Appointed in 1904, John Findley Wallace (1852-1921) was the first Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission with overall responsibility for the project. His extensive railroad-building experience made him theoretically well suited for the job. But once in Panama, he seemed unprepared for the task ahead and left within a year. Tentative and often mired in details, Wallace appeared to lack the necessary zeal for a project of this magnitude. He produced no comprehensive work plan, and many felt the project was without direction. Wallace's greatest contribution may have been his decision to use heavy-duty American-made steam shovels for excavating.

Photograph from Makers of the Panama Canal, compiled and edited by F.E. Jackson, 1911