Evening star., 1908-01-17
OPPOSES THE CONTRACT PLAN
COL. COCKTAILS TELLS OF WORK
ON PANAMA CANAL.
Government Equipment Will Be
Complete by End Of the Next
Fiscal Year.

| Lieut.. Col. Goethals chairman and
chief engineer of the isthmian canal conn
mission. before the Senate committee on
interoceanic- canals today expressed en-
phatic condemnation of any plan to build
the canal under contract He said that he
has never known of any contractor or
combination OF contractors that has been
able to do work as we'll and cheaoly as
the government could do 1t. and asserted
that the organization and equipment now
in orera ton at Culebra is better and more
effective than any contractor could pos
sibly install. He said that contractor
would have trouble in keeping his labor
on the isthmus, owing to the reputation
for cruel and inhumane treatment of
workmen left by the French contractors.
According to the statements of Col.
Goethals. there will be practically enough
equipment on hand to complete the canal
by the time certain contracts for steam
dredges are completed, which it is sup
posed will be by the end of the next fis
cal year
Manufacture of Cement
Through questions put to Col. Goethals
by Senator Taliaferro the fact was
brought out that the commission does not
propose to receive dictation from cement
firms when the concrete work on the
| locks is taken up next January.
IF the firms who propose to furnish
the cement put their prices too high, we
will make Ii ourselves We do not wish
to enter the manufacturing field. for il
| adds to our troubles and we already have
troubles enough. added Col. Goethals
BY January. the chairman stated. ce-
ment work at the rate of 2.000 yards per
day would be In progress on the canal
lock sites.
An alleged newspaper agitation demand
ing that dirt fly" in the canal, Col
Goethals said in his opinion, had caused
much needless excavating and hasty
dumping on the canal before he became
connected with the project. Dumped dirt
In many instances had to be removed
|. Senator Ta!iaferro brought up the ques-
/ fton of the increased wages of skilled
employees in this connection, and asked If
the raise at the instigation of the chair
man was not due TO the demand of the
newspapers to have dirt fly
l., NO. Sir answered Col. GOethals
Those wages were raised in order to
keep good .Workmen on the isthmus''
In discussing the probable time of COM
pietloE of the canal Col. Goethals was
loatn to even hazard a guess. but said it
was generally supposed ii would take six
years longer
Unforeseen Difficulties.
The difficulties we are liable to en-
counter are unknown and uncertain" said
he we have had two or three bad
slides. and we are likely to encounter
more. In one place we had 10000 cubic
yards of material in motion and travelling
| at the rate of one foot an hour. 1t re-
| quired night and day work to save our.
equipment. Thus 1t is always the un-
expected that happens in this work.
Senator Cufberson asked Col Goethals
| number of questions and brought out the
statement that he expects no difficulty
in building satisfactory locks on the canal.
| Two of US have been on lock construc-
tion before said he. '.and we know how
to do 1t. We expect more trouble i'm
the cuts due to slides than we do in
the construction of the locks
What about the newspaper-the Canal
Record?' asked Senator Culberson
Col GOethals admitted that such pa
per was published weekly; that its pur-
pose was to give Official and accurate in
formation concerning the work on the
canal. and that it had originally been
started for the benefit of the employees
The senator wanted to know If Col.
Goethals knew that the commission once
conducted literary bureau i'm Wash
ington under the direction of the present
editor of the Record. and that a promise
had been made to discontinue such pub
lication.
Il never knew anything about it, re-
piled the colonel.
Senator Culberson pressed his queries
no farther.