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John F. Stevens responds to what he considers a new bid for construction of the Panama Canal, which he still believes to be inadequate. He is sending a letter to President Roosevelt with more details.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-09
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
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