The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-16

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standard In life and his mode Of living
ut home. This may impede our work
bn the canal a$lttle, but 1t will be much
Iabetter#to attend to that now and build
on a solid basis so we; can have aacon-
|9tented and well housed army OF ems
|8Tloyes than to pursue the way no have
been going. FIJI
again, We are going to take steps to
Improve the food and see that It is pro-
vitled at the lowest possible figure. When
wo have accomplished these thiMgs---and
& almost MI of@them are In the way Of
accompllshment-I believe the storm OF
complaints about the situation on the
Isthn1us will have ceased, that every
body will be contentcd and that we will
make a great gain In the end. We may
not dig as much Rdirt lni the next few
months as We otherwise might, but with
healthy underlying conditions We will
i accomplish vastly. more with less cost
4and with less friction.
1sthmus is Healthy.
do you find that generally the 18TH;
mus Is healthy?,' u "a
5''1 do. onlyithe other day a young fell
low WIS III mere WHO mao Dcen III Tie
engineering department He had been on
the isthmus eighteen months and had
been home on a six weeks leave. +
looked him over. He was fine, healthy
specimen, rugged and broad sho,,ldered.
IT did me good to look at him. talked
with this young man about the sltua-
ton. Hc said that .lt~wns ioniy,nnccasar,t
FOR II man. to know how ito take care
of himself to- enjoy perfect health. He
had not been Ill n day. and he had
been over tho line or the canal from
one end to the other He liked the
work and he liked the life, and he said
that there we're hundreds more like him,
and all his.frlends had enlisted on the
work and intended to see It through. We
arc trying to get that sort OF young man.
down there in large numbers on every
steamer and we are succeeding we'll.
bclicveNthe personnel of our employees
will steadily improve
''Mr. Shonts.'' said the correspondent
of tho Herald. currency has recently
been given to an idea that the Panama
level or lock canal. Will you tell the
Herald exactly what YOU think OF that
impression, and whether you have al
tered your opinon?' e. b
Canal Can Be Built.
I'm answering your question:" replied
Mr.. Shonts, II will begin by saying per-
sonally that have mot the slightest
doubt that the canal can and will be
built. and that it will be built within the
time which has been estimated by the
engineers, say ton or twelve, years. X GU
must remember am Il practical rail-
road man. ] usually deal only with those;
things Of which I am personally cogni-
zant Of / have not3yet been fortunate
enough TO have gone to the isthmus.
am going IN a few days, and can then
speak from personal observation. The
Information which I have and on which
T base my opinion comes entirely from
Mr.. Wallace. our former chief engineer.
So far as I know, Mr., Wallace has never
once wavered In his conviction that the,
building OF the canal was not III only
feasible, but that 1t was an engineering
project OF comparative simplicity. lie 4
has said to mo frequently:-.'T Psi have
met and overcome III this country OBJ
stacles much more formidable than the .
worst we have down there
been ! gathered that Mr.. Wallace came
back to this country and quit becavsa
no realized the hopelcssness OF digging
the canal? suggested the correspondent.
that he had encountered any new, diffi-
culties or that he experienced any feel.
ing OF hopelessness. On the contrary, I
believe he thinks today Just q as !, 4
built. ! have never yet met any ono
who seriously questioned the ability OF
the United States to SEQ his job through
orthe ability Of United stntss 5ralns to
Now, before we 80 further, said Mr.
shonts, II would like you TO sec Mr..
John s, stevens. our new chief en-
sincer.
The New Engineer.
Mr.. shonts touched a bell and 2 young
"Mr. Poppern,al.,''' said he. q. wish you
would ask Mr. Stevens to step here a
In a few minutes 2 rather stoptly. built
man, with black hair and q curious way
of knitting his eyebrows, entered, lie
had skin burned almost black by. the
the winds OF the Cascade range, and he
entered the room balancing n pair of
sooldd;rimmed eyeglasses on fore finger
'"Thls' said MIR, shonts, SIS MIR. Ste
gens the new chief engineer Of tho PAna-
ma Canal Mr.. stevens has never been
can do he can accomplish. with all due
aspect TO MI Wallace! MI; steyens,s ae-
outweigh MI, Wallace,s
lie Rocky Mountain piYksion OF the
1reat Northern Railroad q g cost Of he-
ween $6O.O0O,OO0 and So 100000. and James
+, Hill said that 1t was the best road In
he Rockies. He drove a tunnel two and
| half miles long and thought no more
II 1t than II he was making q deep cut
hro,lgh hill.
mn between Seattle and the Orient, He
undertook to come with me and put the
Panama Canal through nfts q .h!nk hnnsb y