OCR Text |
Show PANAMA CANAL WORK. We havo from Mr. Henry Cr. Granger, of Cartagena, Colombia, a pamphlet arguing against, tho present plan of a lock canal at tho Isthmus, and advocating advocat-ing a sea level canal. Tho argument presented by Mr, Grnugcr derives additional ad-ditional force from receut reports received re-ceived from Panama to tho effect of ground slips and slides and from ihe fact that thero has been no positivo assurance of a satisfactory and. solid basis for the Garun dam and lock. But unless a satisfactory and firm basis cau be found for that, dam and lock, then tho whole work is liable to go to smash at any time. Even a small slip would so disarraugo the machinery and unsettle unset-tle the eomiivtions between the masonry and the lock lifts as to vender the locks unworkable. Wc haw boon afraid all along that the Government is making a mistake in building a lock canal, Tho scheme should probably havo beeu I'or a. sea-level sea-level canal. It is the opinion of many of the best engineers of the world that 11 sea-lcvcl canal is inevitable if there I is to be a permanent workable canal I at all. But a sea-level C3ual should not havo been undertakeu at Panama. The place for a sca-lovcl canal is at San Bias or Cartagena, which would involve ten miles less of canal digging and would give absolutely tranquil waters at both ends of the canal. Mr. Granger calls attention to the j fact that whereas tho estimates iu tho first place with Tespect to a sea-level canal contem.plar.od a period of fifteen years to build it at, a giveu rate of progress iu excavation, the rapidity of excavation has now reached a point three times as great as that estimated ou the fifteen-year basis for a sea-level canal. So that we might reasonably expect to construct thero within five years a canal at the ocean levels. In fact, the excavation is proceeding at such a rate that it. is probable that all this will be complcreb' done before the canal dams aud locks arc completed. Mr. Grauger also suggests certain improved methods and certain improved machinery for dredging that would very largely expedite the work of excavation excava-tion over ovon the rapid progress that is now making in this lino, aud be argues that with tbo improved methods of digging aud haudling the waste earth, the sca-lovel can3l could probably be completed at as early a date as any one now fixes the completion of the locks. Under tho present plan it is admitted that the locks will be the last portion of the work to be done. The excavation of the canal line, eighty-five feet above the sea level, will all be completed a considerable time before the Gatun dam and lock cau be put in according accord-ing to the present plan. But if i'nerc are any delays, and' even a little laud slip will make a long delay, the probability proba-bility is that Mr. Granger is right and that the excavation should bo made for the sea-level canal at just a3 early a period as the lock canal can be completed, com-pleted, including the dam aud locks, and the sea-level canal would be surer. There would be no doubt nbuut it, and no delay, be'ond a reasonable approximation, ap-proximation, in its construction. And then a landslide or cveu an earthquake would havo no effect that could not be very speedily remedied. As the lime goes on in the construction construc-tion of this lock canal, it becomes more and more evident" that the sure way, the safe way, aud the way to avoid the greatest possible delay of time and amount of expense, either by earthquake earth-quake or land slip, is to leave the lock project altogether and put. iu a sca-lovel sca-lovel canal. The seadovel canal would cost something more in the first place, undoubtedly, but ouco dug it would be there for all time, and the cost 'Of keeping keep-ing it up, no matter what- kind of an accident happened, would alwaj'3 be comparatively light. And the obstruction, obstruc-tion, whatever it might, be. could be far more rapidly reuiovod than' repairs could bo made in case of even u small land slip with the lock canal. The probability is that the canal is going to cost fully double what the first estimates were, anyway, and this cost is added to materially all the time when there is a land slip or a failure in any of the experimental work. Wc should be glad to sec with the incom-. ing of .tho Taft administration a change of plan on the canal project that would give us the sea -level canal, which change would at one stroke do away with all uncertainty aud assure a canal' of good working order -for all time to come; a thing that is quite impossible to forecast for tbo canal under tho plan as adopted. Under this plan, it sometimes some-times looks as though the difficulties are too great to overcome. |