The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1906-05-02
BIG RAILROAD
WORK TO BEGIN
ENGINEERS PASS THROUGH YAKIMA
Special Train Carries Executive Off
Gals Through City on Their
Way TO Philippines.

The first corps of civil engineers
sent to construct railroads on the
| islands of Pansy, Negroes and Cebu,
| Philippine islands passed through
here last week, bound for Seattle,
from where they will sail for the
Philippines on the steamer Minnesota
ON April 30.
The party includes field engineers.
office engineers, cashier, clerk, ste
| nographers, chief surgeon, etc, and
IN fact the nucleus of a complete or
@anization and comprises a total of
80 men.
The force will be followed later as
construction progress requires,
by such supervisory forces and
skilled labor as cannot be supplied
by Filipinos and that are necessary
to supervise the Filipino labor which
Will be the labor exclusively en-
ployed in the construction of these
roads. The aggregate length of the
railroad on the three islands named
will approximate 400 miles and most
of the material therefor will be OBJ
tanned in the United States, except
tanned in the orient.
The cost of the work so far pro-
vided for approxmates $4,000 900.
and it is expected will require four
years to complete, owing to the con-
ditions incident to the country: the
principal obstacle to rapid work be-
ing the rainy season. which much
reduces the number of working days
per annum
The unusual conditions connected
with an undertaking of this nature
in the orient creates for an engineer
extremely interesting work and each
member of the party is in high spirits
and much delighted with the pros
pect of the problems before them.
These railroads will be built I'M
der United States government con-
cessionary grant to the Philippine
Railway company, composed of J.
c. White & Co., Cornelius Wander
bilt of New York, c. M. Swift of De-
troit, and VIM. Salamon & Co., and
Heidelbach Ickleheimer C Co., prom
inent bankers of New York and 9TH
ers
The company has let the contract
for the construction and execution
of this work to the well-known firm
OF j. G. White G Co.. engineering
contractors of New York.
This firm has just completed and
placed in operation some forty miles
of electric railway in Manila and
have under way for the United States
government harbor improvements at
Iot1 ~
ing station at Olongapo, besides other
large undertakings in various parts
Of the world and in this country. 1t
is this firm that is constructing the
Yuma dam in Arizona for the Union
States government.
Mr.. f. J. Beard, member A. S. C.
z. of Kansas City, Mo-, chief en-
gineer of the work, accompanies the
party. On the staff are.
Mr.. ]. M. Robinson, late locating
engineer of the Guayaquill & Quito
railway; H. F. Howe, late acting
chief engineer of the Canton e Han.
kow railroad; G. H. Farnham, mem
Der A. S. G. E., late division en-
gineer and superintendent of con-
struction of Sam Shut division of the
SohOoA ~ lidnhoW IdIllodu, ". d.
Hogue, member A. S. c. E., late en-
gineer M. of w. of the Choctaw dis
trict of the Rock Island system; F.
d. Nash, late engineer in charge of
fifty miles of reconstruction of the
c., B. G. @. r. r., in Iowa, and l.. E.
Bennett, right-of-way agent and ad-
visor in native matters. (This gen.
tleman has spent many years in the
orient and on these islands; he made
the original reconnaissance and re-
port on these railroads and first
brought before the company the won
derful resources of the islands along
the routes of the proposed railroads
and has established beyond doubt
a conviction of the great future for
all the territory they will serve).