CHAPTER VIII

THE WORK UNDER ARMY ENGINEERS

FOR about nine months excellent work was done under John F. Stevens, as Chief Engineer, but he became dissatisfied with conditions and in April, 1907, his resignation was accepted. There is reason to believe that for some time the idea had been growing in the minds of the President and Secretary Taft that the work might better be done by engineers of the United States Army, and when the difficulty with Mr. Stevens opened the way for a change, a military organization was installed without delay. In considering the splendid progress that has been made by the Army officers, it should not be overlooked that they found excellent conditions in existence, due to the fine work of the preceding Chief Engineer and of Colonel Gorgas, the head of the Sanitary Department. The former had created order and system out of a state of affairs that was most unpromising. The latter

had banished yellow fever and the fear of it from the Zone, so that there has not been a case of it in more than three years. The labor problem had also been solved and there has been no difficulty about securing a sufficient supply during the past two or more years.

Colonel George W. Goethals, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, was appointed Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission and Chief Engineer. The other members of the Commission were, Lieut.-Colonel H. F. Hodges, U. S. A.; Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Gaillard, U. S. A.; Lieut.Colonel Wm. L. Sibert, U. S. A.; Civil Engineer H. H. Rousseau, U. S. N.; Colonel W. C. Gorgas, U. S. A.; and Hon. J. C. S. Blackburn. The only change in the composition of the body has been the appointment of Maurice H. Thatcher in April, 1910, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the retirement of Senator Blackburn.

A complete reorganization of the work was inaugurated, with a view to concentrating authority, to expediting the transaction of business, to securing better coördination, to fixing responsibility more definitely, and to reducing the cost of administration.

Whilst the operation of the Panama Railroad remained, as before, under the direction of a

General Manager, the control of all its business and affairs was placed in the hands of the Chairman of the Commission.

In the organization of the Engineering Department all construction work is divided into three districts, each under a Division Engineer, with full control and responsibility. This Division Chief is answerable directly and only to the head of the Department.

The Atlantic Division extends from deep water to Gatun Lake and includes the great locks and dam. It may be called the most important and difficult section of the operation by reason of the character of the work involved in it. Colonel Sibert is in charge of the Atlantic Division, with Major Chester Harding as assistant.

The Central Division extends from Gatun Dam to the locks at Pedro Miguel. This embraces the Culebra Cut and involves the largest amount of the excavation work. Colonel Gaillard is in charge here with L. K. Rourke as assistant.

The Pacific Division extends from Pedro Miguel to deep water in the Pacific Ocean. It includes Pedro Miguel Locks and dam and the Miraflores locks, dam and tunnel. S. B. Will

iamson, a civil engineer, is in charge, with J. M. G. Watt as assistant.

In a general way, the work may be divided into three classes: (1) Wet excavation, or that which is performed by dredges. This amounts to 12 per cent of the whole, and the largest proportion of it occurs in the terminal channels. (2) Dry excavation. This includes all material removed by steam shovels and other power excavators, and comprises nearly half of the entire work. (3) The third class covers the construction of locks, dams, and spillways. These account for 39 per cent of the work.

The work of the office of the Chief Engineer was also organized in three divisions. The first is under Colonel H. F. Hodges, who, as Assistant Chief Engineer, has charge of the design of the locks and dams and their appurtenances; he also considers and reports on all questions of a civil engineering nature that may arise in the progress of the work. The second office division is under Mr. H. H. Rousseau, who has charge of all mechanical questions that may arise, looks after expenditures, the preparation of estimates, and supervises cost keeping. The third is under Mr. C. M. Saville, who, as assistant engineer, has charge of all hydrographic and

meteorological work, such general surveys as are not properly included in the scope of either of the construction divisions, and makes such special investigations as may be assigned to him.

In the new plan of organization the Quartermaster's Department is charged with the highly important work of supplying a sufficient force of laborers. The force has steadily increased in numbers, until at the close of April, 1910, there were actually working for the Commission and the Railroad, 33,699 men, this being the largest force on record.

The labor question has always been one of the most difficult involved in the canal construction. Speaking on the subject, when Chairman of the Commission, Theodore P. Shonts declared that "the character of the labor employed on the Isthmus has more to do with the time that it will take to build the canal - more to do with the cost of construction, than any other determining factor." He went on to say that there is no insuperable difficulty in the way of construction with any ordinary class of labor, but the problem is to get such labor as in America would be considered ordinary. The Commission, following in the footsteps of the orig