The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1911-12-02
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scorngs given public oinclal
Probably the country does not
know the inside history connected with the maj
employment of army engineers to build the Pan
anna canal The engineer corps of the army at
the outset thought that 1t should be given charge
of the canal work but influential civilians pronsnt
pressure to bear the administration on pehait
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 dohe
a 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 it's effect although it Is
proba BILE 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 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 no army officer would desert
his post even by the resignation route. for dis
cipne and inculcated will do his duty would
keep him at the digging until 1t was finished or
until failure had come. Moreover 1t was known
that no army officer would fee 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 was selected by the secretary OF war
to take up the work that the civilian engineers
had dropped Colonel Goethals is still at 1t and
success has marked every step of the way The
colonel chose at the outset two chief assistants,
Lieutenant Colones David d. Gaillard and William
L. Sibert who graduated from the military acad
emy In the class of 1884 Since that time other
army officers have been detailed in addition to the
three who first assigned. three who are still
working and who hope to be present when the
first ship pokes its prov into the completed canal
Colonel George w Goethals is a tall, slender
man with firmly knit figure and white
hair He has face remarkably youthful and
neither the climate. the hard work the anxi
eties OF the isthmian life have touched his vigor.
He is sort Of court of last resort in the isthmus
He travels from place to place certain days
and establishes headquarters for the hearing Of
complaints He brings hard. common to
bear on all kinds of matters from the settling Of
a family row to controversies to seniority in
rank OF some of the civilian superintendent. La
borers can 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 q
family of $1,000 children.
Colonel Gaillard who is the engineer In charge
of the central division Of the work. and Colonel
William L. Sibert. engineer in charge of the At
lantic division, has been said were classmates
at West Point. Gaillard's first is David
When he and Sibert entered the military academy
az "plebes" they took a great liking to each other
They were chums and confdants all through their
cadet course Sibert is big man. physically
and the cadets nicknamed him Goliath Gailard