Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-22
CANAL PROGRESS
is SATISFACTORY
lSTHMIAN COMMISSION Is
SUES REPORT
Three Construction Divisions for Work,
on Big Ditch Are Established.
Cost Will Approximate
Sum of $375,ooO,ooo
tBy Associated Press. ]

tDS As9oSioAcd EIeSss1
: WASHINGTON, Nov. 21.-Satisfac-
tory progress in the construction of the
, Panama canal is shown in the annual
report of the Isthmian Canal commits
sion for the fiscal year ended June 80
1909, made public by the secretary OF
war today.
. While the report contains few facts
that have not been printed from time
to time, and scarcely any comment by
Colonel Goethals, chairman of the com
mission and chief engineer of the work,
IT affords an interesting resume of
what has been accomplished in the
year. The report, among other things,
states:
i "A complete reorganization of the
i work was inaugurated July l, 1908, and
brought about gradually through the
year with view, as previously stated,
TO concentrate authority, to expedite
! the transaction of business, to secure
better coordination, to fix more def
nitely the responsibility in any particu-
lar case and to reduce the cost of ad-
| ministration.
| with the reorganization resulting
in the establishment of three con-
| strlction divisions, the first is under
Lieutenant Colonel II. f. Hodges who
as assistant chief engineer has charge
| of the design of the locks and dams
! e'Aib hAiNAi dppuI ltIlduCGS. Inc second
Is under II. II. Rousseau, u. S. navy.
who has charge of all mechanical ques-
tlons that may arise, looks after ex-
pendltures, the preparation of esti-
mates, and supervises cost keeping.
The third is under c. NJ Savile, who
as assistant engineer has charge of
photographic and meteorological work
ana such general surveys as are not
embraced within the limits of anv Of
the construction divisions.
During the year the designs for the
upper locks at Gatun and the locks
at san Pedro Miguel were finished.
Atlantic Division
THE work of this construction divi-
sion embraces the locks and dam at /,
Gatun, the quarry at Porto Bello. the
supply of sand from Nombre de Dios
the excavation between the locks and
{ ep water in the Caribbean. the break
waters for the shelter of shipping and
projection OF the channel in Limon bay, |
puIldlng construction, municipal i'm |
proVements in Colon and in various SET |
Elements embraced within the limits of |
the division, and such sanitary engi-
neerlng constructions as are desired NV
the sanitary department The work is
IN chrge of Major w. L. Sibert. Corps
oil Engineers, u. S. army, as division
4. WITH OF lle central COnStruC-
tlon division embraces all the excava-
tion between the Gatun dam and Pedro
Miguel, including the diversion chan
nels; construction of the Naos island
breakWater; clearing of timber from
the enamel and anchorage basin. and
such municipal, sanitary and building
work as is included within it's terri
torlal limits. 1t takes in the former
CuIebra and Chagres river divisions.
in the reorganization. The
work is in charge of Lieut.. Col. D. D.
Galllard, corps of engineers. u, s.
army, as division engineer.
The work of the Pacific division
consists of the construction of the
locks and dam at Pedro Miguel, the
locks ana dams at Miraflores, the
and operation of the
Ancon quarry, dredging for sand from
the deposits at Chame, dredging and
the channel between the
locks and below Miraflores locks to
deep water in the Pacific and such
building construction and
sanitary work as may be REQUIRED
within the territorial limits of the
division.
THE act of June 2S, 1902, authorized !
he construction Of the canal and made
provisions for the necessary funds the |
AMOUNT stipulated being based on the :
'eport Of the board of engineers i'm its
'eport of 1S99-1901, and aggregatng r
j "A, 233, 1885, including sanitation and :
police. A modification of the plans ;
hen submitted was made by the mi I
lority of the board of consulting en-
sineers and adopted by congress in
906 which fixed the cost for engineer
ng ands construction, exclusive of the
purchase price, the cost of sanitation g
md civil government and the interest, s
1t $l39, 105200. In the preparation of c
his estimate the same unit prices I
we're assumed as were adopted by the | n
BOARD of 1S99-190l. In the interval, C
however, wages had increased, and the d
ost of materials and manufactured
rticles had risen. Prosperous cOndi-
ions in the United States, combined
With the unsavory reputation that the
sthmus had regarding it's healthful-
less, made it necessary in order to I
ecure labor, to increase the wage a
Gales from 80 to 60 per cent over C
hose paid in the United States for v
imilar classes of work Certain gra- p
uities as additional inducements were
lso offered, which in the main have
ince been continued Moreover, the
rovisions of the eight-hour law We're h
lade applicable to the Isthmus.
THE unit prices were therefore ma /,
erially increased. Various changes e
ad also been made in the adopted n
Ian, increasing the quantity of work
po uOlS' ~ otuulIiOIl' more uStdilei
urveys and plans than were originally
vailable had been made and the work
ad progressed sufficiently to give re- ~
able data relative to unit costs This H.
nabled revised estimate TO be pre- -
ared and submitted az a hearing be-
1re the committee on appropriations -.
f the house Of representatives in Feb !"
Iary, 1909.
THE estimate as prepared shows the -,
,tal cost of engineering and conStrun- III
on alone sums up to 1927, ,rG6, ,000 to
hich, if the purchase price and the r
cost of sanitation and civil ~
)vernment be added, there results the VI
I'M of $375201, 900 as the total cost of III
e canal"
4 fin version of the Rihle. and Tuther