El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-26
Copyright, 1913, by Frank G, Carpentel


, Most of them viii have to find jobs
wherever they can" said Col. Goethals-
1t would be almost impossible to
I transfer the organization as a whole,
and there is no other piece OF work
/ which the government has on hand that
would require such an organization. In
deed, the talk of transferring The or
gaDizatiOn from Panama to other
places is more or less hot air"
Disposition of the Machinery.
What will become of Uncle Sans
machinery at the completion of the
canal2'' 1 asked
There is some talk of sending it to
Alaska to aid in the building of rail-
roads. and also to the Mississippi val
! ley for the improvement of that great
waterway" replied Col. Goethals. Il
know nothing about that 1 am only
interested in that we get as much as
possible out of it to cut down that total
cost of the canal
rs there any possibility that We
| Will get very much?'
Yes, the returns should be conSid-
cradle, and whatever We get will be
clear gain. You see the cost of the
whole plant, including machinery and
supplies, is figured up in the cost Of
the canal 1t forms a part of the cost
of every cubic yard of concrete put
| into place and of every cubic yard of
earth taken out. So when the canal
| is done the machinery will all have
been paid for, and what we get for II
will be velvet. 1t will decrease the
total cost of the canal"
can you give me any idea as to its
possible Value?"
NO, it is worth what it will bring
and that is all This is always the
scrap value and if the government
should take the plant and use it else
which will be far more than that of
ordinary scrap. We should like to see
it go into government work, for that
would add to our assets
agTH ~ Iii
cry has cost as a whole and in de-
talI?'' 1 asked.
Trying to Keep Cost Down.
Can you tell just what the ma
Most certainly. We keep a close ac-
count of everything. Our books tell
just what becomes of the scrap, and
we have been selling everything from
the old wire netting torn from The
houses to the steam ShOyels End
dredges and other machinery. We have
sold everything possible as soon as it
had done its work, and we know just
what We have got from it. The waste
in such matters has been small, and
that especially on account of our sys-
tom of cost keeping, which charges
every branch OF the force with the
tools and machinery and supplies il has
to work with. There is a great rivalry
between the men to keep the cost
down, and this has been so through
out the building of the whole canal.
The government will have quite a
i
property, and some of the present
equipment will be of value in that
plant We shall need supply depOts to
furnish the steamers with fuel. We
are erecting coal depots now, AMI we
are putting up tanks for fuel oil on
both sides OF the isthmus- You know,
many of the steamers are now burn
ing oil This is so of the Peruvian
line, which plies between Lima and
Panama"
rs there any possibility of having
a pipe line from the Mexican oil fields
to Panama."
Not that I know of. I doubt that
one will ever be constructed"
'Wiu Uncle Sam keep his hotels on
fI suppose so. The TivoH hotel,
which is at the Panama end of the
canal is now being run at a profit
The New Washington. which we have
opened at the Colon end. viii probably
do equally well There should be good
hotels at Panama"
VIII Keep the Railroad.
'fWin the government keep the Pan
ANA railrOad?"
TT will have to do So" replied Col
GOethals- That road is necessity for
the working of the canal. We can
not rely entirely upon the boats, for
Il any damage should occur to the locks
we could not get our supplies back
and forth across the iSthmus. We shall
have to operate the road as a matter
OF convenience and safety. The road
has been making money as a private
corporation, and it ought to continue
to do so under the government"
How many men viii it take to op-
crate the completed canal?'
Between 1900 and 1000. exclusive of
the Panama railroad Adding the force
required for that, I should say that the
limit would be 25OO''
4 receive many letters from young
men and young women who want to