[I 005 / GEORGE GOETHALS] TAKES OVER FROM STEVENS:
[L3 805 / Colonel George Goethals] replaced John Stevens on Roosevelt's orders after the latter resigned. He took over in 1907 (not without praising the brilliant work of Stevens first) and through thorough organization, dogged determination and outstanding leadership, managed to finish the construction of the canal a year before schedule.
Following the appointment of Goethals, construction was completed entirely by the US government under army supervision (as opposed to private contractors). A civil government was set up in the Canal Zone under the supervision of Goethals which included a police force, fire companies, courts, a postal system and customs and revenue services. Workers were employed from as far away as the West Indies and Europe, and depending on their position and experience, were either paid in silver or gold coin. This form of payment continued for many years amid vehement protests and was only changed after serious labor disputes.
The equipment used to [V 002 / build the canal] included gigantic track shifters and pile drivers, steam shovels and locomotives, dredges, steamboats and tugs, and a completely re-organized rail system. The laborers were split into three groups - the Atlantic group, the Pacific group and the Central group - and competition between them was fierce. Always trying to outdo one another, work progressed rapidly despite enormous setbacks such as torrential rainstorms, floods and on one occasion, an earthquake. Together they dynamited, drilled and moved millions of cubic yards of earth and rock; in some places [L3 302 / mountains were virtually moved]. Earth taken from places where the canal was built was used to make breakwaters for the new port of Balboa and Gatun Dam which was 1.5 miles long, half a mile wide at the base and 100 feet wide at the top.
