The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-05-12
WASTE on The lSTHMUS
What an American Engineer
Saw In Panama.
NILES OF RUsTEe MACHINERY.

Evidences Of Reckless Extrnvaganee
10 BE seen Along Nearly the Length
Of the canal--A Contractors Method
Of FiIling In over Costly Rolling
stocL-Enect Of blasting ON La
borers.
A New York engineer whose tfaFeis
recently took him across the isthmus
Of Panama has been describing to ms
friends the evidences Of monumental
waste and extravaganza which he en-
countered during the journey, says me
New York Post
His first impression after YieWlns
the abandoned excavations was that
only one attempt had been made 70
buy as much machinery and material
as possible, transport il, set Il down
anywhere and leave it there That
which actually had been accomplished
was lost sight OF in the rusted and rot
ting array Of unused material
Engines, derricks. cars, rails camp
equipments and hardware supplies
we're strewn almost the length Of the
canal. the machinery for the most part,
unprotected and rusting in the rains
said the engineer.
Some 81 the material IL so covered
with growths OF rank vegetation that
It IS lost sight Of, ana some has fallen
70 pieces. While ] was down there
they told ME 81 a native who had se-
cured contract for filling in. When
be had almost finished, some Ameri-
cans saw the top 81 what seemed to be
a locomotive sticking above a pile Of
refuse on which the contractor was
dumping. They examined further and
found not only a whole locomotive I'M
der the pile, but also other machinery
Here. they said to the boss hi
charge, you are covering up valuable
property.
eThe boss went TO the contractor and
asked what he should do.
Dor retorted the contractor some
what warmly Why, an up the hole
don't know anything about engines
They amt IN The contract
$50 the locomotive was covered IN
and the machinery with il Nobody
seemed worried about the loss q Il,
and / doubt il any one ever knew if
had disappeared
There are millions Of cubic yards Of
rock yet TO excayate along the route
Of the proposed canal One estimate
has placed this quantity at 30000000
cubic yards. An idea Of The amount OF
labor this means may be had ii one
viii remember that only about O nil.
lion yards have 50 far been excavated
in tile New York subway. In the SUBJ
way the contractors work with steel
drills Of great power and penetration
Down ii Panama, il Is said, the labor
ers use nothing but the ancient hand
drill, progress with which Is tediously
slow.
Finally one gang Of drillers VIII get
q blast set Then they win lay a fuse
ana blow a queer French locomotive
whistle as a warning ST the sound of
this every laborer on the works, no
matter how near or how far. as long
rs DE hears it, will run ike mad.
give, ten, fifteen minutes win
elapse, and then finally viii come the
blast After the smoke and dust have
cleared the workmen saunter back to
their tasks as though they were GA
their way TO church Probably before
they reach their tools the whistle will
screech again, and then Off they viii 10
once more the idea being apparently
70 see who can get fartHest away from
his job With this blasting going on
continually one may see how difficult
II is to accomplish mQch Roadway
''As | understand the system In tire
New York subway all tie drilling ID
done With steel tools driven BY com
pressed air AS the charges are sat
they are connected by wires. ana then
at tile noon hour or 1T the time for
changing the relief tie charges al
ready set are fired at one time by elec.
tricity None of this exists down III
Panama. Tie system there Is tie
crudest.
AT the lhagres river, which IN dood
sweiis 70 an enormous body Of water.
little. If anything. understand, has
been done toward solving the problem
q is control This is considered to
be the most important piece Of engi
neerine work along the whole canal.
aud il remains Ton the Americans to
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