The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-02-05


per yard cost Of digging the Panama
Canal with the cost Of similar work else
where. An elaborate system OF cost-keep-
( ing has been established, and Il shows to
the fraction OF q cent the cost OF doins
any given piece OF work The cost OF
civil administration. sanitation. and Zone
Improvements, is left out Of the cSIcuia-
ton. for the reason that or other con-
struction works these expenses are borne
by the public and not by the construction
itself It therefore leaves the various
items on a strictly comparable basis, 50
far as the items charged are concerned
OF course the eight-hour day obtains at
Panama. as compared with the ten-hour
day on most contract construction. and
many Of the expenses at Panama are
heavier than those in the States, but On
the whole, this does not vitiate the COM
perison-
The most significant thing about this
cost keeping system down 90 date. Is the
showing II makes. Prior to the beginning
OF the last fiscal year the cost OF ex-
cavaticn in Culebra Cut. was ga per
cubic yard By the operations OF the
fiscal year they were able TO drive the
cost down TO 81 cents per cubic yard
Even this record viii probably be lowered
before the present fiscal year is done.
During the first half OF the last fiscal
year the cost OF excavations by steam
shovel in the Colon division amounted 10
IS cents per cubic yard During the
second half OF the year they we're able
to cut the cost down 10 So cents per cubic
yard. IN the Charges division. the cost
sank from Sl-52 70 50 cents Dredging at
Colon was reduced from nineteen cents
per cubic yard 10 twelve cents. II is
confidently expected that remarkable as
is this showing, the operations OF the
present fiscal year wiz make an even
greater reduction.
II IS exceedingly interesting to note the
cost OF excavation to-day with the esti-
mates upon which the engineers decided
the questions relating 10 the building OF
the canal The dredging IN Colon and
Panama harbOrs was placed at Is cents,
and the removal Of the material in Guile
bra Cut was estimated at 50 cents. II
viii be seen that IN the one instance the
consulting engineers set their figures
Gown too low. and in the other the figures
were too high.
Since this coSt-keeping system has been
establishing It shows that the married
man Is a rather expensive investment TO
the isthmus-if the dollars and cents OF
the proposition alone are 10 be consid-
cred The cost OF the monthly allow
ances 70 the married men amounts 20 81,
that Of the single men 20 s22s. Assuul-
ing six-year service. and adding 70
these allowances the cost OF the quar-
ters, each married man represents an out
lay OF 5000. while each bachelor shows
an expenditure OF $50 But with ali this
great disparity in actual cost to the COM
the married man IS still pre-
ferred. The single man comes. STAYS a
while, and then returns TO the States.
Not so with the married men They give
stability 10 the force There is a great
demand for married quarters. while the
supply OF bachelor quarters so far ex-
ceeds the demand that the commission
IS converting many OF them into married
quarters
It has always been said that II costs
more TO manufacture small parts OF ma
,hinery on the isthmus than 10 bring
hem from the States, and It has been
he policy OF the commission 70 order
-hese supplies wherever they could Be
gotten without delay Recently the me- 4
,hsnical division manufactured q number
u side doors for twelve-yard steel dunn /
,arS Counting al direct and Indirect I
expenses in making them, the cost was I
1851 each II they had been ordered ]
rom the States in lots Of fifty. the cost
would have been So each. or course
his is an exceptional showing. but IL
demonstrates that the workmen down 4
here know how 10 DO things.
The commission is a good housekeena-
Z is not willing to rob Peter 70 pav
Paul. On the isthmAs there are hun
ireds OF tons OF old scrap left over from
he French regime. II # were shipped
o the States as ballast IN the Panama
Railroad steamships. It would show 3
handsome profit. provided there was no
harge By the steamship line for trans
The government owns TIRE
teamship line and also the canal bur
he steamship line does not want 70
AIRY Il free, and the commission. docs
.ot desire to lose money on The deal
y paying for carriage. So there YOU are
he government insists on charging 81
elf for carrying its Own iron. and a.
ruliy refuses to pay itself for so doing
o the scrap viii remain on the isthuaus
he last that was sent 20 the States
rought Sl1-Ss Per ton OF this. IS Ter
ent had TO be paid 70 the Panama. Rail
DAD. 2 per cent 10 the New York Gus
oms-hoUse. and 1 per cent for handling
l New York. leaving only SO per cent for
Dc commission. Even though all bur
per cent OF 1t really went into the gov
TmTT7nn~7c ss-n- i
each an agreement with Itself about Il
Compared with the cost Of similar work
the States the steam shnrs1 nan n