228 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL

I do not know; I have not seen that whole report-but I do not think
so, because that report we know was based upon a lock canal.
 The CHAIncAN. And the estimate was $142,000,000?
 Mr. BUCxMAN. $142,700,000.
 Senator VANDENBEmO. Mr. Buckman, that estimate is based upon
regular contractual construction, and not based upon work-relief
employees?
 Mr. BUCxMAN. I think that is correct. The Chief of Engineers,
you will recall, covered that question in your interrogation of himn
 Senator VANDENBER. Yes.
 Mr. BUCKrAN. At a former hearing.
 Senator VaNDENiBE. Yes.
 Senator FLzecHR. And the State undertook to furnish the right-
of-way after that, and has voted a million and a half dollars worth of
bonds to do that with ?
 Mr. BUCKMAN. That is correct, Senator.
 Senator VaNDENBERO. How much would you say the use of work
relief increases the cost of construction over normal construction
methods
 Mr. BUCKxN. It would depend entirely on the nature of the work.
 You would have to tell me what sort of construction you had in mind,
 whether it were a house, or digging a ditch, or putting up a steel
 frame, or what.
 Senator VANDENBEaw. The question at the moment is both; I sup-
 pose excavation in respect to the canal and bridge construction m
 respect to that bridge at Ocala. Now, how are they doing the exca-
 vating at the moment; are they doing it by hand labor or by machine ?
 Mr. BUCKMAN. I cannot tell you by first-hand information. I
 have not been there in about 3 months. But I can give you depart-
 mental information, gleaned from them, if you wish it. They are
 doing it both ways. There is no actual hand labor, but they have
 smaller machines supplemented by hand labor, and most of 'the work
 is being done by large machines.
 The CHAIRMAN. And the use of those machines would necessitate
 high-grade mechanics to operate, I assume?
 Mr. BUCKMArN. Oh, yes; skilled mechanics are necessary to oper-
 ate all large excavating machines.
 Senator VANDENBERG. Are any of these five or six thousand em-
 ployees on the ground largely engaged in hand excavation
 Mr. BuciKMN. I cannot tell you that, Senator. Not having been
 on the ground, I do not think I ought to answer the question.
 Senator VANDENBERO. I do not mean to be captious about it at all.
 I am simply interested in the validity of the estimate, and it seems
 to me just a matter of abstract common sense that an excavation
 job done under the work-relief theory would be essentially a make-
 work project, and that it would be substantially more expensive than
 the ordinary contractual excavation, which would be almost exclu-
 sively machine. Would that not seem to you to be a fair deduction?
 Mr. BUCKMAN. I think that is a fair deduction as a generality.
 It is somewhat difficult to apply it to specific cases.
 Let me give you an example. If you were excavating in hard rock
 only a machine could do that economically. In that case the use of
 hand labor would increase the cost tremendously, by several hun-
 dred percent at least.