The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1911-12-30
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States 1t was one of the severest %
scorings ever given public official
Probably the country does not
know the inside history connected with the final
employment of army engineers to build the Pan
anna canal The engineer corps of the army at
the outset thought that it should be given charge
of the canal work but Influential civilians brought
pressure to bear the administration on behalf
of engineers In civil life 1t was said by certain
civilians OF prominence that the army was not
accustomed to handling great business PROPOSE.
tons and that no army engineer ever had done
work OF anything like the magnitude of the one
proposed There were all sorts of attempts to
belittle the engineering work of the army
This sort of thing had its effect although it is
probable that It was with considerable reluctance
that the administration disappointed the proper
ambition of army engineers TO be assigned to
the work OF canal building. When three civilian
engineers one after another had given over the
work President Roosevelt and Secretary of War
Taft concluded that the time had come to give
the army chance In effect the president told
the secretary that army officer would Desert
his post by the resignation rccte for dis
ciplne and incu1cated will to do his duty would
keep him at the digging until 1t finished
until failure had come Moreover, 1t was known
that no army officer would flee in the face of
yellow fever or in fear of death from any cause
Colonel George w. Goethals of the West Point
class of 1880 selected by the secretary of war
to take up the work that the civilian engineers
had dropped. Colonel Goethals is still at it and
success has marked every step of the way. The
coionei chose at the outset two chief assistants
Lieutenant Colonels David d. Gaillard and William
L. Sfbert. who graduated from the military acad.
envy in the class of 1884. Since that time other
army officers have been detailed in addition to the
three who were first assigned, three who are still
working and who hope to be present when the
hrst ship pokes its prov into the completed canal
Colonel George W. Goethals is a tall slender
man with firmly knit figure and snow white
hair He has a face remarkably youthful and
neither the climate. the hard work nor the anxt
cites Of the isthmian life have touched his yieor
He is sort of court of last resort in the sthmus
He travels from place to place on certain DAYS
and establishes headquarters for the hearing of
complaints. He brings hard, common sense to
bear on all kinds of matters. from the settling of
rank OF some of the civilian superintendent La
borers car go to him with complaints of bad
food and be sure of hearing and also be sure
that any kind of a wrong will be righted He Is
a sort Of a shepherd Of the flock father of a
family Of $4,000 children
Colonel Gaillard. who is the engineer in charva
Of the central division of the work and Colonel
William Sibert, engineer In charge of the Al
lantic DIVISION as has been said were classmates
at West Point. Gailards first name Is David
When he and Sibert entered the military academy
as 'plebes" they took great liking to each other
They were chums and confdants all through their
cadet course Sibert IL big man, physically.
and the cadets nicknamed him Goliath Gaillara