh the success
of the reft of the work depended, wan
Hie prohlem of sanitation. TIiIh was
B'nuii Ilia outset under the direction of
Dr. V. ('. (iorgus, who In to he iiiadi'ii
1'u 1 1 ineiuherof the commission, if the
law as lo the eoiiiHnltion of the com
mission remains unchanged. The isth
liiiiH had U'eii a byword for deadly tin
liealthfulncsH. Now, lifter two yearn
f our occiiimiIImii, the coiiditloiiM an
regards sickness and the dcalli rate
omipurti favorably with rcnonably
licallhy localitleH in the I'nited Slates.
"It, Im curious lo note the fact that
many of the most severe critics of the
oiiiinlsslon criticise them for precisely
ippnito reasons, Mime complaining bit
lerly llial the work In not in a more ad
vanced condition, while the other
complain Dial it Iiiih been rushed with
m idi Iwtti that there ban hccit IiihiiIII
'icn(. prcpiiratlou for the hygiene and
'oniforl of the employe.-'. Ah a mailer
off.it't, neither criticism Is just. It'
would have been Impossible lo go'
piieker I hail the commission Iiiih gone,
for Hiieb quickness would have meant
insulllolent preparation. On the oilier
hand, to refuse to tlo anything until
iivcry possible futuru contingency had
ln-cn met would have canned wholly
ninwurranlcd delay. The rlplit courrc.
to follow wii" exactly the course which
Iiiih been followed."
Tlie president goes Into ilutniln on
the work of exterminating mo-Mpiiloes
and then tells of the ImprovcnientH
niadi' In Colon. This city Iiiih been
drained, a reservoir to supply water
ban been hillt with a capacity of f0,
01)0,000 gallons.
PRESIDENTS EYE ON RAILROAD.
Suggestion That Government Operate
Railroads In Emergencies.
Washington, Dec. 18. President
(imkiu'hII Is IiiUIih' it denn intcrcxt in
the Hituatloii im to car shnitagc, com
plaint regarding which have coine
from many sections of the I'tilted
.StateH. Some tbno ago a Hirtta1 state
ment bearing on the ear shortage was
submitted to the president by the In-'
lerHlato Commerce cominlHjlon, and,
when tho more complete report, which i
Htate and looil activity and nmko tho
enthusiasm of the people contagious In
ts effect on local bodies, tlniH inducing
greater efforts for the child and a more
glorious future for tho republic.
Addresses by MIhh Juno Admin, of
Hull bonne, Chicago, and United States
Senator Povorldgo followed. A resolu
tion wai adopted emphasizing tho be
lief that It Ih the duty of tho several
elates to correct evils of child labor in
local manifestations, but Indorsing
"cordially the principle of tho Hover-idge-Parsons
bill for a national child
labor law."
Miss Adams urged tho desirability of
uniform legislation against tho ovlls..of
child labor, and declared that tho cen
sus reports show America behind every
Kuropcan country except Russia in po
far as child laborand its effects tiro con
corned. Oil Plpo Filled Whh Salt '
ls Angeles, Dec. 18. Cablegrams
De-patch from firand Forks, X. D.,J
ni." that tno fuel situation today pre
sents the most critical condition that
liit" existed In tho history of tho stnto.
Careful Inquiry In every portion of the
northern half of tho stale shows that
there Is not a town In which coal could
Im had It) supply immediate needs mid
in doyens of places there Is not a pound
p. lie bought, the dealers having been
out of fuel for days and weeks.
Freight Congestion In Los Angeles.
I. h Angeles, Dec. 15. The Times
w'l' print a story tomorrow morning to
Hi. effect that lvt Angeles Is suffering
friitn tho worst freight congestion ever
experienced by tho transcontinental
railways running into tho city. Accord
in,: to the Times hundreds of cars con
.ined to local merchants nro either
il laycd or lost In tho congestion of coal
ears in tho yards. Hallway olllclals
deny that tho situation is of a scri
(in- nature and ascribe tho freight
BUILD MORE SHIPS.
Dewey Says Present Policy of Con
gress It Retrograde Move.
Washington, Deo. 17. Admiral
Dewey believes that tho authorization
by congress of nt least threo largo bat
tleships a year Is essential for keeping
the American navy In a state of clll
clency and that thu policy of one bat
tleship a year now being urged by a
tertaln element, would bo a positive
letrogrado movement.
lie was asked if tho policy suggested
by Homo persons of only providing one
battleship during an entire congress
would result In an actual Increase In
tho navy or In a virtual decrease in
fighting strength.
"Such a policy would bo retrograde
In its eharaater," said the admiral.
"It would not take up tho waste or sup
ply -tho places of tho ships that are
bound to deteriorate and which should
bo placed out. of commission. We havo
IMPROVHM LAW
Congress Will Endeavor to Help
Situation This Session.
MANY DEFECTS IN PRESENT LAW
-3ssmBI et' - j 11., . j. n. a. . i
w t flMUM.fix.'n iimiii-ii h ffwia tl t Mftnriv
, .X I I.Ik I IU.1 I, ,.. Until I I.I.I' 'V.- I..X I , II Itl.WW.X
(lly t'tnirlt'iy nf Oi'o. .1 Sclim-for, tif HclinuforV Aililltlon to Cent ml I'lni'i' ill" I'lininticr iitCttiniiU'rrc, I'Drtlninl, Ori'KmiJ
the commission Iiiih under way In the
Northwe-t, has been prepared, It will
Im sent to the picsident for his Infor
mation In the event he decides to make
any i commendations to congress on
the subject, lie has not yet taken any
step- Indicating Ids probable course.
Among suggestions that have been
made to the president Is that he recom
mend legislation by congress einM)wer
ing the government to take charge of
tallioails and operate them under cer
tain contingencies, especially in a case
like the present.
received at the olllco of the I'uloii Oil
company, in I.os Angeles, say that their
new pipe line across the Isthmus of
l'anama was tilled with :.', 000 barrels
of salt. When ready for uso tho oil
will he pumped from the I'aclllu to the
Atlantic through this pipe. The open
ing of the line Is expected to solve
largely the fuel problem of tho Isthmus.
Fourteen thousand tons of coal are now
used there monthly, hut It Is anticipat
ed that oil will soon bo the fuel In
use.
EV.LS OF CHILD LABOR.
Miss Adams Declares Amorlca Is In
Class with Russia.
rincMliimtl IW. 15 Itofnro lln llr.
"i " ....
HK-riliin it Hut elillil In I in r (iwivonl Inn
here last night, Dr. Felix Atller, chair
man of the national child labor com
mittee and professor of iKilltlcul ami so
cial ethics in Coliimlila university,
sMko on "Tho Attitude of .Society To
ward the Child as an Index of Civiliza
tion. M I'rofessor Atller Hjxiko of the
Inadequacy and iiiellluleiicyofstatt laws
ami urged the necessity for a national
law to furnish a background for effective
Rttso Fuel Famine
Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 18. The
fuel famine In the North west will he
broken within 1! I hours as a result of
the Interstate Commerce commission's
Inquiry in this city. The commission
was' represented by .lames S. Harlan, of
Chicago, and Franklin K, Ijuie, of Sail
Francisco. Mr. Ijiiio has charge of the
fuel inquiry, while Mr. Harlan Is busi
ly engaged In the car shortage Inquiry.
It was decided that the fuel famine was
the more inqorlant, many inoio re
ports being at hand of the suffering
from lack of fuel.
c ingestion to unprecedented holiday
shipments.
Urges Immediate Action.
Wa-hington, Dec. 15. Senator Flint,
of California, talked with tho president
today about the break in tho Colorado
river, which has resulted in such a dis
astrous Hood In Imperial valley, Cali
fornia. When ho asked that projvr
representations bo made lo Mexico, with
a view to securing llnanclal redress for
tho-e persona whoso properly had been
injured, the president told him that the
.Slate tlcNirtuunt hail already nddresed
a nolo on tho subject to the Mexican
government, but that thus far no reply
had been recolved.
North Dakota Has No Coal.
St. Paul, Dec. 18. A special to the
Fed Through Long pipe.
Itakcrsllold, Oil., Dee. lfi. Progress
in rescuing L. II. Hicks, the man im
prisoned in thu mountain at the F.dlson
coiiiixiuy's plant, is being made at the
nite of 20 feet a day. At noon tho drift
diggers bad still (10 feet farther to go
iH'fore the miner can bo released. Milk
is Mill being fed through the long pipe
at three-hour intervals, under tho di
rection of a physician. Ho is gaining
in strength and it Ih believed will hold
out until reached.
three battleships which were flue ships
in their day, but they were laid down
in 181)1, about 1(1 years ago. They are
thu Indiana, thu Oregon and the Massa
chusetts. They have the defect of not
possessing balance turrets, which causes
a list when their guns are all trained to
one side, thus exposing the hull below
tho water lino and laying thu ships
open to danger from thu tiro of an
enemy on that Hide."
AMERICANS FIRST CHANCE.
Shonts Will Bar Foreigners From All
Canal Contracts.
Wsahlntgon, Deo. 17. Foreign con
tractors uro to bo barred from competi
tion for the contracts for thu Panama
canal. Chairman Shouts of the canal
commission today uiailo the announce
ment. Many changes havo been agreed
to In the form of contract, but the most
important is tho limiting of proposals
American llrms. The righlnvlll bo re
served by tho commission to reject all
bids, the commission will then either
throw the competition open to foreign
blddern or proceed with tho work with
out contract. January 11! Ih tho date
set for opening proposals.
Was Passed for Benefit of Individual,
Who is Unable to Work Land
After Taking It.
Washington, Dec. 15. Strcnuouu
efforts will bo mado at tho .present ses
sion of congress to secure tho repeal or
modification of tho coal land law along
tho lines recommended by President
Itoosovclt in his message. That some
thing will bo accomplished seems quite
probable, but what form of law will bo
substituted for that under which gi
gantic frauds havo been perpetrated bus
not yet been made apparent. Tho in
lluenco of the administration will bo
behind a bill proposing to cut off fur
ther sales of government coal land,
though permitting them to bo worked
by individuals or companies on a royal
ty plan.
Thu president, like every other prac
tical western man, knows that tho ex
isting coal land law is not sensibly
framed. That law was built on tho
theory that tho individual could take
up ami tlovolop a quarter section of coal
land, just as the homestead law gives
tho Individual a like area of agricultur
al land. Hut no individual can tlovolop
a tpiarter section or.a whole section of
coal laud. Ho could not afford to .In
stall the necessary machinery, or if ho
could, his profit on a tpiarter section
would not. recompensft him for tho out
lay. Moreover, no railroad would think
of building a spur onto an isolated
tpiarter section of laud and the owner
of the land could not afford to assume
that expense. So tho Individual with
a tpiarter section of coal land in IiIh
K)ssessIon would have a white, or rath
er a black, elephant on his bauds. Tho
mineral wealth might be thero in
abundance, but ho could not get it out
and could not get lb to market.
How to cure this evil is a question
for congress to decide, ami somo solu
tion is likely to bo forthcoming this
winter. Some favor a eliango In tho
law increasing the area of coal land
that may lo purchased by individuals
or by companies or corixmitioiiH to such
size that they can profitably invest imil
put tho coal on the market. Thcso men
would Increaso the prico of coal land so
that the government would reap a larg
er benollt from tho sales.
Portland Population
250.000 IN 1910
Purchase Property Previous
Portland
Property
Properly
Purchased
Produces
Prosperity
WE HAVE HOUSES, LOTS, FARMS, ACREAGE, WATER FRONT AND BUSINESS CHANCES
General Agents for Council Crest Park, and Waverly Heights and Other Additions
INVESTMENTS IN ALL PARTS OF THE CITY
H. W. LEMCKE COMPANY
MAIN 550
Entire Second Floor
Sixth and Washington Streets
.
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