The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-02-28

up. There are six of these emergenc,
locks and they cost bout two million
dollars each.
The Gatum dam is about the secOnl
largest undertaking on the canal
Ihis dam is about two miles long, on,
hundred and six feet high, one thous-
and feet wide at its base and two hun
dred at the top. 1t is large bank OF
dirt and rock diggings taken out of the
canal. This is faced with quarrieC
rock, and at It's base Il large concrete
wall is butt to prevent seepage. The
| dam Is semi circle to make it strong.
er. On one end near the gatum lock
Is large concrete spilway. The top
OF this spilway is one hundred feet
above the bottom OF the dam: it is al
| SO built semi circle, and is mounted
with large concrete columns between
which are fitted gates, which can be
| opened or closed for food water.
| mere Is more waar there than is
eded to operate the canal lock. SO
below the Gatum spilway they are
building large power house, from
which it is estimated they will get
enough electricity to liz Int the canal
and furnish power to operate the locks
and engit es.
The labor is almost all done by
Negroes, Hindus and West Indians.
lhe white people are very few and one
never see- them work, excepting a.
engineers or operators of some sort
No manual work for them.
There are quite a few little towns
along the canal built by the Caoal
Commission. They are all about the
same. all screened in and very
clean. All cutters and swamps have
been sprinkled with crude oil to kill
the HES and insects to prevent yellow
fever.
The government has had a great
night and IT is sure winning out.
They have had many men OF brains at
1t, some have given their life there,
but the army engineer who started it
still lives to see it completed. The
system they use is a good deal like
the army comniSSary system, and the
pay rolls are handled by so many
foreman and suDforeman and then pay
masters, there is q total absence OF
OF graft there.
How unline the French, who spent
l6O million dollars there and accom-
plishe1 very little. This country Civ
ing them ~ million for their work and
rights. Then they did every thing
backwards. They tried to dig sea
level caoal They carried about five
thousand dead names on their pay roll.
They did nothing for sanitation and
and fifteen thousand workmeo lost
their lives by malaria and yellow
fever to our two and one-half thous-
and. They paid twelve million franks
to one contractor alone for material
which was never delivered. De.
Lesseps and his son, who were the
French engineers grated 8 million
franks. They paid all their canal
officials salaries ranging from 80 to
100 Thousand a year. One stock
broker received six million franks for
commissions on stocks he sold and
the poor people OF France suffered,
There We're $4,000 stock holders in the
old French company. three-fourths OF
whom were women. When the United
States bought the old rights they re-
ce!ved Il little over twenty cents on a
dollar. Old man De Lesseps died in
prison. His son served six years.
This was in the early nineties, SO may
be you read about it.
All along the track we can see old
French machinery and old locomo-
tives Some .f the dredges are still
in toe water where they were left by
them. Near Colon in the old canal
are some of the tugs now rusted and
weather worn. The L, 5, used what
they could. The rest will stay where
it is to show for a lost cause, in which
a small army lost its life. 1t almost
brings tears to ones eyes to think
back at the suffering. Near Empire
is an old town started by the French
canal people, but no one lives there
now They started a concrete church
there nearly thirty years ago, and the
walls are now tumbling. The Scafold-
ing and concrete mould which have
not rotted away are still in place.
This gives you an idea of how the
people left as soon as the money gave
out. | often wonder how they stayed
as long as they did considering how
great the suffering was.
But | could write week on this
sub ect, so will close now.
Your loving son HENRY SEIDE.