Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-12-08


of what it cost. Still, believe, from what
Colonel Rives says, that the canal will be
completed. He has been there over year,
and has improved things great deal. The
canal is forty-seven miles long and the rail-
road the same length. In year he made
the railroad pay over S1,500000 in net
earnings. The railroad was built thirty
three years ago, and they carry tremen-
dous frelgbts from the Atlantic to the
Pacific and back again. 1t gets great
deal of freight flom Guatemala, Salvador,
Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica. /
was in Guatemala just before that war, and
our party would have built that northern
railroad but for Barrios' death"
How much has been spent on the Pan
anna canal w
NEARLY thre hundred millions of dol
lars. A large part of the cost has been in
building the towns. They employ $4,000
to $4,000 men and several hundred engi-
neers. The First Director. General re-
ceives S25,000 year and all expenses
The common laborers get 81 day in
United States of Colombia money, which
is worth about 81 40"
"Where do the laborers come from ?"
"They get their labor from the West
Indies, the Bahama Islands and some from
Hayti and Santo Domingo. They employ
some natives of Panama-Indians, Span
iards and half-breeds, who make more re-
liable laborers than the negroes. The ne
groes work awhile and get little money
ahead and go back to Jamaica to spend
it. When they are out of money they
come back to Panama again. They keep
line of steamers running between Kings
ton, Jamaica, and Colon. They have
carried only few laborers from New Or
leans"
"What kind of engineers have they on
the canal ?"
"They have several hundred engineers,
all French. They are good, scientific
men. They run steamers from France and
bring out wines. The officials on the lines
use mostly water brought from France.
There is no good water in Panama The
water of the Chagres river would do very
well if it was filtered. The machinery
comes principally from the United States.
There is a line of steamers running from
New York to Panama every ten days"
"How about fundsw
"Colonel Rives says there is no lack of
money so far, and he doesn't think there
will be. Still there is lack of money
now, and old De Lesseps is travelling
through France making speeches. | un-
derstand that there are over six hundred
thousand subscribers to the fund. They
are small stockholders throughout France,
Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Ger
many, Sweden and Denmark. | have seen
big list of stockholders. There are very
few in this country except French citi-
zens"
"What are the relations of the French
Government to the Panama canal ?"
''The French Government has nothing
to do with the canal. 1t has steadily re-
fused to furnish money for the enterprise.
The canal company is operating under con-
cessions from the Government of Panama
and from the United States of Colombia,
of which Panama is a part. The French
Government only gives the canal company
protectorate. That is, it protects them
as French citizens, the same as we might
ask this Government TO protect us if we
went down to South America to build a
railroad"
''How is the climate of Panama."
"YCu would not go there for summer
resort, but still it might be worse. | have
seen Americans living in Panama who
had been there for thirty-6ve years. The
population OF Panama alone is about
thirty thousand, and very few of the in
habitants are negroes. The city is well
built, and person and property are well
protected"
"What about the reports of riots and
pestilence among the laborers on the
canal ?D
"There is no truth in that. You can
get up a revolution in South America
without any trouble at all, but you are
Just as safe in Panama, as in Atlanta. |
have found in the city of Guatemala that
mans person and property are better pro-
tected than in many parts of the United
States. There is no danger at all; but you
had better not be out at night on account
of the climate. You are treated with
courtesy everywhere. Along the canal
there are towns of three or four thousand
inhabitants, with well-built houses. These
towns were built by the canal company"
"What do you think about the practi-
cability of the undertaking.
i never considered that there was any
engineering difficulty whatever, only the
magnitude of the work. If we had it here
in any part of the United States we would
not consider it any very serious engineering
difficulty. Of course, it is large work,
but there is no difficulty about that"