or Chile, had been in possession of the Isthmus,
doubtless the canal would have been built under the governmental control
of the nation thus controlling the Isthmus, with the hearty acquiescence
of the United States and of all other powers. But in the actual fact the
canal would not have been built at all save for the action I took. If
men choose to say that it would have been better not to build it, than
to build it as the result of such action, their position, although
foolish, is compatible with belief in their wrongheaded sincerity. But
it is hypocrisy, alike odious and contemptible, for any man to say both
that we ought to have built the canal and that we ought not to have
acted in the way we did act.

After a sufficient period of wrangling, the Senate ratified the treaty
with Panama, and work on the canal was begun. The first thing that
was necessary was to decide the type of canal. I summoned a board of
engineering experts, foreign and native. They divided on their report.
The majority of the members, including all the foreign members, approved
a sea-level canal. The minority, including most of the American members,
approved a lock canal. Studying these conclusions, I came to the belief
that the minority was right. The two great traffic canals of the world
were the Suez and the Soo. The Suez Canal is a sea-level canal, and it
was the one best known to European engineers. The Soo Canal, through
which an even greater volume of traffic passes every year, is a lock
canal, and the American engineers were thoroughly familiar with it;
whereas, in my judgment, the European engineers had failed to pay proper
heed to the lessons taught by its operation and management. Moreover,
the engineers who were to do the work at Panama all favored a lock
canal. I came to the conclusion that a sea-level canal would be slightly
less exposed to damage in the event of war; that the running expenses,
apart from the heavy cost of interest on the amount necessary to build
it, would be less; and that for small ships the time of transit would
be less. But I also came to the conclusion that the lock canal at the
proposed level would cost only about half as much to build and would be
built in half the time, with much less risk; that for large ships the
transit would be quicker, and that, taking into account the interest
saved, the cost of maintenance would be less. Accordingly I recommended
to Congress, on February 19, 1906, that a lock canal s