The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-21

houses being OF the modern tropical
construction, with verandas all around
them. And in and about these houses
which are mostly of two and three
| stories, you see swarms of women and
children: families of the employees The
route of the canal and railroad is moi
| (winding, as it does, through noun
tains). but the houses along the line
are of better construction than I ex-
pected. When you see Panama, you
will say as 1 did,:
cit is better in every way than ]
| expected. The laborers are better
dressed than expected to see them;
1t is no hardship to work at Panama
probably no taborers in the world are
as well cared for as the laborers al
Panama. And during our stay OF
| twelve hours. all of US were constant
| ly saying:
How delightful the climate! How
bracing the ARR
The day was delight, as to wealth
er. True, thus is the most pleasant
season of the year, but the summers
here are probably not so terrible as we
have been led to believe. 1 visited the
Philippines in December, and remain
ed eight days, but the weather was
much warmer there in winter than it
is here. San Juan was much better
than I expected to find it; so is Pan
ANA.
All along the canal, there are twen-
~ llOLOlS. LWSliCy-lOuF IHGSS0S IOT
European laborers, and twenty-four
kitchens for West Indian negro labor
ers- The hotels include the big tt
wolf, at Panama, which cost 100000,
and has two hundred or more rooms ;
we ate luncheon at this hotel, and the
three hundred and fifty passengers
from the ship were well served, the
negro hotel walters being assisted by a
large number of German walters from
the ship, who accompanied the excur-
Il
Colon is also operated by the govern
fnent, but IS not so large as the
Tivoli, where all the social affairs of
the zone occur. Travellers may obtain
meals at any Of the government hotels
along the line, but the rooms are re-
served for white employees of the canal.
By the way, the color line is strictly
observed by Uncle Sam; at railroad
waiting rooms. noticed these signs:
"For whites For blacks" The
blacks also travel in cars patronized by
blacks only.
The building of the Suez canal was
regarded as a great undertaking: the
building of canal at Suez was talked
about for many centuries before it
was actually accomplished. The an
clients dug part of a canal to connect
the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.
but the undertaking was regarded
with so much awe that 1t was actual
ly accomplished only few years ago.
But the building of the Suez canal
was a small affair, compared with the
building of the Panama canal, as
the construction there was through
a level desert of sand. Here great
rivers are encountered, and a noun
tain must be crossed. In crossing this
we get Culebra cut. More
dirt has already been taken out of
Culebra cut at Panama than was talk
en- out in completing the Suez canal.
From the top of Culebra cut to the
bottom of the completed canal will be
a depth of six hundred and ten feet.
This cut is nine miles long. So far,
at the summit, we have excavated five
hundred and thirty feet. counting
what the French did. and we have
eighty feet yet to excavate. /. Tt was
into this cut we went in the motor
car. On the way from Colon to Pan
ANA. we had passed ten train loads of
dirt in as many minutes; this dirt was
being hauled along the main line of
the railroad to various dumping
places. While at the bottom of the
cut. we saw the dirt trains being load
ed by the great steam shovels. Four
shove1fu1s of dirt fill an ordinary rail-
road car and I timed an outfit. and
found that it emptied three shovels
full of dirt into car in "A minute. The
day I was at the bottom of Culebra.
five thousand men We're working in
at the bottom of the cut, on four or
five levels. Fifty of the enormous
steam shovels mentioned above, were
at work in the cut the day 1 was
there; there are one hundred and fifty
Of these shovelS on the job at various
places. Before the dirt is shoveled, it |
is blown up with dynamite, and at |
the bottom of the cut there are hun
dreds of drillers at work: men drill |
ing holes for blasts. Ordinary we'll |
drills are used; compressed air. sup
piled through pipes from central |
power houses, furnishes the power.
The network of railroad tracks ex-
tends from the upper to the lower
md of Culebra cut, a distance of nine |
miles; we entered at the upper end, |
and went out at the lower, being de- |
ayed at many places by the dirt |
trains.
l wonder how many locomotives are |
used by the Atchison, Topeka & San |
"a Fe railway, extending from Chicago
TO San Francisco? The Panama canal |
Panama railway is the busiest rail- |
road in the world; count was kept |
for twenty-four hours, and three hum |
bred trains passed certain point in |
The time named.
In thinking of the Panama canal, |
It should be remembered that every |
where along the line may be seen |
great quantities of machinery we ac- |
luired from the French. Abandoned |
boats and dredges may also be seen
N the rivers. This French machinery |
IS now useless, and is pointed out to |
travellers as French junk At one |
place, I am certain 1 saw twenty or |
thirty abandoned French locomotives. |
Much of this junk is now being sent |
TO America, as ship ballast, and sold |
as old iron. In the ride from Colon |
20 Panama, the visitor is rarely out |
Of sight of French junk old iron, |
but I believe we acquired two thou |
sand houses from the French we are |
now using. Speaking of houses, thou |
sands of houses along the line of the |
canal must be moved when the canal |
is used; if left in their present loca- |
ton, many of the towns would be
flooded.
Speaking of French junk much |
Of it long covered up, is being I'M |
earthed. Fifty dump carts were found |
ate1y, in exeavating.