New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-21

i'm Paris. The paper is now IN its third yoar anu
| this. the latest, the sixty-second number. Inc
! file when completed, will give complete history
Of the work You may remember that in ny COM
munication to the Academy of Sciences at the In
st,tute of Frapce on June q 1879, the result OF
the Canal Congress, said: The House of the In
teroceanic Canal will be of glass; as was that OF the
! Snez Canal the public shall be able to see every
day what is going on Within This b-monthly
! publication is making good this promise. You SEQ
here that Nessrs. Huerne, Slaven d Co., OF san
| Francisco, signed a contract on the 10th OF last
| month to dig six millions OF cubic metres at the
| Atlantic end of the canal. THE contractors VIII
commence within six months from the signing OF the
| contract.p read NJ. dc Lesseps, running his finger
along the lines of of the columns of the Bute-
tin 90 TO excavate ditch nine kilometres in length
and twenty-six metres wide in the section between
Colon and Gatun. As this portion of the canal
| consists of only about three millions of cubic
| metres Messrs Huerne, Saven & Co.. in order to
| perform the hole six millions of work contracted
| for will either eXcavatc another section OF the
| canal will be charged with other necessary
| labor The terms of this contract are lower than
| the first estimates. BY the execution OF TINS
| contract nayIgable course, direct and easy for
| TRANSPORTATION purposes, will be soon opened be-
| tween Colon and Getun. At EmperadOr work
on the great has been actively pressed since the
| inauguration OF tnB Undertaking Oh Jahudiy Il.
| On February | the cut was open for distance of
| eighty-fve metres, width of from four to five
metres, and a depth of nearly two metres. About
| one metre WAS of marlaceOus earth which could be
shoyeled the rest below this surface layer required
| an explosive powder dynamite. But it was not
very hard the consumption of explosives scarcely
reached the proportion of 100 grammes per cubic
metre of excavation. Because of this soltness the
employment of an excayator was contemplated in
| order to expedite the work You will find here
Also" said NJ. de Lesseps, laying down the Bulletin,
accounts of what is being done at Colon, of the
building of stables for horses aud mules, OF the
| enlargement of the wharf, OF the mounting Of
| locomotive of the arrival of construction and
freight from Europe and the United States, OF
the creation of new villages along the line of the
canal of the construction of roads leading to them,
of the erection OF houses of the digging OF csterns,
ETC. ETC. Then here you see is list of the men sent
ont to Panama the I'd and 9th of this month,
twenty three in all incl aiding mechanics, telegraph
operators, miners railroad mechanics, etc. BY the
way, Messrs. lIuerne Slayen u Co. made all the
houses for our wOrkmen. We have already paid
that firm several millions of francs. So you see we
are pushing things, and we have good reason to
hope that tho great work will be completed in SIS
or 1882 for the difficulties not great as were
anticipated"
what Is your opinion of the Monroe Doctrine as
| bearing on the canal p | asked.
at has nothing to do with the canal" responded
| NJ. dc Lesseps, warmly. the United States,
which the first to declare for the freedom of
| the seas, a grand doctrine always maintained by
| you against England ought to take the same view
of the freedom of straits. The neutrality clause III
the Panama concession is copied from the Suez con-
| cession, they exactly the same So If one
hundred thousand soldiers. as have already said
| naSSpd thrnuyh thr Canal last without
troubling the peace OF the world. why may not the
same thing he possible IN the case OF the Panama
| Canalf II war to break out between the
| United States aud European Power, the canal
would be moro useful to the United States than to
| its enemies, because you are nearer III ana can
| profit by ITS advantages more easily ana more
| quickly. And then again the Paclhc railroads
| enable the United States to send troops to ITS
| Pacific coast before any foreign Power reach 1t
! by the canal Some Americans think they see
| England sending her ileet through this canal III
| order to lombard San Francisco Why, there is
| danger of "A war between England and the United
States. Both nations like to Lluster ut oach other
but they.will never come to blows"
! pcped TO be present, speaking OF England re-
minds that she showed the same hostility 10
! the Suez Canal at its inception as does the United
! States to-day to the Panama Canal anu now no
! State reaps greater benefit from the Suez Canal
than the British Empire. | predict that The same
| thing will be true of the United States ana the
| Panama Canal IN the future" 800
! Yes" continued NJ. de LcSseps, the Panama
Canal will he grand thing Tor the United States.
! II will. believe, build mp the railway system Of
! the south some people say shat this canal will
! hart yonr railroads On the contrary, | am con-
| WINGED that it Will do them good. The canal will
| give easier and quicker outlet to produce and
| manufactures; railroads Will convey them to the
| scapOrUs and ships passing by the Panama Canal
| will bear their to the four quarters OF the
! globe Ii will do more than that. When | was in
| London IN 1855 or 1896. forget now the exact
| date, remember meeting Senator sumner lie
| and | in company with some Others began TO foot
up the worlds commercial tonnage. We then found
! that tie United States possessed 5,lOO,OOO tons
! England 5000 900, and all the rest OF the world
| about 5.OOU.OOO. How different the figures
| now! The United States to-day has scarcely any
/ thing Your statesmen talk great deal OF TevIy-
! ing American commerce. Nothing can do more to
| bring about this desired end than the completion
| of the Panama Canal
4" Ali European countries look favorably upon tho
| canal and IN France there is real enthusiasm over
it. The best proof OF this is found in the fact that
the 800 100000 francs OF stock: one-hni Of which
! is already paid III by the way, Is held almost to
frame by Frenchinen and-wllich Is stu more sig
nitcant,-lt stands to-day at 30, that Is, forty
francs abovopar. In the of Suez stock, on the
! contrary II only averaged about 800 during the
| progress OF the wOrk,-tlat Is 200 francs below
! par IL even went down to $50, II | am not
| mistaken 1t now stands at 1900 and sometimes
even highor-that Is. at 1000 francs above par
| The Panama stock has never been below par, and
believe that the day Will come when It Will stand
! higher than Suez stock. | buy Panama for my
| children-and you know | have nine. the youngest
fifteen months old and the tenth is expected soon
because IL cheaper than SueI, and because IL IS
! surely destined to he worth more.
Now a few words about the other projects. The
| Eads ship railroad Is before the public Now
! Captain Eads IL "A great engineer. / am not an
engineer and So have the highest respect for his
! opinion on subjects which pertain to engineering.
| But when it comes to sending ships across the
| lsthIus by leaving them in their natural element
or by carrying thcm over in mIdair think am
! correct in saying that the vast majority of ship
| owners will prefer the former method. And then
! there is the Nicaragua route. My engineers
returned to me with Il lresh-water project. sent
! them back telling them that when they found
| way to dig canal right straight through from
| ocean to Ocean-a saltwater cOurse--ihen | would
| undertake it. So they found what | wanted. You
remember | had the same experience with my Suez