Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-08-29

10 see the canal opened 70 CON- marce
/ as soon as possible. for it IS revenue
/ am after"
Another day I stood witL Col D. D.
Gaillard. the engineer OF the central
division, outside his Office liz Empire,
and watched his army laooring IN the
cut, the completion OF which has
been his biggest task and greatest
glory. Right at our feet big area
had sunk down 70 feet in a night, and
if there had not been warnings Of the
break a wing Of the cOlouels of cs
building would have gone down with
! it. We had just time 10 remove that
I wing" said he and my Office force is
rather nervous nov. for there ars
/ three big cracks under the main build
/ ing. expect il, too. viii have 10 De-
I torn down very soon.
These slides used TO make US rath-
er Respondent. for IL seemed as Il they
never would stop. but the progress
/ We are making this year has cheered
I up the operating forces again. and
We can see the end Of the task The
slide and the break are quite d-1er-
ent In the former the earth slides
al an angle down q slipping face o.
/ rock, and in the latter the mass sinks
straight down and at the 5c--Cm
bulges out into the channel Along
both sides OF the cut you can see nu-
merous small slides and breaks. Those
are in pockets in the rock wall, and.
annoying as they ara, they only need
cleaning out. The Cucaraeha stared
as a slide and nOw il is both = sliQe
and a break
Incidentally. that cut should be z
great place foG biologists. 1 have
/ found in il every kind Of rock except
/ granite. and many interesting fossils
! and petrifcation have been discover
Z ed there In one stratum through
, which We cut there we're found a great
number OF teeth Of prehistoric yaTi@
L ties Of sharks"
! WHAT IS your opinion concerning
the date when the canal win be ready
, Tor commerce. I asked.
II had my say" said the colonel
emphaticaliy. mot q commercial yes
sci would be allowed in the canal IN
til il is absolutely complete down 10
the smallest detail In some Of the
many safety devices were not In op-
Grafton and al accident should result,
the canal would get a black eye from
which It might not recover for long
time. Officially, the time for the com
pletion Of the canal is still January
/, 1915 1t may be done before that
date, but in March OF this year there
was still about s50O00.000 worth OF
work ahead Of Us.
We who have been digging the
canal and are still here in positions Of
responsibility mean the members
of the Isthmian canal commission
are rather fearful concerning that part
OF the Adamson bill which permits
the president TO dissolve the commits
sion whenever in his Judgment the
canal is near enough 10 completion.
We feel that il would be extremely
unjust not to allow Us to remain on
the job until after the grand formal
opening in January. 1915. It would be
much like permitting z boy to com
plete his university course. and then
taking him home before he receives .
his diploma"
And then Colonel Gaillard said some
things about Mr. Taft's efforts to put
into effect that clause last January.
which must have made the ex-presi- .
dents ears Jingle a bit
The Culebra cut is like a threering
circus. I don't know which way to
look" said one visitor to the zone.
Il is indeed a scene Of wonderful &C
tivity. Giant steam shovels are scat
tered through it, scooping up enor-
nous masses of rock and earth; on I
half q dozen tracks on as many DIFF
ferent levels snorting and putting loco /
motives are swiftly drawing loaded or
empty dirt trains. along the lodges /
are batteries OF steam and com
pressed air drills. making holes for
dynamite; suddenly there is a loot
footing OF q steam whistle. hundred
men scurry to shelter. and a dynamite
blast nils the air with sound and dirt
and rocks.
Watching the steam shovels is a IA
5orite occupation Of visitors who ven
.ure down into the Culebra cut. They
seem almost human, and do a vast
amount Of work Their dippers hold
i've cubic yards OF material, weigh
ng on an average a little more than
hree tons. This spoil is emptied into
,ars of several kinds. Flat cars with
lne high side are unioaded By piows
hat are drawn the length Of the train
" cables upon winding drum. The
Ithars are dump ears. the largest of
s. hich are operated oy CONF pressed air +
rom the locomotive The trains haul Z
ne snc l1m -e cl- tc dumping
r-aa which or an average are /
aoa- - niles iis1la SaUe iEoa3.-
$50 c1 nris cs this material Was
seL as lng ior the iClg nleakWa- &
err sc che Pacific entrance.