Mexico Missouri message., 1913-07-17

ITO see the canal opened to commerce
as soon as possible, for it is revenue
l am after"
Another day stood with Col. d. d.
Gaillard, the engineer of the central
| division, outside his office in Empire.
| and watched his army laboring in the
cut, the completion of which has
been his biggest task and greatest
glory. Right at our feet big area
| had sunk down 20 feet In night, and
If there had not been warnings of the
| break a wing of the coloners office
building would have gone down with
| it. 1--WE had just time to remove that
| wing" said he, "and my office force is
| rather nervous now, for there are
three big cracks under tho main build
ing. | expect it, too will have to be
torn down very soon.
These slides used to make us rath-
err Respondent, for it seemed as If they
never would stop, but the progress
we are making this year has cheered
up the operating forces again, and
we can see the end of the task. The
slide and the break are quite differ
ent. In the former the earth slides
at an angle down a sloping face of
rock. and in the latter the mass sinks
straight down and at the bottom
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 are, they only need
cleaning out. The Cucaracha started
as a slide and now it is both slide
and break.
incidentally, that cut should be a
great place for biologists. | have
found in it every kind of rock except
granite, and many interesting fossils
and petrification have been discover
ed there. In one stratum through
which we cut there were found great
number of teeth of prehistoric varie-
ties OF sharks"
What is your opinion concerning
the date when the canal will be ready
for commerce." l asked.
IF had my say" said the colonel
emphatically, mot a commercial ves-
sci would be allowed in the canal I'M
til it is absolutely complete down to
the smallest detail. In some of the
many safety devices were not in OPP
GRAFTON and an accident should result,
the canal would get black eye from
which it might not recover for q long
time. Officially, the time for the COM
pletion of the canal is still January
/, 1915. It may be done before that
date, but in March of this year there
was still about $50,000,OO0 worth of
work ahead of us.
I'VE who have been digging the
canal and are still here in positions Of
esponsibility-I 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 to completion,
We feel that it would be extremely
unjust not to allow us to remain ON
the job until after the grand formal
opening in January, 1915. 1t would DO
much like permitting a 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.. Tafts efforts to put
into effect that clause last January,
which must have made the ex-presi.
dents ears tingle a bit.
The Culebra cut is like three-ring
circus. / don't know which way to
, look" said one visitor to the zone.
It is indeed a scene of wonderful ac-
tivity. Giant steam shovels are scat
i tered through it, scooping up enor.
nous masses OF rock and earth; on
, half a dozen tracks on as many diff.
ferent levels snorting and putting loco.
motives are swiftly drawing loaded or
, empty dirt trains; along the lodges
J are batteries of steam and com
: pressed air drills, making holes for
dynamite; suddenly there is a toot.
, footing of steam whistle, a hundred
men scurry to shelter, and dynamite
= blast fills the air with sound and dirt
and rocks.
Watching the steam shovels is ia.
, vorite occupation OF visitors who ven.
! ture down into the Culebra cut. They
, seem almost human, and do a vast
/ amount OF work. Their dippers hold
FIVE cubic yards of material, weigh
} ing on an average a little more than
/, three tons. This spoil is emptied into
cars OF several kinds. Flat cars with
, one high side are unloaded by plows
that are drawn the length of the train
: by cables upon winding drum. The
others are dump cars, the largest OF
which are operated by compressed air
, from the locomotive. The trains haul
: the spoil from the cut to dumping
, grounds, which on an average are
) about " miles distant, Some $4,000.
, 600 cubic yards of this material was
/ used as filling for the long breakwa-
ter at the Pacific entrance.