Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor.
Among the problems engaging President Roosevelt none was of wider
interest than the construction of an Atlantic-Pacific canal. A
commission of nine, Rear-Admiral Walker its head, had been set by
President McKinley to find the best route. It began investigation in
the summer of 1899, visiting Paris to examine the claims of the French
Panama Company, and also Nicaragua and Panama. It surveyed, platted,
took borings, and made a minute and valuable report upon the work which
each of the proposed canals would require.
