Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-12-26


men, as Skilled mechanics. as police
men, are good men; and many of the
ordinary day iabnrers are also good.
Work OF Construction.
But thousands of those who are
brought over under contract Cat our
expense) go of into the jungle to live.
or loaf around Colon. or work so bad
Nv after fha fret three Nv fnur DAYS
as to cause a serious diminution of
the amount of labor performed on Fri
DAY and Saturday of each week /
questioned q haraon many ny of these Jamaica ca
work and what. If any changes. they
wished I received many complaints
ION ION them; but as refs rds most of
tradlcted one another. In all cases
where the complaint was as to their
ON examination that this individual
was himself a West India man of color,
either policeman. a storekeeper. or
an an assistant storekeeper. Doubtless
.nere must be many complaints against
americans; but those to whom / spoke
did not happen to make any such COM
paint to me.
The work Is now going on with
vlgor and efficiency pleasant to wit
ness. The three big problems of the
S S are the La Boca dams. the Gatun
Gam, and the Culebra cut. The Guile
pra cut must be made. anyhow; but
OF course changes as to the dams. or
at at least as to the locks adjacent to
The dams. may still occur. The La
Boca dams offer no particular prob
lem, the bottom material being so
good that there is practical certain
~. not merely as to what can be
achleved, but as to the time of achieve
ment. The Gatun dam offers the most
solve; and yet the abiest men on the
isthmus believe that THIS problem is
certain of solution along the lines
proposed; although, of course. it ne
telligence. and although equally, of
course, there will be some little risk
arises from the fact that some of the
material near the bottom is not so
good as could be desired. If the huge
earth dam now contemplated is thrown
we will have what is practically
low, broad, mountain ridge behind
artificial mountain will probably show
Less seepage, that is. will have greater
restraining capacity than the average
nafy Of fhn 5an range The exact To-
the other dams-is now being de-
ter In April next Secretary
GERS of the country-Messrs. Noble
Stearns and, Ripley-win visit the
isthmus, and the three engineers will
make the final and conclusive exami-
nations as to the exact site for each
lock. Meanwhile the work is going
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
telllgence, perseverance, and executive
capacity. 1t is, however, the work upon
which most labor will have to be spent.
The dams will be composed of the earth
taken out Of the cut and very possibly
the building of the locks and dams will
take even longer than the cutting in
Culebra itself.
In culebra Cut.
The main work is now being done in
the CuleDra cut. II 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 a CEN
fury. No doubt quarter of century
hence this new machinery, of which we
are now so proud, will similarly seem out
nad to be entirely discarded We still
Rave in use a few of the more modern,
but y yards of earth. They can be en-
ployed on certain lines with sharp
curves. But the recent cars hold from
old clumsy methods of unloading them,
a. steam plow is drawn from end to end
of the whole vestibuled train, thus i'm
mensely ecohomizing labor. In the rainy
reason the steam shovels can do but
little in. dirt, but they work steadily in
rock and in the harder ground There
were some % at work during the time
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-
cided this work began in good earnest
The rainy season will shortly be over and
then there will be an immense increase in
the amount taken out; but even during
son, steady progress is shown by the
figures: In August, 242ooO cubic yards;
in September, 291,0o0 cubic yards, and in
October, $4,000 cubic yards. In October
new records were established for the
output of individual shovels as we'll as
for the tonnage haul of individual loco
motives. hope to see the growth of
healthy spirit of emulation between the
different shovel and locomotive crews,
just such a spirit as has grown on our
battle, ships between the different gun
crews In matters of Workmanship.
Passing through the cut the amount OF
new n Tors ear can be seen a,d at glanee In
been taken out recently by q tons of
dynamite. which were exploded at one
presidential salute of p 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 1t originally was. 1t will have to
be sunk about $50 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 il they We're
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
to the efficiency of General Manager
Bierd, the saving in time and cost. mas
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 eff
cheney and with a saving of cost The
chairman of the commission, Mr.. Shonts
has all matters of this kind constantly
in view, and is now recognizing the gov
eminent of the zone, SO as to make the
form of administration both more flexible
nd laco iva