The Washington herald., 1909-02-03

reSident-eleCt TAFT VIII note many SFt-
dences of the wonderful progress toward
the Ultimate completion OF the canal IN
the nine months that have passed since
ne last called on the canal digsers they
have excavated 27oo0,9oo cubic yards OF
material Unless there is an unexpected
ulshap IN the present month, II will foot
up ms enormous total Of Se.ceo,eoe cubic
yards in the ten months The bigness OF
this excavation does net appear until It
IS reduced to everyday terms. The av-
erage city house IS probably twenty-one
feet vide. thirty-three feet hign. and
forty-eight feet deep. The excavation at
Panama IN ten n1onths would make
hole in the earth big enough 20 bury
2. 90 such houses.
To illustrate in another way the I'M
mensity Of ten months work: II the eS-
caTations were uniform across the 18th
mus for the entire fifty miles from deep
water IN the Atlantic 10 deep water IN
the Pacific. the result would be a ditch
eighteen feet deep and IA feet wide
throughout the whole distance II II
ware possible 70 maintain this tremen-
Cous pace until the end. Il would be only
about tweDty-six months from March !
until the last shOvelful Of dirt was turned.
OF course, no one expects that such a
remarkable pace can be kept I'D 70 the
end i is the wonder Of the entire en-
Einesring world that they have been able
70 maintain Il up TO the present time
No such sustained effort has ever been
put forth in the entire history OF the
world Yet 8. has been done under sur
r5undings OF unusual difficulty during
the ten months perhaps an average Of
three feet OF water has fallen at every
point on the IsthmGs. at times coming
in doWnpours Of half a foot 2 day. What
ever Mr.. Taft may see. he VIII ar least
not fail TO see the biggest hole that was
ever dug IN ten months. During the
twelve months OF the calendar year just
past the excavations amounted 70 more
than 35.000.o0Q cubic yards. II they can
keep the same pace through the present
year, there VIII be only 20O00.0o0 cubic
yards OF material left TO be excavated
when New Years Day next rolls around.
Mr. Taft VIII md the engineers on the
isthmus turning their attention largely
10 the Gatun dam They consider that
they have the excavation problem solved,
and that the construction Of the locks
and dams is the only problem that de-
mands serious consideration. As 70 the
locks and dams at the Pacific side, they
offer no serious difficulties Vast as are
their proportions, they look Ike child s
play beside the Gatun dam and locks.
While there Is but little more than 90
0G9,W9 cubic yards Of material yet e
be taken out Of the canal, there are 3.
o00,0o0 cubic yards Of dirt 10 be dumped
up into the Gatun dam Add 10 this the
tremendous amount Of water that must
be pumped up 20 hold this dirt IN sus-
pension 1ntil II is deposited on the dam
and then the immensity OF the work OF
building Gatun dam VIII appear. The
dam win contain some q 000, ,100 cubic
yards OF dirt
A whole army OF suction dredges Wi
be assigned 20 the work OF pumping VI
the material These viii have 2-inch
centrifugal pumps. and hour after hour.
day after day. and month after month,
working in day and night shifts they
viii press forward the work OF rearing
this artificial mountain across a river
valley. Perhaps 50 per cent OF the ma
terial they pump up win be wafer OF
the remaining 40 per cent engineer Sa-
Vile figures that only So Per cent vii
remain on the dam. On this basis nearly
as much material viii have 70 pas:
through those pumps as has been taker
from the canal proper from the day the
French turned the first shOveifUi OF dir
down TO the present time. When Mr.
Taft was last on the isthmus all thl
plans for Gatun dam were tentative Th'
experiments have now been made, and
the work is ready TO proceed
The amount Of supplies that has beer
used on the Isthnlus in the past ter
months IS beyond the conception OF most
men. Think OF the damage a carload oi
dynamite has often wrought; how Il IA:
sometimes almost annihilated sTnaI
towns Then fancy go carloads Of i
being used in one brief ten-month period
That is the way they have been using i
down on the isthmus since Mr. Taft was
last there. They have used 5000o0 blast
Ing caps and everything else IN proper
ton.
When he last looked over the big ditch
Mr.. Taft was wonderfully impressed witt
the sanitary situation IN the Canal Zone
It was regarded as the climax Of ell tht
arguments in favor OF the merits OF pre-
veutive medicine. The record OF each
year surpasses the previous one. LGS1
year the death rate among the negroes
IN the canal employ was nearly forty-siz
ont OF every thousand members OF The
force. This year It was less than twenty
out Of every thousand. Jamaica, from
which island comes a large percentage o.
the negroes at work on the canal, IS ons
Of the most heslthful Islands within thC
tropics; yet the death rate there IS fullJ
q third more than the death rate among
he negroes on the isthmus. The deatl
ra+e among the negroes IN the canal en-
plov is about o1e-half less than the'
amonr those residing IN the National Cap
ital itself
The success that has attended the work
ing OF the Jury system on the Zone since
It's establishment eleven months ago, VII
deeplv interest the judicial side OF Mr.
taft II IS the first time IN the history
Of the world that q Jury system has beer
established op the continent Of SOutr
America, OF IN any Spanish-sDeakine
country. Prior 20 is establishment meT
we're condemned 10 death without benehf
Of ilirv trial. This was rspUgnant 70 tbs
responsible American officials A con
demned man appealed 10 Gov. Blackburn
for mercy. on the ground that he had not
been given that great American right
the right TO be tried by a jury Of ri:
peers. The former training Of the gov
ernor could not allow him to see z mar
put to death without such q trial, yet tht
man had been adjudged guilty By III
trial courts, and the verdict had beer
upheld by all the higher courts Further
more. an examination OF the evidence LED
GOV. Blackburn TO conclude that no errol
had been made, so he could not supper
the plea for pardon without being false [;
the laws he had sworn 70 uphold snt
execute But the mental struggle that N
passed through resulted IN the establish
ment OF the trial by jury in the Torrit
Zone. In the year IL has been in force +