Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-10-28

(copyrlghted by Frank G, Carpenter,
New YORK 1t was in the new offices
Of the Panama Railroad company IN
the great new white stone building
looking out upon New York harhor at
the foot Of Broadway, that [ talked with
Mr. Theodore Shonts, the new head OF
Uncle SANS biggest new project the
panama canal
saw the new head, because, since
Nv wallace left, there has been no
question as to who is the manager of
the canal scheme Where Theodore
Roosevelt sits. as We al know, Is al
ways the head Of the table That goes
without saying, But even our mighty
president cannot be In more than one
place nj time. and Mr. Shonts, under
him and Congress, is supreme. He has
the direction and the control OF the
chief engineer, Mr.. Stevens he is the
chief over the governor of the Ten-Mile
STRIP. Mr. Magoon. ana he is the presi-
dent and general manager OF the P0na-
ma Railroad and steamship company.
Every man IN the ten ar tWenve thou
eand who now make up the canal forces
has hs work and his responsibilities,
hui an are subordinate TO Theodore +.
shonts, and TO him the president looks
for results In other words tine canal
work Is at last under one head, ana thaI
head is MIR shonts.
THE MAN AND HIS JOB.
t,foro civ, you MIR Interview I
want to say q word about the man and
his lob. We All know something Of the
lob II IFS one OF the biggest ever attempts
cd by any nation. 1t is n gOuge out the
earth and rock through the lowest part
Of the backbone Of the mighty mountain
chain which runs through our hemis-
phera from the Klundko TO the straits
OF Magellan so that the leyiathan yes
gels Of our age may steam through from
ocean 10 ocean II IS tu move out ot
the way from thirty to one hundred mill
lion cubic yards Of earth, to build
mighty dams to hold back the Hoods OF
tho Chagres, which rise AT times al
most 80 feet in a night, 20 turn the
course Of rivers, and in short. to take
the goddess Of nature by the throat and
force her TO DO her work In new ways
for the benefit OF man. Al this must be
accomplished I'm q tropical climate, IN
an unhealthy country with labor that
in the past has proved itself among the
poorest that the world has TO offer. The
lob viii. of course, be a costly one,
II VIII run into the hundreds Of mil
lions Of dollars. II may be not more
than two hundred millions; it may be
three hundred or It may be more. II Is
lob Of time. Buneau- Narilla in the
exuberance Of his French imagination,
talks of i've years The former chief
engineer thought it might be done in
ten. and other eminent authorities put
the time at from IL to 20
So much FOR the Job!
Now for the man,
is he big enough for the job? l will
answer that by telling you 'gho he is,
how he looks, and what he has done.
The only real answer can be his work.
and IL will take time for that, In tho
first place. MI ShOuts impresses one by
his planness and his sturdy simplicity,
lie has no frlls. He does not part his
hair nor his name i'm the middle, and
he does not swear patent leather SHOES
nor spats. He is business man
dressed In bumness clothes, who talks
business. and does business in a bust
ness way He is O. worker. lie Is the
son OF United Presbyterian parents,
coming from the cast iron Puritan stock
.of northwestern Pennsylvania. and edu'
Gated in the United Presbyterian COL
lege at Monmouth, III. There Is no bet
ter stock and no better training "a
make men.
Mr.. Shonts began life az a bank clerk
I'm Iowa He made a reputation as a
bank accountant and, working along
business lines, rose TO be q builder ana
manager of railroads. He has the repu-
tation OF being a good organizer and q
successful handler Of men, and that In
the west. which, after all, is the best
business working part ~ our country
and which today IS producing the lead