Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-11-01
PANAMA CANAL BUILDING
How the Work Is Being Rushed
 at the Isthmus.

How the Work Is Being Rushed
 at the Isthmus.
 TWENTY STEAK SH0vELs BUSY In . Month These oxcavated About I 285, ,OOO Yards of Rock and Dirt
 Thirty Thousand on Payroll-Aver-
 age Number of Men Always at Wori'
 Estimated at About 2s,OO0 = Colon
 Emerging From the Mud.
 The twenty steam shovels on the Panama canal proper excavated about 265,0OO yards of dirt and rock in Sep. tember. August showed 245,O00 yards, with three more working days than September.
 1 This shows progress, and as the dry season approaches a substantial in crease is expected, writes Panama correspondent of the New York Herald under date of Oct. g. There are 800 big dat cars and 300 dump cars in use now, with 1000 Hat cars to come down from the United States. There are 120 new locomotives, most of which have been Jet up and are in use, with forty more bought in the United States.
 1 Out at Culebra the force has just fln- shed receiving and storing 600,000 pounds of dynamite, but as there Is be- Ing used 15O, 900 pounds a month a new supply will soon be required.
 l In Gatun there is one steam shovel at work on the lock site excavating for the heavy masonry foundation neces- lary for the immense locks that when completed will let ships down to or raise them up from the Atlantic ocean level. Two more steam shovels. will be put to work in Gatun as quickly as tracks can be laid.
 1 The department of engineering and construction has about 18,OO0 effective men at work now, which means fully l7,0O0 names on the payrolls. The other departments have about 10000 effective men. which means a working force of about 23,OOO men. with 30.000 names on the rolls. About a per cent of the labor is effective. a very small percentage i'll and heavy percentage engaged in loafing.
 In the course of two years the chief engineer expects to have an effective working force of 25,00O men in the de ,artment of engineering and construc- tion. Small lots of Gallegas are arriv- lng on the isthmus now, and Mir Ste vens Is pleased with their work. He expresses himself as being a believer h the employment of West Indians, aallegas, Chinese, Japanese and Ital- Ians and does not believe in restricting himself to the workmen of any coun- ny or type.
 In the division of building and con Itruction there are $500 men at work constructing houses. There are 15O houses planned. including fifty in Ga tun. twenty-three in Empire, ten in Las Cascadas and forty-two in and around Culebra.
 Up to Aug. this division had finish sd 5S9 new houses, with 123 ready for the finishing touches. Of the number finished nineteen were hospital build hgs. There are twelve hospital build lngs under construction. Of jails there Ire fourteen. There have been repair. ed and made fit for occupancy HOO of the old French buildings. Up to this lime (Oct. 19D the division of building md construction has used 30.000000 feet of lumber. It Is expected that this year will see the crest of activity in this division.
 The zone municipalities are now pre- pared to take care of any fire that may start in the buildings of the canal. Cristobal and Ancon have paid fire departments, properly equipped with chemical engines. hose wagons, steam engines and trained fire horses. and cristobal will soon have an electric fire alarm system.
 Some of the important buildings, such as the hospitals and hotels, are equipped with stand pipes and hose, md nearly every residence on the zone has a chemical fire extinguisher ready for use. There are fifteen volunteer fire companies, with a membership of twenty men each. under the direction of a trained paid fireman. In these past seven months there have been twenty-four fires, none of which has been serious because of the extinguish- PTS. Colon Is beginning to see its way out ,f the mud and slush. Front street ,as been paved with brick its entire ength. and the work of macadamlzng the side streets is being pushed. There ire eight miles of sewer yet to be lald. md 1t will be the end of the next dry season before this Is completed.
 All of the Fox river section. the low st part of Colon, has been filled in with coral sand. and preparations are being made to pump sand along the pack part of the town Its entire length.
 When this is done Colon will be the most desirable residence place on the sthmus of Panama. It will be a won ierful transformation and will repre- sent one of the greatest achievements