The Jersey City news., 1906-10-10
CANAL DIGGING PLAN
Chairman Shonts Gives Details
Of Proposed Method of s
Completing Work.
WHOLE JOB IN ONE CONTRACT

Bidder Must Undertake Entire Cor.
struction Of Waterway-cemn
Chief Defends Percentage System Of
Payment-Expects Time and Cost to
Be Reduced as Labor Proceeds.
Washington, Oct. 10-The plan to
complete the Panama canal by con
tract was made public by Chairman
Shonts. Each bidder must undertake
the entire construction No bar win
be offered to corporations associating,
but they must be legally organized in
to a single body, with which the gov
eminent can deal. Bidders will not be
considered yho do not have available
capital of $5.O0o.O00 A certified check
for 100000 is required with each pro-
posal, and bond of S3.OO0,O00 will be
required from the successful bidder
The bidding is not limited to Ameri
can contractors. All proposals are to
be In before noon of Dec. -, when
they will be opened. Proposals are to
be expressed in terms of percentage
tion, which Is to be fixed by board
of ave engineers, three representing
the government and two representing
the contractor The chief engineer Of
the canal commission is to be chairman
of the engineering board.
Premium For Speed Proposed.
The engineering board will also es.
innate reasonable time for the com
pletion of the canal and will agree up
on a system of premiums and penal
ties to be paid to or by the contractor,
according as the work is completed
within or beyond the estimated cost
and time.
All the government plant for actu<
construction work, including the rais
way, is to be placed at the disposal o.
the contractor and is to be maintained
by the government. The contract speci-
fies that the commission is to retain
control of all engineering work in con
nection with the construction of the ca
nal; also all municipal engineering. the
police. sanitary, hospital and commits
sary departments, mess houses, quar-
ters, construction and maintenance of.
buildings, operation of the Panama rail
way, an auditing department, to (Which,
contractors accounts are to be open,
and a department of materials and
supplies.
Eight Hours For Americans.
Sixty days after the signing of the
contract actual work is to begin on the
isthmus, and the contractor is to take
over all employees on the isthmus
which the commission does not wish
to retain. No American employee is
to work more than eight hours.
| Chairman Shonts defends the per
centage system Of payment in letter
to Secretary Taft, as follows: '@This
plan is being employed increasingly by
| the oldest, largest and most successful
| corporations in the country. The gov
ernment will get the benefit of the
combined efforts of the best and most
experienced contractors in the world,
each in charge of a department in
which he is specialist and co-operat-
Ing with other specialists The gov
| eminent will secure the cooperation
| of these powerful interests in keeping
| mechanics of all classes.
To Protect Government.
''The plans offer every incentive for
speedy and economical construction by
penalizing extra time and cost and re-
warding better than contract perform
ance as to either. By retaining con-
| troll of the work and exercising strict
supervision through its engineering
force the government will protect it
self against cheap or faulty construc-
| ton.
"The time and cost of completing the
canal as estimated will in all proba-
bility be reduced by the application OF
new principles which will be discov-
cred as the work progresses. Finally
termination of the contract, should it
become necessary. would be less disas-
| trous to the contractor, while an ef-
fective resumption Of the work would
| be made easier to the government ow-
ing to its close relations thereto"