PAGE FOUR
Mechanical Phase of Canal
Fred A. Cnlvin Telia of Elements Tlmt Enter Into the Great
Pnnnma Waterway
The Fan.imn oanal hns succeeded. That in now to ho taken for
granted. Ilcforo bo very long It will have brought together tho two
groat nldcs of tho world, To tho connnerco of tho world tho canal
opens new fields, van territory, closed before by tho tlnio and expense
of tho long voyago around the shoulder of a continent. Tho waters of
tbo Pacific ocean lavo the shores of tho lands wherein dwell one-half tho
population of tho world. To theso peoplo tliero will como through tho
canal tho civilization of tho modern times. Through tho canal will tail
tho twin goddesses of health, Uyglcno and Sanitation. Upon tho dis-case-ridden
cast tho prophylactic touch of Yankeo methods of right
living will descend as a benediction. It Is our canal, too. It was mado
powlblo by American knowlodgo and American pluck and American in
gcnnlty. Whcro tho French and tho English and tho Spaniards, if wo
go back far into tho history of tho Panama country, failed, thoro havo
wo worked a mlraclo, a wonder of sclcnco and intelligence, a boon to tho
wholo world. There is in tho Panama canal much ground for national
pride. It is to bo hoped that tho administration of tbo canal shall
find ltfl measuro in tho remarkablo standard of its building,
Tho article that is to follow wan written by Fred A, Oolvin, as
slsUnt editor of "Tho Amorican Machinist." It treats in a compro
slvo way tho mechanical sldo of tho digging of tho world's greatest
ditch, Ed.
OKI than any other umlcrlnk
hig In tho world's history,
jierlmpK, tho I'nnnrnn cnnnl Is
duo to tho combined dovolop
mcnt of many clement of civilization
"Whllo tho French cnlneerM fulled to
rotnpleto tho cnnnl, wo must retnein
her that no one could hnvo Miiccecdcd
lit tlmt time, and wo must ulvo them
credit for courage, rnfrlnvcrlng nblllty
mid n ercdltabla nehlevcinotit.
Vilthont n Colonel Gorans to first
rlimlnato tho mosquito ntul mnko tho
canal xono not only llvablo but com
forinblo and oven nttnirtlvo tho cnnnl
would novor havo been built. Without
tho modern developments of oxenvnt
ing machinery find of concreto tho
great locks nt Uatun, Pedro Mlguol
and Mlrnflore nnd tho nlno-tnllo cut
nt Culobra would novcr hnvo been
completed within n rensonnblo time.
Without tho repnlr shops nt Cristobal,
Oorgona, Kmplro nnd Jlnthon to keep
tho locomotives, steam shovels nnd
cither machinery In operation tho rapid
progress would havo been impossible
And without tho selection of proper
inntorlal to stand tho cllmntc, not for
getting tho too often overlooked Item
of belting, tho cost In delays nnd In
nctual money might bo difficult to
compute.
Tho shops nt Cristobal nnd llullion
handle tho repairs for tho dredges nnd
other excavating mnehlnery nt tho At
lantic nnd I'aclfio ends of tho cnnnl
respectively, TIiIn Includes tholinrgo
which carry tho material nwny to bo
dumped, snmo being self-propelled nnd
culled by their French nniiiii "clnp
pets," nil well ns tugs, launches nnd
nny sort of son-going craft which may
bo used.
Tho largest simps nro nt (lorgomi,
enlarged from the French shops nt
this place, nnd hero nil tho locomotives
mid ears for tho oxenvnt Inn work ns
well ns for tho I'niinmn railroad nro
reiHilrud, At times this shop has m
ployed 1,800 ntmi. It Is difficult to
co tho nociwslty for such n largo shop
until wu slop to consider tlmt tho
Isthmian Cnnnl Commission railroad,
built solely In tho Culebrn cut nnd for
hauling tho dirt (or "spoil," us It Is
ended) nwny from It, In nbout tho also
nf tho llimtmi & Allmny railroad.
Tliero' nro over .100 losoinotlvi" nnd
1,000 onrs, nml most of tho loeoino
tivos nro lilg oiitw, woliihlug over 100
tons one.li. 'I'lioy nro very unllko tho
tisiml coutriictorM' loeomotlvos wo
usually tliluk of In eoiinoetlou with ox
envutlon work.
At Hmplro tho stonm shovels nro
repnlriM mid the shops employ nbout
7M) men nt time. It tokm n lot of
hop work to keep tho dirt flying, but
they nro kept ut work with us little
delay ns powlblo by ft thoroughly or
ganised plan of nation nnd n corps of
inspector mid workmen,
The Indicators visit onh shovol ns
it works nwny, nml not only gets tho
reportx of tho shovol engineer, but
look It over for weak spots mid worn
arts. Any iicimIimI ropnlrs nro re
ported to Hmplro by telephone ho tlmt
rqwilr parts nnd supplies win bo pro
pared In mlviiiioo.
After tho dirt trains hnvo stopped
ruunlug at 5 p. in., tho rejxilr trnlu
stnrts out from tho Kmplro shops nud
makes Us rounds to the steam shovels
which nro in need of its services. This
rejiolr train eoimUU of htmvy loco
motive, n largo wrooklug ernuo, n bos
ear, which Is it fairly well equipped
maobluo shop, mid another bos ear
filled with supplies mid parts ordinar
ily used, such ns bolts nnd nuts, pack
ings, nnd similar pieces.
Tho train takes the small mnchlno
shop directly to tho shovel to bo ro
paired nnd In most cases does nil tlmt
is needed without its leaving its post
tlou or losing n mlnuto from tho work
nn excellent oxnmplo of real efficiency.
Sometimes n wholo now nrm or boom
is swung Into plaeo by tho wrecking
emtio mid n trip to Kmplro with its
nttondnut delay is nvolded, Andtheso
arms or booms weigh sovcrnl tons nnd
nro not easy to hnndlo. Hut tho nlm
or ovcrythlng Is to keep things mov
ing nnd push tho Job through to com
plotlon.
At Kmplro, too, Is tho matn nlr
compressing plant of tho largest nlr
compressing system In tho world.
Three stations Lns Cascndas, Kmplro
nnd itlo U rn ml o pump Into nbout 11
miles of JOInch pipe Una, which car
ries compressed nlr to drive tho drills
for preparing tho rock for blnstlng.
Asldo from tho strictly repnlr work
to tho locomotives mid cars tho shops
nt Uorgonn enu ho called tho innnu-
factoring shops of tho zone. A irood
sired foundry equipment Is provided
for mnklng Iron, brass nnd steel cast
ings for nil purposes needed In tho
canal work. And while it Is tho inten
tion to buy ns much mnterlnl ns pus
slide, It hns been found necessary to
mnko ninny repnlr parts which should
havo been mado In tho Stntes on nc
count of tho short sighted policy of
jomo liiiinufnotiirers In elinrglng oxer
bltnnt prices for repnlr parts. It has
repeatedly been found cheaper to
mnko a pattern and n enstlug nnd then
mnchlno tho cnstlng than to pay tho
price nsked mid wnit for it to bo made,
Nearly nil tho machinery which hns
genu to tho Isthmus has been found to
requlro strengthening to stand up tin
dor tho sovero work of tho cnnnl ox-
rnvntlon. Crime arms hnvo to bo rein
forced, car sides strengthened nnd
other mnehlnery wirt increased in
proportion. The old French mils hnvo
been largely used for such reinforcing
mid there seems lo bo no end of them.
They mnko excellent I-benms for tho
sides of dump nnd other ears mid nro
nlso used in reinforcing concrete
structures in many places, oven Includ
ing tho edgos of curbing for streot
Hidewnlks. Bridges of short spans hnvo
nlso beeu built of these mils, nud they
Ijuvo been put to more lines tlmn can bo
mentioned offhnnd. Whoever bought
them bought them with great liberal
ity, to put tho mntter mildly.
Kverythlng nbout tho wholo cnnnl is
on a big scale, oven though tho suc
cess of the largest may depend on tho
proper working out of tho smnller do
tnlls. The locks nt Ontun will lift tho
vessels 85 feet from the sea level to
tlmt of tho hike, which is formed by
tho huge (Intuit dam. Tho lnko will
cover 101 squiire miles and flow tho
water from tho locks nt (latun through
tho great Culobra cut and to the looks
on tho Pacific sldo ut Pedro Miguel.
Tho locks will uceommodnto vessels
1,000 feet long by 110 feet wide and
drawing -IS feet of water. Put ns tho
ttvernge vessel in tho tropical trado Is
under GOO feet long, auxiliary or in
termediate gates nro provided so that
10 per cent of the witter for locking
vessels can bo wived unless the vessel
exceeds 000 feet.
The On tun locks nro nbout 1 1-3
miles long, of solid concrete, nud form
the largest concreto structure In tho
world. They lire double, to allow tho
passage of vessels iu both directions
at the same time If Necessary. KloctrU
lHMitlVes nhend, behind and on both
Md trill tow the vewvU through th
locks, both to save lime nnd to pro
vent damage to the themselves,
The overflow of the Oslun dnm will
provide electric itower t"t tho locomo
lives nnd prnkoMy for nil tho uses of
power nlnng tho (,'ansl s.ono.
The loek gates are Msl structures,
each lesf weigh. ns; shout -'10 tons. They
sre nbout 77 feet high. 0" feet wldo
and 7 feet tblek. There nro OS lenves
for there nro 4(1 pairs f gates. An
Iden of their bulk may ik hnd by not
Ing that if they were Inid flat, ono on
top of tho other, the ptla would bo
higher than the Hinder tower. Th
riveting problem is mIm interesting,
Counting 300 rivets ns a good dny'j
wurk for n single gang of riveters, it
would tnkc them a year to rivet up n
sluglo lenf, or 02 years to complototho
lot.
Tho wholo ndinlnlslrnilon of the
shop and storehouses Is tinder tho army
in its various branches. The stores
como tinder tho quiirtermnstor's depart
mcnt, nnd tho storehouses nro splcn
didly kepi in every wny. Kmploycs
nil hnvo n brass check or tag slmiln
to n baggage tag bearing their num
Iter. This tag is tho open sesame to
all commission stores. Hero tho cm
ployes enn buy nnythlng nt cost, turn
ally much chenper than tho tamo thing
can bo secured in Now York or nny
northern city.
At Cristobal nro tho main store
houses, tho government Ico factory, Ico
crenm factory, bakery and' lnundry,
early every morning tho supply train
usually of 21 cars, stnrts out to supply
tho smaller storehouses and distrlbut
Ing points along tho Isthmus. And
tbero nro very fow of tho necessities
nnd oven luxuries which cannot bo ro
cured from tho main stores and sent
to you nt short notlco.
Thcso seem strange when wo think
of canal digging, but show conclusively
that It is tho attention to details tlmt
brings success no matter how largo tin
enterprise. Men would not stay until
tho surroundings wero healthy and con
genial. This meant comfortablo quar
ters for their wives and children. This
In turn necessitated tho adoption of a
complcto school system, including n
high school which ranks second to
nono ns a preparatory school for col
lego. It also meant recrcntton center
nnd Y. M. O. A. buildings for tho men
nnd women's clubs for tho women. All
strangely out of plnco nnd n seeming
extrnvngnnco in n tropical cllmnto nnd
for n temporary Job, but nil nbsolutely
nocessnry to tho successful building of
tho cnnnl In record tlmo ns hns boon
ilono.
This snmo thing has been carried out
In tho detail of shop mnnngemcnt and
tho buying of proper materials to work
with. Wo go into lnrgo or small ma
chlno shops nml pny nil our nttention
to the machines nnd never sen tho bolts
that drive them nnd without which
they would be of nlmost no use. And
tho belt problem is ono of tho worst
that comes up, especially in shops in
tropical countries.
Tho Idcns of heat in tho Canal xono
are apt to bo exaggerated, ns tho torn
pernturo rarely goes over 03 degrees
ml sunstrokes nro unknown. Hut heat
1 not tho only fnetnr In these climate.
Imagine sitting down nt the tnbto on
n dninp, rainy day nnd pressing with
our knife nn tho snlt in tho salt cel
lar and see molsturo stand In drop
ou the knife. Snlt shaker nro out of
tho question, nud envelopes nro mndo
without gum to prevent their being
accidentally sealed when not wnutod.
Ms gives you some iden of tho damp
ness in the ntmnsphere.
It is not so hot ns you expect, but
you perspiro nt tho slightest provoca
tion and sometimes without any provo
cation at nil. Your clothes may be
damp lit tho morning, nlmost wet, in
fact, unless you put them iu tho tight
wordrobe usually provided. And your
boot ttiwst on getting mouldy' unless
they nro wiped dry when put nwny,
mid oven this 1 not a sure preventive.
And then imagine what a belt is up
against. It must bo dependable day
nftor day. Tho senson may be dry or
wet, tho ntmoiphero saturated or dried
out by tho close proximity to a boiler
or other hentiug apparatus, but tho bolt
must go on doing its duty or the ma
chines cannot run nud tbo shovels and
locomotive enunot bo repaired. Tbon,
too, there is oil around tho machinery
to contend with, all of which makes tho
conditions especially trying.
Ordinary belting stretches with tho
moisture contract when it dries out n
bit, open at tho lap and has to bo
cut constantly to keep the length so it
will pull tho machine. Two or three
ply belting is very apt to part com
pany nnd bo of little value ns a driver
of machinery of nny kind.
Hero again careful attention to dc
tall saved tho day and mado steady
and continuous work possible In tho
shops. What is known as tho Duxbnk
belting solved tho problem nnd wlpod
out all tho delays due to poor belts
which had previously been oxpcrlcnecd.
Over 18,000 feet of this belting, soma
of it under tho most trying conditions,
has given tho best results in every case.
None of tho ndverse conditions af
fected tho belting iu nny way and loss
of time from this enuse wns eliminated
inn nil tho shos.
And while belting may seem like a
small item In the building of the great
cnnnl, It is not difficult to Imagine the
long delny mid the increased expenso
If tho shovels nnd locomotives hnd been
compelled to llo idlo day nftor day
while ordinary belting wns giving out,
mnklng it Impossible to run the inn-chines.
Domestic Economy
Cabbages should bo placod iu bar
rels, tho roots uppermost.
A soft rag moistened with' lemon
Juice nnd then dipped In silver whit
ing will bo found excellent for denn
ing plnuo keys,
Lnmps will not smoko If with a
sharp pair of scissors tho wick is
trimmed tho shnpo of tho burner nnd
n small V is cut from tho center.
Palms nnd other foil ago plants can
be kept clean of scale and other in
sects by washing tho lenves with
reapy water nnd rinsing Immediately
thereafter.
Jsovcr envy too people seeing a
show from n box. They get a flno
view of tho actors' mnkoup nml enn
sea what's going on in tho wings.
That's nbout nil, too.
When silk Is spotted with grease rub
It with French ehnlk or magnesia, then
hold tho spotted portion near the firo.
Tho ehnlk will absorb tho grcaso and
enn bo brushed off, tnklng tho grcaso
with it.
To get a good light from nn oil
lamp the wicks must bo changed when
thoy becomo clogged. Soaking wicks
In vinegar 24 hours before putting
them in tho lamps aids in getting it
clear flame.
When baking cookies uso n lnrgo
dripping pan. Turn It bottom sldo
up nnd plnco tho cookies on tho bot
tom of tho pan. Thoy bnko quicker
and do not burn ns onslly ns when
put into tho pan.
Paint splashes on a door may bo
fomoved by soaking them for a short
timo in benzino or turpentine, then
rubbing them with emery paper or a
Uttlo pulverized pumlco stone, nppllcd
with A dnmji cloth,
Tho old-fnahloncd emery cushion Is
a most useful possession to tho ncodla
womnn, cspcelslly when working In hot
weather. Pasting n ncedlo through u
emery cushion two or three times pol
ishes it, nnd makes It pass through
tcrials smoothly.
Aluminum thread Is tho noweH
thing for chochuting handbags, nnd it
has the ndvnntngo of not tarnishing.
Tho effect is soft nnd lustrous and it
Is Just tho thing to go with tho gnvys
that havo so lmportnnt n plnco in this
season's costumes.
A small squnro cushion which would
bo especially nice for n guestroom is
covered with liluo silk, nnd over this
n filet lneo cover of white Is drawn.
This dnlnty bit of blue nud whlto in
then supplied with blue and whlto
bonded pins, neatly nrranged, all
ready for tho guests' tiso.
Tho chenlllo embroideries nro as-
other novelty of tho season. Dull col
ors nro used for tho portion of tho de
sign carried out in tho chenlllo, while
petals nro frequently composed of
pieces of satin nppliqued on, and out
lined with n dull gold cord tacked on.
Velvet is used ns n foundation.
Whlto frocks nnd blouses or under
clothing that havo a bad color should
bo first soaked in cold wntor to which
a Httlo ammonia has been ndded and
then given a lemon bleach j that Is, a
largo lemon should bo cut into slices,
rind mid nil boiled up in tho boiling
pan or small copper. When nt full
boiling point put In tho linens and
muslins nnd boll for 20 mlnutos.
f
Used Cars at
A WRITTEN GUARANTEE
backed by the
responsibility of Tho
Winton Motor Cur Co.
goes with every car
A GOOD REBUILT CAR
I worth twice as
much and costs much
less than a cheap
Sacrifice Prices
Various Makes prMo
Various Styles OVJ V2XS
These enra must all be sold in 30 DAYS
HIGH-GRADE QUALITY LOW-GRADE PRICES
YOU need not put up with a chenp, underpowered, errtmped little cnr. Right now you enn get
for yourself a high-powered, high-grade cnr at a price regardless of cost Wo guarantee all
these cars. That's your protection. A Written Guarantee, backed by integrity and re
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going to quibble about price. Wo have something to satisfy every taste and every pocket book.
When you own one of these high-grade automobiles, when you enjoy tho distinction of driving a
cnr of class, when you realize that this sale makes it possible for you to enjoy the top limit of satisfac
tion in motoring, then you'll be glad you grasped this opportunity.
WRITE US TOD A Y: See what we have. Glad to tell you all about our used cars.
Demonstrations cheerfully given, We shall not urge you to buy. If you buy you get a Written Guarantee.
These hlgh-grado rebuilt cars are for sale on easy terms, at prices from one-quarter to one-half of their
original cost. You are invited to visit our sales floor make personal inspection and take a demonstration.
7b out-of'town buyers u)e will refund railroad fare to and from their homes
THE
MOTOR
INTON
CAR
BRANCH OFFICES.
lOOO PIKE STREET, SEATTLE
1240 GRANVILLE ST., VANCOUVER, B. C
1214 SOt TACOMA AVE TACOMA, WASH.
23rd & WASHINGTON, PORTLAND, ORE.
1421 SECOND AVE., SPOKANE, WASH.
330 SO. SECOND AVE, WALLA WALLA, WASH.
iV
CO. AV
Ay
A f A Name
f Address
Centlemeni
Please send
me full details of your
Rebuilt Car offer
(IM wkitino to ADVRRT1SBRM rLStis UBNTlON "Currant Fmatuf")
The Bread and Butter Question: Thick Doesn't Want a Single Bite
By
EVANSON
IThick.old pal, N
WE LL FOLLOW THE
GOV WITH THE
I LUNCH BASKET AND
iuET something-
To GAT J
1
iHlllllllH I
HES WHAT I CALL A NICE
LITTLE PELLOIV, HERES
WHERE 'WE DIVE JNTO
THepesseivr!
s
' "Y7.Tr
THINK THIN., THERE IS MANV
rooR. noKiAL whom TOPAV
HAS NOT A
MORSrju
.OF fooP
&STTHE TABLE
FORTWO .THIN- AND
PASS THE POTATOES
II poNT CAR.E For,
. " V 1 til J" .
UlNCuJI
1
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