Book 3, Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

"John Stevens" details the administration of Wallace's successor as Chief Engineer and Steven's boss, the ICC's authoritative new Chairman, Theodore Perry Shonts. James J. Hill, who has little use for Panama and personally dislikes Roosevelt, puts advertises that Stevens, his former protygy, is the best construction engineer in the United States. Stevens is scheduled to accompany Taft to the Philippines to advise on railroad construction, but silver-tongued Cromwell, now a troubleshooter for the Republican Party, urges Stevens to go to Panama and Stevens' wife convinces him against his better judgment this is the challenge for which he has been preparing. Stevens, 57, is the kind of rough-and-tumble westerner Roosevelt can appreciate. Self-trained in surveying, railroad engineering, mathematics, physics and chemistry, Stevens is proud of his adaptability and believes hard work can overcome anything. His mid-winter discovery of the Marias Pass...