The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-02-27

l,rpmotiycs ahead. behind and on bot'
Sides will tow The vessels through th'
locks. both to save time ana 10 pre-
vent damage to the locks themselves
The overflow of the Gatun dam VIII
provide electric power for the Io'o''o
tivcs and probably for all the uses OF
power along the Canal zone.
The lock oates are steel structures
each leaf weigh NJ about go tons. Ih'N
are about - feet high o. feet wac
and feet thick. There are W leaves
for there are 10 pairs of gates An
iden of their bulk may he had by not
inc that if they were laid flat, one on
ton of the other. the pile would be
hirhcr than the Singer tower. Inc
rivcting problem is also interesting
Counting 500 rivcts as n good DAY
work for single gang of riveters, IL
would take them year to riNet up
single leaf. or 90 years to complete the
lot
The whole administration of the
shop and storchouses is under the army
in it's various branches. The stores
come under the quartcrmaster' = depart
ment. and the storchouscs are spleh'
d;dly kept in every way EMPLOYEES
all have brass check or tag similar
to baggage tag hearing their mum
Der This tag is the open sesame 10
all commission stores Here the EN-
plovcs can buy anything at cost, usu'
ally much cheaper than the same thine
can he secured in New York or any
northern city.
At Cristobal are the main store
houses, the government lee factory, lee
cream factory. bakery aud laundry.
early every morning the supply tram
usually of u ears, starts out to supply
ing points along the Isthmus. ANA
there are very few of the necessities
aud even uNurics which cannot he Sc
cured from the main stores aud sent
to Won ut short notice.
These seem strange when we think
of canrl digging. but show conclusivelv
that :, - the attention to details that
brings success no matter how lar e. .
enterprise. Men would not stay uni II
the surroundings were healthy and con
genial. This meant comfortable quar-
tcrs for their wives and children. This
in turn ncccssitatcd the adoption Of 4
complete school system. including n
hirh school which ranks second {"
none ~ a preparatory school for col
lege. II also meant recreation cent"rN
and Y. NJ. &. \. buildings for the men
and women : clubs for the women. All
strangely out of place and seeming
extravaganza in tropical climate AMI
for temporary job. but all absolutely
TO the successful building of
the canal in record time as has been
done.
This same thing has been carried out
in the details of shop management and
the buying of proper materials to work
with. We 90 into large or small ma
chine shops and pay all our attention
to the machines and never see the belts
that drive them and without which
they would be of almost no use. And
the belt problem is one of the worst
that comes up. especially in shops IN
tropical countries.
The ideas of heat in the Canal zone
are apt to be exaggerated, as the tenn
pcraturc rarely goes over % degrees
and sunstrokcs are unknown. But heat
is not the only factor in these climates.
Imagine sitting down at the table on
n damp. rainy day and pressing with
your knife on the salt in the salt eel
lar and see moisture stand in drops
on the knife. Salt shakers are out of
the question. and envelopes are made
without gum to prevent their being
accidentally sealed when not wanted.
This gives You some idea of the damp
ness in the atmosphere.
II is not 50 hot as YOU expect. but
YOU pcrspirc at the slightest provoca-
ton and sometimes without any provo
cation at all. Your clothes may be
damp in the morning. almost wet. in
fact. unless You put them in the tight
wordrobcs usually provided. And your
boots insist on getting mouldy unles,
they are wiped dry when put away,
and even this is not IA sure preventive.
And then imagine what a belt is up
against. II must be dependable day
after day. The season may be dry or
wet. the atmosphere saturated or dried
out by the close proximity to a boiler
or other heating apparatus, but the belt
must 90 on doing its duty or the ma
chimes cannot run and the shovels and
locomotives cannot be repaired. Then
too. there is oil around the machinery
to contend with. all of which makes the
conditions especially trying.
Ordinary betting stretches with the
moisture contracts when it dries out q
bit. opens at the laps and has to be
cut constantly to keep the length so il
will pull the machine. Two or three
ply betting is very apt to part com