Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-01-04
Progress and Promise of Panama.

rlission for 1905. The report makes Il
volume Of 123 pages filled with matter
| of much interest regarding the work
done and planned for on the gigantic
enterprise which Uncle Sam has under
| taken 1t Panama, the work of uniting
the two oceans at that point and full
filling the dream which the worlds
commerce has fondly entertained for
over four centuries.
| Tie report. shows that in November
the employees of the commission on the
isthmus numbered 1900. OF these 49,
struction and engineering, 1900 under
the bureau Of material and supplies
and $3.50 under the department Of gov
ernnent and sanitation. OF the 1900
employees 14,25O are on the silver" pay
roll. receiving a wage per day that
varies from so cents to s1.O4 in gold, and
2,7O5 were on the gold" payroll.
| Yet. although the army of laborers is
greater than that which took Santiago.
Chief Engineer Stevens acknowledges
that no real work of actual excavation
is in progress. He is waiting for those
above him to determine whether the
canal is To be of the lock or sea level
| type. The opinion originally enter
tanned that any work done at the
Cuiebra cut would be useful in either
event has been abandoned. If the sea
level type be adopted One-eighth of the
total excavation will be in rock under
| water. whereas, i'll case of a lock canal
with summit 30 feet above tide. there
| will be no underwater excavation.
Moreover, if 10000, 900 cubic yards are
| to be removed. the cut must be at
tackled by an entirely different method
| than should be employed If only Al, ,OOO,-
0J0 or 50,O00.O0O cubic yards are to be re-
moved. 1T is therefore of the utmost
Importance" says the commission,
| jogging the attention Of the President
and secretary of war. that the type
of canal be decided with the least pos
sible delay"
| 1t appears that public opinion has
done grave.injustice to the health con-
ditiCns of Panama. The isthmus is not
the disease hole that has been pictured.
but has the elements of q health resort.
Among the employees of the commits
sion the rate of mortality has been but
2t.36 per 1000. This, says the commits
sion. lis probably as low as might be
reasonably expected among an equal
number of men engaged i'll similar
work in any climate" A victory has
been gained over yellow fever. During
October there were but four cases and
but two deaths.
| Nor is there serious lack in the labor
| supply--t.Ic likelihood of which has
been widely exploited. "A sufficient
supply of labor" it is said. "can be Sc
| cured from nearby tropical islands and
1
ccrned." But the quality is very poor
| the average efficiency per man being
but - to 50 per cent. OF the efficiency of
| the best common labor in the United
States" Although but 50 cents to s1.O4
per day is the wage. comparing results
the wage is SO or 81 per day.
| The Impression gained from reading
| the report is that a big job has been
undertaken, and that the nation will
have Il chance to display the virtue of
| patience. Up to the present nothing
| practically has been done except to
| tiuns. which have caused changes in
plans and policies have already oc-
| Cured when the old commission
was superseded in April by the new.
ard one when Engineer Wallace left his
post with scant notice. If congress
! should insist on interfering there will
new regime necessarily makes its quota
of mistakes. AS one Commentator puts
| it: Centralized authority is plainly
| what is needed as the only way to
| escape the mcddling that implies
muddling. The less directing lcgisla-
ton there is enacted the better 1t is
easy TO make plausible criticism con-
ccrning details. but Inanifestly tn,
Niscst course is To place complete re-
| sponsibIlity on the President and to
give him unfettered authority. And
acting or the same principle the PreSi-
dent in turn. should as far as possible
leave the chairman of the commission
and it's engineer alone. Great Britain =
colonies have prospered because of Il
wise and salutary neglect. and this
policy seems equally good in canal
building"
The doings of that much-advertised