The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-15

,.tbnian city STANDS fOul'u sHalt OF
' "sbe4 granite, resting upon an or
p0,' mi 3 lar peGes al. Each face
a! beers la3-r lief pro-
and tn names carved over
+hs IS are:
\ttI Il. ASEINWALL.
rI1N l.. STEPHENS,
ENRE CHAUNC-Y.
This STAT and ledas,al .orn the
,rrrsut erected to the builders o.
49,, panama IA lroad-thrce men as
s,,rt,es5 and enterprising as any the
,rld Yer knew for the work they
.4.rtook Was enc o. the greatest
s,oonft,lde. It was in December, 1S4S,
.,o+ the Colombian government grant
a IN these three men a concession for
49, construction and operation of
saf,cav across the isthmus, connect
40 the city of Panama with port on
.,o Caribbean sea coast. In the seven
...ors intervening between the grant
- the concession and the year 1856 AS
.inwau. Stephens and Chauncey did
ptair work and in the latter year the
,n9d was opened to traffic. 1t exists
20 This day as the sole and only medi-
Nv, of transit across the isthmus-the
o,It through which flows a goodly
',ortion of the worlds commerce.
trip over this railroad is we'll worth
while It is but 47A miles long, but
" rms through a country one glimpse
If which is sufficient to excite the most
ontbusiastic admiration for the men
,rbo first penetrated into this wilder
raee TO survey it's route and the ad
-ance force engaged on the actual work
Of obstruction. On either side of the
rack. built on a 5-foot gauge, there is
on almost impossible swamp extend
ing from Colon to Bohio, distance of
f@rteen miles. This swamp is not of
tbe ordinary kind that can be subdued
nv tbe simple process of filling. Its ma
FIRE is especially antagonistic to the
march of progress, for, aside from the
water and the swamp grass that stretch
almost as far as the eye can see, with
only here and there a small volcanic
neak to break the monotony of the
landscape, there is the jungle growth
nj bamboo. palms, wild bananas, koko-
holo cane and a myriad variety of in
terlaced vines of the toughest sort.
The Chagres, Gatun and Mindi rivers,
ample as they are in size, are wholly
Inadequate for the work of draining
these SW1lflDS. i lie ldllu 10 dllllOSl Oll
level with the seas; from the higher
ground comes every once in a while
torrential flow of water, resulting in
the complete submerging of the coun-
try. and the neveP-ending deluge of
rain all united in the hideous work of
making the swamp virtually uncon-
querabe.
Work of Great Magnitude.
These conditions existed during the
work of railroad construction even
more Indignantly than they do now,
for the canal had not been opened from
Polio to the sea- the canals to divert
the flow of the Gatun. and Mindi rivers
had not been constructed, and the
country had hardly been traversed by
a human being. Into this swamp AS
pinwal Chauncey and Stephens plung
ed, however and with the forces in
their employ pushed with marvellous
energy and most consummate ability
tile gigantic task of building rail-
road The swamp was not conquered
by them. 1t was simply penetrated,
but penetrated in such a way as to
make a road capable of standing for
all time. 1t was penetrated by means
of fills, bridges and cuts; the trail
followed curving with remarkable fire.
quency but advancing ever and ever
4leolCL " IIIE dClllC SluG VI Tic lSlll-
mus.
From BOhio to Panama the work was
easier, as it was through higher and
dryer ground. 1t was one of magni-
tude however. and it was executed
IN manner deRrving of the highest
praise. The backbone of the isthmus-
the COrdilleraS Mountains-had to be
broken and the job was done so sue
ceSsfully that the highest point on the
railroad, near Culebra, is only 252 feet
above sea level. In accomplishing this
result and thereby making a road of
easy grades, the plan of following
winding route was adopted. Tunnel
Ing was thus avoided, and the road,
while extremely tortuous, is one pre-
sentlng few operating problems. In
recent years many of the curves have
Deen reduced, and the road rebuilt
WIN heavier rails and stone ballast;
Dut even on the older portion it shows
ali excellent physical condition. The
many problems that had to be over
come by the pioneers of railroad con-
Sructon on the isthmus cannot now
De accurately understood. These men
put railroad through an unknown
ana uninhabted jungle: to-day the
,'dd runs through the same jungle,
out the utter desolation of it all has
Deen Enthusiastically, it is true, but,
neVertheless relieved - by numerous
villages, remnants of the active canal
work In its first days earthquakes
we're much dreaded, and an occasional
snalt OF concrete, standing in solitude
AMID the tropical vegetation, shows
Ile scheme resorted to to procure a sta
We hanging for telegraph wires. The
1'uses on the line are now OF IRON
IoiIherly stone was used-and in nu-
nnerous other details there is evidenced
Sie departure from original ideas that
nave been justified by experience.
Advantages to the United states.
Formerly the road ran straight to
the water front of the city of Pana-
ma where a large dock was built.
men all its traffic on the Pacific side
nad to be handled by means of light
CTS In these floats the road invested
oUnslderable sums of money, all OF
"nich is now idle; for the new ternli-
ndls at La Boca, of which l have al
.eddy written, make Tightening un-
@Vessary, room being afforded at the
i ne" steel pier at La Boca for hand
mig as many as three ships at a Time
ms Improvement, only recently COM
peted, is characteristic of the general
ssIdle of the road, which won for II
nom the American Canal Commission
valuation of $700O,000, and warmest
Rdlse Cor its superb physical con-
uiuon That the road is actually
worth $7000,000 to-day is doubtful 1t
dlminutive affair, and with mod
I'm facilities it could be constructed
tor smaller sum. There is, however,
~ De borne in mind these facts: The
a o39u Is actually here, in perfect oper-
ing condition and ready to be en-
Ployed on shortest notice for further