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Show THE PANAMA CANAL I By Frederic J. Haskin , XTT The Builders. j It is the old story of Yankee brains, Yankee capacit' for doing things, and Yankeo grit and determination. As fino a force of Americans as one can hope to meet is assembled ou the Istlimus, and the mainspring of its action ac-tion is the braius which the United States government has placed over it lo direct its efforts. From the east, the west, the north and the south the flower of the professions has been called 'to come down here and dig tho canal. They have come and have developed de-veloped the force into a working machine ma-chine of an unprecedented efficiency. Tho contractor on government .lobs in the United States may well thank his tstars that the Panama canal is being dug in a country where everything is more than expensive; if it were not bo the United States might decide after its experience at Panama that all public pub-lic work in tho United States should be done by this organization. What U. S. Grant was to the Army of the Potomac, George W. Goethnls is to tho ariny of tho Panama canal. It haB been said that the decision to put the building of the canal in the hands of the army was a master stroke. Before that no little disorganization reigned; but when the army took charge every man on tho Isthmus learned that it was a question of making mak-ing good or gettiug out. As soon as the members of the force became acquainted ac-quainted with the man who was to command the canal army, they worked as a matter of devotion to tho caiis.c rather than as a matter of necessity. Some men havo the peculiar faculty of transmitting their enthusiasm into tho hearts of all under them. This faculty Colonel Goethals has in an unusual do-gree. do-gree. When one calls ou him ho finds a broad-shouldered man with hair as white as the unsunned snow and face as brown as a berry, a man of modest demeanor, yet business-like in every line of his make-up. He says frankly that there is nothiug to hide, and that they want fo extend to those interested an opportunity to see everything that is going on. He tells you that if there is anything which forms ground for legitimate le-gitimate complaint he wants to know of it, as it is his mission on the Isthums to remove- every possible ground for complaint. Yet he adds that of course there will be found some things that ought to be done and others that ought to be left undone, siuce perfection per-fection can never exist in this world. He may say that ihe finds the best way to see the Culebra out is to walk through it, and that he usually does so. The cut is nine miles from end to end, and it is .iuat one example of the thoroughness of the chief engineer's work to say that he walks the wholo length whenever opportunity affords. Clad in a simple khaki uniform he gets around over tho work regularly, and not an evening comes but he knows ,iust what has been going on all day long. Colonel Goethals thinks that the demand de-mand for the dirt to fly is an- ill-advised one. He says that there arc so many drawbacks and hindrances that tho dirt cannot always be frying as fast as ho or the "American pcoplo would like to havo it. As the years pass the difficulties of every phase of tho work will increase. As many steam shovels cannot be operated to advantage advan-tage later on, as many dirt trainB cannot can-not be run, the soil will have to bo hauled farther away, and in a hundred ways the work will necessarily havo to slow up somo as it nears completion. Jt is this aspect of the. sihiation that prevents the canal authorities from making an exact prediction as to when the canal will be completed or what the ultimate cost will bo. But they hope that the good work thoy are now doing will cause the people to understand under-stand that thoy aro doing tho best that can bo dono when the slow-up time comes. A bit of figuring on August 1 will show that they have excavated more material by half in the first seven months of the present year than they did during the whole of 1907. This was dono, too, without any important increase in-crease of force or equipment. The canal digging machine has simply been put to the maximum efficiency tost. Colonel Goethals proved the manner of man he is, when discussing tho work .of former chief engineers, he said: "Stevens will never get tho credit that is due him in connection with this work. Por instance, take this Culebra division. It is tho big organization of tho canal. It is being conducted today to-day on the very lines he laid out, the only changes we have made being thoso of a routine nature which he certainly would havo made had he remained here.,, One hears the same sort of things about Wallace and the preparatory work ho did. The big engines ho bought for the canal and tho railroad, in the face of much adverse criticism, havo proved themselves to bo the most important factor in the big showing I of excavations this year. The biggest problem of tho canal is to got the soil away, and these herculean engines afford af-ford the solution of that problem. Commissioner Galliard and Commissioner Commis-sioner Sibert are both army officers, and have worked on some of the most difficult diffi-cult construction ,iobs in the United States. Upon them, next to the chief engineer, depends the great task of tho actual digging of tho canal. Together with Colonel Goethals, they go over all tho reports of thoso under them, and over tho work itself, and solve tho problems at hand. Major Sibert, as well as Colonol Goethalsi has had much experience in dam building, notably on the Ohio river, whore his good work has been praised by every man who navigates navi-gates those waters. Commissioner Eousseau, in charge of the department of municipal engineering, engineer-ing, motivo powor. and building construction, con-struction, is one of 'the live wires of tho canal organization. lie has been in tho government service for ten years. In 1898 ho was made a civil engineer in tho navy with tho rank of lieutenant as a result of a competitive examination. examina-tion. By forco of sliocr merit he was promoted from one post to another, until un-til iu 1907 ho was made chief of the bureau of 3Tards and docks, with tho rank of rear admiral. Ho resigned this position to accept tho place winch he now holds on tho canal commission. In this place ho has fully demonstrated the wisdom of his selection. , M Another hustler on tho commission was Jackson Smith. Former Chief Engineer En-gineer Stevens Raid of him in a letter lo tho President that he was the most thorough master of tho question of labor la-bor that he had evor met in his thirty years' experieuco as a construction man. Smith was visiting in Washing Ion when he was introduced lo Stevens. Stevens asked him to go to the isthmus aud to lake charge of the work of recruiting re-cruiting tho force. His experience in tropical climates has made him a man invaluablo to tho work. Tho labor force changes once every eighteen months. Smith had to get a strong recruiting re-cruiting organization to meet it. ITc had to look after the quarters of 25,000 people, getting ico, coal and' Altered water wa-ter to their doors every morning. Tfc had to organize the work of all the hotels, ho-tels, messes and kitchens. In other words, upon him fell the burden of get-ling get-ling together tlio great force of tho whole canal, and then making the living liv-ing conditions such that thoy could bo comfortable enough and happy enough to carry forward tho work. He has dono it, and now gives up the position to search for now worlds to conquer. His job was one of the most difficult aud certainly the most thankless on the isthmus. Gov. Joseph S. C. Blackburn of the canal zouo is a good examplo of tho riglil man in the right place. Thirty years or more in tho Congress of tho United States, most of it in the Senate, , where all the questions of American diplomacy are setlled, have fitted him to occupy any diplomatic position. He is firm, politic, careful and ."judicious. He has the Panamanian people correctly correct-ly appraised, aud knows just how to take thoni. Tt was his firm, strong hand that held tho Panama situation in check, and but for his work the United States might today be putting down a revolution in Panama. r Last but not least is Colonel Gorgas of the sanitary department. Somo one recently observed that no one of the canal commanders could claim entire credit for the work in any one department depart-ment except Colonel Gorgas. Tie camo to the isthmus to put up a fight against overwhelming odds. At one time his labors seemed so unfruitful that ho was all but asked to resign. Then Governor Magoon came in and held up his hands. That great quality of learning to labor and to wait won, and today there is no one on the isthmus who will not tel you that an American doctor has made rl possible the digging of tho Panama ca- rl nal. (Copyright, 1908, by Frederic J. fjl Haskin.) tH |