comfortable office-building in Washington, D.C. There is no room here either for a full list of the many different commissioners—mostly officers of the engineering corps—who were appointed at this time or later, or for the barest outline of the good work that each has done. Colonel Sibert at Gatun, Colonel Gaillard in the Culebra Cut,[1] Civil Engineer Rousseau, U.S.N., Colonel Hodges, Colonel Devol, and Mr. Williamson are among the many who have made their names honored on the Isthmus and among the fellow-members of their profession. But the man whose name will go down to history as the builder of the Panama Canal is General Goethals.
Soon after the General came to the Isthmus, an employee complained that almost no work was being done on his new house, although it was very far from completed, and he had been promised that it would be ready for his family in six weeks. Next morning General Goethals went there himself, and spoke to the carpenter-foreman in charge.
"You will have this house ready for use in six weeks."
"I'll try my best, sir, but—"
"That was not my order. You will have this house ready, for use, in six weeks. Do you understand?"
Six weeks later the family moved in.
This is General Goethal's way, both in big things and little. He goes to the spot, sees what is needed, gives a plain, direct order, and gets results instead of excuses. Every morning in the week he goes out on the line, not as his French predecessor did, in a private car drawn by
- ↑ Now called "Gaillard Cut" in memory of that officer, who died just after the water was turned in.
