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Show Prophecy of Great Engineer General Serrell Predicted Another Canal Would Be Built Across Isthmus of Panama Via the Bias Route. Gen. Edward Wellman Serrell, who died In 1906, was one of the great engineers engi-neers of the United States. He was associated as-sociated with some of the most important im-portant and difficult engineering undertakings under-takings of the time, between the early forties and 20 years after the war. In the latter years of his life, which was much occupied with his pet project pro-ject of building a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama along what is called the San Bias route, which lay some miles nearer the South American continent than the Panama canal. He projected his canal from the Gulf of San Bias, on the Atlantic, to Pearl Island Is-land harbor, on the Pacific; and he claimed that it could be built at sea level and on a straight line, with no locks, less than 30 miles from ocean to ocean, and not be costly. He was almost al-most heart-broken when it became apparent ap-parent to him that the government would decide In favor of the present Panama canal project. ' During a conversation that I had with Gen, Serrell in 1894, when discussion discus-sion over the probable government canal across the Isthmus of Panama was attracting a great deal of atten; tion, I asked the general how he had become Interested in the construction of a canal along the San Bias route. "My belief in the feasibility of the San Bias route Is due to two of my earlier experiences as an engineer," was the reply. "In the first place, I was one of the engineers employed by Commodore William Aspinwall to make a survey of the Panama railroad across the Isthmus of Panama so as to shorten the route between the Atlantlo coast and San Francisco in California gold days. That experiment made me very familiar with the isthmus; "we went all over the San Bias route before be-fore deciding upon our final survey for the Panama railroad. "In the next place, my experience with the Hoosac tunnel, one of the most exciting experiences of my life, led me to realize how easily the San Bias route could be constructed In spite of the mountain that towers in Its pathway near the center of the isth. mus. j "The state of Massachusetts had authorized au-thorized the construction of a tunnel under the great Hoosac mountain. That meant tunneling through solid rock about four and three-quarters mile.s, and at the base of a mountain some 500 feet in height "You can't imagine how exciting and apprehensive we were as the workmen from either end approached each other. oth-er. At last one day the rocks were pierced from the east to the west, and the drills met with a deviation of only a little over an inch. "Now, I said to myself, when I came to study this canal problem, If we could cut the Hoosac tunnel so accurately accu-rately as that, we could easily tunnel the San Bias mountain, although we might have to cut the tunnel a hundred feet wide and a hundred and fifty feet high. That, sir, would be a simple sim-ple question of draughting. But with that mountain tunneled in that way, any ship could pass through, we should have a perfect sea-level canal only 30 miles long, the mountain tunneling be- . ing only five miles, and good natural harbors at either end. "I suppose that If it had not been for my experience on the isthmus when surveying the Panama railroad, and my work as the engineer In charge of the Hoosac tunnel construction, construc-tion, I never should have thought of the San Bias interoceanic canal route. And I tell you," the great engineer added add-ed emphatically (and who dares to deny prophetically?) "that if our government gov-ernment decides upon the Panama or the Nlcaraguan route, the day will surely come In the next century wtien an interoceanic canal will be constructed construct-ed by private capital via the San Blaa route. And whenever that time comes, let the government canal look out for competition." (Copyright, 1810, by E. J. Edward. AU RlghU Reserved.) |