The leader-enterprise. [volume] (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1912-1915, 1913-11-07

States got dollar ints'valne for every
oollar 1t paid the French company.
AS late as 1911 Colonel Goethals an
pointer committee, headed by ] R.
BISHOP. secretary of the commission
10 invoice the French purchase, and
1t reported the value of French ex-
caFatlon useful to the American plan
OF canal. the mechanical eouipment
buildings and engineering records te
De $42, 193,S26. or nearly $4,000 oOA
more tnan was paid. At the same
tlme 1t was a good sale for the French
company. because the United States
was the only prospective buyer.
The item of largest value to the
United States as estimated in the re-
port was the excavation of 29.90S. 900
CUBIC yards. valued at S23,3S9. 24o
/ InlS mainly was in the Culebra cut
Next III Importance was the Panama
railroad and subsidiary trnckage in the
canal zone. and the remainder was for
quarters hospitals, stOrehOuses, ma
chlne shops, canal equipment. steam
ships, land, etc.
Much Of the mechanical equipment
ana whole villages of houses used by
the French employees were covered
with dense growth Of jungle after
years Of idleness. but the machinery
had been oiled and painted carefully
before abandonment and so was pre-
served in good condition when the
Americans came. Had not the French
buildings been available and capable
OF being speedily repaired for use the
early American employees would have
suffered more hardships than they did.
or these buildings the Americans re
paired and used 1886. their value be
ing estimated at $1,S79203.SO.
Construction work was carried on
| the first year of American occupation
largely with old French equipment
That part of the equipment which
| could not he utilized was used as bal
| last on the Panama Steamship liners
to the extent of $1,000 tons and sold
as scrap on the New York market, and
in 1911 the Chicago House Wrecking
company bid in the remainder for the
lump sum of $215O00
In the sale the United States re-
ceived Ss,SSS shares of the capita!
stock Of Che Panama Railroad compa-
ny and later bought from individuals
LIP shares. for $i5T 1854, giving the
goveTnm lent Complete control
The value Of the French engineering
records and surveys and especially Of
| the records kept of the flow of the
Chasres river is 'iAcalcuabe because
they could not be duplicated. 1t was
On French records that e. estimate
of the amount of water to expect from
the isthmian rivers for use in the Ga
tun lake was based.
Congress on April 2, 1904. apprepri-
ated the S1O,00O,OO0 which had been
promised in the treaty to the republic
of Panama for the canal Zene This,
with the contamination Of the sale by
the French company, cleared the title
to the canal zone. and at 7:30 O'Clock
in the morning of May Lieutenant
Mark Brooke of the United States
army formally took over the property
and the territory in the name of his
government.
The day following President Reese
welt announced the appointment OF
John r. Wallace, general manager Of
the Illinois Central railroad. as chief
engineer OF the Panama canal, eGec-
tive on June 1. He had acknowledged
the national disbelief in governmental
efficiency by going into private indus
trial life for canal builder Mr.. Wal
lace's salary was to be $4,000 an
nually. and the country recognized the
selection as good one.
Upon its return to the United States
the commission began organizing sur
veying and engineering parties for
pioneer work In the canal zone. The
first ship to arrive with such party
was On May II. the party having at its
head Major General Davis of the com
mission and including Colonel w. c.
Gorgas. chief sanitary off1cer, and
George r. Stanton. wAo personally
was selected by President Roosevelt
to eficiate as head of police of the
canal zone.