The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-27

earth in the great work. La Boca wilied other.
wise. The tide rapidly receded and the Count
penalty Of nearer approach to, the ehore. The
veteran d~ipl,omatist was equal to the OCCASION
calling lori spade and turning over, an mag
mary clod OF earth upon the deck OF, the
steamer. Ths ehamp9gne was opened 3nd the
THE opening was typical; Many imaginary
then. and there, has been more champagne
than sincerity. The stockholders' share has
e SseT sn Of " ensin aepG sam" Huge @sG dredEEes work
away indefatlgably. and tho sea rolls lnzily in
with fresh deposits, Dredging La Boeq Is
away at the mud as doegedly az thsy dig at
The stories that haye gone abroad regard
ing the extravaganza Of the old or De Lesseps
idea sap until I'VE I Vent tar and saw az for myself what recIe
i issSm fabulous f%nm ex 1ssI 10 ~ sheF Th was sS ON the ne
fourth OF the Panama Canal. Competent enRi-
neers say that the same work. barring the ac-
could DO done to-day for about S35,OoU,066.
To be exact, the De Lesseps company spent
100000 900 cubic yards OF earth and gravel.
The Californians talk about the palmy, days
when extraySgance was the r1,e in san Fran,
comparable with the days in, 1888 and
when, men made a million francs profit a
IlouIii ~ II SOlO L lIltt WIG -nltlh
there who sold mules and donkeys TO the Pan;
anna Canal Company in 1882 and made 100000
S ineests sstT cseI,a 2o 81 ss sSS JsSSpiHa IL told f ns Of an a
man from New Orleans who brought down. a
stock OF rubber boots necessary in worrying IN
the canal company for 10000 cash down.
MIR. .Eifrel. who built the famous tower in
made ST. 100000 on one contract in one. year.
A Arm OF young men in Pittsburg, who knew
c %Sm "a S'sa ofnc ees got got sV Contract for furnishing
lubricating oils for the machinery along the
c sSSesks, snsEf Tet that az the they si soid ssao6 q w SS :
Of oils in one month and about $150.OO0 worth
in the course OF, a year; The Alcalde at Colon
thrown into the river. by workmen OF the canal
company merely to give the pleasant American
ton and Dredging Company.oi New York had
a contract that amountedto 2O.O0O.OO There
trscss o iae ma e same %erf fnd an ND g aIi o5 dso great
profits. A dozen San Franciscans were poor
when they went down to get g contract for
Company In those days. and all came away with
fortunes.
lions OF dollars are now rotting and rusting in
those tropical swamps and forests. There. ara
d5sdF Fr, by The e. ha an ssdo brSus q i tTG% 96 Rel sas6:
great steam cranes, brought by the shipload
from Birmingham at a cost Of $4,000 each; rail:
railroad tools, steel cables, and other things
that cost small fortunes twelve. years ago. and
WHICH, 'e eSst t the' F % 9 $7B.oS tRS 6pP are noT
SsrG y distance, sISns the g, l about Of t iopty PAn miIea. oS Hen
steam, pumps, and reservoirs that cost not
less than 5000 each lie n a heap where
Al place near ;Al~mazillaIeleven miles, from
T%fisn we're 1eye IS used G.i and d w g6fsSo cost essei ab bS,if
$4,000. One cannot go a half mile IN any d.
rection from tho canal without coming upon
Nomination OF. desoiation where. the old
Panama Canal Company, worked; The scene
engineer heartsick. You can have no idea
what wanton waste it was.
OF iron and wood extends; Steel cables lie on
the ground, loose and coiled. rustlng away in
wsSts Se9u saa bs b ahsSy are e PlSsed sid Dit sari
ditched in, heaps in the swamp. A vigorous
preserve the more valuable pieces OF machinery.
IN the hope that some use may yet be found for
French, Belgian. and American. have been
stored during thelast year In sheds and round
floors of these sheds are Of concrete. and the
structures themselves are weatherproof. The
engines standing inside have been taken apart.
Il hn rom s1e rust 4.' Q Out Htfif in The " SWAMP DTee t few S' Of the
most costly dredges have been taken apart and
nous. Beside three that tower over all the rest
in their station by the mouth OF The canal
They are practically useless now.
never saw It, but many men on the 18th
miles Southwest Of the Cuiebra cut. is a PhiIa-
delphia locomotive and a train Of seventeen
shut off steam when the financial bubble burst
and he and the crew quit their Jobs: The. soil
locomotive and cars has borne SO heavily on
the track that the train has U a yard deep
"One cannot be long on the Isthmus without
hearing stories OF how machinery was even
thrown away. The men at Colon say that the
Colon formed the grave of tons upon tons Of
costly machinery. dumped into the ocean with
Engines with wrong gauges imported from
| Of in this way. An outer wall to break the dash
| concrete, all numbered and shaped for their
places in the wall which was to protect the
River. These blocks were shaped in France
and taken across the Atlantic BY the shipl9adl
they cost? Oh. probably S3O0.0O0.
Blu the wicked waste OF capital was not
confined to machinery and railroad property;
i It made s1i1 %s me of tho ysn to SG 9o fSrtS Gol9n t and
across the Caribbean Sea into Colon he sees
fringe the shore. the bronze statue. OF Column:
bus. The discoyerer OF America points town I'd
| Tie opening VI tuc -cdHil vi IHt bnOTc. i ut
famous homes Of Count de Lesseps and his
son are directly behind the statue on the shore.
Each Of tho houses cost $4,000. and might
be built almosdto 6 anyyhere IN the Union for
must once have been, with their many
their lawns and cmrving gravelled approaches,
Now the hot breath Of the sen creeps through
broken window panes: the wide steps, OF the
porches welcome rank weeds and thick grass
crafty from the decaying c~ornices. and the
| atr1nfurpa lOOE aS IL n firm football would
make every n22r and wall crImble: Only ore
Iesseps for n few weeks, ,maiptains the sem,
blancs Of n shelter. The building is dis,
mantled.. The great windows are protected by
Stats. and the visitor. peerinR through. can dis,
covep bare. dusty rooms. stripped of furniture
and showing only heaps o. musty books
pamphlets and papers In token OF former occu'
pancy by the protector Of the great scheme,
THE people In dirty. hot and miasmic Color
live on The memories Of the days when money
ran IN the streets there, Theyte tell OF days wher
! the high-salaried canal officials used to give
grand balls; at which champagne was drunk by
the Gobletful. md men. and women amused
themselves by throwing handfuls OF gold anc
silver coin out of the windows to see the ma
tiyes fight and scramble on the ground for It
They tell Of the orchestra OF twenty. Partisan
muaicinns that was kent at Colon for thref