The Washington herald., 1915-05-16
PANAMA CANAL
IS SHONTS TRIUMPH
Author Asserts Railroad Man, French Poneers and Theo
dore Roosevelt Were the Three Big Factors in
Final Construction of Waterway

who built the Panama Canal?"
The popular conception is that the
great waterway was constructed by Col.
George W. Goethals. U. 9. A. for he !.
the one man who has been feted and
lauded and decorated as the father OF
the gigantic project.
But an exception to this belief has
been noted. This exception Is substan-
tiated by an interesting book Of IA
pages. bearing the title Of "who Built
the Panama Canal?" The author Is w.
Leon Pepperman. chief Of the ONCE of
administration Of the Second Isthmian
Commission.
Mr.. Pepperman's own onswer to the
query is succinctly expressed in the fol-
lowing sentence from his book:
THE three controlling factors in the
inal construction of the waterway across
the Isthmus Of Panama were the French.
Theodore Roosevelt. and the railroad
men,"
And Of this triad perhaps greatest en-
phasis is laid by the author on the
regime Of the railroad men. headed by
Theodore P. shonts, now president Of the
Interborough Metropolitan Company of
New York.
Not one bit does Mr.. Pepperman dis
parage the great constructive work per-
formed by Col. Goethals. but his book
rather Is a plea that the people in honor
ing this army on1cer shall not lose sight
of the invaluable service rendered by the
railroad men.
The book is attractive in form and has
just been issued from the press Of E. 2.
Dutton & Co.. of New York City. 1t has
twelve Interestingly written chapters,
dealing with the history Of Panama
from the time Balboa stood silently on
the peok at Darien gazing for the first
time upon the Pacific. down to the time
Of the completion Of the immense water
way. Human interest Is contained In
every paragraph and dry detail is con-
spicuously absent. An appendix in five
parts. composed Of letters and govern
ment records. gives incontrovertible
proof Of the unparalleled service rendered
by the railroad regime. Four maps add
to the graphicness Of the book and an
element of rare art is contributed by the
numerous sketches from the pencil Of
Joseph Pennell.
who Bui1t the Canals
But to return to the query. 'who
built the Panama Canal?'
TT was the railroad men," says the
author. THE railroad men built the ma
chine and started it going. and then gave
the handle to Col. Goethals, who turned
the crank and ground out the results" :"
Reverting to the triad Of primary fac
tors in the final construction Of the
canal, the author explains:
1T Is primarily due to the French that
there Is a short cut between the Allan
tic and Pacific oceans at Panama, for
had they not begun the work the United
States has completed, We would be ex-
cavating our canal at Nicaragua-if We
were excavating anywhere.
Had it not been for Theodore Roose-
welt the United States would not have
quoted as having said: 7 took Panama
and left Congress to debate about it
Had the debate come first
Mr.. Roosevelt might not have taken
Panama at all.
Had it not been for the railroad men.
chosen, brought together, and directed
by Mr.. Shontz, who Is deserving Of
credit for their success In the same man
ner that a general Is deserving of credit
for the victory of his army. the condi-
tions under which the canal was dug
would never have been brought about on
the Isthmus of Panama. Dor 1t would I'm
ply a bolder Congress than has yet met
In Washington to finance third at
tempt to subtugate the tropics had the
men proved unequal to their
task after the failure Of the army and
navy regime. following that Of the
French"
When the canal project was undertake
en- by the Americans Panama was a
ten by fifty-mile stretch Of tropical will
derness. scourged by fevers and pesti-
lence and practically uninhabitable by
natives Of other climes. To go to the
Canal Zone was synonymous in the pop
ular mind with going either to death or
hell. or perhaps both, according to the
author.
This was the condition Of affairs when
In 1906 the regime OF railroad plen was
1t was the time of the be-
ginning of the labors Of the Second
Commission, at the head OF
which was Mr.. Shonts. In the two short
years Of their regime they were to turn
this wilderness into an inhabitable zone
and lay the foundations for the building
Of the great duct.
It was during the administration of Mr..
Shonts that the most important problem
IN connection with the whole canal work
vas definitely settled-that is, the adop-
lion Of the lock-level type Of duct, as
opposed to the so-called sea-level type.
by majority Of the board
II consulting engineers. The activity
and resources displayed by Mr.. Shonts in
and organizing the cam
paign for the lock-level canal have been
fully recognized by those who were as
ISOLATED with him during this period of
his service.
White Workers DESERVING.
Mr.. Shonts took charge Of Panama In |
the midst Of yellow fever epidemic. |
With tho few skilled white workers de-
serting by hundreds. There were only
1000 colored men IN the Canal Zone to
perform the unskilled labor; the plans
Tor the canal had not yet been made. |
and 1t had not even been settled whether
/ was to be Of the sea level or the lock |
.ype. The railroad, which was an indis- /!
pensable instrument to the removal OF
he dirt from the excavation, was prac-
.ically useless. The only digging equip |
nent on the Isthmus was the out-of-dase |
left by the French.
When Col. Goethals began his extra !
ordinarily successful labors two years
lfterward. the Canal Zone was as health |
'ul q place to Mve and work In as most
,arts Of the United States. The plans
or the canal had been worked out and
Is construction was under way. with the
essential to its digging In
operation, and with the maximum of dry
excavation almost reached. There were