New-York tribune., 1907-10-16
PRAISES CANAL WORK.
rsTHNUS TRANSPORTED.
Confirmed Pess;mist AIso Undergoes
Change on Second Tisit.

when John y Boyce, United States Attorney for
.ha Is. District Of Alaska left Juno about two
.non,bs ago for Panama to spend there part Of
~ vacation. after an absence from the isthmus
- ,hir;v-one years he a pessmist regarding
rs state Of affairs the canal zone. Mr. Boyce
= ,oa- in New York his way back to his post
syt he is longer pessimstic: in fact, after a
,ersonal investigation Of the progress of the work
=, she great waterway ne is a decided optimist
= expect see ships going through the canal
4, Eve wears" said NIr Boyce yesterday 'ff the
--aserr gait is continued"
Mr. Boyce spent a long time on the isthmus
.t,r+v wears ago and the knowledge gained at
rat time enables him TO make an intelligent COM
asT3son between the work done by the French and
"a. done by the American engineers. Mr. Boyce
said:
- had thought that the United States paid too
much when It gave the French Panama Canal Com
Many s40GOGo0 but I have changed my opinion.
saw what the United States got for the money and
think II a bargain.
81 spent most Of my time on this trip at Panama
c,ty The first thing that impresses one on arriving
,here Is the fine sanitary condition There are no
more pools Of stRgnant water where the yellow
fever mosquito used to make its home. The mos
quito. too. has been eliminated. In six months
there was only one case OF yellow fever. and that
vras brought in from outside.
The engineers have been doing real work on the
canal and the volume of work is increasing by
reometrical progression There are 16S locomotives
IN fulfilling
other purposes and in Cuebra cut there are forty
-vo steam shOvels in use. 1 have examined the
work the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal. and
also that Of the New York Central, and I am en-
tirely impersonal when say that the shovels
are handled more expeditiously and better in Pan
ana than they either of those big jobs.
Then, too. there is noticeable a spirit Of good
feeling among the working corps. The organiza-
ton is excellent and the men work with the ap-
probation. apparently that they identified with
one OF the worlds greatest projects An instance
Of the efficiency Of the working force is the rapidity
with which the loading is done. It takes the
sverage th!rty-ive minutes load a train Of ten
cars with dirt The statistics show that 1884 99l
cubic yards were taken out between January and
September.
The American engineers have succeeded in solv-
tng the problems presented by the Chagres River
and Culebra, which proved stumbling blocks TO the
French engineers. The substitution OF the Ameri-
can locomotive for the French engines has also
increased The output decidedly.
The hospital for the sick and disabled workers
Is an institution be proud Of 1t consists of
6fteen or twenty buildings all with modern equip
rnent Il IS surrounded by a park facing the Pa
cifc Men permanently disabled may. If they
choose, remain there indefinitely or accept pas
sage TO their homes.
. ~ have seen the criticisms OF Miss Gertrude
Beeks Of the National Civic Federationa but
could observe none OF the glaring faults that she
points out. Ny trip TO the isthmus has converted
me from pessimist to an enthusiastic optimist-
The visit Of President Roosevelt to the isthmus
marked an epoch there, and did much good. The
date OF every happening IS now placed at so long
before or after the President was here"
Mr. Boyce discussed also the work being done on
the isthrnus by the Young Mems Christian AS
sociRton. He said:
The Young Mems Christian Association in the
canal zone has a membership Of nearly two
thousand. and occupies four large clubhouses
erected by the canal commission The member
ship Is composed Of American young men. all Of
whom employees Of the canal commission.
The clubhouses contain gymnasiums. billiard
rooms and libraries and are surrounded by large
Tersndas. In the evening they are thronged with
young men. One of the officials OF the canal COM
mission recently said that money being spent
On the isthmus was producing better results than
that for the erection OF these club buildings and
tor the maintenance of the work in them"