WORK AT PANAMA CANAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 719, 19 January 1910, Page 11

WORK AT PANAMA CANAL.

.'•Mr. Robert Robertson,-president ;of,,tho Glasgow;../Association;-.of ,-■ Students; (Insti-,-;.tutibnvo-f •;' Civil; Engineers);'delivered his' ■presidential .address ;before the' association on-,Ndyember'i29 in -the; largo-hair of ;the Institution, of and; Shipbuild-. ,ersj ; .Glasgow.,-Mr'.. Robertson, who 'took. .as '• his' subject,! "The'.' Panama'.-:', Canal, ■'- sdid J that after the'.'eettlement of the Columbian ' Revolution of 1900-1903 the; Government,of that .country'doclined to cbii--firm the provisional.agreement with the United States'as to: the'.: talcing 'Over of tho /Cariali;;■ -.'This' ''so-,; enraged .. the -.. inV. habitants of-;tho Jsthmus' that' they deter,mincd.on. : gainingVtheir independence, and in • November; 19.03, thoy'iprra'ed'_, theni-; .selves: into,;; the : Republio \ ;6f: "Panama : bloodshed. ;iri 1901 .'negotiations were opened, up between ..tho' United States' Government - and. tho I'rehch. cbmpanyifor.' tho.sale bfi'.thej.Tindertakiiigj^ahcl.an'.'ar-', rdngemeht "was.--" corned to'.:in;" April;. jiSOii ■A'commissiqn'wak appointed toi carry, but the work,'-and in!.'Mayi'i9M,. Mr! John'P. .Wallace, .was; .'appointed /chief.';: 'engineer.'. 1 :The remainder'ol,:that year wis takeii : up chiefly-withtho'workVof 1 the survey .parties, an examination" of tho Ffonchplant, and -the 'carrying .< out of .'experiments, in the Culcbr'a Cut,' The' United States' ulti-, mately decided, to put .the 'work in charge, of .the Ariny'organjoatiori.; Up till July,, 1908; the ;work"was'icarried on'more-;-'or less under departments based, on the class of .work'rather than its 16catjbri,.but.sirice that date the organisation, of. the -work. Was -separated into - three main . called. the /.Atlantic,' Central,l and, Pacific . ; Each.';section>was!under,',th'b' immediate charge'- of a division engineer, who reported'direct to the chief'engineer.. The Board of Consulting /Engineers estimated the cost of the' undertaking at 135 million dollars. ,'To this' : has to bo-added the purchase - ' of • the' works','• etc; '",(40 millions)', 1 and' tho -purchase' or the zone (10 millions), also the estimated cost of civil administration and sanitation"(about 15 millions)—making a total of 200, mill ions. The actual; expenditure up to, May 31 last, .was -154 -millions;'and 1 the' appropriations already: made- by Congress /up to July,' 1910, exceed 210 millions:,' 1 ;! The lecturer, expressed : the: opi nio.n ■ that 'the nhdertak-;; ing would: probably cost'two and a half times theoriginal estimate. -;- ■'■'(;■ •■ V-;. '.->'-:..'-.