The Yale expositor., 1906-12-21

men, as skilled mechanics, as police
nnai men, are good men; and many OF the
ordinary daV laborers are also good.
Work OF Construction.
But thousands OF those who are
brought over under contract cat our
eNpense) go off into the jungle to live.
or loat around Colon, or work so bad
w after the arst three az four daVs
as to cause a serious diminution OF
the amount Of labor performed on FRI
day and Saturday of each week. /
questioned many of these Jamaica
laborers as TO the conditions of their
work and what. if any changes. they
wished. l received many complaints
from them. but as regards most of
these complaints they themselves con-
tfadlcted one another. In all cases
where the complaint was as TO their
treatment by any individual il proved
on examination that this Individual
was himself a West India man of color.
elther a policeman. storekeeper, or
an assistant storekeeper. Doubtless
mere must be many complaints against
americans: but those 10 whom l spoke
uid not happen to make any such COM
plaint TO me.
The Work is now going on with a
Nlgor ana efficiency pleasant to Wit
ness The three big problems Of the
Cahal are the La Boca dams, the Gatun
dam' and the Culebra cut. The Guile
bra cut must be made, anyhow; but
OF course changes as to the dams. or
az least as To the locks adjacent to
tne pl dams, may stil occur. The La
-" piltI no DdIlltuldI pIOb-
lem, the bottom material being so
good that there is a practical certain
~; 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 is
certain or solution along the lines
proposed; although. of course. II ne
ceSSltates great toll. energy. and in
telllgence, and although equally. of
10 sfgl
IN connection with the work The risk
arises from the fact that some of the
material near the bottom is not so
good as could be desired. II the huge
earth dam now contemplated is thrown
across from one foOthill to the other
we Will have what is practically a
low. broad, mountain ridge behind
winch VIII rise the inland lake. This
artlhctal mountain will probably show
less sCepage, that is, will have greater
restraining capacity than the average
natural mountain range. The exact To-
cnlity of the locks at this dam--as at
the other dams-is now being de-
TAFT with three of the ablest engn-
GERS OF the cOuntry-Messrs. Noble.
Stearns and Ripley-win visit the
lsthmus, and the three engineers will
make the final and conclusive eXami
nations as to the exact site for each
lock. Meanwhile the work is going
ahead without a break.
Ihe Culebra cut does not Offer such
great risks: that is, 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
teIlgence, perseverance, and executive
capacity. It is, however, the work upon
which most labor will have TO be spent.
The dams will be composed of the earth
taken out Of the cut and very possibly
the building of the locks and dams will
take even longer than the cutting in
Culebra itself
In cuIebra Cut.
q. In,
the Culebra cut II was striking and
impressive TO see the huge steam shovels
in fun play the dumping trains carrying
away the rock and earth they dislodged
The implements of French eXCavating
machinery, which often stand a 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 ears 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 I'm machin-
cry during the past quarter of CEN
tury No doubt quarter OF a century
hence this new machinery. of which we
are now so proud, Will similarly seem out
of date, but II is certainly serving its
purpose well now. rhe old French cars
had TO be entirely discarded. We still
have in use a few of the more modern,
but not most modern, cars, which hold
but - yards Of earth They can be en-
TlOyed on certain lines with sharp
curves But the recent cars hold from
. TO 80 yards apiece. and instead of the
old clumsy methods of unloading them,
a steam plow is drawn from end to end
Of the whole Vestibulcd train, thus inn
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 the 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, in the rainy sea-
son, steady progress is shown by the
figures: In August, 242,0O0 cubic yards:
in September, 29l 900 cubic yards, and i'm
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
motives. hope to see the growth of a
healthy spirit of emulation between the
different shovel and locomotive crews.
just such a spirit as has grown on our
battle ships between the different gun
crews in matters of craftsmanship.
Passing through the cut the amount OF
new work can be seen at a glance. In
one place the entire side of a hill had
been taken out recently by q tons of
dynamite, which were exploded at one
blast. At another place | was given a
presidential salute OF Il charges OF dyna-
mite on the top notch of the Culebra
cut the prism is now as wide as il will
be: all told. the canal bed at this point
has now been sunk about 200 feet below
what it originally was. 1t will have TO
be sunk about 130 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 If they were
mountain howitZers, into the most un-
likely looking places, where they eat
their way into the hillsides.
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
ed to show that some OF the departments
had doubtless necessarily become over
developed, and could now be reduced or
subordinated without impairment of eff
cheney and with a saving of cost. The
chairman Of the commission, Mr.. Shonts
has all matters of this kind constantly
in view, and is now reorganizing the gov
ernment @a the zone, so as to make the
form of administration both more flexible
and less expensive. sibordinating every
thing to direct efficiency with a view to