The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-09-02
WASHINGTON NOTES
OF GENERAL INTEREST
Quaint and Interesting Letter on Rail-
reading, Written in 1888 BY Gen.
o. 7. Hayne.

A letter on railroading that IS quaint
and interesting IN these days Of jim
Hills and Harrimans was dug up in the
old records Of the post Office departs
ment few days ago. It was written
at Charleston, S. G., December %, 1898,
by General r. I Hayuc, president VI
the S. G. & Q. r. r., TO George L. Flitt,
agent Of the General z. or Flitt mad
been trying to induce Hayne 10 faeili-
tate the transportation Of the mails by
reducing from nine hours to eight the
running time Of trains between Charles
ton and Hamburg S. G., a distance Of
about 100 miles. The answer Flitt re-
ceived from Hayne read ike thiss
"Your favor dated 2sth Q o'clock r. m.
was received this day & has been laid
before the Committee charged with MAX
ing contract for the transportation Of
the daily mail on our Rail Road between
Charleston and Hamburg. / am instruct
ed BY the Committee to say that they
cannot consent to contract for the de-
parture OF their Cars at a later hour
than * past 4 IN the afternoon. e was
stated 20 you frankly IN the beginning
4 has been repeated in All cur com
munieations, that from the character and
condition Of our Road 4 the mature Of
The Country it was not deemed safe 70
undertake 70 convey passengers upon u
in the night aud that IN the present state
Of the Road II would be impossible to
make the run with certainty SO as 10
meet the hours 81 & 4 a. proposed
by you In particular Seasons & under
favorable circumstances It might be done
hut we know that we would frequently
fail & we could not contract 20 do that
which we knew before hand, could not
be performed, h having determined that
the safety Of passengers forhids our rum
ming IN the dark. we have no alternative
but to adhere to the hours stated"
While the people Of tho United States
have been fussing over the wool SEIZED
ule OF the hide schedule or various kin
dred things included in the tariff bill,
the segregated mite Of population down
on the isthmus Of Panama has ben put
ting q new aspect on the building Of the
canal. It Il no longer matter OF dig
giug a ditch, Concrete is being laid
villages are being moved quarries op.
ened, locks anchored Preparations are
almost completed for the constructive
work Of the canal and the whole project
IS entering upon its second phase Of ac-
When the record for the month Of
July was taken, it was found that the
United States had surpassed the exeava-
ton mark set by the French during the
years they were at work before abandon
ing the undertaking, The French eSca-
waited si54s000 cubic yards. The
Americans have taken ont 81 697 DIS Gu
bic yards There are 92,963,6l7 yards |
still to be exeavated.
From now on it is expected that the
excavation records viii dwindlp as the /
work progresses, the present |
plan being to bring the oxcaYatine and I
work 70 ain end simultsne
ously The new phase Of activity puts
an entirely different complexion upon 4
the busiest ten-mile strip in the world I
The roek-crushing plant at Aueon is
ready for work The Gatuu dam, over
which reams Of paper have been used in
argument, IS slowly rising, the surface
Of the pond having risen ten feet n the
last month. 50 that the water encroaehes
on the old tracks Of the Panama rail
road Great sheets Of cement are being
laid il the spillwav the floor Of which
Is to be ore foot thick.
To make way for the Gatun dam the
entire village Of Gatan has been wiped
out. This hamlet is within the limits
af the dam, and ia site win eventually 4
be covered AS the old village disap- Il
pears. the new 0atun On the hills over
looking the site Of the dam and locks I
crows larger. Il is now one Of the larg I
est settlements on the canal zone
Gatun was point whore, il the days Il
gone by, the bongoloads Of California
used to stop for refreshment 4
IA their wav Rp the river; where eggs I
were then sold four for 4 dollar, and
the rent for a hammock was two dollar,
! night
When the Americans arrived in 1904
satun was the center Of a comparatively \
arae river trade. The village consisted
II q dozen stores, a church, and seventy
lr more native huts, The negro settle
ment near the railroad station, known
IS the "Cite de Lesseps.s numbered about
70 shacks, and there we're nine other
near the station The only
restige Of the French village were the
legro shaeks and one house constructed
81 French material. and later occupied
IS an Office By the Americans.
There are wireless telegraph systems
ireless cooking apparatus-horseless ear