Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-05

~ old-time canal men nave iOSt
father and brother.
Just year or SO ago those OF us IN
the vicinity of New York held re-
union at the Hotel Aston. He was with
us--shaking hands. peering into faces,
calling men by their first names.
"Howdy Colonel"
Why hello jim! Remember the
time you had that Bucyrus on her SIDE
at Dump Six? How'S your wife? That
bow of YOURS must be a man by now.
Friendly Democratic. Unostentati-
Gus. Human. And very great man.
The same great man we struggled and
strained to carry on for in tropical
downpour and burning sun on the canal
lob 20 years ago Down there ne
knew us by our first names: He was
the Colonel" to us. Colonel and not
General he shall remain.
I remember quite we'll my first sight
of him on the Zone. 1t was during
those dark days when predictions were
rife that the entire job was doomed TO
failure. Fever had swooped down. The
slides were coming down like glaciers
of earth in Culebra Cut. Old Cuca.
racha had been particularly nasty ana
had poured millions of extra yards INTO
the cut and had buried network OF
tracks and steam Shovels. looioliy OF
mud had been struck IN the oottonl oi
Gatun Cash and opinion was preVa-
lent that such a foundation would not
UNFOLD the weight OF the concrete
when IL went into the forms: BLACK
Swamp had been sinking and gossip
had it that a subterranean outlet mao
been forced through to the sea Were
lob u-NfftH
when Gatun Dam and Gatun LOCKS
we're completed.
was running a steam crane IN tne
bottom of Gatur Cash. loading the
mud into cars It was hot, greasy
ioh none hotter and few greaSier on
the zone At noon we boiled up out
If there and hurried to the eating
house, barely pausing at the quarters
10 wash up. The clerks and once men
had tablecloths on their tables, out we
had oilcloths on ours. SIX OF us ate at
table, sitting down IN the oroer 'ha'
We came in. .,>,..
week when a man in spattereo KHAKI
cat down with us. The others knew
him and talked with him all through
the meal. The talk was OF the loo
what this machine was doing. and tnat
one What the outlook was. Snre"o
questions. Answers. He hurried away
before We finished.
In nv ignorance asked VINO
vas that mani" The man at my eioo"
stared at me and grunted. He tnoughl
I was ioking. Another engineer across
! the table laughed. And then l learned
| that. the man who had eaten WIN Us
was Col. Goethals. One OF them ex-
planned to me that no matter wnere ne
was at lunch time. ne ate with me
"hogpers. the dinky skinners. the
shovel runners. the cranemen and the
hosting engineer" the black bunch
the men who were doing the actual
digging OF the dirt
Many times after that ] sat at the
table with him He learned my pafhe
and used to ask me how my machlne
was making out
There was a time when Col. Goethais
knew the majority OF the white men
on the Zone by their first names ano
knew precisely what work they were
/ doing. He had a prodigious memory
| for such things. This was once put
! 10 a test when he was sailing for the
| States and several hundred workers
were going on vacations. He knew
every one OF them.
Also. he knew every detail OF the
work. / remember once when Train
of empties. coming down into Culebra
Cut at Tower r. bumped into a stalled
train There was an investigation.
The engineer said he applied the emer-
gency and then reversed. The colonel
| grinned and asked. Shrewdly: Why
did you reverse after big holing' herr"
That question pinned two errors on the
engineer. The occasion demanded a
heavy application OF air. sand under
the drivers and the big hole" or emer-
gency as she sIackened He sent the
offending "hogger" back to work with
wave of the hand. We got TO know