Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-07
VALUE OF CANAL WORK
WILL BE APPRAISED BY VISITING
COMMISSIONERS.
Mr.. Cromwell, the Company's Counsel
and Admiral Walker Confer With
Secretary Hay.

Mr.. Cromwell. counsel for the Panama
Canal Company, and Rear Admiral Walker,
president of the canal commission, called
at the State Department today to talk to
Secretary Hay about the work of the sub
committee which is to visit the isthmus to
appraise the value of the work which the
company is now doing on the canal. 1t
was reported to the Secretary that the COM
pany now employees 100 engineers, about 40
medical officers and about 1850 laborers
and foremen on the canal. These are near
ly all at work in the Culebra cut. So $1,000
today is regarded as a modest estimate OF
the money which the United States will be
expected to pay the canal company for con-
tnuing this work. and it is now suggested
that the payments may date back to the
date of the last report Of the canal COM
mission. Mr.. Cromwell, in behalf of the
company, offered every facility in the way
of papers and transportation to the mem
bers of the canal commission who start
from Washington tomorrow. Major VIM.
NJ. Black, Corps of Engineers, left here
this afternoon and will await the arrival OF
the remainder of the party at New York
tomorrow. They will start Thursday for
Colon.
Continuing the Work.
When the agreement to sell the canal was
signed by Secretary Hay and Mr.. Crom-
well, there being no stipulation to the con-
trary, the company was not bound to con-
tinue the heavy daily expenditure on &C
count of labor and material and superin-
tendence involved in the continuation of
the work. 1t is claimed that such a sus-
pension would have worked harm and have
resulted in the loss of number of canal
workers who have now become experienced
and Injured to the climate. The canal COM
pany undertook to keep the work in prog
ress and now looks to the United States
government for compensation for the ex-
penses involved in so doing. The subcom-
mittee is going to the isthmus to take
check notes on. the work from the time the
contract was signed up to the date the
United States assumes control
Thirty Thousand to Be Employed.
Admiral Walkers estimate of the num-
Der of men to be employed on the Panama
canal when the United States formally
shall have entered upon the project Is
$1,000. For all practical purposes this gov
eminent now is engaged in the construction
of the canal. Under the agreement signed
March by Secretary Hay and Mr. Crom-
Well the American representative of the
New Panama Canal Company, the work
of construction was to be continued by the
canal company until the exchange of rati-
ncatons of the canal treaty, with the I'M
Outstanding that the United States should
pay for such construction work
The men now engaged on the canal con-
struct1on work are principally Jamaica ne
groes. AS they are Injured to the Central
American climate they do not suffer seri-
ously from the diseases prevalent on the
isthmus. One of the purposes of the visit
to the isthmus soon to be made by a SUBJ
committee of the present canal commission
is to study the labor question, as it relates
TO the construction of the waterway, with a
view of ascertaining a source from which
an additional labor supply may be OBJ
tanned. The local labor supply is INSULT
Gent to meet the demand. 1t is probable,
therefore that laborers will be drawn by
the thousand from the southern states and
the islands of the West Indies AS the
labor supply is controlled largely by COM
panies organized for the purpose it is quite
likely that many Chinese and Japanese
laborers will be imported for work on the
canal They are excellent workmen and
are peculiarly fitted by nature for work of
that kind and in that climate