River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-12-20

ter class. who are to be found as fore
men, as skilled mechanics, as police
men, are good men; and many or the
ordinary dav IaborerS are also good.
Work of Construction.
| But thousands of those who are
| brought over under contract cat our
or loaf around Colon, or work so bad
/ w after the first three four DAYS
as to cause 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
wished. received many complaints
from them, but as regards most OF
tnese complaints they themselves con-
tradicted one another. In all cases
| where the complaint was as to their
treatment by any individual it proved
on examination that this individual
was nlmSelf a West India man of color,
either a policeman a storekeeper, or
an assistant Storekeeper Doubtless
i tnere must be many complaints against
Americans; but those to whom | spoke
did not happen to make any such COM
! plant to me.
The work is now going on with a
/ vlgor and efficiency pleasant to wit
ness. The three big problems of the
canal 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
J at least as to the locks adjacent to
me dams may still occur. The La
| lem the bottom material being so
good 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 ablests men. on the
certain of solution along the lines
proposed; although, of course it ne
ceSsltates great toll, energy. and in
tell1gence. and although equally. of
course, there will be some little risk
in connection with the work. The risk
arises from the fact that some of the
good as could be desired. If 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
which will rise the inland lake. This
artificial mountain will probably show
restraining capacity than the average
natural mountain range. The exact To-
cality of the locks at this dam-as at
| the other damS-iS now being de-
termined In April next Secretary
| Taft, with three of the ablest engin-
GERS GERS SO. OF the eountry-Messrs. Noble,
| isthmus. and the three engineers will
make the final and conclusive exami-
Iadil "a, as to the exact site for each
ahead without a break.
The 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
| capacity. 1t is, however, the work upon
| which most labor will have to be spent.
The dams will be composed of the earth
the building. of the locks and dams will
take even longer than the cutting in
Culebra itself.
In cuIebra Cut.
The main work is now being done in
the Culebra cut It was striking and
impressive to see the huge steam shovels
in full play, the dumping trains carrying
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 cars when COM
dumped by steam plows, which are now
in USE This represents the enormous
advance that has been made in machin-
cry during the past quarter of CEN
fury. No doubt a quarter of century
hence this new machinery, of which we
are now SO proud, will similarly seem out
of date, but it is certainly serving its
purpose well now. The 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 IL yards of earth. They can be en-
p1oyed on certain lines with sharp
curves But the recent cars hold from
Is to 80 yards apiece, and instead of the
old clumsy methods of unloading them,
steam pillow is drawn from end to end
of the whole veStibuled train, thus i'm
mensely economizing labor. In the rainy
reason the steam shovels can do but
little in dirt, but they work steadily in
T Wsre a soe e 8 the w hafae uhg h this
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-
cded this work began in good earnest.
The rainy season will shortly be over and
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, 242,000 cubic yards;
in September, 900 cubic yards, and in
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
healthy spirit Of emulation between the
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 l was given a
presidential salute of 81 charges of dyna-
mite On the top notch of the Culebra
cut the prism is now as wide as it 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 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 if they were
mountain howitzers, into the most UNI
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
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 seffi-
cheney and with 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
eminent of the zone, SO as to make the
and less expensive, subordinating every
thing to direct efficiency with view to
the work of the canal commission. From
time to time changes of this kind will un-
be remembered that in this giant work
of construction, it is continually neces-
sary to develop departments or bureaus
which are vital for the time being, but
which soon become useless; just as it will
be continually necessary to put up build
nd even f0 erect towns which in,