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Chief Engineer John F. Stevens informs President Roosevelt that he will sail with the first ship and will have all the data regarding the Catun dams and locks.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-04
John F. Stevens tells Theodore P. Shonts to read Brigadier General Peter C. Hains’s letter regarding the specifications for the work to construct the Panama Canal. With two revisions in the amounts of material to be moved at the entrance and in the lake section, Stevens believes the specifications are ready for publication.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-29
John F. Stevens tells Theodore P. Shonts to read Brigadier General Peter C. Hains’s letter regarding the specifications for the work to construct the Panama Canal. With two revisions, in the amounts of material to be moved at the entrance and in the lake section, Stevens believes the specifications are ready for publication.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-29
Chief Engineer John F. Stevens prefers Chief Counsel Richard Reid Rogers’s plan for financing the Panama Canal to that proposed by the engineer John Francis O’Rourke. Stevens cautions Panama Canal Commission Chairman Shonts that the Culebra Cut is “such a mix-up” that there will no doubt be complications in the construction project, and so they should avoid financing based on progress estimates.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-02
Chief Engineer Stevens opines on the nature of the government contracts for those building the Panama Canal; he thinks the plan suggested by John F. O’Rourke, a railroad engineer who is one of the bidders, to be “misleading and dangerous.” Stevens says that, in his experience, when dealing with contractors it is necessary “to be ‘as wise as a serpent, and apparently as harmless as a dove.'”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-25
John F. Stevens discusses contracts and contractors for the building of the Panama Canal with Chairman of the Panama Canal Commission Theodore P. Shonts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-18
Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC) Stevens has received a telegram from ICC Chairman Shonts, presumably prompted by an article by Poultney Bigelow in the Cosmopolitan, asking whether employees of the Panama Railroad Company or Canal officials own land in Colón. Stevens asks William Grant Bierd, General Manager of the Panama Railroad Company, for a list of those who own land in this town and if any leases have been made within the last year so that he can advise Shonts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-06
Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC) Stevens informs Chairman of the ICC Shonts that he has received the invitations for proposals and thinks it would be a mistake to individuals or firms of fewer than six members.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-05
John F. Stevens thinks that construction will benefit if they seek out the best workers and contractors for every type of work needed, rather than relying solely on one company to provide them. That way, each “class of construction” will be overseen and carried out by experts who are the best at what they do.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-04
John F. Stevens, Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal Commission, offers Theodore P. Shonts his views on how the canal should best be constructed. Stevens advocates the commission keeping as much control and oversight over the process as possible, while using the best contractors from different parts of the country.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-27
Chief Engineer Stevens is familiar with Walston H. Brown, and knows him “to be able.” He recommends that, if it is amenable to President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft, the government enter into a contract with Brown and his associates as soon as possible to ensure a quick start to construction in Panama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-27
John F. Stevens complains to Theodore P. Shonts about the lack of labor for the construction of the Panama Canal. Stevens states he would like to hire Chinese and Spanish laborers instead of West Indian laborers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-04
John F. Stevens writes to Theodore P. Shonts regarding George T. Kenly, who was let go from his job with the Isthmian Canal Commission because of his less than professional behavior. Because of disputes from Kenly, Stevens wants to clarify some points of contention with Shonts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-03-10