The Forrest City times., 1906-12-21

sSsTs Ss Snnrsas n n to Sa: Sa: wsy ws,s AnS has tth5SwP se,spse, as snd It is highly undesirable to give any outsiders the impression. however III Il. fouspded: .ns that they are indispensa-
 The West India iaborers are fairly, put only fairly. satisfactory. Some of the men do very well indeed: the bet men. as skilled mechanics. as police men. are good men: and many of the ordinary day 'aborers are also good.
 Work os Construction.
 The work is now going on with a ness. The three biz probiems of the canal are the La Boca dams the Gatun dam. and the Culebra cut. The Cule- of course changes as to the dams, or at least as to the locks adjacent to the dams, may stili occur. The Ia lem. the bottom material being so good that there is practical certain ty not merely as to what can be ment. The Gatun dam offers the most serious problem which we have to solve; and yet the ablest men on the certain of solution along the lines proposedi although. of course. 1t ne- eessitates great toll, energy. and in. in connection with the work The risk arises from the fact that some of the good as could be desired. If the huge eartn dam now contemplated Is thrown low, broad. mountain ridge behind which will rise the inland lake. This artificial s mountain will probably show restraining capacity than the average natural mountain range: The exact To- eality of the locks at this dam--as at termined. Tn April next Secretary Taft, with three of the ablest engin- of ahs tns T., Noble shs isthmus and the three engineers will make the final and conclusive exami- lock. Meanwhile the work is going ahead without a break.
 The Culebra cut does not offer such occur from occasional land slips will not represent what may be called major dis asters The work will merely call for in- capacity, 1t is. however. the work upon which most labor will have to be spent The dams will be composed of the earth tho building of the locks and dams will Culebra itself.
 In cuiebra Cut.
 Tho main work is now being done in the Culebra cut 1t was striking and
 impressive to see the huge steam shovels in full play the dumping trains carrying away the rock and earth they dislodged. machinery, which oftens stand 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 tho long trains of huge cars. dumped by steam blows. which are now in use. This represents the enormous advance that has been made in machin- cry during the past quarter of q cen hence this IHS' new machinery of of ahieh sef'pss ws are now so proud, will similarly seem out of date. byt 1t Is certainly serving its had to be entirely discarded. We stiii have in use few of the more modern put not yarSs most of ss which hold ployed on certain lines with sharp curves, But the recent ears hold from old " clumsy methods of na unloading siau 1l them ns steam blow Is drawn from end to end of the whole vestibuled train, thus i'm mensely & econom,zing Labor, labor, In the rainy little in dirt. but they work steadily in rock and i9. the harder ground. There were some 25 at work during the time I was on the isthmus. and their tremendous power and efficiency were most impress sive.
 New Records for Excavation.
 .,As, As soon sS;a as % the type of canal was de- 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 l figures In August 242. 900 cubic yards: in September. 2s1.ooo cubic yards. and in l October, 325.ooo cubic yards. In October new records were es.ahi.hed for the ] output Of individual shoveIs as we'll as for the tonnage haul of individual loco hsathy spt hope S to ses the growh of l different shovel and locomotive crews, 1 just such spirit as has grown on our easas ea.sis ships n between the different gun Passing through the cut the amount of new work can be seen at glance. In been taken out recently by ? tons of dynamite. which were exploded at one blast At another place I was given a presidential salute of 21 charges of dyna- mite On the top notch of the Culebra cut the prism Is now as wide as 1t will be: all told. the canal bed at this point what 1t originally was. IL 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 noun mountain howitzers. into, the most un- their way Into the hiilsides.
 Critics and Doubling Thomases.
 It Is not only natural. but inevitable. that work gigantic as this which has been undertaken the isthmus should arouse every species of hostility and criticism. The conditions are so new and so trying, and the work so vast, that t would be absolutely out Of the aues- ton that mistakes should not be made Checks will occur. Unforeseen difficulties will arise. From time to time seemingly well-settled plans will have to he changed. At present 25,Oo0 men are en- gagged on the task. After awhile the number will be doubled. In such q rnili- titude it is inevitable that there should be here and there scoundrei Very many of the poorer class of laborers lack the mental development to protect them selves against either the rascality Of others or their own folly, and il is not possible for human wisdom to devise a plan by. which they can invariably be protected. In . place which has been for ages byword for unhealthfuiness, and with so large a congregation of strangers suddenly put down and set to hard work there will now and then be outbreaks of disease. There will now and then be shortcomings fin administra- tion; theye will be unlooked-for acci- dents to delay the excavation of the cut or the building. of the dams and locks. Each such incident will be entirely nat urai, and, even though serious. no one or them will mean moro than a littte extra delay or trouble. Yet each. when discovered by sensation mongers and re- tailed to timid folk of little faith. will