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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1912)
a PROBLEM OF CANAL MAHAGEMEHTNEXT VIEWS IN CANAL ZONE. 6 sansfjws SIXTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT & One-Man System, Successful i la in Building, Is Favored by Engineers. t-rL-r INSURANCE COMPANY 346 Broadway, New York GOETHALS NOT IN HURRY Balance Sheet, January 1, 1912 -fjrr- -a - TITF 3IORNIXG OREGOMAN. 3IOXDAY. JANUARY 22. 1DVJ. NEW YORK -. -n n JUL ft T - m 1--.-t t V - v Congress Urgd to Make Horlj Pro- rtalon. That Force Mar Be Ad equately Trained Whea Services Are Needed. BT OKOROB f ALKtR POTS AM. BAT OF PANAMA. Doc 17. Th Cnited States Govern nxwit soon will have, a completed Panama Canal In re tarn tar the 1400.000.000 It will bar coat. It will be finished before 114. and It win be opened to traffic In IMS. And yet at the time this letter Is writ ten. aa the Pacific Mall steamer lies off Balboa In the Bay of Panama, no decision has been reached regarding who Is to opwate the canal or how It Is to ie operated. What do the American people pro pose to do with their canal? Also, what will It do for them? Both ques tions are of vital Interest, not only to Americans, bat to all the shippers of the world. Issue Mark Complicated. To begin at the end: It Is apparent that we must wait for the answer to the second query. For the results of the canal's opening are dependent upon such a multitude of developments, such as the tonnage tolls what the trans continental railroads do or do not do with their freight rates, the actions of the Interstate Commerce Commission, changes In trade routes or In our ven erable shipping- laws, and so forth. vhat are wo going to do with ou canal? The query is meant particularly to apply to methods of operation. It Is uppermost In the minds of the men o the Isthmus who have built the canal and are now wondering who Is going to candle It when It Is completed. Th Paclfie Coast Is particularly concerned. Oreron has a special sentimental Inter est In the canal, because the cruise of the battleship Orecon around Cape Horn did mora to make the canal essen tlal. In the eyes of the American people, than did any other single Incident. It will be necessary to keep an oper atlng force of about ?600 men on th Isthmus. Colonel G. W. Ooethals. chle engineer. In bis annual report for 1911. recommends that this force bo picked as soon as possible, so It may be trained suitably. Existing laws proTlda for the eon structlon of the canal and for the ex ercise of civil, military and Judicial government during the construction period. But there Is no provision for the conduct of affairs after Its com pietlon. and Colonel Coethals urges CongTess to decide this question. He has been the one-man power at the head of the construction. Be baa seen the success of this kind of admlnlstra tlon. as have all those who are on the Canal Zone. So Colonel Ooethals and the engineers who are building th canal favor a one-man administration ifter completion. Geetbala la Caselflsa. There Is no hint of political cam Deigning In this, for Colonel Goethals has no Idea of remaining on the Isthmus after the work la completed. He does not want the Job of "operator-In-chief." and will not take It If it la sffered to him. "When we are done here." he baa aid. "the canal will be nearly able to run Itself. All It will need is a com petent man at the head and a com petent corps of helpers." Aa indication of the thoroughness that is characteristic of the chief en flneer is his plan for "breaking in the janal and its operating force. The canal will be readv for ship ping probably In July, 1S1J. It has been suggested that as so n after that Sate as possible shipping be permitted to pass through. "That will mean a big return on the big Investment a year earlier than ex pected. It will encourage the estab lishment of trade routes by way, of Panama." ssy the enthusiasts who are In a hurry to see the wheels go 'round. But the white-haired autocrat who la finishing the Job has different ideas, and everyone who is familiar with the situation believes both that his sug gestlons will be carried out to the let ter and that his plan Is the only wise one. Practice TVIII Be Xeeded. "No sir," says Goethals. "No hurry here. It would be a pretty situation If, when the fleets of the world are ready to pass through the canal, something should go wrong, simply because we had not tried all our mechanism first and given our operating force thorough training. We want IS months to prac tice with the canal, and then, when we are done, you may rest assured that there will be no hitches." That is characteristic of Ooethals. It may cost money and take time and soma politicians and shippers may get impatient, but when the big day comes the American people will have a canal that will do its work, and do it without a hitch. It is beautiful to see their ronfidence down here! They have It all figured out to a nicety, and they know Just what they are doing, and exactly when It will be done, and how it will work when it is finished. There has been no experiments of late, excepting perhaps the Gatun Dam. which Is somewhat novel, from an en gineering standpoint, but so huge as to be many times safer than required. That Is the keyword of the construc tion success certainty. Everything has been certain. Just as the dates of com pletion of the various portions have been certainties tnsny months before (he layman could see snythlng but an unfinished chaos In the big undertak ing. "The success of the Army engineers and of Colonel Goethals Is chiefly due to the fact that they have been cautious above all else." an engineer told me. "There have been no experiments. There hss been precedent for every tep of the work. And so there have been no mistakes and no waste." Colonel Goethals has other sugges tions rerardlng the operation of the ranal after completion. He knows more about the subject than any other man living, and what he says should receive careful attention. Xalleaal Store Adveeoted. It is proposed that the Government become a storekeeper upon sn un precedented scale. The reasons for this re two: first, to get all the revenue possible from the expensive canal and Its legitimate adjuncts, and. secondly, to retain the vital appurtenances of the canal in Federal hands so that they i ran be utmsea to tne best advantage In rase of war. Uaitlniata means-for increas- COXCBETK WORK OJf GATUTf DAM ABOTE, AND VIEW OF PAXAMA CITV FROM TUB BAY. Ing the canal's revenue should be adopted," says Colonel Goethals. "The Government should conduct coal and fuel-oil stations on the Isthmus, both for its own vessels and for the supply of all comers. The existing com missary, manufacturing plant and laundry should be continued for the benefit of United States warships snd of all shipping using the canal. Tools and appliances should be sold on the Isthmus, and repair shops should be maintained by the Government, aa well as a suitable drydock." In other words, the United States should become the storekeeper of the Isthmus. There will be opposition to the scheme from private interests who have an eye on the isthmus for the establishment of the different kinds of businesses into which it Is proposed that the Government shall enter. It seems probable that, should the United States sell Ice and coal and oil and do repair work, there would be no chance for competition. It might be mon opolistic, but aa the Government owns all the desirable land, it would be easy to prevent others from entering the field, even If they could find It profit able to do so. Efficiency SeearspVebable. From the viewpoint of shipping na Ing the canal it would appear that the Goethala plan la desirable. With the Government of the United States in charge, there would be no possibility of discrimination of any kind. Prices would be low and the service good. remaps this prediction may Utopian, especially to Oregonians. who are familiar with Governmental tardi ness In Columbia River lock construc tion, for Instance, and who know the tangles that have followed upon the heels of Nationally conducted Irriga tion enterprises. But I am speaking with the example of the Canal Zone administration In mind. There is no Just reason for supposing that the af fairs of the Canal cannot bo handled as excellently after it is completed and everything is upon a permanent basis. Ma ft ha hn fiiirtnar ih. mn.a n chaotic period of construction. And j vlduals. today even the most ardent skepti must admit that the efficiency that ervadea every department of th anal work (I am referring to the gen eral administration, aside from th construction operations) la little short or marvelous. But lest I seem too free with ifty encomiums. It may be well to call at tentlon to a stats of affairs that la not as satisfactory aa it should be. It par tlculariy concerns the Paclfto Coast. At Balboa, the Pacific port at the terminus of the Panaman Railroad, there Is a miserable Inadequacy of docking facilities. At present the wharves provide bertha for but only five vessels and the facilities for han dling cargo are far from satisfactory, However, there are plana on foot for making Balboa an admirable har bor. The surprising part Is that these plans have been so long delayed. MANY LIEU LAND TITLES CLOUDED Secretary of Interior Denies Validity of Selection Made Before Survey. LOCATOR SUFFERS LOSS Decision la Incentive to Speculative Locating and Professional Con testing Good Faith Not Enough to Save. CRIMINALS ARE ACTIVE SAFE BIOWX, STORE ENTERED AND PEDESTRIAN' ROBBED. Fire, Started by Explosives, Ieads to Discovery of Unsuccessful Burj-Iary Attempt. Criminals were active in the city Saturday night and yesterday, morning, their most notable achievement being the blowing open of a safe, from which. however, no money was obtained. while passing the East Burnslds Market. 411 East Burnslde street, about o clock yesterday morning, E. H. Short, living at TS2 Holman street, saw smoke coming from the place and called the fire department. It was found that the smoke came from smol derlng rags, placed around a safe. which had been blown open by bur glars. There waa no damage by fire. Patrolman Leavens attended at the alarm and discovered the burglary. He called the proprietor, who said that the safe contained only books and pa pers and had been broken once before. Two men were seen by a newsboy loitering in the shadows near the build ing. p. J. Van Syoc, grocer, 4(5 Lombard street, found, yesterday morning, that his store had been entered by thieves, who first broke a glass and raised a window, took off the hinges of a door between two rooms, but could not open It- They then went to the other side of the bul'dlng, entered through a transom and unlocked the door. Ci gars and candy were missing. The depredation is laid to boys of the neighborhood. j. w . Tanasay, an r ony-rourth street Southeast, reported yesterday that he was held up by two men at Forty-third street and Fifty-third avenue early Sunday morning. One man bold him covered with a revolver, while the other searched hla pockets and removed 1-1 OREGON! AN NEWS BUREAU. Wash sound i Ington. Jan. 21. A decision by the secretary or tne interior several months ago, which escaped general no tice at the time, threatens to Invall date titles to many thousands of acres of land in the West unless the depart ment recedes from its position or Con gress comes to the rescue of Innocent holders whose titles are In danger. The decision virtually holds invalid all lieu selections filed upon lands that were unsurveyed at the time of selec tlon, and state selections are Just ai much affected as selections by lndl- The amount of land and the number of titles affected by this de cision cannot be even approximately estimated at this time, but they are large. The decision referred to was made in a case involving a selection made by P. A. Hyde, a California lumber man, and afterwards transferred by him to the L. E. White Lumber Com pany. Hyde held title to a quarter section of land In one of the California forest reservations. He relinquished this and made lieu selection of a quar ter-sectlon of unsurveyed public land outside the reserve, for which he received a certificate In regular form, He then deeded the land so selected to the lumber company. Title Declared Iavalld. Under the ruling of the department. Hyde did not acquire any sort of title to the land selected, because the land was unsurveyed. and the tltlo he at- attempted to pass to the lumber com' pany was no more valid than his own. Tet he has relinquished the original quarter section to the Government. ana can not recover it. and if the lum ber company, through contest, loses the 10 acres covered by lieu selection, it must fall back upon Hyde, who must maice good. He himself will be out both the land and the money paid him for his relinquishment. He will have no redress. And Hyde's predicament la one likely to befall any man or any state which made Ilea selection of un surveyed lands. In this particular Instance. Hvda re. linqulshed his forest reserve land to the Government In August, 1S98. and immediately filed his selection upon 10 acres that were not then surveyed. He. however, designated th lanrf - lected by the subdlvlslonal lines that later would be laid off by the sur veyor and his selection wss id. proved by the Land Office in October. 1898, and certificate of ap proval waa Issued to him. The land selected waa not surveyed until Mr v 190S. but in the meantime, his selection having been approved by the Land Of fice. Hyde had transferred his rl.iim After survey was made, protests and contests were filed, and the depart ment holds that the mere filing of n. selection by Hyde did not give him any coior oi iiue to the unsurveyed land, but rather that any settler, squatter or locator who went on this land and was there at the time of survev. even though he went there subsequent to Hyde's selection, would have the first claim upon and right to the land. Maay Coatesta la Prospect. By standing by this decision, the de partment will not Invalidate all selec tions made of unsurveyed lands; only those In cases where contest Is brought. But It behooves everv per son who made lieu selection of unsur veyed land, or who purchased such land from the selector, to get busy and get absolute title from the Govern ment, for in every. Instance where title as not been secured, the locator, con- testor or even the honest settler can go la upon the land and his claim will be held valid by the Interior Depart ment aa against the selector or his transferree. It has come to light that locators 1 and speculators in the West have bad ASSETS Real Estate Loans and Mortgages .... Loans on Policies Bonds (market value Dec. 31, 1911) Cash Premiums in coarse of collection . Interest and rents due and accrued Total $ 10,616,711.90 116,298,323.50 113,516,068.47 421,122,821.04 7,284,253.12 7,724,930.65 8,121,577.82 $684,684,686.50 LIABILITIES Policy Reserve ...... Other Policy Liabilities . '. . . Premiums and interest prepaid . . Commissions, Salaries, Taxes, etc Dividends payable in 1912 . . . Reserve for Deferred Dividends . Reserve for other purposes . . Total . $566,919,308.00 7,359,006.83 3,385,535.50 1,287,423.53 11,690,143.32 83,064,153.00 10.979,116.32 $684,684,686.50 TO THE POLICY-HOLDERS: -w,-r .,,,. ;...Tr. Within the year just closed the Insurance Department of New York has examined the Company. The examination went much deeper than the mere question of solvency and a correct statement of assets and liabilities. It went to questions of economy, efficiency and especially to the attitude of the Executive Officers toward the rights of policy-holders, the laws of the State and the regulations of the Department. It would not be possible for me by any use of statistical tables, ratios or comparisons, to present a statement so luminous and convincing as that made by Honorable William H. Hotchkiss, Superintendent of Insurance, at the close of his examination. It is the last word jn State supervision impartial but just constructed on the sound theory that it is as much the duty of a public official to commend fine public service as it is to denounce wrong-doing or inefficiency. The muckraker will find nothing interesting in it. You will. It is, therefore, printed below in full. New York, Jan. 10, 1912. President. (Copy of Memorandum filed at Albany, December . 1911, by Hon. Wm. H. Hotchkiss. Superintendent of Insurance) State of New York Insurance Department flN THE MATTER OF THE EXAMINATION OP THE l NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANYJ !-MEMORANDUM OF THE SUPERINTENDENT It is thought proper to file with the report on the examination of the New York Life Insurance Company, dated November 21, 1911; the following memorandum: The examination of this company now completed, is the second since the enactment of the amenda tory laws of 1906. It is even more complete and painstaking than was the examination of three years ago. The New York Life is one of the gi-eat life insurance companies under the supervision of this depart ment. As of December 31. 1910, such Company had assets approximating closely to $650,000,000, out standing insurance exceeding $2,000,00,000, and an annual premium income of about $80,000,000. It disbursed to policy-holders in 1910 over $53,000,000. As of December 31 last, such Company held in reserve for its policy-holders including deferred dividends upwards of $600,000,000, and in contin gency and special funds for the protection of policy-holders, nearly $18,000,000. It does business generally in the United States and in 39 principal nations of the world. It has approximately 996,000 policy-holders. k The mere recital of these figures indicates the magnitude of the task committed to the examiners, and gives emphasis to the fact that after an examination covering seven months, such examiners concluded : "The final results of this examination show that the work of the Company is done efficiently and economically ; its claims are paid promptly; its policy-holders ae treated fairly; its dividends are apportioned and paid without discrimination; and the Com pany complies with the requirements of the law and the rulings of the supervising authorities in both the spirit and the letter." The above statement should not be taken, however, as indicating that this Company and its work" were in no respect found the subject of criticism. The fact worthy of note is that the criticisms made by the examiners have to do with minor details and do not concern the management, the observance by such management of the law, the Company's treatment of policy-holders, or matters of Company policy generally. Indeed, the criticisms set forth in the report are so relatively unimportant as to bo in effect negligible. The impression made by the examiners' report was considerably strengthened by a personal inspection of the Home Office of this Company made by me shortly after such report was completed. Evidences of economy, both in the number of employes and in the space occupied, as well as in the use of labor-saving devices of various kinds, were noticed. The efficient organism of this great institution, centering as it does in its so-called "office committee," was everywhere evident. An almost over scrupulous desire to comply with every statutory requirement or departmental regulation was also noted. Indeed, for general Home Office efficiency, for watchfulness over the little things that go to increase a company's expense ratio, for accuracy of record and in accounting methods, and for a full observance of the law, this Company is entitled, not merely to the commendation given it by the examiners, but to the official approval of this department here recorded. Dated, Albany, December 9th, 1911. Superintendent of Insurance. Information aa to the effect or una decision, and for several months per sons have been located upon inese lands with a view to bringing contest against the selector or hlsf transferree. f ollowing tno preceaeni iaia uuwn iu the Hyde case, the contestant will win. and the selection will be held invalid where the lieu filing was made upon unsurveyed land, for that decision is an Incentive to speculative locating and professional contesting. Moreover, if adhered to. It will invalidate a great many filings made In good faith, and also a great many transfers made In equal good faith. CARNEGIE FRIEND OF REDS Millionaire Will Give Building Federation of Indians. to WASHINGTON. Jan. 21-Andrew Carnegie has found a new outlet for his generosity. He has offered to con tribute 1850.000 for the erection here of a magnificent home to be used aa the headquarters of the Federation of North American Indians, recently or ganized in a convention held here, at which Indiana from a number of tribes were present. A prominent architect, it waa said, would be here Monday to look over the ground and consider the site and the style to be used in the new building. The National capital already has three buildings erected by Mr. Carnegie's do nations the Pan-American building, the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Carnegie Public Library. To the Pan-American . building be gave 1750,000, the Latin-American republics contributing $250,000. BOY TAKES AUTO, IS HELD Arrest of Elevator Operator Follows (While Speeding In Vancouver. VANCOUVER, Wash., Jan. 22. (Spe ciaL) George Schmiedecke. 19 years old. an elevator operator, of Portland, was arrested here today by Officer Mc Curdy for speeding an automobile. Schmiedecke at the time was driving Oregon car No. 1465, said to be the property of A. L Fish, business man ager of a Portland evening paper. The machine, four-passenger, was taken from in front of the Arlington Club. West Park and Taylor streets, about 7 o'clock Saturday night. The prisoner and the car were taken back to Portland today by Detective Hawley. The lad Is to be charged with larceny. Buy the records for your Victor, Vlctrola or talking machine from Sher man, Clay & Co. Morrison at Sixth. 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