St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1913-02-28

at the same time " necessary. Electrii
locomotives ahead. behind and on both
sides will tow the vessels through On,
locks, both 60 save time and TO pre-
vent damage TO the locks themselves
The overflow Of the Gatnn dam will
provide electric power for the locomo
tivcs and probably for all the uses OF
power along the Canal zone.
The lock gates are steel structures
each leaf weighing about so tons. They
are about ~ feet high. % feet wide
and feet thick. There are o2 leaves
for there are 46 pairs of gates. An
idea Of their bulk may boz had by not
ing that II they were laid flat, one on
top of the other. the pile would be-
higher than the Singer tower. Tn,
rivctng problem Is also interesting
Counting 800 rivcts a. a good day.
work for a single gang Of riveters, II
would take them a year TO rivet up n
single leaf, or % years TO complete the
lot.
The whole administration Of the
shop and storehouscs is under the army
in its various branches. The stores
come under the quartermaster depart
ment. and the storehouses are splen.
didly kept in every way. Employees
all have n brass check or tag similar
to n baggage tag bearing their mum.
Der. This tag Is the open sesame TO
all commission stores. Here the en-.
| l.Ia,... am hut, anxtb,u.. "a co.t ,,.,,.
ally much cheaper than the same thing
can be secured in New York or any
northern city.
| Al Cristobal are the main store.
houses, the government ice factory, ice
cream factory, bakery and laundry.
early every morning the supply train,
usually Of 81 cars, starts out TO supply
the smaller storehouscs and distribut
ing points along the Isthmus. And
there are very few Of the necessities
and even luxuries which cannot be 30
cured from the main stores and sent
20 you at short notice.
These seem strange when we think
Of canal digging, but show conclusively
that II ~ the attention 20 details that
brings success no matter how largo th
enterprise. Men would not stay until
the surroundings were healthy and con.
genial. This meant comfortable quar-.
tcrs for their wives and children. This
In turn nccessitatcd the adoption Of a
complete school system, including n
high school which ranks second o.
none as a preparatory school for col
legc. IL also meant recreation centers
and Y. NJ. G. A. buildings for the men
and womcn's clubs for the women. All
strangely out OF place and seeming
extravaganza In tropical climate and
for temporary job, but all absolutely
necessary 90 the successful building Of
tho 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 60 into large or small ma.
chino shops and pay all our attention
10 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 mp. especially In shops in
tropical countries.
The ideas Of heat In the Canal zone
are apt 10 be exaggerated, as the tenn.
perature rarely goes over 90 degrees
aud sunstrokes are unknown. But heat
Is not the only factor In these climates.
Imagine sitting down at the table on
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 10 prevent their being
accidentally sealed when not wanted,
This gives you some idea Of the damp
ness in the atmosphere.
II Is not so hot as you expect, but
you perspire at the slightest provoca-
tiOn 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
usually provided. And your
boots insist on getting mouldy' unless
they are wiped dry when put away,
and even this is not sure preventive.
And then imagine what belt is up
against. IL must be dependable day
after day, The season may be dry or
wet, the atmosphere saturated OF dried
out by the close proximity TO a boiler
or other heating apparatus, but the belt
must so on doing its duty or the ma
chimes cannot run aud 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 helting stretches with the
moisture contracts when il dries out a
bit, opens at the laps and has to be
cut constantly TO keep the length so it
win pull the machine. Two OF three
ply betting is very apt TO part com