The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-08-19
CONSTRUCTING THE PANAMA CANAL.
What e. Returned Employe snys OF tho
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Extravaganza and Mismanagement.
Mr.. A. P. Smith, of Salem, who for the
spast 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
Aspinwall, and tells an interesting story
in regard to the methcd Of prosecuting
the woSk on the great De Lesseps canal.
II was making my way home from
Cathagenia," said he to q reporter, "but,
attracted by the financial inducements
offered by the Panama company, went
to Asrinwall, and Immediately secured
employment as an engineer IN tnat clty;
I remained q number of weeks, ana
should probably be there to-day, but
that I aen victim to the yellow fever,
and on my recovery, finding that could
not stand the climate, | packed my
chatte2s for home. During my stay l
thoroughly inspected the canal, walking It's
entire length of fifty-four mues
aAt present the outlook is bad, very Dad.
A great deal Of money is being wasted,
and it wouldalmost seem as if it were cul-
pably wasted. That portion of the canal
thus tar completed is at the eastern end,
and is O stretch about eleven miles long.
Here the country is low and flat, the
banks rising scarcely six feet on an aver
age above high water mark, and the land
is mostly of clay formation. Through q
country of this kind cut eighty feet IN
width has already been made for a dis
tance, as I have stated, Of eleven miles:
While forests have been cleared away. and
other Gus have been made at various
points along the flfty-fouF-znAe line OF inc
proposed canal, yet little more than Inc
eleven miles already referred to has been
accomplished, for reasons which L Will
make clear to you later on. For another
half-dozen 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 chaln
which runs through the continent from
Alaska to Patagonia, is just beyond. VI
course, that noint has been selected
for the bed of the canal where the
mountains are the lowest, but cuts or oOO
leeC-unu lucTC WILL iIit'c " Do 81 SA''A
such-are no trifling matter, and can not
he accomplished without great expense
and considerable time. On every hand
may be seen evidences Of mas1nana cement
and gross extravaganza. Money is liter
ally thrown away, and signs OF "JoDs" are
more plentiful than mosquitoes in July.
Much of the work is let oct by contract,
and all sorts and kinds OF people secure
the contracts"
"What sort Of men are the employes!
"The very scum of the Garth" replied
Mr. Smith. sMost of them are blacks,
who receive S2 per day, equivalent to
something like SLIGO in our money. This
means af1luence to these men, and all
higher grades of labor are paid proportion
ately. But the money is the only possible
inducement, and the wages must neces-
sarily be high to attract men to region
which will in all probability prove fatal
to them if they remain there long. So the
men and the women who come are the
very lowest and vilest ConTicts and out
laws and prostitutes make up large per-
centage of the sojourners there, and
murder and arson are copmon. Police
regulations are farce, and justice is
almost impossible to obtain. ."-Boston
Herald Interview.