Work on the Isthmus is in the hands of an Isthmian Canal Commission, consisting of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the President. All of them have headquarters on the Isthmus. The present personnel of the Commission is as follows. Lieutenant Colonel G. Goethals, U.S.A., chairman and chief engineer; Major David Du B. Gaillard, U.S.A., corps of engineers; Major William L. Sibert, U.S.A., corps of engineers: Colonel William C. Gorgas, U.S.A., medical department; Harry Rosseau, U.S.A., civil engineer; Lieutenant Colonel H.F. Hodges, U.S.A., corps of engineers and Joseph C.S. Blackburn, civilian.

As chairman, Colonel Goethals receives a salary of $15,000 annually. Majors Gaillard and Sibert and Civil Engineer Rosseau $14,000 each and Dr. Gorgas, Colonel Hodges and Mr. Blackburn $10,000 each.

The principal departments on the Isthmus, each in charge of a head who is directly responsible for the work carried on under his direction are: Construction and Engineering; Quartermaster’s; Subsistence; Civil Administration; Sanitation; Disbursements; and Examination of Accounts.

The Department of Construction and Engineering is subdivided into the following named divisions; Atlantic Division from deep water to and including the Gatun locks and dams; the Central Division from Gatun to Pedro Miguel; and the Pacific Division from Pedro Miguel to the Pacific.

The Department of Construction and Engineering is under the direct charge of the Chief Engineer. The general plans come from the office of the Chief Engineer and details are left to division engineers, subject to his approval. The whole idea of the organization in this department is to place and fix responsibility, leaving to each subordinate the carrying out of the particular work intrusted to his charge. The Chief Engineer is assisted by the Assistant Chief Engineer, who considers and reports upon all engineering questions submitted for final action. The Assistant Chief Engineers have charge of the designs of the locks, dams, and spillways, and the supervision of these particular parts of the work. There is also attached to the Chief Engineer an assistant who looks after mechanical forces on the Isthmus, and has supervision over the machine shops, the cost-keeping branch of the work, the apportionment of appropriations, and the preparation of the estimates. There is also an assistant engineer, who has charge of all general surveys, meteorological observations, and river hydraulics.

The Quartermaster’s Department has charge of the recruiting of labor, the care, repair, and maintenance of quarters, the collection and disposal of garbage and refuse, the issue of furniture, and the delivery of distilled water and commissary supplies to the houses of employees and the construction of all new buildings. Operating in conjunction with the purchasing department in the United States, the Quartermaster’s Department secures all supplies needed for construction and other purposes, and makes purchases of material on the Isthmus when required.

The common labor force of the Commission and Panama Railroad is more than 25,000 men, and consists of about 6,000 Spaniards, with a few Italians, the remainder being from the West Indies. The Spaniard is the best worker, although he objects to working in water. The total number on the pay rolls will average more than 30,000. Of these 5,000 are “gold men”, that is, officials, clerks and skilled laborers, all of whom are American recruited through the Washington office. In the month of September, 1909, there were approximately 44,000 employees on the Isthmus on the rolls of the Commission and the Panama Railroad. There were actually at work, on November 3, 1909, 35,311 men, 27,672 for the Commission and 7,639 for the Panama Railroad Company. The salaries and wages of these men are paid once a month.

This Quartermaster’s Department also has charge of the property records, receives semiannual returns of property from all those to whom property has been issued, and checks the returns and inventories of the storehouses with the records compiled from the original invoices.

The Subsistence Department has charge of the commissaries and the manufacturing plants which consist of an ice and cold-storage establishment, a bread, pie, and cake bakery, a coffee roasting outfit, and a laundry. These belong to the Panama Railroad Company, as, at the time they were established, money received from sales could be reapplied, whereas if operated by the Commission it would have reverted to the Treasury, necessitating reappropriation before the proceeds of the sale could be utilized. They are, however, under the management of the subsistence officer of the Commission, who has charge of the various hotels, kitchens and messes.

There are 16 hotels from Cristobal to Panama which serve meals to the American, or “gold” employees at 30 cents per meal. There are 24 messes where meals to European laborers are served, the cost per day being 40 cents; and there are 24 kitchens for meals supplied to the “silver” laborers (men paid in Panamanian currency), the cost to the laborer being 30 cents per day. There is no profit to the Commission. The commissaries and manufacturing plants are operated at a profit so as to repay the Panama Railroad Company for its outlay in six years from January 1, 1909, at 4 per cent interest.

The Subsistence Department also has charge of a large hotel at Ancon for the entertainment of the Commission’s employees at a comparatively low rate, and of transient guests at rates usually charged at first class hotels.

The Department of Civil Administration exercises supervision over the courts, which consist of three circuit and five district: the judges of the three former constitute the supreme court. The district courts take cognizance of all cases where the fine does not exceed $100 or imprisonment does not exceed 30 days. Jury trials are restricted to crimes involving the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The Sanitation Department looks after the health interests of the employees. It is subdivided into the health department, which has charge of the hospitals, supervision of health matters in Panama and Colon and of the Quarantine, and into the sanitary inspection department, which looks after the destruction of the mosquito by various methods, as grass and brush cutting, the draining of swamp areas, and by oiling unavoidable pools and stagnant streams.

To this Department also belong 11 chaplains employed by the Commission to attend the sick as well as look after the spiritual welfare of the employees.

All moneys are handled by the Disbursement Department, which pays accounts which have been previously passed upon by the Examiner of Accounts.

The Examiner of Accounts makes the examination required by law prior to the final audit of the accounts by the Auditor for the War Department. The pay rolls are prepared from time books kept by foremen, timekeepers, or field clerks, subsequently checked by the Examiner of Accounts who maintains a force of inspectors. The time inspectors visit each gang, generally daily, at unknown times to the foreman, time-keeper, or field clerk, and check the time books with the gangs of workmen; the inspectors report to the Examiner of Accounts the results of their inspection not in connection with timekeeping but all violations of the regulations of the Commission that may come under their observation.

Payments of pay rolls are made in cash, beginning on the 12th of each month and consuming four days for the entire force on the Isthmus.

The last published financial report of this Department was as follows:

Statement of Receipts, Disbursements, and Balances Available to June 30, 1909.