The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-03-14
EADs VS.. LEssEPs.

COuun0O 20 TIE canned 9OOl0,
EADS va. LEsSEPs.
That must have been an exceedingly In
terestlDg scene when M. de Lesseps, whose
magni ficent achievement Of engineering skil
In the construction Of the Suea canal has rem
dered bis fame worldwide. and Capt. James
i. Eada, the builder Of the great bridge at 1T.
Louis and tho constructor Of the jetties at the
mouth OF the Mississippi, met before the
House Committee on the Interoceanic Canal
to advocate, tho one his Panama canal and
the other his railway across the Isthmus.
Both men have by their great engineering
feats indelibly impressed themselves upon
the century, and both, like the great Alexan-
der. are longing for new worlds 10 conquer,
new opportunities to accomplish vast results
ID the interest Of the worlds commerce and
for the q dvancement OF civilization.
The engineer Of the Old World, great az is
his genius. and undoubted as Is bis profess
sional attainments. naturally clings to old
m ethods, and would solve the difficult prob
lem presented by the 1sthmus Of the Western
hemisphere just a. he solved the one encoun-
tered at the Isthmus In the East He would dig
out the earth. remove the mountains by dyna-
mite. and create canal through which the
largest ships may pass ut the rate Of three
or four miles per hour. The American engi-
neer, with characteristic ingenuity, avoids
the infinite difficulties presented In the con-
struction Of canal as we'll a. the appalling
expense. and startles the world by proposing
TO transport the largest chips, with their
cargoes, across the Isthmus on a railway.
The proposition to lift great ships bodily
out or the water On the Atlantic side. take
them by rail overland and launch them into
the Pacific ocean, was regarded ~ an utterly
impossible engineering feat. just as steam was
declared to be worthless for purposes Or ocean
navigation. just as the jetties were declared to
be absurd and just a. most Of the greatest
scientific achievements were ut first regarded
rs visionary and impracticable. 'Genius to
madness closely Ia allied" and the average
intellect is always dazed whenever an original
idea Ia evolved from the brain Of thinker
and added to tho worlds stock Of knowledge
The absurdity, or what seemed the absurd |
ity. Of transporting by rail the great steam
and sailing monarchs Of the sea, Of carrying |
them. over the mountains and through the
valleys. safe into their native element again, |
grows less and less, and mer9es. first Into the
possible and then into the probable, as we lis
ten to the great engineer who has for years
given the subject his most careful study. and
who, In the House Committee on the Inter-
oceanic Canal, on the ninth instant, boldly
the famous Lesseps to argue upon
the relative merits Of the two plans for over
coming the natural commercial barrier ut the
Isthmus. No one can read the mastery ad-
dress which he delivered on that occasion,
and which We print In full this morning,
without being impressed with the earnest
ness Of the man and struck by the force of
his reasoning. He possesses. In . very re-
markable degree the faculty Of presenting
his Views on the most abstruse scientific
questions with delightful clearness and SIM
plicity. so that even laymen can understand
and become interested In his arguments. He
declares that the only limit to the possibility
Of an engineers profession "lies almost
wholly In the cost Of the work which he pro-
poses to execute;' and. says he, SHOULD
there occur pressing need for tower 80
high that IL shall penetrate the regions Of
eternal snow. or an arch so vast that
It's span may be measured by the
mile, or tunnel through the broadcast
base Of the Rocky mountains; or q
railway that shall transport, entire and I'M
injured, the Erandeet OF the Egyptian pyra-
mids; or a channel through Darien big
emo ugh to disturb the flow Of the gulf stream
and alter the pulsation Of the tides; you may
rest ass ured that each and all Of these things,
and many more are within the possibilities
Of his profession. II you will only furnish the
money to pay for them. Unlike many other
he recognizes the entire feasibility
Of the construction Of the Panama canal, but
claims that the enormous cost must initiate
against It as q commercial Investments
objection that cannot be urged against his
railway, which will not cost one-fourth the
cost of the canal. and over which,
he declsre e, ships may be transported at the
rate OF ten or twelve miles per hour. We
the address to the perusal
Of all those who desire to be full
ly infor med as to the merits Of this
novel but most attractive, and, as
would appear, feasible plan OF Capt. Eads
to solve this great problem In which not only
the United States but the whole world is
deeply interested. There Is no reason why
both canal and 8 railroad may not be con-
structed, provided sufficient money is fur
nished. and II 1t can be demonstrated that
both will pay, We have no doubt that capital
will be forthcoming to prosecute both enter
prises.
ARTIFICIAL VS.. NATURAL ZOE.
The recent action Of the Louisiana Ice Com