El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-20

nave formed TWO great Jumps u LAS
waste material, mostly the rock from
Culebra, and the lock side and M1ndl on
the outer lines of the structure, ana
have filled IN the space between these
dumps with the material from the ny
draulic dredEes. The spillWay Is so
arranged that it controls the height or
the lake. and at the same time gives
us electric power sufficient Tor the ma
chinery Of the canal. including the
locks The locks are among the most
interesting features"
Canal Cost to BE Less Than $345,GOO, 900
What will be the probable cost OF
the canal when il is completed
That Will depend very mucn on the
accessories, such as dry docks, termi-
mails, cOaiing stations and supply
houses. ii viii certainly be less than
1913. 600, 600. At the present time we
the expecting to save from Sl5.OOOuOO
to S20,000.00O on the estimated cost
How can you make such calculations
as to a job Of these mighty dlmen-
siOns:"
1T is very simple" said Col. GOethals.
Eve make our measurements and esti-
mate the quantity. Then from the
records Of similar work elsewhere we
can fix the cost per unit Of cubic yard
Of excavation or construction or pound
Of steel work, and by the ordinary
courses Of arithmetic find Just what il
should be- In the present case the unit
prices were those adopted by the board
Of contracting engineers for 1906
Have you kept within those prices?"
Yes. We have cut most OF them very
considerably. Take the unit price or
the concrete The engineers put that
at SIS per cubic yard. We are making
the locks in the spillway at Gatun
for 81 cubic yard and on the Paclrlc
division We have got the concrete Work
down TO s. a cubic yard. You may know
what that means when you remember
that we shall use over 100000 cubic
yards at Gatun and over 100000 on
the Pacific division This means a saw
ing Of at least $4,000, 600 at Gatun and
Of S4,5O0,000 on the Pacific. Altogether
it is a saving of SO, 100000. But that is
a saving on but one unit price We
have done equally well in others.
But how can you make such re-
ductiOn2"
We do it by keeping cost sheets Of
everything and by watching the leaks
and stopping them 1t is the duty OF
the engineer not only TO design and
construct. but to design and construct
economically. That is what we are
tring TO do here at Panama"
But are not the wages on the canal
excessively high. and can they be so
maintained I'm the futureF'
The wages here were fixed at the
beginning Of the work, and il would
have been difficult TO change them
while in process OF construction. The
chief thing about this work was that
Il had 10 be done well and done quickly.
and everything else had to be subOr-
dinate TO that AS it is now, there viii
probably be a change in the wage scale,
and this should be arranged for by con-
gress at its present session II congress
viii act We shall be able to select the
operating force from our present en-
plOyes, and this viii be q great saving
as TO time, money, and in other respects
Congress should fix a wage scale for
all the positions of the permanent Oper-
ating force doing away with the in
eQualities which now exist As il is
some OF our present wages have been
q do So al H. L.
Dor. and the unions have succeeded in
increasing the wages Of certain classes
Tar above what is paid 10 others of like
character For instance, some kinds Of
labor are receiving IS per cent more
than similar labor in the United States,
while other classes. equally capable.
have had an increase of only 10 or 20
per cent Ny idea would be to make a
fixed percentage Of increase, say %
per cent over the wages Of similar labor
in the eastern part of the United States,
where the labor scale is the highest.
This matter should be fixed at once in
order that we may be able TO hold the
best men of our construction force.
Good Ia Dor does not so begging and IL
not so held these men viii soon have
secured permanent Jobs elsewhere"
some Lessons of the Canal.
Has the world learned any new
thinES through the construction OF this
canal?"
Yes. I think it has" said Col Goe-
LAd-H III mas learned a great deal
ABOUT how 10 take care Of ones health
In the tropics, and in general sanitation.
do not mean that the canal has taught
the world anything as TO malaria and
yellow fever as far as the mosquitoes
are concerned, or OF the methods of de-
strOying those insects. These discov-
cries were made by others, and in other
parts OF the world. II was an English
army surgeon who brought TO light
the fdct that the malarial MOSQUITO
E IN
India, and proved its agency some years
before we began our work here.
The yellow fever mosquito was dis
covered by our own army doctors in
cuba, and the means of suppressing
both were developed at Havana. It
was here. however. that the use OF
these discoveries was first employed
on large scale and by that means
forced upon the attention Of the world
We have shown that by proper atten-
ton TO vegetation and drainage, by the
use Of coal oil on stagnant water and
Dy having living quarters properly
screened almost any tropical region can
be made workable quantity.
And then we have to some extent
made improvements in machinery for
use in great works like this. But In
that respect we have not done so much
as we might have done had the ne
eessity for quick work not been so
great As ii is we have had to fight
Tor speedy results and for that reason
could not experiment with the many
new inventions offered to us. Indeed
where we have tried such inventions
they have delayed rather than aided
the work"
The Opening Of the CansI.
Can YOU not tell me the time when
the canal win be surely opened for the
traffic Of the wOrld?"
cannot give you the exact date
when the first ship will so through
The president has definitely fixed tho
FORMAL opening for January ]. 1915.
When he has invited the navies of the
world 10 meet at Fortress Monroe. and
leaving there, 20 in one grand pro-
cession through the canal We must
prepare for that time and I feel sure
that we Will then have the canal in
such shape that the mighty fleet can
pass through without a hitch. To do
that we shall complete the cllnal as soon
as possible, and viii send any kind Of
shipping through il until the formal
opening comes. in order that the ma
cHinery and the operating force may be
IN perfect working order when the
great time comes
WIN this statement 7 close the first
half OF my interview with Col GOethals
our tax about the canal lasted for sew
efal hours, and the remainder of il is
even more interesting than that T have
given lie relates to the Notifications
Or the canal. and as TO how the zone