Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-11-27
Wasted rIachInery In Panama.


When Uncle Sam pays over the slip
ulated $4,000, 600 to the Panama Cana
company for its franchises. etc, and
the $4,000 900 to the republic of Pan
anna as provided in the new treaty, he
will become the owner of the biggest
assortment Of old junk in the world.
A recent letter from Panama states
that heaped up along the line of the
Panama canal at Colon, at Emperado
and at other points are quantities OF
machinery and supplies for the con-
struction of the canal which cost mi /
ions of dollars. but which are pract.-
cally valueless. They were bought by
the old Panama Canal company, but
before a lage proportion Of them We: e
used i had come to an untimely end
and the supplies were left to the fate
Of time. When the Isthm.an Canal COM
mission visited the isthmus two years
ago, it found these supplies so vast
in quantity that 1t could do no more
than casually examine them. 1t has
been stimated-thOught there are few.
if any. who know exactly how much
WAS spent in this way-that they might
have cost s2O, OOO,O Although all of
this material is less than % years old.
it is relatively so antiquated in de-
sign that the commission recommend
ed that the United States pay no atten-
ton to its existence in making an offer
for the purchase of the canal property.
No contractor. the commission de-
clarcd. would use the stuff. even if it
was presented to him. Although the
United States has not offered to buy
this junk it will come into it's possess
ion if it buys the canal, for the Pana-
ma Canal company has promised to
throw it in for good measure.
The supplies piled up on the isthmu,
range from articles OF cTockery 10 10
comotives. excavators, dredge5, cars
and hospitals. There were Pal build
ings of various sorts, Including those
which were intended ard used for of
fices, quarters for the thousands of la
bOrers, store houses. hospitals and ma
chine shops. The value of the hospitals
alone is nearly $1,000, coo. They a-e fine
structures and doubtless the United
States viii make allowance for these.
for they will be of value. Many of the
other buildings. from disusc, are show
ing signs of decay. In the machine
shops are steam hammers and large
turning lathes for making repairs to
the large pieces of machinery used in
the work of excavation. There are
scores of locomotives which the mem-
hers of the commission were told had
never been used, and their appearance
bore out the statement. They were
built in France, Belgium, England AMI
the United States. Their value could
not be determined because the eff
feet of uhe moist tropical climate on
machinery not in use is uncertain. I'm
til they had been tested no one could
say what they were worth. The ma
chinery is in a like uncertain cond!-
tion. The wheels of the cars, which
We're said to be a portion of the exca-
waiting plant most available for fu-
ture use, have narrow treads The rails
are OF pattern i'll fitted for rough
usage
Machinery valued at about $1,000
900 was bought in this country. This,
it is said. was worth what was paid
for it; but there were Belgian locomo-
tives which were antiquated when pur-
chased. Many contracts for unneces-
sary machinery were made before the
company failed, but these were ab-o-
gated. so that the present supply OF
useless machinery is not so great as
the corrupt officials of the old Panama
company would have had it.
There has been an impression that
the old Panama Canal company wasted
large sums of money in the purchase
Of useless machinery. Rear Admiral
Walker, the president of the United
States commission. when asked about
this at hearing on the canal before
a senate committee, declared it to be
his impression that it was not SC. much
useless machinery which had been pur-
chased as a surplus of useful machin-
cry. Doubtless the failure of the old
canal company had something to do
with the nonuse of the supplies, but it
is said by those acquainted with the
work upon the canal that it would have
been impossible to utilize at one time
Al. the machinery taken to the isthmus
in this item Of machinery, millions of
dollars. which were drawn from The
savings of the people Of France. have
been sunk, never to be recovered