OCR Text |
Show oo OPENING OF THE CMUHG. 15 Washington, July 23 Opening of the Panama canal to the world's com-1 merce on August 15 next was an-j nounced tonight by Secretary Garrl-1 son. Probably the first vessel to I pass through the great waterway will be the Cristobal, a war department steamer now at Colon. There will be no formalities in the epoch-making event, all ceremonies being left for the official opening when the international fleet passes through the canal in March. 1915. Mr. Garrison's announcement was made in this biief statement: "The Panama canal will be open for commerce to vessels not needing more than thirty feet of water on and after August 15. 1914. "The official opening of the canai. as heretofore announced will be in the month of March. 1915. An appropriate ap-propriate announcement will be made when a greater depth of water than thirty feet has been secured. "On the fifteenth of August. Colonel Goethals will inaugurate the commercial commer-cial service by sending a government boat through the canal. There will be no ceremonies incident to the occasion, oc-casion, but American newspapers that desire to have representatives present may do so. The others present pres-ent on the boat will be determined between now and the time mentioned men-tioned "LINDLEY M (JARRISON." When the Cristobal steams from its lip to the Atlantic entrance of the canal it will mark the conclusion by American enterprise of the greatest engineering task ever undertaken and the culmination of ten years of the hardest kind of work against physical obstacles which have severely taxed the abilities of the army engineers under Colonel Goethals. Some things remain to be done to perfect the waterway. The channel through the Culebra cut must be deep ened and widened so that it will not he necessary for the great liners and battleships to pass through the tricky "slide" at Cucaracha and Bold hill in single file Much excaatlon must be done in both approaches and many buildings which will house the official forces, the mechanical departments and the supply divisions remain to be. completed While with thirty feet of water in the canal some of the great dreadnaughts might pick their way through after August 15, yet, Secretary Secre-tary Daniels said tonight, he would not be likely to order any such movement, move-ment, except in an emergency. H will wait until there is more water in the great ditch |