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Harry J. Cantwell writes Theodore Roosevelt regarding the debate currently taking place around the fortification and use of the Panama Canal. Cantwell suggests that if nations wish to have equal access to the canal, they need to repay the United States a portion of the cost of construction.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-16
Secretary of War Taft would prefer a provision that goods used in constructing the Panama Canal be transported in American ships unless the price would be exorbitant. He would alternatively like to buy two ships of American registry if they can be used to transport supplies to Panama, but only if they can buy at a price and circumstance that will make it a “fairly just” bargain. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge agrees, and Taft requests that Senator Hale add the provision.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-01
Chairman Shonts, head of the Isthmian Canal Commission, responds to allegations by Lindon W. Bates, an American civil engineer, that work on the canal is moving too slowly, and that the commission is mishandling funds and overspending. Shonts asserts that preliminary progress has been made, and that the plan is still in the early stages where visible progress is not evident.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-10
Theodore P. Shonts notifies President Roosevelt that the Purchasing Officer for the Panama Canal Commission found that by inviting new bids he could get a lower price on sheet lead of domestic production. Shonts would like Roosevelt to approve a rule “where bids submitted on materials of foreign production are lower than on material of domestic production,” that after adding duty to the bids received on foreign materials, the award should be made to the materials of foreign production.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
Secretary of War Taft forwards a report from the Isthmian Canal Commission to President Roosevelt, refuting a negative report from Doctor Charles A. L. Reed regarding the sanitary conditions in the Panama Canal Zone. Taft explains that Reed was hurried in his assessment and perhaps too negative; he also believes the structure of the Isthmian Canal Commission itself is responsible for the delays in sanitation on the Isthmus. Taft will submit a plan to restructure the commission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-17
This document provides quotes from different individuals and organizations who are able to supply Chinese labor for construction work on the Panama Canal. Each provider lists the number of available laborers, cost, and contract requirements.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-04