It was initially composed of seven members, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, directed to avoid the inefficiency and corruption that had plagued the French 15 years earlier.
In addition to "make dirt fly", as directed by Roosevelt, Wallace was forced to use the often dilapidated infrastructure and equipment left behind by the French when they sold their concession.
He increasingly viewed the bureaucratic ICC as a serious hindrance and ended up bypassing the commission and sending requests and demands directly to the Roosevelt Administration in Washington.
In the fall of the previous year, Bishop had gone ahead to advance Roosevelt's historic inspection tour, the first time a sitting president had journeyed outside the United States.
[5] Joseph Bucklin Bishop would, except for month-long summer breaks, remain on the isthmus for seven years, serving clandestinely at first as Theodore Roosevelt's "eyes and ears".
He reported back on the "astonishing" progress that Army Corps of Engineers Colonel George Washington Goethals and his team were making excavating the "big ditch", building dams and locks.