The practical result of the operations of the Isthmian Canal Commission appointed and acting under previous executive orders has not been satisfactory, and requires a change in the personnel of the Commission and in the instructions for its guidance.
The Commission will hold quarterly sessions the first of January, April, July, and October of each year, at the office of the Governor on the Isthmus of Panama, and will continue each session as long as public business may require. Further notice of such meetings shall not be necessary to their regularity. The Commission may hold special sessions at the call of the Chairman. Four members shall constitute a quorum, and the action of such majority shall be the action of the Commission.
The Commission, under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of War and subject to the approval of the President, is charged with the general duty of the adoption of plans for the construction and maintenance of the canal and with the execution of the work of the same; with the purchase and delivery of supplies, machinery and necessary plant; the employment of the necessary officers, employes and laborers, and with the fixing of their salaries and wages; with the commercial operation of the Panama Railroad Company and its steamship lines as common carriers; with the utilization of the railroad as a means of constructing the canal; with the making of contracts for construction and excavation, and with all other matters incident and necessary to the building of a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, as provided by the Act of Congress of June 28, 1902.
For convenience and to secure the uninterrupted course of the work, an Executive Committee of not less than three members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Commission to act in place of the Commission during the intervals between the meetings of the Commission, and to report its doings in full to the Commission at the next regular meeting. A minute of every transaction of the Executive Committee shall be made, and one copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to the Secretary of War and another copy transmitted for the consideration of the Commission at its next meeting. Regular meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at the office of the Governor on the Isthmus of Panama at 10 o'clock in the forenoon on each Monday and Wednesday of every week, and further notice of such meetings shall not be necessary to their legality. A majority of their number shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at such meetings. The action of such majority shall be the action of the Executive Committee.
For convenience of executing the work to be done, there shall be constituted three executive departments: (a) The head of the first department shall be the Chairman of the Commission, who shall have direct and immediate charge of: The fiscal affairs of the Commission; The purchase and delivery of all materials and supplies; The accounts, bookkeeping and audits; The commercial operations in the United States of the Panama Railroad and steamship lines. He shall have charge of the general concerns of the Commission, subject to the supervision and direction of the Secretary of War, and shall perform such other duties as may be placed upon him from time to time by the Secretary of War.
(b) The head of the second department shall be the Governor of the Zone, with the duties and powers indicated in the Executive Order of May 9, 1904, which includes, in general: The administration and enforcement of law in the Zone; All matters of sanitation within the Canal Zone, and also in the cities of Panama and Colon and the harbors, etc., so far as authorized by the treaty, the Executive Orders and Decrees of December 3, 1904, between the United States and the Republic of Panama relating thereto. The custody of all supplies needed for sanitary purposes, and such construction necessary for sanitary purposes, as may be assigned to this Department by the Commission. Such other duties as he may be charged with from time to time by the Secretary of War. He shall reside on the Isthmus and devote his entire time to the service, except when granted leave of absence by the Secretary of War.