Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-03-14


lie, however,, thought 1t curious "a curl
Gus coincidence, SO to speak that tue
same concern had annexed both chief
engineer and chairman. It reminded ]
one Of q celebrated couplet In the Kan
sas bard Thomas Brewer Peacock's
rhyme Of the border war:
On her he then took pity
And took her up to Kansas City.
The marlborough seems to have TAX
en- pity on these two gentlemen Ian
gushing In the lonesome and malari-
GUS canal zone and took them up to
New York city, where things were go
Ing on. 5s
The next move on the board was to
let the canal job out to some expert
enced contractor, Mr. Stevens still ex-
ercising supervision. William J. OIL
yer Of Knoxville Tenn, made the low
est bid. and 1t was announced that
this was to be accepted. Mr.. Oliver
organized his company, secured the
requisite capital and was almost ready
to embark for Panama when some
thing happened.
Resignation No. 5.
q, Mr.. Stevens resigned. AS yet no
body seems to know just why. There
are those who say that 1t was because
Mr. Stevens is passionately fond Of
golf, and Panama has no golf links.
Others aver that he Is passionately
fond Of reading, and the mucky at.
mosphere Of the canal strip causes q
green moss to grow on the pages Of.
his favorite tones. Both these expla-.
nations of course are jocular, and yet
they are to be estimated with some
degree Of seriousness. for it Is unde-
ntable that Panama is a long way
from the golf links, the Carnegie III
braries and all the other adjuncts Of
civilization that make life worth liv-
Ing after q man has lived In Chicago,
where Mr.. Stevens halls from.
There is also a hint Of red tape In
explanation Of Mr.. Stevens throwing
up the sponge It is said furthermore
that he. did not receive with hidebound
3equanimity the constant criticism OF
bis work, though It is understood that
the administration was satisfied with
his conduct OF the big job.
At any rate Mr.. Stevens resigned.
his resignation was accepted, and upon
the heels Of 1T came the announcement
that all bids for the contract were re-
jected and that the canal would be
constructed by army engineers.
Mo ~ u,
has spent $4,000 Ia perfecting his
company and Ills plans, felt like man
who had bought sweet orange and
had d sour lemon delivered to him. He
remarked: s25
n have been Whangdoo died in a good
game. 7 know and have known all
along who was sitting in the game
Mr.. Oliver did not divulge the nature
OF the game nor the names Of those
who sat In.
The New Canal Engineers.
Colonel Goethals, who Is to be the
head or the new isthmian canal com
mission, has been serving on the gen
eral stair Of the army at Washington.
He is forty-nine years old and was
graduated from West Point in 1880.
As assistant engineers the president
has named two majors Of the engineer
corps. p. Du B. Gaillard and William
i. Sibert forty-seven and forty-slx
years old respectively and both Of the
West Point class Of 1884 These three
gentlemen have had long service as
army engineers. For the canal work
their salaries are to be largely In
creased. An army officer, however, is
subject to resignation IL he doesn't like
his Job. The theory Of the president
seems to be that Colonel Goethals is
young enough to see the Job through,
and Il he should not stay until the end
one Of the two majors mentioned will
be qualified to succeed him.
Meantime the work is going on, the
steam shoyels are cutting out the ditch
and progress is reported. There APP
pears to be reasonable expectation
that the canal will be completed by
about 1917 and at "a cost of not more
than $500. 600. 900, perhaps not nearly
SO much. As to time and cost, howey-
81, nothing definite should be yentured.
The isthmian canal is and always has
been an unknown quantity. We are
coming to know more about 1t, but we
must learn mostly by experience.
The Panama canal idea is just 357
years old. Antonio Galyao, a Portu-
guese navigator, in 1850 proposed to
the king Of Spain a plan for cutting a
canal through the isthmus Christopher
Columbus discovered the isthmus in
1902 Eleven years later, from the
summit Of the mountains In that part
| of the isthmus which used to be called
Darien, Miguel Cabello de Balboa dis
covered the Pacific ocean.
Balboa climbed that s.peak In Da-
lrien" with the specific purpose Of dis
towering q water passage to the orient
Columbus made his voyages with the
same purpose In view. Though he
never knew it himself, believing be had
reached Asia, the great navigator ran
against an obstruction In the shape Of
two vast bodies Of land connected by
ia narrow neck. This land has turned
| OIit To he duifa valuable IN MANY WAYS