Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-27
FIVE YEARS ON CANAL
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
HAS ACCOMPLISHED MUCH IN
THAT TIME.
NEW TOWNS HAVE BEEN BUILT
OLD ONES RECONSTRUCTED
First Work of Government Was I'm
provement Of Sanitary Conditions in
Panama-Almost s1oo,ooo,ooo Already
Expended IN Great undertakins-In-
terestins Figures.
Especial Correspondence


Washington, May 26.-The United
States has finished five years of owner
ship of the Panama canal This gov
eminent took possession of the prop
erty May a, 1904. At that time the only
work in progress was in the Culebra
cut, where about 900 West Indian la
borers were at work.
The government engineers determ-
ined that the first work to be done was
that of effective preparation on great
scale. To this about half of the five
years has been devoted. The first re-
quirement was to get safe sanitary
conditions established, and the success
in this work is still regarded as the
most distinguished achievement of this
governments administration of the
zone. The death rate there is now
lower than in many American Cities
and the great plaques formerly feared
are today unknown. 1t was not till
June, 1906, that the type of canal was
decided by act of congress in favor of
the locked ditch. The progress which
has been made on the canal is suggest
ed by the figures on excavation since
American control began:
1904. from May 4, 243,e72 cubic
yards.
1905, 1,7ss,227 cubic yards.
1906. 4,24S,497 cubic yards.
1907, 1908, and 1909 to May !, 1885,
00o, 900.
in March, 1909, more material was
removed than In the entire first two
years Of American control. A total of
over 100000 yards has been taken
out since American control was inau-
gurated. and only 101,0o0,0OO remains
to be taken out
Houses aud towns have been built,
and the older cities and towns have
been completely reorganized and large
ly rebuilt. The Panama railroad has
been rebuilt and its facilities increased
to keep pace with the great demand of
the construction work upon them.
Work on the great flights Of locks
near the two ends of the canal has
made splendid progress. Over 2O,000,-
600 yards of material will have to be
put in to complete the Gaun dam,
which will be 11a miles long, lis feet
high, and 1900 feet wide at the bot
tom.
The locks at Gatun, to raise the wa
ter level to the highest level of the ca
nal route, will require excavation OF
$4,000 yards of material, while over
| 100000 yards Of concrete will have to
be put in. This dam and this flight of
! locks represent the great engineering
feats of the canal. The Culebra cut
used to be regarded as the chief diff
Guilty, but 1t has now been demonstrat-
ed that that is mere matter of dig
girlg and dredging; great, but not an
intrinsically difficult task. The total
expenditure on the work to Feb. /
1S0S, have been s33,9lS,e1e, Of which
the largest items are:
Civic administration ....s 2,616.73:
Sanitation $50. ............. s,O54,96:
Construction and engineering 60,122,44S
Building quarters, etc.,. 6,787,30:
Double tracking Panama Ry. 1895, 40,
Relocation Of Panama Ry... 2,107,26;
Municipal improvements of
Panama and Colon ....... 2,272,67:
Municipal Improvements for
canal zone settlements. -. 4,oo7 4s;