The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1906-12-18

similar private or public work in the
United States proper; and it is the
testimony of all people competent to
speak that IN no other similar work
anywhere in the Tropics-indeed, as
far as I know. anywhere else-has
there been such forethought and such
success achieved in providing for the
needs of the men who dc the work.
1 nave now dealt with the hygienic
conditions which make it possible to
employ a great force of laborers, and
with the task of gathering, housing.
feeding these laborers. There re-
mains to consider the actual work
which has to be done; the work be-
cause of which these laborers are gath
ere together-tne work of construct
ing the canal. This is under the di-
rect control of the Chief Engineer, Mr.
Stevens, who has already shown adj
mirable results, and whom We can
safely trust to achieve similar results
in tne future.
Our people found on the Isthmus a
certain amount of old French mater
ial and equipment which could be US
ed Some of it, il addition, could be
sold Is scrap iron. Some could be
used for furnishing the foundation for
filling in For much no possible use
could be devised that would not cost
more than it would bring in.
Work of Construction.
The main work is now being done
in the Culebra cut. 1t was striking
and impressive to see the huge steam
shovels in full play, the dumping
trains carrying away the rock and
- fhnxy 1ic1o6nn6 Tho ~ rn1npanntC
of French excavating machinery,
which often stand a little way from
the line of work, tho of excellent con
s%truction, look like the veriest toys
when compared with these new steam
shovels, just as the french dumping
cars seem like toy cars when compar-
ed with the long trains of huge cars,
dumped by steam plows, which are
now in use. This represents the enor
nous advance that has been made in
machinery during the past quarter of
a century. No doubt a quarter of a
century hence this new machinery, of
which we are now so proud, will sim
ilarly seem out OF date, but it is GER
tainly serving its purpose well now.
old French cars had to be entire
ly discarded. We still have in use a
few of the more modern, but not most
modern, cars, which hold but IL yards
of earth. They can be employed on
certain lines with sharp curves. But
the recent cars hold from 25 to 80
yards apiece, n instead of the old
clumsy methods of unloading them, a
steam pillow is drawn from end to end
of the whole vestibuled train, thus i'm
mensely econOmizing labor. In the
rainy season the steam shovels can
do but little in dirt, but they work
steadily in the roc and the harder
ground There were some Is at work
during the time 1 was on ne Isthmus,
and their tremendous power and eff
iciency were most impressive.
y =
New Records for Excavation.
AS soo as the type of canal was
decided this work began in good earn
est. The rainy season will shortly be
over and then there will De al i'm
mense increase in the amour taken
out; but even during the last three
months, il the rainy season, steady
progress is shown by the figures; In
August, PAP, 900 cubic yards; in Sep
TENDER, 291,00 cubic yards, and in Oc-
tober, 325,00O cubic yards. In October
new records were established for the
output of Individual shovels as well
as for the tonnage hau of Individual
locomotives. l hope to see the growth
of a healthy spirit of emulation be-
tween the different shovel and loco
motive crews, just such a spirit as
has grown on u battle ships be-
tween the different gun crews il mat
tiers of craftsmanship. Passing tnru
the cut the amount of new o can
be seer at a glance. In one place the
entire side of a hill had been taken
recently by 81 ions of dynamite
vrJ,i a1, |nvN1aJ01 ~ W. IJar+ A.
another place l was given a Presiden-
tial salute of 81 charges of dynamite.
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 it originally a 1t
will have to be sunk about 100 feet
Turnout the cut the drilling
blasting, shoveling, and hauling are
going On with constantly increasing
energy, the huge shoVels being prest
up, as if they were mountain howit-
Zers, into the most unlikely looking
places where they eat their way into
the hiIlsides.
Railway improvements.
The most advanced methods, not
only in construction, but in railroad
management, have been applied in
the Zone, with corresponding ono
mics in time ald 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
General Manager Bierd, the saving
in time and cost, has been noteworthy
Critics and Doubling Thomases
1t is not only natural, but inevitable
nat a work as gigantic as his which