Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-21
That Is Keynote Of Canal
Commissions Report.
Health Conditions in Panama
Keep Improving.
Slides and Floods Most Serious
Setbacks to Digging Ditch.

I diohS tllt L NdIldl Z<cIlSp ID tit
gist of the annual report of the
Isthmian Canal Commission, made to
the Secretary of War Dickinson by
Col. George Go hals, chairman Of
/ the commission and chief engineer in
charge of the work on the canal, and
made public today by the former.
| With the work Of excavation and OF
| construction progressing f3vorablv at
all points along the line, with health
| conditions better than ever before:
| with a Capitalization and consequent
economy in certain parts of the work
and with q maximum of labCrerS since
the United States began to dig the
canal, Col. Cocktails report was de,
cidedly pleasing to Secretary Dickin-
son.
/ The chief engineer reports, however.
| 1nat it was not all smooth sailing DIR
/ ing the past year. slides, breaks anti
/ floods hindering the work to ser
tain extent. He mentions four slides,
covering respectively Al, 10, AS and
IL acres and requiring during the year
the removal of more than 1905 900
! cubic yards of material. 1T was OK
ptcted," he says, that slides would
o[tuI anu III w t5tliiI.ttto " " ls.c'A
was made for them. but it now ap-
/ pears from cracks that show in the
| upper surface adjacent to The faces
! of the cut. that sufficient allowance
| had not been made, and the estimates
| were corrected t. meet the nc" con-
ditions."
Three had breaks. he reports, oc
| CURED during the year. one at the
town of Culebra covering an area Of
more than 10 acres and requiring a
removal Of more than 1.JoG. 600 cubic
| yards OF dirt ana stur.. The second
| largest break covered an area Of more
than II acres and required a removal
of more than 200,0n0 cubic Yards. while
| The t:ird break aggregated about 49,,
go cubic yards
THE floods seriously intcrfrlrcd
with the progress of the work" says
Col. Cocktails, referring IN particular
| to that Of the central division and the
Culcbra cut, land the orc Of Dec %
ovcr;owed the dixie separating tac cut
from the Chagres river. cutting q
channel through it about 200 feet long
and Il feet deem
The total amount oil material rcmov
trail division Of tho canal drring the
year was more than 100000 cubic
yards or about Is pcr cent of the
amount removed during the year from,
he Culebra olt The principal part of
he central division.
More than 80. 10Jo00 cubic yards of
material were removed from all parts
Of the canal during the year. of which
almost i5.CO0.000 We're from the Guile
bra cut and almost 10000, 900 from the
Chagres section. Abou; IS, 900 900 Gu
bic yards remain to be removed from
the Culebra cut before this section of
tho canal is completed.
Reports from various points along
the line 81 ~ that the cost Of excavG-
ton varied FROM II cents per cubic
yard at one place to as high as $2.51
at another. There is no such diver
gencc Of price in the cost pei cubic
yard of concrete work. the lowest
average being $500 and the highest
$3.50. More than 40. 900 cubic Yards OF
concrete We're laid during the year.
Economy las been sought by the
commission liz various directions. ITO
reduce t. a minimum delays on account
OF breakdown Of machinery. plant and
equipment, which reflect largely in tho
unit cost IF work" says Col. Cocktails.
and To provide proper facilities for
overhauling plant and equipment. as
Well as manufacturing necessary re-
pair parts. large shops hay Dc"n pro
vidcd at certain points Oh the Isthinns
in which are employed a total of A.
39l men.
Il ~, ,I. Il Sc
shops and equipment on the lstinnus
are adequate to meet all requirements
during the construction period. Moth
ing as yet has been done toward per
'nancnt shop facilities which will be
needed after completion of the canal.
During the year special attention
was paid to reducing the cost Of main
tenancc and operation Of equipment
in the shops. including the standard
ization Of salaries and wages AMI Of
| iuaterial and supplies necessary in
construction repair work" In this
same connection he reports central
ization Of repair work to rolling equip
,dcnt other than steam shovels at the
GOrgaGa shops.
In the division Of bookkeeping" the
report says, improvements have been
made in the classification of cNpenGi-
lures and the compilation OF StatisticS
a distribution nf the accunula cd
,'l&nt charges :. formerly carried as one
item. was made. 50 that the plant Is
now shown in The expenditure ac-
counts by divisions and by units %
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 80 last, they
reached q maximum Of 3S,616, the
largest force on record This includes
those employed on the Panama rail
road. The total force at the end OF
the year was 35.57S. as compared with
30, 19i year earlier.
Investigations carried on during the
year indicate says Col. Goethals,
that during ordinary years there will
be considerable surplus of water from
| Gatun lake. even in the dry season,
! and that The water supply Of the
Worst-knOwu dr. season for the last
- years, mandy that of 1908, would be
sufficient to maintain through the
canal an average daily number of pas
sages three or four times as great as
Ia.