davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-05-23

culebra cut to deep water In the Pa
cifc. and included the Pedro Miguel
and Miraf1ores locks, dry exca vation
and dredging extending over eleven
miles of the canal: construction OF one
concrete and two earth dams, terminal
docks at Balboa, the water supply.
sewer. streets and roads for all towns
south of Culebra, including the city of
Panama.
In handling this work Mr. William
son followed his practice of leaving the
office to a subordinate and taking
charge in the field. Always he was
about the work. and yet no one ever
saw him shouting orders. His aver
times the actual number ran up to
nearly 10000. Under him his division
established the best record. daily,
monthly and annually, for concrete
running on the canal.
In December. 1912. when the hard
work was over and the division near
ing completion. Mr.. Williamson re-
signed to become construction engineer
with the famous firm of j. G. White &
Co ltd of London. With the Eng
and built a water works plant at
Genoa. Italy. and street railway sys-
tenn at Pernambuco. Brazil. Last year.
with the approach of the war. other
promised heavy construction WORK M
failed to materialize. and. restless for
activity, Mr.. Williamson resigned.
Then it was that Secretary Lane
seized upon him for this reclamation
service work. Already Mr.. Williamson
has been over the chief projects for
preliminary view: now he is again in
the west, and next month he is to es-
cort a subcommittee of the approprl-
ations committee of the House of Rep
resentatives over the projects to ac-
quaint them with the needs.
This. by the way, is familiar employ
ment to him One of his jobs there was
to take the subcommittee of the ap-
propriations committee over his por-
Chairman Fitzgerald. who always wants
to know WHY one is spending 81 mere
when. according to Mr. Fitzgerald. 30
cents would do quite as We'll, has no
terrors for Mr.. Williamson. Long ago
the two men took one anothers meas
ure, and are fast friends.
Before starting west Mr.. Williamson
talked at his temporary office in Wash
inston of the task before him.
"The important thing to be done. SAID
he emphatically. after the converse
ton had flowed along for a time. is
to complete the projects now in hand
lust as soon as possible, at as low
cost as possible commensurate with
GOOD work. This is not a time for un-
dertaking any new projects. Those
may come eventually. but right now
We are concerned only with finding
means to finish the ones we have
Were too many projects under-
taken?"
"Any discussion of that would be
merely academic. Perhaps. in the light
of what we know now. too many were
undertaken. but, at the time they were
inaugurated. there seemed ample JUS
tification for them. The reduction IN
revenues from the sales of public lands.
as we'll as many engineering difficulties
in this largely experimental work,
,.o1,ld not very well have been fore
seen. IS
Evening star., 1915-05-23

After the killing of Ellsworth and
jackson the Marshall House was taken
over as barracks by part of the Mich
igan regiment. but the headquarters OF
Col. Wilcox was at O'Nells Railroad
Hotel near the Orange and Alexandria
depot.
On Saturday morning. May 26. at 7
o'clock. the remains of Ellsworth were
removed from the navy yard to the
White House, where they rested for
several hours in the middle of the
east room. Thousands of persons
passed through and viewed the body.
The escort from the navy yard to the
White House consisted of Company B
of the fist New York Regiment under
Capt. Coyle and platoon of United
States marines. At about noon the re-
mains We're taken from the White
House to the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road station for removal to Ellsworth s
home at Mechanicsville, Saratoga coun-
ty, n. Y.
The funeral procession from the White
House to the railroad station was a
notable one. 1t included the Zouave
Corps of the Washington Light Infantry,
Capt. Powell: the Metropolitan Rifles.
Capt. Nalley; the Turner Rifles, Capt
Loeffier; Dodsworth's list Regiment
Band. the list New York Regiment,
United States marines, National Rifles.
Capt. Smead mourners coaches and the
hearse drawn by four white horses, with
side, delegation from the Franklin fire
company, a company of Ellsworth s
Zouaves. and the Presidents private
coach, containing President Lincoln. Sec
retary Seward, Secretary Smith and Presi-
dent Lncoln's two little sons
In connection with this double killing
the Rambler read in The Evening Star
of May IS. 1861, what follows:
James Jackson. who killed Col Ellsworth was
a man of violent character yet Of generous i'm
aroused. He headed the company which not long
cut down the republican flag OccOquan.
and the secession flag flying over his house was
the first thrown to the breeze in Alexandria.
As late day before yesterday some Of his
neighbors demonstrated with him upon essa wing
highly probable that the troops of the United
States would very shortly occupy Alexandria. and
il was well known that the disHnion authorities
had ordered its evacuation by the few dsunion
make their appea rance. He, however. swore that
he would sacrifice his life in keeping 1t flying.
and by daybreak the next day his oath was full
filled.
week ago Union man Of this city who was
in Alexandria business denounced by q
unionistS threa tened to shoot or hang him. when
Jackson to his rescue, and threatening to
kill any who molested him. saved him Mr..
Difenderfer, from the vengeance of some of the
most violent and reckless disunionists, who for
a month past had been the terror of the peace
able people around them.
In an old chronicle the Rambler has
read that the night following the shooting
the body of Jackson was laid out in the
parlor of the Marshall House. dressed in
the uniform of an artillery company to
Evening star., 1915-05-23

Young Williamson was sent out by
Goethals to replace the man who had
failed. The next day Goethals, on an
inspection tour, arrived at the work
and found the young man in the bot
tom of the pit, busy with a crew of
negro laborers. Calling him out. Goe-
thals suggested that an engineer in
charge of a work was not expected to
do manual labor.
The men were afraid of the quick
sand" said Williamson, simply. ''They
hesitated to go in; SO I went in myself
to give them confidence"
1t was little incident. but it made
its impression upon Goethals. Years
later, when Goethals gave Williamson
charge of the Pacific division of the
Panama canal. Goethals recalled 1t.
Save for a brief period in which he
served as a volunteer in the war with
Spain, Mr.. Williamson was employed in
engineering work by the army engin-
eers from 1892 to 1904. Much of that
work was in river and harbor I'M
provements in the south For time
he was given charge of the operation
and maintenance of the Mussel Shoals
canal, twenty miles long. From 1900
to 1904 he was assistant engineer al
Newport, r. l.. in charge of the fortl-
flcations work in that district This in
about eighteen gun batteries, all OF
concrete.
In 1900 he resigned to resume private
practice. This was the period OF SUD
den growth in the business OF erecting
reinforced concrete buildings. In this
Mr. Williamson engaged with eminent
success until he was called to Panama
canal work in 1907. going there first as
In the reorganization of the following
year Col Goethals put him in charge OF
the entire Pacific division.
just a that time scare OF mill
tarism' was abroad on the canal work
The army engineers had taken charge
AS the gossip ran, civilians We're to
have no show at all. Possibly because
of this Col Goethals. who has an tnti-
mate knowledge of human nature.
chose a civilian as one of his three di-
vision engineers: possibly it was be
cause he knew his man, or possibly he
deemed it wise to put the element OF
competition between civilian ensl-
neer and army engineers into the work:
or possibly it was a combination of all
of these reasons.
If the competitive idea was the NOV
ing one 1t was amply justified. AS an
example: In November, 1910 President
Taft visited the canal The force on
the Atlantic division. under an army
engineer, in order to make a demon
stratfon. got everything lined up. ana,
November 16. for the edification of the
work of running 4,443A cubic yards of
concrete in the locks in one working
day of twelve hours.
Now, over on the Pacific division the
working day was only eight hours. The
force, put on its mettle, asked Mr. VIII
Hanson for permission to work one
twelve-hour day in order to beat the
Atlantic division record. Mr.. William
son gave his consent. and November 2l
his men hoped in and ran 5.564. cubic
yards, even though they suffered the
loss of one hour out of the twelve be-
cause of rain.
The Pacific division extended from
Evening star., 1915-05-23

which he had belonged. It was said that this
company had been recently resuscitated
from company in existence in Alex
andria many years before. and the MEM
bers had brought out their old uniforms
from places where they had long lain.
1t was reported that there was no guard
about the house and no crowd. A few of
the friends of Jackson were superintend
ing the removal of certain furniture from
the house, and it is quite likely that it
was being removed to the house on the
Leesburg pike, which was soon to become
ruin, and which ruins mark the spot
today.
In turning over the files Of The Star
the Rambler read this. written by a
reporter who had been sent down to
Alexandria soon after the double kill
ing:
The people of the town at that hour wore on
their faces expression of anxiety IL some
fearful thing about to fall upon the city in
consequence of the assaS>ina tion OF Ellsworth.
counter one of relief on the countenance of not
a few thar the federal forces had not attacked
the city and reduced it to ashes. as had been
general feeling of regret among the substantial
citizens of the town at Col. Ellsworths death.
The stores. and, in fact, all places of business,
closed throughout the day, and the city
Wore an aspect as silent as that OF the sabbath.
The business people expected, however, to resume
their trade within few hours.
The Rambler has not yet come into
possession of the facts relating to the
destruction of the home of the jackson
family on the pike. At the time when
Union forces crossed into Virginia by
the Long bridge and by the Aqueduct
bridge, and also went to Alexandria
by steamboats,, a crossing into Virginia
was made over the Chain bridge. The
first troops to cross were District of
Columbia militia and volunteers from
that part of the District west of Rock
creek, and these troops were followed
by others from various parts of the
country, for by that time regiment
after regiment was arriving in Wash
ington.
The Rambler has had the story told
him that after the killing of Ellis
worth some soldiers belonging to COM
mands that had crossed the Chain
bridge went to the old house up the
pike and burned it. the stone barn and
other outbuildings and wrought such
other damage as they could. There is
a picturesque story in the neighbor-
hood, though the Rambler did not have
it from anybody living in the neigh
borhood at the time of the event, that
soldiers brought up cannon and with
that artillery shot the house and barn
to pieces.
Living at Balls hill, few miles
from the Jackson ruins, is Capt. Ball.
who was Confederate officer and
knew the Jackson family and is con-
versant with the facts bearing on the
destruction of the property, and the
Rambler has marked Balls hill as the
object of future ramble. The Jack
Evening star., 1915-05-23
i \


principle which the canal builder
worked with such marked success was
Get close to the job Only when re-
sponsibility was consolidated and the
necessity for referring all important
questions to Washington was elim'nat-
ed did the work march forward smooth
ly, rapidly. in orderly fashion.
This lesson of the canal Uncle Sam
has now applied TO that other huge en-
xineerine task he has on his HANDS. the
retaining of the arid land% OF the
west, the work of the United states
reclamation service. And TO apply IL,
Uncle Sam has selected one of Goethals'
former chief lieutenants.
Quite recently, Franklin X Lane. Sec
retary of the Interior, in whose depart
ment il vested control of the reclama :
tion service. announced the establish
nent of the executive off1ces of the
reclamation service at Denver, with
sydney B Williamson. chief of con-
struction, In charge,
Mr. williamson said the Secretary.
will be the executive arm Of the serv-
ice in the field. ! have felt for long
time that Ye were TOO far removed
from the projects themselves to have
the work carried on with the greatest
enciency. the least friction and the
smallest expense.
These are precisely the motives thai
led to the recasting of the Panama
canal organization when Col Goethals
took charge This same Sydney b. Will
Hanson, now chief OF construction of
the reclamation service. is the ctvilian n
engineer Col. Goethals. on his reor-
Ranization back in July. 1908, selected
as chief of the Pacific division of the
canal construction. choosing army en-
eineers as chiefs of the other two divi-
sions. the Atlantic and the central.
How well Mr.. Williamson did his
work, the remarkable record he made
are facts fully set forth in Col. Goe-
nserins world long has known all
about it. His accomplishments on the
canal gave Mr.. Williamson information
al reputation and fame. Now he has
taken up this other great government
work and is getting close to the job.
Huge and complex though the canal
fob was, this irrigation work is still
more complex. for ii is so diversified
Roughly speaking. il consists of TWEEN
ty-six large engineering projects
more, il you add in the subordinate
PROTECTS idoIy scattered over the
west. eacf, ore presenting it's own in
dividual problems. in all of which
problems the human equation enters tt
= greater extent than II ever did II
in Panama One is dealing here no.
only with the men employed, but also
with the settlers on the irrigation prof
<Ns
Farming on irrigated lands was rela
lively new when Uncle Sam esta blishe6
the reclamation servicesin 1902. Like
most new things. its future was over
Evening star., 1915-05-23

confidence, respect and loyalty gave
him the name on the canal job of "the
rough-neck engineer. 1t was name
applied not in derision, but in admira-
tion and affection, to a man who was
not afraid to get down among the
rough h-necks' in order to make the
work move better.
Mr.. Williamson has been in engineer
ing, all kinds of engineering. ever
since. at nineteen, back in 1894, he was
graduated from the Virginia Military
Evening star., 1915-05-23

type. Perhaps this, added to the demo-
cratic simplicity of his manner, Is ac
countable for the spirit of loyalty
which always develops among the force
under him. Men follow him from job
to job as they follow few other chiefs
in engineering.
A soft-spoken Virglnian, broadly edu
Gated, cultivated, man of innate re-
finement, his ability to get close to the
men under him and to inspire their
Evening star., 1915-05-23

point where about 1900, 900 can be
irrigated About half of that, or 100000
acres. was cropped last year, producing
crops of the value of about $4,000. 900.
Uncle Sam had lien on about 50, 500
600 of this, however, for payments
The three-quarters of million acres
approximate in size the state of Rhode
Island They are cut up into more than
5000 farms, providing homes and oc-
equations for 6l. .253 persons
Enough water is stored in the reser-
yolrs to make lake fifty miles long,
fifteen miles wide and ten feet deep. A
total of 1,l3G miles of irrigation canal
is maintained If this were one con
tlnuous ditch it would reach in an air
line from Palm Beach, Fla to Fair
banks. Alaska, and back again.
Altogether about SS4.000,0O0 has
been invested in the projects This
year about S13,500.00O is available for
maintenance and new work. Mr.. Will
hanson is charged with spending it.
Ever SINCE Secretary Lane has been
at the head of the Department of the
Interior he has been studying the rec
lamation service with a view to make
IT more efficient. A new creation in
government. feeling it's way, having
constantly to experiment, il is but nat
ural that defects might be found in
Its organiZa ton. For one thing Sec
retary Lane found that the item of
general expense otherwise the over
head charges apart from the projects
of the expenditures
Last year this was brought down to
s per cent. The Secretary believes that
il can be brought still lower and hence
his reorea niZation of the service his
reduction of the Importance and the
size or the Washington office, and his
transferrence to the field of the actual
supervision of the construction work
4
C1ar n
construction. does not resemble in the
slightest the conventional type of
bureaucratic official. Instead, he Is the
sort of American engineer one finds
handling difficult construction works
in the wild places of the earth Big
and gray-haired. and knobby featured
in his pictures and to the superficial
observer he appears extremely austere,
like one of those "even-tempered indi-
viduals-mad all the time" But he
isn't that at all. Talk with him and
you Will find out.
Those steel-blue eyes light and twin
kie with humor. the khobby face
creased into broad, kindly smiles, the
whole countenance radiates human un-
derstanding and sympathy. And then,
he discusses some problem of his
work, the face slips back into his grave
cast. the eyes take on their cold, ap-
praising appearance, and once more. In
spirit at least. he is back "on the job"
Like all big men doing big work, he
has democratic simplicity of manner.
a directness of speech. an appearance
of leisure always. In other words. he
does not fuss at his workout he
always gets II done.
In engineering work there are two
distinct types of chief. One does his
work in the office, leaving to subordi-
nate the field work or the actual direc-
tion on the ground. The other type
leaves office detail to the subordinate
and takes his place ION the firing line"
Mr. Williamson belongs to the latter
Evening star., 1915-05-23

son farm. somewhat reduced IN area
and with the house partially restored.
remained in possession of the dickson
heirs UP to about four years ago.
and collateral kindred of jackson liv-
ing in Washington. and the Rambler
had the privilege of acquaintance with
one of Jackson's daughters.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

Institute. save for the first two years,
when he taught mathematics in South
Carolina school. At twenty one he was
in the northwest. locating and build
ing railroads, work that lasted for sew
eral years. Then came a period of
general practice in A Alabama doing
everything in engineering from build
ing sewers and bridges to running land
surveys. Then, in 1892, he did his first
government work.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

Capt. Goethals, later Col. Goefhals of
canal fame, then was in charge of river
Improvement work on the Tennessee
river. Under him a civilian engineer
had been sent out to Superintend an
excavation in which some large ma
sonry work was to be placed. The en-
gtneer had been warned to look out for
strata of .quicksand. Disreearding
the warning, he was In the quicksand
before he knew it and cave-in re-
suited
Evening star., 1915-05-23

these questions one must bear in mind
that the government irrigation work.
by comparison with private irrigation
work has made remarkably good
showing. The west is strewn with the
wrecks of irrigation companies that
went to smash on the unforeseen.
.One of the things also. that has
stood in the way of the reclamation
service so far being wonderful sue
cess is the fact that too many settlers
with too little capital went on recla ma
tion projects: and that too many with
out a special knowledge of the bust
ness of intensive farming on irrigated
lands undertook to go into that busi-
ness. Naturally there have been fail
ureS.
Congress enacted a wise and a just
law when it extended the time for pay
ment by the settlers to twenty years
While this curtails the annual revenues
and, to that extent. delays work on the
projects, the relief was needed to pre-
vent absolute injustice to many VINO
have entered upon the lands in good
faith.
''what we must see to is that there
is no further delay in completing every
project undertaken. The cost of main
tenance of partly completed work is
always high. What resources we have
we must husband; we must work
economies where we can in admins
tration, and put every cent we can lay
our hands on in construction.
This is what the Secretary had in
mind when he recognized the service
and removed the headquarters of the
chief of construction to the west. More
direst responsibility. less red tape.
less reference to Washington-nearly
5000 miles distant from most OF the
projects-are the essentials of the new
organization"
Has it been good business for Uncle
Sam to go into the irrigation busi-
neSS?"
"Yes. it has. There is both a direct
and an indirect beneficial result. each
operating to the more rapid settlement
the western country. And the cost
to the general taxpayer, you must re-
member. is nothing. The settler pays
back to the government everything
The government has lien on his
property to enforce that. 1t is not
going to lose. The charge of pattern
alism, though frequently made, does
not lie here. for the settler is not get
ting something for nothing
do you know what the settler says
when he hears that charge"'-and
broad smile Illuminated Mr.. william
sons face.
He says: IF it is paternalism for
the government to aid the irrigated
farmers of the west to get water on
their lands, but make those farmers
nav back every cent expended, then
what is it when the government aids
the water borne commerce of the
country by spending millions of dollars
in rivers and harbors Improvement
every wear, and exacts nothing in re-
turn? Isn't the promotion of farm
ing as worthy a cause as the promo
tion of steamboating
But all this is not what concerns
the reclamation service Just now. Our
business is to get the job done.
ASHMUN BROWN.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

The man on the acre is a distinct as
set TO any government Moreover. the
land hungry were experiencing more
and more difficulty in finding productive
public sAhds on which to make new
homes. Federal irrigation would in
crease the number of men on the acres.
increase the number of farm homes, eX-
Tend the area OF richly productive
lands.
A plan was devised by which the
money which Uncle Sam was deriving
from the sales of public lands would
be placed in reclamation fund. this
fund TO be expended in the construc-
tion Of reclamation projects. Each
project was to be divided into farm
units which were TO be sold to settlers
on a ten-year deferred payment basis,
the sale price to cover Uncle Sans con-
struction cost.
On completion each project was to
be turned over to the settlers on il to
he managed comparatively by them.
Uncle Sam. having come out whole on
the investment. having received back
every cent he had paid out, would re-
tire from that particular project. take
the returned money and start another
project somewhere else.
Every state possessing arid lands
clamored for the establishment of a
government project within its borders
A number of projects were inaugurated
Then Uncle Sans receipts from the
sales of public lands began to fall off,
Money got short, to put il another way
The price of material scared. Unex-
pected engineering problems arose
problems, which IT was quite impossi BILE
TO foresee, so new was the science of
irrigation in this country.
Spreading out the availa bile money on
many projects caused delay. Inexperi-
enced settlers found that they had TAX
en- more land than they could properly
manage. Delays in securing water
made II impossible to wrest a living
from the inhospitable land. Some could
not meet their annual payments.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

his death was converted into such a
rage against the disunionists that the
officers in command of the several COM
panies had much ado to keep them
under control"
Evening star., 1915-05-23

Hence. last year, Congress extended
the time for payment to twenty years.
giving the settlers ten additional years
IN which TO meet their payments. Nat
1rally this also reduces the annual
flow of money into the fund.
Projects now under way are planned
to bring about 1000, 900 acres under ir-
rigation. They are completed now to