of October.

_Mr. Foraker._--Sailed from the Isthmus?

_Mr. Kittredge._--Sailed from New York for the Isthmus.

_Mr. Foraker._--Then the motion was made by Mr. Hunter before the Board
of Engineers left the United States.

_Mr. Kittredge._--Certainly; to appoint a committee of investigation.

_Mr. Dryden._--I should like to say at this point that while I have
gladly yielded to Senators, I think it is quite probable that before I
get through I shall cover any questions that may be asked. I would
prefer to complete my remarks, and then I shall be very glad to answer
any questions that Senators may choose to ask.

_Mr. Foraker._--I beg pardon.

_Mr. Dryden._--I was glad to yield to the Senator.

_Mr. Foraker._--The speech is a very interesting one.

* * * * *

_Mr. Dryden._--There is nothing in the minutes of the Board which
disclosed that either proposition received the necessary deliberate
consideration of the extremely complex and important details entering
into the two respective projects, but it is evident that, regarding the
sea-level proposition at least, there was a decided bias practically
from the outset, which matured in the majority report favoring that
proposition. What was in the minds of the members, what was done outside
of the Board meetings, by what means or methods conclusions were
reached, has not been made a matter of record and is not, therefore,
within the knowledge of Congress.

It is true that the respective reports of the two committees were
brought before the Board as a whole on November 14th and that the
subject was discussed at some length on November 18th, when each member
of the Board expressed his views for or against one of the two projects.
But there remained only ten days before the last business meeting of the
Board was held, when the foreign members sailed for home. The final
reports, as they are now before Congress, apparently never received the
proper and extended consideration of the Board as a whole, and the
minority report favoring a lock canal seems never to have been discussed
upon its merits at all. When I recall the very different procedure of
the technical commission appointed by the New Panama Canal Company,
which extended its consideration of the subject from February 3, 1896,
to September 8, 1898, during which time ninety-seven stated meetings and
a large number of informal meetings were held, I say, it seems to me,
from a practic