Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-12-20

ter class. who are to be found as fore
men, as skilled mechanics. as police
men, are good men; and many of the
ordtNavv dav tahnre~H are also good.
Work Of Construction.
But thousands of those who are
brought over under contract Cat our
eXpense) 70 off into tho jungle TO live,
or loaf around Colon, or work so bad
IS to cause q serious diminution OF
the amount of labor performed on FRI
day and Saturday OF each week. !
laborers as TO the conditions OF their
work and what, II any changes. they
wished. l received many complaints
from them, but as regards most OF
tradieted one another In all cases
Mhere the complaint was as to their
treatment by amy individual IL proved
on examination that this individual
was himself a West India man of color
either policeman. q storekeeper. or
an assistant storekeeper. Doubtless
mere must be many complaints against
americans, but those to whom l spoke
ara not happen to make any such COM
The work Is now going on with a
ness, The three big problems of the
canal are the La Boca dams, the Gatun
Gam, and the Culebra cut The Guile
pra cut must be made, anyhow; but
OF course changes as to the dams, or
az least as to the locks adjacent to
me me dams, may stin occur. The La
i S9Sa t cams otfer no particular prob 30
5000 that there Is a practical certain
W, not merely as TO what can be
achieved, but as to the time OF achieve.
ment. The Gatun dam offers the most
serious problem which we have to
solve; and yet the ablest men on the
lsthmus believe that this problem IL
certain of solution along the. lines
proposed; although, OF course. II me-
cessitates great toll, energy. and In
telligenee. and although equally. of
in connection with the work The risk
| arises from the fact that somc of the
material near the bottom is not so
good as could be desired. II the huge
| across from one foothlll to the other
we viii have what is practically q
low. broad, mountain ridge behind
which will rise the inland lake. This
artificial mountain will probably show
| less seepage, that Is viii have greater
restraining capacity than the average
cality OF the locks at this dam--as at
| the other dams-is now being de-
| termined. In April next Secretary
GERS OF the country--Messrs. Noble,
| Stearns and Rlpley-will visit the
| isthmus, and the three engineers will
make the Anal and conclusive, exami-
nations as TO the exact site for each
lock. Meanwhile the work Is going
ahead without break.
The Culebra cut does not offer such
great risks: that IL, the damage liable TO
| occur from occasional land slips will not
| represent what may be called major dis
| asters. The work will merely call for in
| telligence, perseverance, and executive
| capacity. 1t is, however. the work upon
| which most labor will have to be spent.
| The dams Will be composed or the earth
| taken out of the cut and very possibly
the building of the locks and dams win
take even longer than the cutting In
| Culebra itself.
In Culebra Cut.
The main work is now being done in
| the Culebra cut IL was striking and
| impressive TO see the huge steam shovels
In full play, the dumping trains carrying
away the rock and earth they dislodged.
| The implements of French excavating
machinery, which often stand q little
way from the line of work, though of ex-
| cellent construction, look like the veriest
toys when compared with these new
| steam shoVels, just as the French dump
| ing cars seem like toy cars when COM
! pared with the long trains OF huge cars.
dumped by steam plows which are now
| In use. This represents the enormous
advance that has been made In machine
| cry during the past quarter of CEN
| fury No doubt quarter OF century
are now so proud, will similarly seem oul
| of date, but IL Is certainly serving Its
| purpose well now. fhe old French cars
| had to be entirely discarded. We still
have in use few of the more modern,
| but not most modern, cars, which hold
| but IL yards of earth. They can be en-
| ployed on certain lines with sharp
curves. But the recent cars hold from
| 20 TO 30 yards apiece, and instead of the
old clumsy methods OF unloading them
a steam pillow is drawn from end to end
mensely economiZing labor In the rainy
| reason the steam shovels can do but
little In dirt, but they work steadily IN
| rock and in the harder ground. There
were some 25 at work during the time
was on the isthmus, and their tremendous
power and efficiency were most impress
| sive.
New Records for Excavation.
As soon as tho type OF canal was de-
| cided this work began In good earnest.
| The rainy season will shortly be over and
then there will be an immense increase In
| the amount taken out; but even during
| the last three months, I'm the rainy sea-
| son, steady progress Is shown by the
| figures: In August, A2,000 cubic yards;
October, $4,000 cubic yards In October
| new records were established for the
| output of individual shovels as well as
| for the tonnage haul OF individual loco
| healthy spirit OF emulation between the
| different shovel and locomotive crews,
battle ships between the different gun
crews in matters OF craftsmanship.
| Passing through the cut the amount or
o9s p TUs the entire See side Of hi had
been taken out recently by n tons OF
| dynamite, which were exploded at one
blast AT another place / was given
| pre- sidential salute of q charges of dyna-
mite On the top notch OF the Culebra
| cut the Jrlsm is now as wide as Ii Will
| be; all told. the canal bed at this point
| has now been sunk about 200 feet below
what 1t originally was. II will have 10
| be sunk about 100 feet farther. Through
| out the cut the drilling blasting, shovel
| ing and hauling are going on with con-
stantly increasing energy, the huge
shovels being pressed up, as II they were
mountain howitzers. into, the most un-
| likely looking places. where they eat
| their way into the hiilsides.
Railway Improvements.
The most advanced methods not only
| In construction, but In railroad manage
| ment, have been applied In the zone.
| with corresponding economies In time
| and cost. This has been shown In the
| handling OF the tonnage from ships into
cars. and from cars into ships on the
| Panama railroad, where, thanks largely
| to the efficiency OF General Manager
| Bierd, the saving In time and cost, has
been noteworthy. My examination tend
| had doubtless necessarily become over
| developed, and could now be reduced or
| subordinated without impairment OF ELL
| cheney and with saving OF cost. The
| chairman of the commission, Mr.. Shonts
| mas all matters of this kind constantly
| in view, and is now recognizing the gov
eminent Of tho zone, so as 10 make the
| form of administration both more flexible
| and less expensive, subordlnating every
| thing TO direct efficiency with view to
! the work of the canal commission. From
! time to time changes of this kind will un-
doubleday nave 70 pe maze. t9r y must
! OF construction, IL Is continually neces-
sary TO develop departments or bureaus,
| which are vital for the time being, but
which soon become useless; just as 1t Will
/ l.