Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-16
CONSTRUCTING THE PANAMA CANAL


Extravagance and Misnanagement-
Mr.. A. i. smith. of Salem, who for the
past fifteen years has lived in South
America. and more recently has been EN-
ployed. as an engineer by the Panama
Canal company, has just returned from
Aspiuwall, and tells an interesting story
in regard to the method of prosecuting
the work ON the great DE l-esseps canal.
Il was making my way home from
Cathagenia,p said he to a reporter, but
attracted by the financial Inducements
Offered by the Panama company, went
10 Aspinwan and Immediately secured
employment as an engineer in that city
! remained a number of weeks, and
should probably be there TO day, but
that fell victim to the yellow fever,
and on my recovery. finding that | could
not stand the climate, packed my
chattelS for home. During my stay
thoroughly ins peCted the canal, walking its
entire length Of fifty four miles
"AI present the outlook is bad, very bad
4 great deal OF money is being wasted,
and it wouldalmOst seem as if II were cul-
| pably wasted That portion Of the canal
! thus tar completed is at the eastern end,
| and is a stretch about eleven miles long.
! Here the country is low and flat, the
| banks rising scarcely six feet on an aver
ave above hiyh water mark, and the land
is mostly of a clay formation. Through
country of this kind cut eighty feet i'll
width has already been made tor dis
| lance. a. | have stated, of eleven miles
| While forests have been cleared away, ana
| other cuts have been made at various
points along the fifty four mile line OF the
proposed canal, yet little more than the
eleven miles already referred To has been
! arcomplished for reasons which ! Will
make clear to you later on. For another
haIf-du miles the diggers and dredgers
! will have comparatively easy work, be
cause for about that distance, the general
character of the soil is similar To that al
ready encountered. But harder work re-
mains behind. About seventeen miles
from the coast foot hills will be encoun'
tered, and the great mountain chain
which runs through the continent from
Alaska to Patagonia, is just beyond ol
course, that point has been selected
for the bed of the canal where The
mountains are the lowest, but cuts OF ON
feet-and there will have To be seNera
,uch-are no trifliIIg matter, and can n"
, he accomplished without great eXpenS'
and considerable time. On every han'
NAV be seen evidences of mlsmanagelheh
and gross extravaganza. Money is liter
ally thrown away, and signs of jobs ar
! more plentiful than mosquitoes IN July
Much of the work is let out by contract
:. and all sorts and kinds of people secur
!, the contracts"
what sort of men are the employees
= SThe very scum of the earth, repne
Mr.. smith. Most of them are blacks
who receive - per day, equivalent l
something like $l.6O in our money I'M
>. means affiuence to these men, and a
u higher grades Of labor are paid proportion
az ately. But the money is the only p"SSlhl
Ia inducemeut, and the wages must nece'
I'd sarily be high To attract men TO reg"
n which will in all probability prove fat'
a to them If they remain there long. So III
- men and the women who come are IN
a. q very lowest and vilest. C"nvicts and ou
laws and prostitutes make up large Pc
D.. rentage of the sOjuurners there, al
murder and arson are common. Poh'
: regulations are farce, and Justice
re almost impossible 10 obtain. "-Bosto
no no Herald Interview.