The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-12-05
WORK DONE ON
THE PANAMA CANAL
First Report Submitted BY the
Commission.

Washington Especially - Full de-
tails OF the work done on the Pana-
ma Canal during the fiscal year 1907,
with a showing OF what has been ac-
complished since the project has been
In American hands, are disclosed in
the annual report of the Isthmian
Canal Commission Just made public.
II is the first report made of opera
tions on the isthmus since construc-
tion work has been In charge OF army
engineers. Aside from the $4,000
paid to the French company and to
Panama. an aggregate of S4S, ,2S5,11
has been expended by the government
on the project adopted by Congress,
and which IL was estimated by the
board of consulting engineers would
ultimately cost $139, 9,705,200. This
estimate, however, did not include
sanitation and expenses of the zone
government, waterworks, sewers and
paving In Panama and Colon and the
re-equipment of the Panama Rail-
road. There is no reference which
has been brought forward to extend
the width of the locks to 110 feet SO
as to accommodate without difficulty
the extreme breadth in the develop
ment of shipbuilding. and this will
be made the subject OF special COM
munication from the commission.
Hired Labor Preferred.
A strong position Is taken favor
able to a continuation of the policy
of doing the work by hired instead
of by contract labor, step at one
time seriously considered by the ad-
mlnistration, and many arguments
are presented to justify the commits
sion in its conclusion that the canal
can be built better, cheaper and more
quickly by the government. Santa
ton. upon which SO much depends
for the comfort and health of the en-
ployes, is treated of in the report, a
statement is made of what has been
done, and the declaration made that
there was no yellow fever originating
on the isthmus during the year.
AS bearing on the question OF the
suitability of the foundations for
the proposed lock sites, the report
quotes from the conclusions of a
board OF consulting engineers, who
made a personal examination of the
material at the lock sites and which
found that all of the locks of the
dimensions then proposed (an So
foot level canal would rest on rock
of such a character that would fur
nish a safe and stable foundation.
Panama Railroad.
The completion of the canal will
necessitate the abandonment of the
present main line of the Panama
Railroad, and preliminary surveys
for location of a new line on the east
side of the canal were commenced the
latter part of July and completed in
November. The location of the line
was practically determined In March,
and involves the excavation of l.,
100000 cubic yards of material and
the placing of 100000 cubic yards
in embankments.
BY June 80 branches from the main
line had been started at Pedro
Miguel, Gatun, Lion Hill, Gamboa,
Miraflores, San Pablo and La Boca
Junction. A trestle 500 feet in
length was driven at Gatum and a
dumping trestle was being driven at
Pedro. Miguel Three permanent
culverts were begun az Pedro Miguel
and one at Mindi.
For the accommodation of gold
employees 656 quarters, both bachelor
and family, were constructed, and for
silver employees 335 buildings were
erected, consisting of barracks, bath
houses, cooksheds, family quarters
and kitchens. For the sanitary de-
partment 33 buildings were construct
ed for hospital purposes.
OF the. 2,265 buildings which were
received from the French Canal Com
pany 252 were repaired during the
year and 113 destroyed. There are
678 of these building yet remaining
to be repaired. remodeled or demol-
ished.
A total of 767 new buildings were
constructed covered by this report,
and on June 30. 1907, there were
on hand 2.91s buildings of all classes