The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-10-09

~N~~So-~-~-o~~0~Uo-~~~I~ ~~I~N-~~--~~~~~~-~~~~<~
ed his task without the assistance Of
such men as Col. H. F. Hodges, Lieut..
Col. David Du B. Ballard and Lieut..
Col. William l.. Sibert, army en-
engineers, who have had charge of va.
rious phases of the work, but Col Cos
thals is recognized as the real builder
of the canal
Under Colonel Goethals the greater
part of the $375O0O,00O which the can
al will have cost when it is completed
has been spent 1t has been by far
the costliest engineering project in
the world. Nearly three-tifths OF
billion dollars has been spent In dig
ging a 40-mile ditch" This means
that the Panama canal has cost the
United States $10,00O,000 mile.
Over $15,000,000 Of the total amount
spent has been used to make the canal
zone habitable and sanitary. 1t has
been suggested that this is an enor-
nous amount of money to spend in
cleaning up place in which few peo-
pie will reside permanently, but the
engineers say that the sanitation OF
the canal zone was the chief factor In
making the canal reality. The fail
ure of the French has been attributed
to a large extent to the fact that
the workmen could not survive in the
fever and pest ridden country.
The building Of the great locks
which raise vessel to height Of 81
feet above sea level at one end OF
the canal and lower it the same dis
tance at the other end, has been in
charge of two of Colonel Goethals'
assistants, Colonel Hodges and Lieu
tenant Colonel Sibert. Colonel Hodges
work in installing the immense lock-
gates that form so important part
of the operating machinery Of the
canal. and his ability to overcome all
obstacles had led Colonel Goethals to
call him a genius. The building, pois-
ing and operation of the lock gates
constitute one of the delicate prob.
lens of lock canal construction, and
the proper handling of this problem
has been Colonel Hodges contribu-
tion to the work Of construction OF
the canal
Lieutenant Colonel Sibert has had
charge of the building of the great
dam and locks at Gatun, in addition
to other duties He saw long, ac.
tive service in the Philippines, and
he is known in the army as fight
| er as we'll as an engineer.
Realize Dream Of Centuries.
Through the work of these men-alI
of them members of Uncle Sans
fighting body, the United States has
heen able to attain what has been IN
truth the dream Of centuries. In nine
years these men have carried through
an undertaking that was first thought
OF seveEal hundreds Of years ago
The United States government first
took definite action looking toward
the construction Of an isthmian canal
in 1884, when the senate voted fol
the building of a Nicaraguan canal
An expedition was sent to Nicaragua
to make an investigation, and report
ed that the canal could be construct
ed for $25,00000. hardly one-twenti
eth Of the amount that the Panams
canal will have cost when completed
De Lesseps First to Dig.
The matter rested until after the
Civil war; when negotiations for {
canal commission were entered int
by the United States government. Be
fore Anything had been accomplished
the concession for Panama cana
had been given to Lucien Napoleon
Bonaparte Wyse, d Frenchman. HI
organized company, which sold ou
later to the financiers associated Will
Ferdinand de Lesseps. The compan,
was the first one to actually begin ,op
erations on the isthmus. For eigh
years de Lesseps struggled manfull.
against the greatest odds that mai
ever was called upon to face. Thel
he was forced to give up the fight
his company collapsing as a result 0
dishonesty and extravaganza on tn
part of it's promoters, and de Lesseps
driven insane by the scandal, ende,
his days in an asylum.
Such was the history of the 18th
mian canal project for some 300 O
400 years, until the day in 1904 whe
Uncle Sam undertook the task.
In nine years the dream of the cer
turies has been YealiZed.