The Washington herald., 1907-03-17
MAN TIRED OF Ills JOB
Why Chief Engineer Stevens
Quit the Canal.
HIS ENTHUSIASM HAD WANED
Lindsay DenisOn Tells of Hls Visit
tO the Chief Engineer in Panama
the Very Day He Wrote His letter
of Resignation to the President.
Dirt Flying ON the Isthmus.
Lindsay Denison. in Golfers.


John F. Stevens, chief engineer Of the
Panama Canal and acting chairman Of
the Isthmian Canal Commission, sat on
the evening OF February in the cool hall
OF his house on the top Of Cuiebra Hill
and talked 10 me for an hour or more
about his work. bis men. and himself
He gloried in what the Americans had
overcome. in what they were doing, and
in the spirit they were showing. OF the
canal itself, he spoke disparagingly; he
had gone stale in his enthusiasm It no
longer represented TO him highway OF
the nations, or the new wonder of the
world" he could see in it merely an
enormous hole in the ground In which he
and the 5000 men under his command
We're 10 labor YEARLY from morning until
night for seven long years to come.
Frankly, he said, he was tired of IT,
I called back out Of the dark. as ] was
leaving. that / hoped 20 drop in on him
again in about year. He smiled an in
different, rather q bitter. smile.
Il may not be here then" ne said THE
United States looks pretty good 20 me to-
night"
Then he walked back to the little desk
just inside the door and took up the let
ter-writing at which he had been busy
when I Interrupted him. And before he
had finished he had written his letter Of
resignation 10 the President OF the United
States
= year ago ! had written some very
harsh things about the condition of the
Panama Railroad and its administration
Mr.. Stevens had been very much incensed
by it. My call was one Of Apologize
working OF the railroad (which isn't really
a railroad at all. but a huge construction 1
yard. fifty miles long had taught ME my
mistake
known as 'sThe Big smoke"
The chief engineer. anectionately desig- /
mated by his subOrdinates from one end +
OF the isthmus to the other as THE Big
Smoke" was more than anxious to meet /
me half way. a year ago he had cabed I
that / was "a liar of the Poultney Bige- /
low class" Now ne WAS explaining that 1
the strain Of the work and the climate (
and OF warning influences above and be 4
low him had caused him to be irritated /
beyond all reason, and that If he had I
been iu my place. with my limited under /
standing OF the demOralized condition Of I
the railroad. he would have written % 10 /
in the same way. he said. rather sigh- I
cantiy II now seems. that he guessed ne /
had taken his job too seriously d year
ago lie wanted 10 know what ] thought .
OF the years progress. and seemed mod /
crately pleased when ] told him. with
candor. that the progress we
had made and the wonderful display Of
flying dirt and WhirTiRg machinery up
and down the line completely swept me
.ErrTrf o.
bra cut were overhung with q black pail
Of smoke from the engines and shovels
and locomotives. so that it looked FAR
more Ike Pittsburg than any other place
in the world. I had spent three DAYS rid
ing up and down the line on dirt trains.
and had found the main line between the
cut and the dumps an amazing cOntiuu
Gus belt OF trains run at high speed.
making lhe dirt dy'' at the rate Of 80 90
cubic yards a day He gTiuuCd They
had only just started, he said.
Loyal and Devoted Force.
He began talking Of the loyalty and de-
votion Of the working force: the incubus
Df incompetcnts and malingerers who had Il
kept them all in fret "A year ago had
been weeded out; the proportion OF use
less jamaica negro wOrkmen had been
much reduced; the spirit Of the job was
3ne OF hearty hustling. We laughed to-
gether over the heaithful quaTTels he
tween division engineers over the crime
known on the isthmus as kidnapping"
IN their zeal TO make good showing en-
sineers were stealing men from neighbor-
ng divisions by hundreds and even 10y
until THE Big Smoke" secretly
pleased, had TO issue stern orders 10 stop
ne practice.
But the change came when suggested
hat there must be a constant thrill Of IN
piratiOn I'm the knowledge that this
mighty force had been built up and was
Il its tremendous JOB because he mad PCT
t together. He couldn't feel any thrill
Il ali any more. he said. To him il was
III an enormous weary, tiresome job %
,rute labor, day in ard day out. and with
iothing but a hole in the ground 10 show
when it was All done. He broke of anI
,egan to talk about the weather Later
made an effort TO find oUt how he re-
.arded the approaching awarding of the ,
ontract- [ knew that he l:9d joined with
ir Shonts a year ago in urging the con-
ract plan, I did not know that he had
emained tacitly committed To 1hat plan
p to December. nor dld he tell me. when 4
asked what Justification there was for
ringing into the work. when it was All
Ding SO we'll ana 50 smoothly. the endless
ompiicatioas which the employment of a
upcTfluous contractor involved got
cry little satisfaction. II was clear that
e agreed with me; also that ne didn't
sant 10 say anything about it.
just Tired of 1t.
You have too much imagination for
ne" he said to me once. 4 haven't got
5 far ahead as imagining ships passing +
rom ocean to ocean. I'm afraid that
I wonder If there will be any
raffic at all. If there is any good in dig ]
ing canal anyway; If ii isn't all Just
reat big waste Of health. and money and 1
nergy. / guess I'm tired of IT, {
Then, as though in explanation. he told j
( the comments Of friends from the {
-nited States who had visited him on the q
'thmus. and particularly OF those Of !
hicago railroad man. {
You're not an engineer. Stevens. said
bis man. You are n combination fuan- '
ier employment agent. archbishop, SUI 7
erin endent Of schools corporation coun- j
ell, board of aldermen. restaurant keeper. G
I'D diplomat-with a little engineering u
prinlsled in 1cr seasoning. /
No one" sbid Mr.. Stevens, could well j.
Understand. without visit 60 the ls;E- 5
aus. how varied and trying was the \
train which fen upon the chief engineer" s
his was not said plaintively but appar-
ntiy by way Of Justification for his wesr- "a
less. II
went back TO Panama. wondering how /.
n article or q series OF them by a score q
{ writers could be framed which would o
lake the people of the United States full a
Z realize how great was this mans c
ork-so that there would be an arousing q
sentiment which would come back 20
i'm ana cheer him out of his dependency q
nd give him back his lost enthusiasm G
Leanwhile he was writing out ia his let
r to the President all the tlings he had Y