The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-11-22
FORKS D.

the year was more than 100000
cubic yards, or about fifteen per cent
Of the amount removed during the
year from the Culebra cut. the princi-
pal part Of the central division.
More than 36,5G0,000 cubic yards of
material were removed from all parts
OF the canal during the year, of which
almost 100000 were from the Guile
bra cut and almost 10000. COO from the
Chagres section. About 35,O00,0GO
cubic yards remain to be removed
from the CulebrA cut before this sec
tion Of the canal is completed.
Cost Varies
Reports from various points along
the line show that the cost Of excava-
tinn varied from "a cents per cubic
yard at one place to as high as Sz.51
at another. There is no such diver
gence Of price in tho cost per cubic
yard Of concrete work, the lowest
average being 5000 and the highest
$3.50. More than 100000 cubic yards
Of concrete were laid during the year.
Economy has been sought by the
commission in various directions. "To
reduce to minimum delays on ac-
count Of breakdown Of machinery,
plant and equipment. which reflect
largely in the unit cost of work." says
Col. Goethals, land to provide proper
facilities for ovsSauling plant and
equipment, as %eake- manufacturing
necessary repair ~ As,large shops
have been provided aee IN points
on the lsthmus in which q. ocke ,loyed
a total Of 1891 men.
In general" he adds, "the r., IN
shows and equipment on the isthmns
are adequate to meet all require
ments during the construction period.
Nothing as yet has been done toward
permanent shop facilities which will
be needed after completion of the
canal.
During the year special attention
was paid to reducing the cost of MAIN
tenance and operation of equipment
in the shops. including the standard
ization of salaries and wages and of
material and supplies necessary in
construction repair work" In this
same connection he reports a cen
tralization Of repair work to rolling
equipment other than steam shovels
at the Gorgana shops.
In the division Of bookkeeping"
the report says, Improvements have
been made in the classification Of ex-
penditures and the compilation of sta
tistics. A distribution of the accumu-
lated plant charges, formerly carried
as one item, was made, 80 that the
plant Is now shown in the expenditure
accounts by divisions and by units Of
the work."
There was steady increase from
the beginning of the past fiscal year
In the number of employees on the
canal zone-until on March 30 last,
they reached maximum of 1856, the
largest force on record. This includes
those employed on the Panama rail-
road. The total force at the end of
the year was 36,57S, as compared with
80, ,493 a year earlier.
Investigations carried on during the
year indicate, says Col, .Goethals. that
during ordinary years there will de
q considerable surplus Of water from
Gatum lake. even In the dry season,
and that the water supply of the worst
known dry season for the last nine
teen years, namely, that of 1908, would
be sufficient to maintain through the
canal an average daily number of
passages three or four times as great
as the average number now passing
the Suez canal, this after making rea-
sonable deductions for evaporation,
leakage. power supply and lockages.' -
Health conditions on the isthmus
are reported to be an Improvement
over those Of the preceding year; and
no cases Of plague or yellow fever
originated on the isthmus during the
year. The daily average of sick was
twenty-three out Of every thousand
employed as against 23.49 during the
preceding year, and the total number
of deaths among employees was 543,
equivalent to an average Of 1854 per
thousand.