The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-05-30

canal builders have not adhered 10
! ana particular system or SciehGi.l
management" they nave ne~VeItheie
so managed their work that they dfo
now accomplishing a great deai moLo
than they did two years ago IN pIo-
| portion to the number Of men at WoTh
and the amount Of money
In two years the cost of steam SNOW
Ell operation in Culebra Cut mas Deeh
decreased from lis to S.Ss cents per
cubic yard Of material excavateo. me
distance which the excaVateu mateiia
must be hauled has increased from
e yht TO twelve miles in the two years
vet the cost of hauling II mas DeeI
cut down from 1884 to 1o.22 Genus
per cubic yard. A ton or dynamite IL
as it did two years ago. Expert at,
tention given to the 1ubricaTing Oh
| supply has effected a saving of $ooo q
| month.
And so it is throughout the canal
work. Efficiency is the
| maximum results with minimum eA-
penses. fact that the best en-
gineering talent in h world IS at
work to develop this efficiency Is OF
course responsible for these enormous
savings, but there Is another reason
Initial costs were in many INSTANCES
the engineering talent was not gwen
full sway.
Four years ago. in 1907, the Ameri-
can public was impatient TO see the
dirt fly There was more or less
scepticism concerning the canal pro-
ject, and as nothing would satisfy the
people but flying dirt. n as the peo-
pie were spending their money Tor
the canal and had it in their power
to abandon the work altogether, there
| was nothing to be done but make dirt
fly.
Th4~oo-o ~ - n ~ O, C,,t@nFifioc ad-
dressed themselves to the TASK OF
proving to the American people that
the canal project was feasible by the
only possible methOd-Ocular demon
stratiOn. They went to work digging,
regardless Of whether or not every
requirement Of engineering skill Tor
proper preparation had been met.
During the first nine months Of the
new regime twelve million cubic yards
a been excavated. During the next
ear 1908, the excavation amounted
to the stupendous total Of th1rty-seV-
en- million cubic yards, a greater
amount of material than ever was ex-
cavated in a single ear by any one
organization in all the history of the
world, and a record that prObaly never
again will be reached.
By this time the popular demand
for flying dirt had geen satisfied. Also
the n1oun of material to be removed
q OSi liSI cdSSu, Ny CINdiStS LII Tue
plans and broadening the Culebra cut
and for other until the total
excavation required for the canal was
49,, 900, 900 cubic yards instead of 1O3,-
OOV, OVO as was originally
Also, the room for steam Shoyels and
dirt trains had become more limited,
and it was patent that if the canal
were to be finished on time the shovels
and trains that could find working
space would have to increase their
capacity for work. If the limit of
cost were not to be exceeded the cost
of handling each cubic yard Of ma
terial must be reduced.
Facing these new problems. the
canal builders set about increasing the
efficiency Of their mighty machine OF
men and metal. President Roosevelt
by executive order, gave the chief en-
glneer a freer hand in control of canal
affairs, and although it appeared then
that the last word in efficiency had
been said, the engineers worked on.
A weak spot was discovered here. a
man changed here, a bit of machinery
altered in another place, all with the
result that unit costs have been re-
duced to a minimum that would not
nave been regarded as possible two
years go.
AS Culebra Cut grows deeper it also
grows narrower, and the difficulty of
handllng the spoil trains increases.
n slides all the time are becoming
more troublesome, and nothing but
unexampled efficiency will permit unit
costs to be held down there. Yet it is
the aim OF the engineers to make the
unit cost for the present fiscal wear
as low as that Of last year.
The canal work is now divided into
three divisions. The Atlantic division
is in charge Of Lieut.. Col William L.
Sibert, who also is a member of the
Canal Commission. The Central d.
vision, including Culebra Cut, is in
charge of Lieut.. Col. D. D. Gaillard,
also a member Of the Commission.
The Pacific division is in charge of 8
3. Williamson, a railroad engineer
from private life. A healthy rivalry
exists. and each engineer is on his
naettIe to produce the best showing he