The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-01-20

all other appurtenances StreWn promis-
cuously from one end of the isthmus to
the other They are unanSwerable
proof of a rattle Drained construction
scheme inspired by a desire to increase
the amount of the stealing, for no sane
man can believe that had it not been
for the larger cost of dredging, and
the larger commissions the grafters
would have realized, this idea would
ever have been entertained or the ma
chinery purchased.
How Some Grafters Worked.
In crossing the railroad fill,
from Colon to the mainland,
one comes quickly toe one of
the work actually done. Here
is a sample of the methods, told in the
words of my informant:
1.-The firm of -, one of the rich
est and best-known contracting con-
Germs in the states, traces all its wealth
to the graft it worked down here. This
firm secured a contract for dredging
an important section of the canal on
the sea-level. Ii was managed by
knowing men. and when they arrived
here they promptly proceeded to bride
the inspectors detailed to supervise
their contract, and all other approach
able officials. Millions of dollars were
involved in the contract. and this firm
collected the whole amount, after its
work had been passed upon and APP
proved by the French officials. Go
over that section of the canal to-day
and you will find only narrow ditch,
for so perfectly were the contractors
protected by the grafters upon the
French company that they simply. pick
ed UP the dirt from one side of the
dredges and dumped it on the other.
In other words. they merely lifted it
over the hull of the dredge, the inspec
tors taking the depth of the excava-
ton on that side where the dredging
was being done, ordering full payment
for perfect and completed contract"
That this and similar stories are true
is not to be disputed. On the Culebra
cut stands a galloway, perfectly
equipped with engines, carriers, tri-
pcds and all the accessories. The cost
of this machinery which was supposed
to facilitate the work of break
ing. the Back of the Cordilleras, was
thousands of dollars. 1t has never
been used for a single minute, but the
contractor, who sold 1t at an exorbi-
tant price, got his payment.
where We May Learn.
I have given a glimpse only of The
actualitieS of the French management.
Everywhere on the isthmus examples
similar to those I have related might
be cited to prove the rank dishonesty
of the original French promoters, but
such proof is hardly necessary. The
wreck of the whole scheme, the bank
ruptcy of the original company and the
of the new concern, the
wiping out of fortunes and carefully
accumulated savings in France. the
criminl prosecution of the De Lesseps
and their accomplices, and the shatter-
ing of the honor of France go to prove
more substantially than do these evil
dences of graft, the enormity of the
crime which was perpetrated here.
That the United States should in any
way emulate France in these matters
is an unthinkable proposition. We
start with the advantage of the French
example; we shall know by the French
experience where to expect graft and
how to prevent it, and If we should be
to be dishonest the memory
Of how France stigmatized herself and
wrecked the work she undertook should
stimulate our honesty and make us to
do well and quickly the work France
began, to end only in baldest and most
thieVery.