Richard L. Holt

The first thing President Teddy Roosevelt did after the signing of the documents giving the U.S. the rights to construct the Panama Canal was to appoint this man, John Stevens, to the position of Chief Engineer.  Mr. Stevens had many years experience in major contruction efforts, especially in railroad construction, and was considered one of the best engineers in the country at the time.

The United States began its effort to build the Panama Canal with the signing of a contract with the brand new Republic of Panama on November 18, 1903, just 15 days after Panama gained its independence from Colombia.  Before that time, the original French Canal Company had failed in its attempt to dig the new canal.  A second company, called the New French Canal Company tried to pick up where the other had left off, and failed also.

Through a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations between a leader of that New French Canal Company and officials of the U.S., the U.S. signed a contract treaty with Panama to build the Canal.  Panamanians always have said that their Government did not sign the contract, and that is precisely so.  But they did accept $10 million from the U.S. to start their treasury as if they were all in agreement with the wording and the signing of the contract.  That actual signature for Panama was made by a self-declared representative of Panama, the leader of the New French Canal Company.  Complicated, no less, but it did last until 1977 when President Jimmy Carter agreed with General Omar Torrijos in Panama that the U.S. should return the Canal lock-stock-and barrel to Panama.  That treaty resulted in the Panama Canal turnover to Panama from the U.S. on December 31, 1999.  Panama now is solely responsible for everything that has to do with the Panama Canal, including its security.  There are no Americans officially left in Panama representing the U.S. including military troops.

When John Stevens was appointed the Chief Engineer for the building of the Panama Canal, his review of the situation led him to issue orders that before any building was to start, that his people would clean up Panama, which he described as a filthy cesspool of diseases and other health issues that were yet to be dealt with by either of the major construction efforts prior to his time, the building of the Panama Railroad, and the French attempt to build the Canal.  Each of those efforts had lost over 25, 000 people each to death from all this mess.  Places to bury the dead had become scarce.  John Stevens was apalled by this.

Malaria and Yellow Fever, two of the major disease killers was not yet stopped.  Stevens put the two men who had made the discovery of those two diseases, the mosquito, to work to eradicate this problem in the Panama Canal Zone.  That first year of the Americans being in Panama to build the Canal was almost all used up in rebuilding Panama, new streets, sewer system, water systems, sewage control on the streets, electrical systems installed.

Stevens determined that the very first thing that had to be done in Panama was to clean up the place and stop the many diseases that had taken thousands of lives during the railroad construction and the failed effort by the French Canal Company.  Over 60,000 people had died during those efforts.  One of the major problems were two diseases whose cause was unknown until two U.S. Army doctors, Gorgas and Reed found the cause for malaria and yellow fever.  This finding followed the Spanish American war when thousands had died from these diseases.  Stevens gave Dr. Gorgas the mandate to clean up Panama, not only from the danger of malaria and yellow fever, but also from the filth that permeated the cities in Panama that cause many other diseases.

Once John Stevens was convinced that the disease and filth problems had been solved, then he was ready to attack the job of continuing the building of the Canal.  Taking up where the French Canal Company had left off, Stevens put his designers to work coming up with a plan that would work.  It was obvious to most engineers that a sea level canal was not practical nor possible.  The River Chagres was to be the key, using that virtual endless supply of water for the canal concept.  Locks at each end would raise the canal level allowing for the eventual digging of a passage through the Continental Divide.

Near the Atlantic end of the Chagres River, a huge earthen dam was to be constructed, blocking the river from its exit to the Atlantic.  In the middle of this would be a control dam built to handle the vast amounts of water in the Chagres.  This spillway would keep the lake to be formed at a level of 85' above mean sea level.  A set of locks would be constructed at one end of the earthen dam to raise and lower ships through three lock chambers, from sea level to the 85' level.  The lake that would ensue as a result of the damming of the Chagres was named Gatun Lake and would cover some 185 square miles of the jungle landscape.

From where the Chagres River made its turn to the East near the town of Gamboa, digging would commence to build a passageway through the mountains of the Continental Divide.  Although not tall, these mountains would pose a significant problem in that the movement of the earth was a major task.  This was accomplished by using the railroad with special cars to carry the debris.

Stevens abruptly quit his job as the Chief Engineer in 1907 and returned to the United States.  Teddy Roosevelt was furious.  He vowed that the next Chief Engineer would not quit him, so he appointed an Army Colonel (soon to be a General), George Goethals to the position.  He said that this man's life belonged to him and that he would not quit and walk away from the job.