amined. If there is nothing on the file to indicate that any action has been taken looking toward handling the inspection, a letter is written to the contractor inviting his attention to the order and asking for prompt advice as to date of inspection. As soon as this letter is written a notation is made on a further advanced date in the diary, and on this date the former action is repeated. The time permitted to elapse before the first punching depends very largely on the nature of the order and in some cases the date may be considerably in advance, whereas in other cases the first punching date is, as indicated above, within a few days of the issuance of the order. As material is shipped by a contractor, copies of the shipping papers are forwarded to the Washington office and record of shipments is kept by the shipping clerk. The authorities on the Isthmus, in case of urgent orders, are also notified by cablegram when the material covered by these orders leaves the seaboard. Several checks are made in order to see that material ordered is in accordance with requirements. Whenever a request is issued, in any form, for quotation on any material, two copies of this request are forwarded to the chief quartermaster, who in turn is supposed to forward one copy of the request to the particular official on the Isthmus who made the original requisition. This official is supposed to immediately compare this request with his original requisition, and if there is any discrepancy the attention of the Washington office can be called to same promptly by cable. Likewise, when the order for the material is issued, two copies are forwarded to the chief quartermaster and are compared by the requisitioning officer, as indicated above. As a third check, the inspecting engineer compares the order with the requisition to see whether specifications, etc., are fully covered. Owing to the various checks made, errors are very infrequent. It has been found in this office that the use of forms is very desirable and facilitates very materially the handling of work. At times the number of live orders on hand amount to approximately 1,000, and it can be readily understood that it is absolutely impossible to give personal attention to each particular order. In other words, matters must be handled, as much as possible, in a routine manner. If a clerk or an inspector has before him a form to be made out, there is very little excuse for his omitting in that form any of the information called for, each item of information being required in connection with the handling of the inspection or the final settlement of the order. If each clerk or each inspector were left to make his report without a form, it can readily be seen that confusion would soon result and it would be practically impossible to settle questions which might arise in the future. Frequent requests have been made to permit reports to be made in a manner different from that required by our forms, and it is probable that those handling inspections for The Panama Canal have frequently felt that the officials in Washington were extremely dictatorial in not permitting any variation from our usual method. It is thought that a perusal of the above paragraphs will indicate the reasons why these variations can not be permitted. Tables are inserted below indicating the total amount of orders placed by the Washington office during certain periods, and also indicating the number of orders which have been placed each month during these periods. At first glance it might seem that the work of the office depended on the total value of the orders rather than the total number, but when it is considered that each order must go through the same routine it will be appreciated that the criterion of the amount of clerical work in the Washington office, not only in the purchasing department, but in the accounting department also, depends almost directly on the number of orders placed. It may be a surprise to note that, based on this rule, the work of the Washington office since the beginning of the period indicated in the tables was at a maximum in April of this year. Summary of purchases through the Washington office of The Panama Canal to July 1, 1915. Summary of orders placed through the Washington office of The Panama Canal Summary of orders placed through the Washington office of The Panama Canal to July 1, 1915.-Continued. An examination of the above tables indicates that the number of orders fell off considerably during the period 1910-1911. As this period was the period of the greatest amount of work on the Isthmus, the question naturally arises as to the reason for the decrease. This is readily explained, however, by the fact that during this period a great many purchases were made under what is known as the annualcontract system, and also that the purchases were made in large quantities. The routine in the branch offices in New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco is practically the same as above described, but no record is given of the number of orders placed nor of the amounts of these orders. The principal items of equipment purchased during the past year are as follows: Valves for dry dock at Balboa, $49,100; pumping plant for Balboa dry dock, $133,056; granite for dry dock, $22,895.20; six sets of spare regulating valves for locks, $41,100; one 15-yard dipper dredge (of improved design over former dredges), $377,500; and three 1,000-yard steel dump scows, $187,980. Shipments of cement were continued during the fiscal year under the contracts entered into January 7, 1909, and September 13, 1912, amounting to 556,777 barrels and making a total of 6,807,237 barrels delivered under these contracts. Very respectfully, F. C. BOGGS, Major, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, Maj. Gen. GEO. W. GOETHALS, United States Army, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone. APPENDIX N. TABLES SHOWING INCREASES IN SALARIES AUTHORIZED OVER ORGANIZATION OF JULY 1, 1913, AND INCREASES OF NUMBERS OF PERSONS EMPLOYED OVER NUMBER ALLOWED IN 1915 BOOK OF ESTIMATES, AS REQUIRED BY ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED AUGUST 1, 1914. DEPARTMENT OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. DREDGING DIVISION. Engineers, $2,100... Increase in pay. Increase in numbers. 8 23 8 44 9 1 18 in approved organization July 1, 1914; 1 in approved organization July 1, 1914; 8 in approved organization July 1, 1914; increase 1 for relief work on pipe-line suction dredges. To provide sufficient number of relief engineers, towboats, account necessity working three shifts in Gaillard Cut service. 3 increased account placing all gold organization positions on nonsubsisting basis. 7 in approved organization July 1, 1914; increase 1 for work on Obispo diversion channels and draining hydraulic fills vicinity Panama. Account transfer Gamboa sand and gravel handling plant from Panama Railroad to dredging division. 2 increased account placing all gold organization positions on nonsubsisting basis. 1 Pipe-line suction dredge, for relief of men on vacation. Account slide inspection work, Gaillard Cut. 6 in approved organization July 1, 1914; 481 3 |