Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-03-01

at the same time if necessary. Electric
locomotives ahead, behind and on both
sides will tow the vessels through the
locks, both to save time and to pre-.
vent damage to the locks themselves
The overflow of the Gatun dam will
provide electric power for the locomo'
tives- and probably for all the uses OF
power along the Canal zone.
The lock gates are steel structures
each leaf weighing about $50 tons. They
are about II feet high, 67 feet wide
and 7 feet thick. There are so leaves
for there are 46 pairs of gates. An
idea of their bulk may be had by not
ing that if they were laid flat, one on
top of the other, the pile would be
higher than the Singer tower. The
riveting problem is also interesting
Counting 800 rivets as a good day :
work for single gang of riveters, il
would take them a year to rivet up a
single leaf, or 92 years to complete the
lot.
The whole administration OF the
shop and storehouses is under the army
in it's various branches. The stores
come under the quartermaster depart
ment, and the storehouses are splen'
didly kept in every way. Employees
all have brass check or tag similar
to baggage tag bearing their mum
Der. This tag is the open sesame to
all commission stores. Here the en-
ployes can buy anything at cost, usu
ally much cheaper than the same thing
can be secured in New York or any
northern city.
At Cristobal are the main store
houses, the government ice factory, ice
cream factory, bakery and laundry
early every morning the supply train
usually of 81 cars, starts out to supply
the smaller storehouses and distribut-
ing points along the Isthmus. And
there are very few Of the necessities
and even Injuries which cannot be Sc.
cured from the main stores and sent
to you at short notice.
These seem strange when we think
Of canal digging, but show conclusively
that it is the attention to details that
brings success no matter how large the
enterprise. Men would not stay until
the surroundings were healthy and con.
genial. This meant comfortable quar-
tiers for their wives and children. This
in turn necessitated the adoption Of q
complete school system, including .
high school which ranks second tr
none as a preparatory school for col
lege. It also meant recreation centers
and Y. M. G. A. buildings for the mer
and women q clubs for the women. Al
strangely out of place and a seeming
extravaganza in tropical climate and
for temporary job, but all absolutely
necessary to the successful building Of
the canal in record time as has beer
done.
This same thing has been carried Out
in the details of shop management ant
the buying of proper materials to worl
with. We 60 into large or small ma
chine shops and pay all our attention
| to the machines and never see the belt
that drive them and without which
they would be of almost no use. Anc
the belt problem is one of the worst
that comes up, especially in shops IL
tropical countries.
The ideas of heat in the Canal zont
are apt to be exaggerated, as the TEN
perature rarely goes over SO degrees
and sunstrokes are unknown. But heat
is not the only factor in these climates
Imagine sitting down at the table OF
damp, rainy day and pressing will
your knife on the salt in the salt eel
| lar and see moisture stand in drop
on the knife. Salt shakers are out o,
the question, and envelopes are mad
without gum to prevent their bein!
accidentally sealed when not wanted
This gives you some idea of the damp
ness in the atmosphere.
It is not so hot as you expect, bu
you perspre at the slightest provoca
ton and sometimes without any provo
cation at all. Your clothes may b,
damp in the morning, almost wet, il
fact, unless you put them in the tigh
wordrobes usually provided. And you
boots insist on getting mouldy unles
they are wiped dry when put away
and even this is not sure preventive
| And then imagine what belt is u
against. 1t must be dependable da.
after day. The season may be dry o
wet, the atmosphere saturated or drie
out by the close proximity to boile
or other heating apparatus, but the bel
must 60 on doing its duty or the ma
chimes cannot run and the shovels an
locomotives cannot be repaired. Their
too, there is oil around the machiner
to contend with, all Of which makes tn
conditions especially trying.
| Ordinary betting stretches with tn
! moisture contracts when it dries out
bit, opens at the laps and has to b
, cut constantly to keep the length so
will pull the machine. Two or thre
! ply betting is very apt to part con