isted which if utilized would add to the attractiveness of the Panama route for commerce, and there was no apparent reason why, as in the case of coal, they should not be turned to account. The commissaries of the Panama Railroad had been constructed to furnish foodstuffs of all kinds and all varieties of wearing apparel and household furnishings for a force of employees which at the height of the work had totaled nearly 50,000 men. In connection with its commissaries, cold storage and manufacturing plants, including laundry, ice and bakery, and a wholesale warehouse for commissary supplies, ample for the needs of the maximum working force, had been erected by the Panama Railroad and were in full operation. As from time to time the necessity for enlarging these facilities had arisen the capacities had been increased by the addition of another unit in each instance,

which permitted a piecemeal closing down if necessary to suit the demands, thereby avoiding useless expense in keeping each establishment in full operation as the force was reduced. In addition, the storehouses of the Commission contained all sorts of construction supplies for all kinds of work including repair parts and fittings for the fleet of dredges and tugs in the service.

The plants and supplies must necessarily be maintained and operated for the forces employed on the canal and for the troops stationed within the Zone, but not to their fullest capacities. Ships using the canal must travel long distances to reach it and would be in need of coal and other supplies. Shipping could not depend on the merchants of Colon and Panama, and some provision should be made for a reliable source of supply, together with some assurance of reasonable cost. Private capital might be interested sufficiently to

undertake the erection and maintenance of the necessary structures for the conduct of such business, but legislation would be necessary to grant the concessions, and the Taft Agreement would require abrogation before anything further could be done. With the United States already in possession of the requisite facilities, there seemed no good reason why the Government should not undertake the business itself. Estimates were prepared and appropriations asked to undertake the construction of the dry dock, shops, coaling stations, and fuel oil tanks, these to be constructed as adjuncts to the canal. In addition, authority was requested for the sale of coal, fuel oil, and supplies of all kinds to ships using the canal. It was not intended that the United States should create a monopoly-private interests should be permitted to engage in similar business when all conditions permitted,

though naturally the Government would regulate prices. It was urged that such a course would invite traffic, for shipping interests would know that they could replenish their stores and bunkers and have any repairs made at reasonable costs.

A very important question requiring settlement was the organization to be provided for carrying on what remained of the construction and for the operation and maintenance of the canal. In the hearings before the Congressional Committee no less than four different establishments were proposed: a military government over all; a civil government in the form of an organized political institution; a commission government; and, finally, the vesting of complete control in the President of the United States who would exercise it through an administrator appointed to have charge of affairs on the Isthmus.

A relatively large force of troops must be assigned for duty in order to protect the canal, and if a military government were established, the army officer placed in charge of both the troops and the canal would necessarily have very high rank, consequently the number of men available for the purpose would be very small. The President might not always find it easy to detail a man with the qualifications of an officer of high rank and at the same time possessing the requisite ability to administer the canal. The canal is a civil achievement, and to maintain and operate it successfully the person in charge would not necessarily have to have a military training, but that of an engineer. As in the United States in time of peace, the military should be subordinated to the civil, and everything on the Isthmus should be considered an adjunct to the canal. The commander of the troops