The semi-weekly messenger., 1907-12-06

ceeding in highly satisfactory man
/ ner. In March last, John r. Stew
| ems, chairman of the Commission
| and chief engineer, resigned. and
| the Commission was reorganiZed and
| constituted as follows: Lieutenant
Colonel George ". Goethals. Corps
of Engineers. Z. S. Army. chairman
and chief engineer; Major D. d.
| Gaillard, Corps of Engineers, L. S.
! Army; Major William L. Sibert.
Corps of Engineers, L. S. Army:
; Civil Engineer H. II. Rousseau. L.
. S. Army; Mr.. J. c. S. Blackburn;
Colonel W, c. Gorgas. L. S. Army,
and Mr.. Jackson Smith. Commission
ers This change of authority and
direction went into effect on April
1, without causing perceptible
check to the progress of the work.
; In March the total excavation in
the Culebra Cut, where effort was
chiefly concentrated, was S15.270
cubic yards In April this was in
! creased to S79,527 cubic yards.
There was considerable decrease
in the output for May and June ow-
ing partly to the advent of the rainy
| season and partly to temporary
trouble with the steam shovel men
over the question Of wages. This
trouble was settled satisfactorily to
all parties and in July the total ex-
cavation advanced materially and in
August the grand total from all
points in the canal prism by steam
shovels and dredgeS exceeded all
previous United States records,
reaching 1,274,404 cubic yards. In
September this record was eclipsed
and a total of 1 1,517,4 cubic yards
was removed Of this amount 1,4S1,-
307 cubic yards were from the canal
prism and 6,105 cubic yards were
from accessory works. These results
were achieved in the rainy season
| with rainfall in August of 11.S9
inches and in September of 11.65 in
ches. Finally, in October, the re-
cord was again eclipsed, the total
excavation being 1,86S,729 cubic
yards; a truly extraordinary record,
especially in view of the heavy rain
| fall, which was III inches. In fact,
experience during the last two rainy
seasons demonstrates that the rains
are a less serious obstacle to prog
ress than has hitherto been sup
posed.
Work on the locks and dams at
Gatun. which began actively in
that it is thought that masonry work
on the locks can be begun within
| fifteen months. In order to remove
all doubt as to the satisfactory char
| acter of the foundations for the
locks of the canal, the Secretary of
War requested three eminent civil
engineers, of special experience in
such construction, Alfred Noble,
Frederic P. Stearns and John r.
Freeman, to visit the Isthmus and
make thorough personal investlga-
tions of the sites. These gentlemen
went to the Isthmus in April and
by means of test pits which had been
dug for the purpose, they Inspected
the proposed foundations, and also
examined the borings that had been
made. In their report to the Secre-
tary of War, under date Of May 2,
1907. they seid: I'VE found that
all of the locks, of the dimensions
now proposed, will rest upon rock
of such character that it will furnish
a safe and stable foundation Sub
sequent new bOrings, conducted by
the present Commission, have fully
confirmed this verdict. They show
that the locks will rest on rock for
their entire length. The cross sec
ton of the dam and method of con-
struction will be such as to insure
against any slip or sloughing off.
Similar examination of the founda-
tions of the locks and dams on the
Pacific side are in progress. | be-
lieve that the locks should be made
of a width of 120 feet.
Last winter bids were requested
and received for doing the work of
canal construction by contract.
None of them was found to be sat
isfactory and all were rejected. 1t
is the unanimous opinion of the pres
ent Commission that the work can
be done better, more cheaply, and
more quickly by the Government
than by private contractors. Fully
so per cent. of the entire plant need
ed for construction has been pur-
chased or contracted for; machine
shops have been erected and equip
ped for making all needed repairs
to the plant; many thousands OF
employees have been secured; an eff
fective organization has been per-
fected; a recruiting system is in OPP
Grafton which is capable Of furnish
ing more labor than can be used ad-
! vanta geously; employees are we'll
, sheltered and we'll fed; salaries paid
are satisfactory, and the work IS not
only going forward smoothly, but it
! is producing results far in advance
of the most sanguine anticipatlons.
Under these favorable conditions,
change in the method of prosecuting
the work would be unwise and un-
| justifiable, for it would inevitably
disorganize existing conditions, check
progress. and increase the cost and
/ lengthen the time of completing the
canal.
The chief engineer and all his pro-
fessional associates are firmly con-
vinced that the 85 feet level lock
canal which they are constructing is
| the best that could be desired. Some
of them had doubts on this point
| when they went to the Isthmus. AS
the plans have developed under
their direction their doubts have
hoon d;cDoIIod While thov NAV de-