FOREST GROVE PRESS
THURSDAY OCTOBER 30, 1913
The
Forest Grove = = ^ ,
Steam Laundry
Americans
In
PAGE 7
Panama
LADIES INVITED to CALL
Story of the Panam a Canal From Start to Finish
W ood,
Coal,
By W m . R. Scott
Cold Storage
c,nd Ice.
MERTZ & LATTA
Cor. 5th Ave.
and 2nd S t.,
Forest Grove,
Ore.
J
The standard gauge in the United
States Is four feet eight and a half
"tut 10 ihurner ntindt-edrf.' finally' hum- inches, so that all locomotives and curs
ins; I’ana mu to the ground. Today used on the I'anauia railroad have to
tourists go out to see a tower and otb- lie specially built with wheels set far
•r ruins of (lie famous old city of Pair ther apart.
The total cost hud been $7,407.553. or
■ Ilia. Panama was rebuilt on a short
promontory In the Pacific and. al about $158.000 a mile. Dividends were
though captured again by the pirates paid every year from 1853 to 1802 and
In 11180. has remained on the new site from 1001 to 1003. when It became
to this time.
Culted States pro|»erty.
The great prosperity o f the railroad
Panama In 1821 caught the spirit of
evolt and accomplished Its freedom suffered a serious setback with the
from Spain In a bloodless revolution completion o f the California overland
It then joined the Confederation of railroad In 1800. Thenceforward the
New (Iraiiadil. the Colombia of today, valuable bullion shipments avoided
umjer Simon Bolivar. South America's 1‘allama, as well as passenger and
great soldier and statesman.
Here freight business. The business shows
ended the career of the Spanish In a steady decline from that year.
Colombia turned to ¡lie French after
Panama.
negotiating fruitlessly witli the Cnited
C H A P T E R IV.
States over a canal concession, and
The French In Panama.
| the company headed by M. de l.esseps
HK independence of Panama was granted a right of way.
It
from Spain by a bloodless bought tile road for * 18 . o !M. inki In 1881
revolution In is-_’ j had plated paying considerably more than It was
the isthmus in a new poshing worth or $25o a share for sixty-eight
for oilier European government ‘ or seventieths of the capital stock.
The French neglected the commer
Ihe l ulled Slates lo tiegoiiale terms
or concessions. The American |i-o c|n| possibilities even more than the
;>le Were jealous of foreign activities, tmerlcan owners had. though divi
but not aggressively active themselves Mends were earned during the life of
the first company. When the Cnited
in i oncrete efforts toward a canal.
The ever alert French in 1847. uftei States twilight the Interests o f the
securing a concession lo build a rail | French company in 1004 (he I ’anauia
road, allowed it to lapse. It Is stgnhi railroad was one o f the properties
caul that this French failure was fm transferred. It was sadly run down
lowed, us in the case of trying to db- lint under the Americans it was made
a canal, by a successful attempt by over Into a modernly equipped and op
erated svstem. though subordinated as
the Americans.
Three Americans- William II. Asplu a commercial proposition to the con
wall. John I,. Stephens and Ilenry struction of tile canal.
t'hanticey o f New Vork. taking ad
Passenger rates dropped from $25 a
vantage of the opening made by tin one way ticket in 1.855 to $2.40 under
French failure obtained a concession the Americans today. The trip from
imm the Bogota government in 1841 Colon to I'anama is two hours and H
lor building a railroad across tin half, uml the coaches are painted yel-
isthmus at I’amtmu. with the Impoi i low because that color best stands the
ant provision that no canal i ould I. j isthmian climate.
■instructed there wlthuut the con.
The plans for the canal as adopted
puny's consent.
by the Americans in 100*i played havoc
Their con. esslon was for a period o , with the right o f way of the railroad.
forty nine years after the coujpletio | -u iii June. t!M>7. the work of relocat
d the railroad, but Colombia reserve., ing It heck among the hills out of
he right, twenty years after its com reach of Ontiin lake was begun. After
plelion. to purchase the road fo
live years' work, or as long as It re-
SO.IKKMMHI.
I quired to build the original line in
Luckily for the American promoter- 1850-5, the new line was opened to
lie discovery of gold in California in traffic in 1012.
IS-lb came Just iis they weie seekin;
Tills twentieth century Panama rail
in float ¡heir lompany. The isthmiat
load lias cost $».000.000. as compared
route to Calltoriiia at on e liecann
with tlie cost of the nineteenth cen
heavily traveled. and tlie eyes of tin
tury road. $7.000.000. an Increase of
whole world, parti itlarly of the t’ nii
$2.<KH».UH* after a lapse of sixty years
ed Slates, were again fastened upon
The dream of a pan-American rail
I ’ana ma.
road has been entertained ever since
The addition of the territories o
Oregon and California lo the Pulton steuui locomotion came Into use. When
Stales still further emphasized the several gaps are tilled in there will be
need of cpiick communication between railroad communication through Mex
.tie Atlantic and I’Hcitic. The Panama ico. tiuatemalii ami .Nicaragua to Costa
miroud. therefore. took hold upon tin Kicn, which adjoins Panama. The t'e
public of Panama has lawn planning
popular imagination.
Asplnwall and his associates pushetl an Interior rnllroad system that would
ihe construction of the road iilidet lie part of an all rail route from the
Before
lames I.. Baldwin, an American civil Cnited States to the canal.
engineer of iincoiuinon ability. Labor many years It Is likely that a bridge
of a desirable kind was not obtainable will span the canal In a railroad sys
Many nationalities were tried, with a tern that reaches from Canada through
tragic failure ou tile part of the Chi Panama to the mainland o f South
nese. who seemed unable to face the America, thence dowu the west coast
terrors o f the Jungle. The life cost of 1 to Valparaiso.
Ferdinand de Lesseps and his Pana
ma career vindicate strikingly the
truth of the adage that nothing suc
ceeds like success. The French Pana
ma Canal company was floated on the
-treugth o f his achievement In cutting
i sea level passage from the Medlter
mienn to the Bed sea. thus making an
island of Africa.
When he turned ills attention to Pan
ama as a new field for glory the
French people enthusiastically npp anti
d Ills audacity and. what Is more sig
i.iticaut and substantial, invested, first
i rid last. $2':5.i m o t Hi In the enter
prise
Tlie French were theatri nl In their
plans for launching the enterprise. A
world congress o f engineers was in-
T
m
irm i
m"i
HOTEL IAUGHIIN
FOR
Quality and Service
Sunday Dinners
a Specialty
C ity and Commer- [
cial Trade Solicited
R. D U N C A N
Proprietor
»
f-
This space reserved
for
i
l
LITTLER’S
PHARMACY
Specials N ext W eek
I
•
i
í
fc .
Photo fô hv
V . '. V . V . W i V A V / .V .V .W .V .
S. A. WALKER
H. LIDYARD
W a LK c R á LIDYARD
SHOEMAKERS
1st Ave. N., near Main St.
We are prepared to do
the very best o f a)l
kind o f shoe work.
UP-TO-DATE MACHINERY
Special attention given
to crippled feet.
Prpiia A^norlütlon
Col. Geo. W. Goethals
the Panama railroad In the five y e a r
it was building lias been estimated ui
I «.000 persons.
The route selectisi started at an Is
laud near the coast on the Atlunth
side, the site of the city of Colon
II crossed the hills Into the valley of th-
Cbagres river and followed that valle.'
to the continental divide, over whirl
it passed with a maximum elevation o
203 feet above sea level, and them,
down to Panama on the Pacific side
rreacberms swamps, almost impelle
(rutile jungles and formidable stream
ami mountains necessitated iucredlbl.
hard lalsir and continuous work frm
1 H.VI to Jan. 28. 1855. when tlie rtr>
traiu reached Panama from Colui
The line was forty-seven miles Ion-,
built o f Belgian rails and ou a gam
of five feet.
vlted to assemble in Paris in May.
187». to decide upon the type and cost
of Ihe canal. M. de l.esseps presided
and guided the decision to a sea level
type, the same as at Suez. There were
-leven Americans In the assembly, the
extent of American Interest.
Under Ihe stimulus of these tiro eed
mgs the uevv. company's stock was
oversubscribed by the admiring conn
trymeu of the great De l.esseps. the
trst Issue being for SUo.iMiti.iNin
M
de l.esseps then made a spectacular
trip to Panama, arriving at Colon on
Dec. 3». 187».
Tlie first bins! o f an explosive in the
onsfrm tion of the Isthmian canal was
set off by one of the young daughters
if M. de l.esseps at Culebra on Jan .
10. 1880. After several weeks of ban
queting Count de Les-oq»* left for the
Cnited States to «tir the imagination
of the Americans over the enterprise
About the only result was to attract
the attention of some contra, tors to
the work.
Operations went ahead rapidly from
1880 onward, the metical l«*ing to let
contracts for the different phase* of
the work The canal Started I or Co
ion. in Union bay. and wa- b follow
ihe valley o f the Cbagres i
r for
Isitil thirty miles, then e flit" c.-'i tlie
outltieiital divide lo tile Pit ii . three
a or
uu
A n d Exam ine Our
miles west of I’anama. almut where
the canal begins.
%
By 1885. however, extravagance and
graft had emptied the company's
treasury. The contractors, ns a rule,
did little and exacted much. It be-
ctime apparent, too. that a sea level
type presented staggering difficulties
M. de Lesseps gave his consent to a
change in plans to a lock type, but the
dam was to tar at Bohio instead of at
Oatun. Bohio Is seventeen miles from
tlie Caribbean, while tittltin Is only
seven miles distant from that sea.
All the theatrical methisis eoncelvn
hie were employed to float a new houd
issue for $1tMMMt0.tNMI, hut the public
hail grown dubious over the success of
the enterprise. Tlie amount was rais
ed. however, and was imttred Into the
project with more millions until 188».
when, after $234.7115.017 had been In
vested. the company became bankrupt
The French treated their white em
ployees with extravagant generosity.
Living accommodations were on a
SUITS
□a
uU
OE>
Rii
COATS
□cr
QB
□ BP
□ a
FURS
scale o f open handed liberality, t lttle
was disie beyond building hospitils to
compter the hud health
udttloiis ol
the isthmus, and. while the Freucb
left patterns for much of the Intel
American activities, tlie sanitary com
trol of the Jungle distinctively is an
American triumph.
The death rate
among French employees on the canal
was from two to three times us high
as under the Americans.
In 18«in an extension of ten years to
tlie time for completing tlie ennui was
granted by Colombia, and subsequent
ly extensions were permitted that ad
vanced the life of tile concession until
Oct. 31. ID lo. A new I ’anama Canal
company was organized iu 1H»4. with
ii capital of $13.(KN).«00. and. while it
spent this amount and more. It never
attained the momentum of the first
company. The maximum force under
tlie first company was 25,000 men and
under the second regime 3.000.
The total excavation by the French
in I’anama was 78.<H)o.bOO yards, of
which the first company took out «5.
om.ooo yards, but out of all their work
only 2».!M48.00d yards were excavated
from the present American route. For
years before the Americans came the
French did Just enough work to keep
their concession alive.
The mechanical equipment we took
over from the French, the houses and
hospitals and especially the engineer
Ing record* were invaluable from the
start of American operations, and
much still is in use.
An effort was made by the French
company in 18»8 to interest the United
States government in the enterprise
provided permission could be secured
front Colombia. But this failed, and
the plan of »103 for turning the prop
• «a
ert.v over to the United States was Its
successor.
ANDERSON
LE A D IN G CLOTHIER
□ □ Forest Grove
□ □
nn
Oregon °|
6
03
ly
3 □ □ lujj n u
' PACIFIC GARAGE '
I
U. S. SEEKS NO AD
DITIONAL TERRITORY
Mobile, Ala.— While avoiding any
mention specifically of Mexico or any
European Influence connected with
the Mexican situation. President W il
son delivered a speech here before the
Southern Commercial congress which
appeared to be freighted with signifi
cance and which served to point witli
further directness the policy of the
United States not only toward Mexico,
but toward all Central and South
American republics.
A score of South American dlplo
mats sat Just behind the preslden
while he spoke and many of his rr
marks were nddrcsi-ed In conversa
tional tones to them. The president
spoke only in general terms, but many
of his sentences were pointed with i
meaning so ck a r as to leave littl
doubt of their Intent.
The president's speech was uttered
with a confidence which bespoke the
dominant part the United States ex
pects to play in the future of thi
American republics. Not through an;
idea of "material interest,” he can
fully explained, but through a love ol
the people of constitutional liberty.
"Th e United States never again will
seek to obtain one additional foot oi
territory by conquest,” he declared
amid applause.
Pullman College Team Defeated.
Portland.— Three thousand football
enthusiast* saw the Multnomah clu!
defeat Washington state college c
Winged "M ” field, 7 to 0
Oregon Wins, 27-0, Over Idaho.
Fugrne.—By a score of 27 to 0, Ore
gon eliminated Idaho frem the race fc:
the conference football champ'.onshit
on Kincaid field.
Aggira Un. .It to Cccre at Seattle.
m • U Ivt r i t y of Wash
Ingtoii foot be 1 team (!• ieat--d Orrgor
Agr cultural colie- e by a score of 4.
, r>.
* .'.! here.
Washington County Agency, Overland Cars
Expert Autom obile,
M otoicycle and
Bicycle
Successor« to
H ASK ELL & SON
PHONE 306
.
.
.
Repairing.
C. G. D A N I E L S O N
.
PACIFIC AVE.
I
I
WASHINGTON - OREGON
CORPORATION
w ill
Beginning June 1st give to its
patrons in Beaverton, Elmonica,
Orenco, H ills b o ro ,
Cornelius,
Forest Grove, Gaston, Dilley and
all country lines a
4c,
Electric rate
on all cooking and heating ap
pliances
and
small
domestic
motors.
Phone Main 922 Hillsboro for particulars and
our representative will call.
F itti"
! Girl wanted for general house-
Com pit te your home with on**
'work. Phone 754.
12x2p o f Roe & Co/s dining tables.