“One of the canal employees, who was on very friendly terms with Stevens, came into his office and found him in the best of spirits. When the business in hand was completed he said jovially: “‘Read this. I’ve just been easing my mind to T. R. It’s a hot one--isn’t it?’ And he handed over the carbon copy of his letter. His visitor read it with great seriousness. “‘Mr. Stevens’, he said, ‘that is the same as a resignation’. “And Stevens laughed. “‘Why, I’ve said that kind of thing to the Colonel a dozen times. He knows I don’t mean to quit this job’. “But about three hours after the letter reached Washington Mr. Stevens received a cablegram: ‘Your resignation accepted’”. At any rate the Stevens resignation called forth no such explosive retort as had been directed against the unhappy Wallace, and he showed no later signs of irritation, but came to the defense of his successor in a letter strongly approving the construction of certain locks and dams which were for the moment the targets of general public criticism. Two weeks before Stevens resigned the other members of the Commission, excepting Col. Gorgas, in response to a hint from the President had sent in their resignations. Mr. Roosevelt had determined that henceforward the work should be done by army and navy officers, trained to go where the work was to be done and to stay there until recalled; men who had entered the service of the nation for life and were not looking about constantly to “better their conditions”. He had determined further that the government should be the sole contractor, the only employer, the exclusive paymaster, landlord and purveyor of all that was needful on the Zone. In short he had planned for the Canal Zone a form of administration which came to be called socialistic and gave cold chills to those who stand in dread of that doctrine. To carry out these purposes he appointed on April 1, 1907, the following commission: Lieut.-Col. George W. Goethals, _Chairman and Chief Engineer_, Major D. D. Gaillard, U. S. A., Major William L. Sibert, U. S. A., Mr. H. H. Rousseau, U. S. N., Col. W. C. Gorgas, U. S. A., Medical Corps, Mr. J. C. S. Blackburn, Mr. Jackson Smith, Mr. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, _Secretary_. A majority of this commission was in office at the time of publication of this book, and gave evidences of sticking to the job until its completion. Senator Blackburn resigned in 1910 and was succeeded by Hon. Maurice H. Thatcher, also of Kentucky; and Mr. Smith retired in favor of Lieut. Col. Hodges in 1908. In June, 1913, Commissioner Thatcher resigned and was succeeded by Richard L. Metcalfe of Nebraska. With the creation of this commission began the forceful and conclusive administration of Col. Goethals, the man who finished the canal. CHAPTER IX COL. GOETHALS AT THE THROTTLE