Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-03-30

tho canal nome and got into comnu>
nicstton with him by telephone. He
extended . very cordial invitation 70
call at his residence, and taking .,
friend with me, We drove to 0ovsrnDE
Thatcher's residence. It H. beautifully.
situated on . hillside. commanding
q Wow OF the whole city. All porches
are. a. 10 common In. the cOuntSys
screened by mosquito netting and AL
tho in tho sun on the street it was,
100 degrees, = cool breeze made our
stay very comfortable. Governor
Thatcher II a Kentuckian and very
courteous and agreeable man. He knew
Senator Cummins and his wife quite
well and had entertained them on their
visit to the Isthmus. He had also had
~ his guests only few days before
We arrived Secretary Knox and his
party. He gave us much and valuable
first hand information In regard to the
condition and progress of the worie;
Of construction Of the canal.
The work on the Gatun locks - about
IS per cent completed, but on the Mir
afiores locks only about ~ per cent. Hell
said further that the engineers reported
that If everything went on well and no;
serious accident or obstacle fnterfered
that the canal might be completed nextl
year. but It was well not TO rely too
confidently upon that being Accomp-
lished. Colonel 0oethals y now ini
Europe on 4 well earned vacatl6n.
Governor Thatcher seems well ntted
for the portion Of the work assigned,
him and was very ready to offer to do:
anything he could to make our stay al
pleasant one. Z.
In the early evening we boarded our,
train and were without special 1noldeiit
carried to our steamer. which ~ soon
as the party was on board sailed for
La Guayra Venezuela.
So much has been printed in resafdl
to the canal that It would be ueelessll
IN the space of. a short letter to attempt!
to add to the amount OF knowledge ~
to the canal. The mind In attempting
to in SOME sort grasp . comprehsn- /!
siye idea OF what has actually bsen
done goes instinctively back 70 thef
time before anything was done, and at !
tempts to follow those hardy pioneefsi
az they cut their way thru tho mass
of tropical growth from one side 20 the
other of this neck Of land. Here DIS !
ease and often death followed swiftly
and frequently the burden a gold
which the hardy miners Of tho sos mad
gathered in California was lost and
with II life itself as it was sought to,
he transported here from one ocean TO ,
another. Ono OF the tourists with US,
saws that two Of his uncles lost their
lives here and were buried IN the track
les. wilderness in that mad rush Tor
gold.
am clad to have been able to see
this great work while In actual con- !,
struction and will hope at some future:
time II life is spared, to sail on \,
steamer along the canal and witness 1t
in actual operation. The conductor oI>
our train said that travel in this direc- !
tion was increasing enormously. That !
while last year but six excursion !
steamers arrived. before the season
closes there would he sixteen this year.
We had very pleasant weather for OF.
cruise TO this point: at times the sea ,
becomes slightly rougher. and giving II
slight roll to the steamer It's erect ID.
Immediately observahIs.in fewer Num-
bers at the tables and on deck
Last nig1,t we had our first view OF
tY,e southern cross, a constellation noti
observable IN northern iatftudes. wei
are at this portion Of our journey atI
ia most southerly limit being wthinl
about 81. degrees Of the equator and1
vet no one. 20 far 40 have heard, 1
has suffered from heat Each niynta
the electric fans keep the MIR delight
fully cool and fresh in che stateroomsi
and the steamer being we'll ventilated
has rendered the nights very restfuN
and have never enjoyed: moro reffesh- =
inc sleep than ON this. trip to 7ths
t1oN(NR