The Hawaiian gazette., 1914-01-16
CANAL DEFENSE
BOARD NAMED
Army Chiefs 70 Look Over the
Work Done BY Very Young
Army Engineers,

peculiar circumstances under which the
personnel Of the board has been
changed. ~
It win be surprising to the eountry
at large to learn that, although the
Panama Canal has been CONSTRUCTED Nv
officers of the ripest experience and
mig hest proved ability, all matters deal
ing with its defenaes by sea and land
are being built under the supervision
of two young first lieutenants of the
Corps OF Engineers Of the Army.
One is First Lieut.. George X, Goe,
thals, the son Of Col George w. goe-
that's, chief engineer. Of the Panama
Canal, and the other is First Lieut..
Albert II. Acher. For the first time
in the history of such work, the con-'
struetion of Notifications Of such, pre-
eminent Importance that the whole
world is Interested in them has been
entrusted to kerry young men, relatively
speaking, u IS no secret In army cir
cles that one Of the primary duties Of
the board Just appointed will be to i'm
qnire into every detail Of preparation
and construction, to assertion whether
the work Of these Young oineefs win
stand the test. II has been generally
supposed that a senior ofiieeg OF the
engineers would be plaeel IN charge,
and the inquiry Just started is said! to
be an outcome Of the surprise in Army
circles that one was not given this inn
portant work to do. q asg"
b ohief Of star at Head.
Mai ..Gen. Leonard Wood, the chief of
the general stair of the Army, heads
the board to which this delicate task
has been entrusted. Associated with
him will be Ma. .Gen. William w. With.
erspoon, Brighten. Erasmus Il. WEAVER,
Brig. Gen. William Crozier, Col. George
w. Goethals, Col. Edward Burr, both Of
the Engineer Corps; Lieut.. Col. William
w, Kann and Maj. William Chamber.
lain, both Of the Coast Artillery Corps
and the general staff, and Capt Harry
8. Knapp, United States Navy. /,
General Witherspoon is assistant
chief of staff, General Weaver is- chief
of coast artillery, General Crozier is
chief of ordnance, Colonel Burr is as
sistant to the chief Of engineers aad
the other officers are all Of the highest
professional standing in their respective
lines, therefore II Is believed that what
ever Judgment they may pass upon con
ditions at Panama will be accepted as
authoritative. ~. n :. Esar
. WIN Deserve An Credit. .gsa
Should this exceptionally competent
board approve the work Of these two
engineer lleutenants they also will be
entitled TO a place on a roll Of fame
along with the constructors of the
canal. Older officers were greatly sur,
prised when the choice of these strip
iings was made, and thay felt not at all
flatteTed that someone in authority had
gone over their heads, and perhaps TAXI
en- long chances with untried stuff
On the other hand, the. Qualifications
have been planned and built under the
supervision of Colonel Goethals, who
has put on the work the well trained
employees Of the canal construction
work, and the public, if not the Army,
viii be ready to believe that no seripus
mistakes have been made, even il the
mon in direct charge werp still wearing
bright new uniforms and have gained
the first bars on their shoulder straps
while employed in the work.
The sites for the Notifications were
selected by board of general oiiieers
which was appointed about the time II
was decided that the canal should be
fortified This board having reported,
tho war department selected one of the
greatest fertilization experts in the ser.
vice, Maj. II, Il. Winslow, of the Engi-
neor Corps, to design the defenSes. Z.
Winslow Well Known Here.
To Major wfnslow the war depart,
msht was largely indebted for the
working out of plans for the coast de,
Tense OF Oahu and having submitted
satisfactory plans for tho situation OF
emplaccmcnts in Hawaii he was ordered
here, where he spent two years person
ally experimenting their construction
With his intimate knowledge of the
plans for the defense of the canal in
the natural process of events it was
supposed that no would be selected Ia
proceed to the isthmus to complete HE
work, but 10 the surprise of tho service
another was selected. Major Winslow
went TO Panama, mo doubt expecting Ia
undertake. the construction Of the forts
but he returned to the States after 3
short stay, and not long afterwards an
| nouneement was made by the war de-
partmeht that the son Of Colonel Gpe
thals, chief engineer, and tbefseak ala v
OF Colonel Hodges, assistant chief engi
neer, would be placed in charge of one
Of the mightiest works Of defense ever
undertaken in the history Of the Uni
ted States Amy or any other.
| While it is true that certain army
eifcles were Shocked, IL not "scandal
ized by the appointment Of young
sters over older and more experienced
officers on the isthmian .defenses, N,
charge has been made that the tw,
young lieutenRnts haye not made sue
cess of their task. The real respon
sibility for the successful execution o.
Major Winslow's plans will rest upoi
Colonel Goethals and II is evident tina
he has selected his assistants with a full
conviction that the defenses would no
suffer through any inability OF tn,
young men he 50 signally honored.
$50