Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1911-12-01
States. It was one of the severess
soorinoe over given a public official.


scorings ever given a public omc1al
Probably the country does not
know the inside history connected Win Tue nn"i
employment of army engineers to Dulid the ran.
ANA canal The engineer corps or the army "'
the outset thought that it should be given charge
of the canal work. but influential civilians prousn.
pressure to bear on the administrator Oh penaiA
of engineers in civil life. 1t was said Dy certain
civilians of prominence that the army was not
accustomed to handling great business PROPOSE
tions and that no army engineer ever had done
a work of anything like the magnitude OF the one
nronosed There were all sorts OF attempts TO
belittle the engineering work of the army.
This sort of thing had it's effect, although 1t is
nrobable that It was with considerable reluctance
that the administration disappointed the proper
ambition of army engineers to be assigned 10
the work of canal building When three cVAilah
engineers, one after another. had given over Lue
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 no army officer would desert
his post even by the resignation route TOT ais
cfpline and inculcated will to do his duty woulo
keep him at the digging until 1t was nnlsheo' OF
until failure had come. Moreover, 1t was known
that no army officer would flee In the race Oh
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 1t ana
colonel chose at the outset as two chief assistants
Lieutenant Coonels David d. Gaillard and William
L. Sibert 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
first ship pokes its prov into the completed canai
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 anx1-
cites of the isthmian life have touched his vigor
He is sort of court of last resort in the 1sthmus
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
family row to controversies as to seniority IN
rank of some of the civilian superintendent. La
borers can 20 to him with complaints OF bad
food and be sure of hearing, and also be sure
that any kind of wrong will be righted He Is
sort of shepherd Of the flock, father OF
family of 900 children.
Colonel Gaillard, who is the engineer In charge
of the central division of the work, and Colonel
William L. Sbert engineer in charge OF the At
lantic division as has been said, were classmates
at West Point. Gaillard's first name Is David
When he and Sibert entered the military academy
as stplebes" they took great liking to eacn otner
They were chums and conhdants all through their
cadet course Sibert is big man, physically.
and the cadets aicknamed him Goliath Gaffiard