The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1906-03-30
CIRCULATION
800
ALSO
EDITORIAL INK. DROPS
Ten Pases

adequate idea OF the great work now
under way on the Panama canal, a
subject which seems to occupy much
Of the attention of the members Of our
national Congress in Washington.
The most enlightening and direct ar
ticle we have read anywhere was a
brief, pungent and business-like COM
munication from an Iowa man, one
Bart E. Lineham, to the New York
Tribune, and it is so interesting we
quote part Of the same: "My second
trip across the isthmus, making stops
at various points," said Mr. Lineham,
"gave me the opportunity to compare
conditions with those in March and
April, 1905. l stopped at few places
where believed l could gather the
most valuable information. l spent a
part Of day at Empire, and went
over the great Culebra cut with the
division engineer, w. E. Dauchey. 1t
is astounding to see the work that is
being done in this cut since my last
visit with Mr. Dauchy. He told me
they had 40 miles of track, with many
side tracks, with so locomotives, and
using more than 600 steel dump cars
to get rid of the material. This cut
is eight and one-half miles long, and a
large portion of it has to be cut
through solid rock. In this cut the
French company went down 40 feet.
If sea level plan canal is adopted, we
will have to cut down 16O feet more,
and $1,000, 900 cubic yards Of stone and
earth must be excavated. They are
now working in Culebra cut Is fve-ton
dipper steam shovels, getting out 5000
to 10, 900 cubic yards of earth day Ia
day Of eight hours) with approximate
ly only 3, 700 men working at this work,
which is about the same number as
when 1 was there II months ago.
When accommodations are completed
Mr. Dauchey is prepared to put on 5000
more men, more steam shovels, and
will show much better results, with
less cost in digging 1t was astonish-
ing to me to see the work that was
done in six weeks-double tracking
the 4s miles of railroad, constructing
yard room to store 600 cars, and build
ing 60 new houses to take care Of the
influx of the laborers that arrive here
daily. On February %, 1,O44 laborers
arrived in Colon and were Immediate
ly put on the cars. sent out to work on
the different points on the canal and
housed in comfortable quarters. Won
derful Improvements have been made
in the railroad terminals at Cristobal,
where they have water 30 feet deep
along the wharves mile and a half
long and platforms to store more than
100 900 tons of freight, with railroad
tracks running alongside the steam
ers, where they can, by working in the
different matches on the boats, load d.
rectly on the cars. l noticed how
promptly our steamer, the Dundolin,
was unloaded. 1t took 20 days to load
her in New York and only 10 days to
unload her on the docks at Cristobal.
They have at times unloaded as much
as so carloads of brick in one day of
eight hours work. A mile above,
Captain Maltby is charging the old
French dry dock, so they can dock the
largest of the Panama fleet of steam
ers. The new hotel being built at
Cristobal to accommodate 400 people
is almost done. The dining-room Of
this hotel was thrown open on Wash
ington's Birthday for the use of young
and old people, and several hundred
enjoyed dancing from O'Clock in the
evening until 2 in the morning. The
same great work that is going on in
Cristobal is being done at La Boca, on
the Pacific side, where the railroad
terminals and warehouses have been
extended and enlarged, so they can
berth five large steamers and as many
schooners. l was there when they IN
loaded 23O, 900 feet of lumber off yes
; sci IN 1Ot hours. There were 42,0O'