The Contract Phase of Canal Work. 319 a suffi quested by the President to make a report relative to contract work after he had been on the Isthmus cient time to form an opinion. The report says in part: "The Panama canal presents a piece of work unprecedented in magnitude, which must be done under conditions entirely different from similar classes of work in the United States. The work naturally divides itself into dredging, dry excavation, the construction of the locks and dams, and the construction of the new Panama Railroad. There is no contractor, or syndicate of contractors that by any combination could bring to the Isthmus an organization ready for team work on any of these units. From the United States the supply of labor is the same whether the work be done by contract or by the Government, and the character of the labor must be the same. So long as work is plentiful the dread of the tropics will deter men from seeking work here in preference, and this is equally applicable to the contractor and the Government. An adequate supply of labor from the United States is not possible. The records here show that no contractor can even attempt to recruit labor in the West Indies, and that great opposition will develop to any recruiting by authorized agents of the Commission if the labor procured is turned over to the contractors. These island governments cannot be blamed for their hostility toward the latter, because of their experience under the French, which left an indelible impression throughout the islands." "Conditions on the Isthmus are peculiar. It is contended, apparently on reasonable grounds, that service in the tropics saps the energy and that a man is incapable, after a time, of performing the same amount of work that he would be able to accomplish had he spent the same period in a cooler climate. This creates a desire to accumulate sufficient means to avoid the necessity of relatively harder work on the return to the United States, and it is a question that the contractor would be obliged to face, as well as the United States. The wage scale on the Steam Shovel leading a train of cars in Culebra Cut-Patama Isthmian-American & PRR Kas Agency & Advertising Bureau A Bienkowski The Contract Phase of Canal Work. 321 Isthmus is practically adopted and a contractor would he obliged to maintain it." The the "The excavation of the Culebra division has already been undertaken by hired labor; practically all of the plant required for this work has been secured and paid for; a complete and thoroughly efficient organization for the same has been built up, and the Government is not hampered in any way in procuring the necessary labor for filling vacancies that arise. The Government has on hand, or under contract, all the dredges that will be needed for excavating such parts of the canal prism as can be most economically performed by this class of machinery. success of lock construction depends largely upon quality of cement used, and there is no question but that the Government should furnish all the cement. No contractor, or association of contractors possesses the necessary plant for handling the enormous quantities of concrete required for these structures. Subsequent to the construction of the locks the contractor could have no. further use for the machinery installed, even if the payment of freight for its return to the States was warranted. The gates and operating machinery, it is believed, can best be constructed by contract at the proper time." "No account has been taken of the question of sanitation, one very important to the successful prosecution and completion of the work on the canal. Proper sanitation can be maintained more easily and satisfactorily with the Government in supreme control of the work, than with the contractor. The relative advantages of the contract. system versus hired labor under Government supervision are very different to-day from what they were two years ago. To one familiar with conditions on the Isthmus there can be no doubt at this stage of the work as to the advisability of continuing it with hired labor." "It is estimated that 80 per cent. of the entire plant needed for the construction of the canal has been purchased or contracted for. Machine shops have been erected AMERICAN CLUB HOUSE. FRONT OF THE P. R. R. STATION. CULEBRA, C. Z. FIRST CLASS BAR and DINING SALOON. Billiard Room in Connection, Best Place of Its Kind in Culebra To Spend Your Leisure Hours. Come and see us. You will be treated well. MCFARLANE & COYNE, Proprietors. and equipped for making all needed repairs to machinery now on hand or still required for the work. So far, therefore as the plant, its care and repair are concerned, the Government is better equipped to carry on the work as advantageously and economically as any contractor. Many thousands of employes have been secured, and an effective working organization has been perfected. The employes are well sheltered and in general, well-fed; the salaries paid are satisfactory and the work is progressing smoothly. A change from these favorable conditions in the method of prosecuting the work would disorganize all existing conditions and would undoubtedly increase the estimated cost and time of completing the canal. The conclusion that the work can be done better, cheaper, and more quickly by the Government has been reached only after free and full discussion by the various members of the Commission and the higher officials connected with the construction work, and after careful consideration of all sides of the proposition." Record of Excavation to Jan. 1, 1908. 323 Record of Excavation to Jan. 1, 1908. The following table will show amount of excavation done since the canal has been in American hands; also, amount yet remaining to be excavated, as of January 1, 1908: Amount excavated under American control: In Culebra Division (canal prism) to January 1, 1908.... Total excavation at all points under American control to Jan. 1, 1908 Total excavation by the French at all points and including diversion channel..... about CUBIC YARDS 13,037,847 22,755,291 .............. 81,548,000 Total estimated excavation required April 1, 1907 for an 85-foot level canal: In Canal prism............... 101,050,000 7,965,000 For regulating works and diversion channel............... ............ 2,150,000 3,350,000 |