Show offie is to build locks to sea level and jhen Dredge The other is to create two inland seas by dams washington sept 19 the board of consulting engineers of the esth roian canal commission today devoted i s rime to hearing an explanation of he plans for a canal which mr bunau aralla and linden W bates respectively hauef formulated ormula ted mr varilla was engaged on the canal work as an engineer ng ineer under the french regime and has given much time to the study of the problem mr bates Is a civil engineer of new york mr varilla told the board that un der his proposed method a canal could be built and put into operation within five years it could be deepened to a ea level canal within five years more the novel feature of his plan is to construct the locks from a foundation below sea level the highest lock on the canal as finished first would be feet above sea level with the bockh built down to the sea level depth the y ot dredging the canal could be continued without interrupting its op for commerce the same locks could be utilized at every depth until a sea level was reached when the locks could be taken out this is regarded rather as a method of treat duent than a canal plan as mr bunau varilla submitted no proposition as to the location of the dams or suggestion regarding the engineering features ot the canal the plan of mr bates combines many I 1 suggestions which have been made irom the inception of the idea of a across the isthmus it is essentially different from that being studied by the board in the location and ar lan gement of the dams mr bates proposed to locate the principal dams on either side of the isthmus close to the sea thus conserving the waters from the streams into two mammoth lakes he pointed out that this would eradicate the swamps and tend to revolutionize the health and sanitary conditions on the isthmus his plan does not obviate the diggins of culebra cut it was accompanied with information of every detail of mr bates plan in a of nearly pages of closely printed matter accompanied compa nied with maps and diagrams |