St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-24
CENTRAL AMERICAN CANALS.

To the Editor of the Globe:
! Sir: Several articles having reeentIv an
/ peared in your late issues on the Proposed
Central American InterOceanic Routes.
/ which at present are questions of such i'm
portance to the world generally and to the
| United States in particular, that perhaps a
few remarks by one who has within the
last eighteen months surveyed for the Mic
aragua canal and visited that of the Isthmus
OF Panama will not be amisS.
So much is already known of the imprac-
tcaolllty to carry out the latter scheme that
very little need be said about it, except as
compared with that of Nicaragua One OF
the most powerful proofs of the advantages
! when the Nicaragua route appears to pos
seSS over the other was clearly shown AT the
time that the Panama canal was being
started, when some of the leading papers OF
Paris presumably on the reports of the
/ United States surveys spoke favorably of
the Nicaragua scheme, and so great was
/ the
/ FEAR OF THE PROMOTERS
of the Panama canal that this might seri-
ously affect thier project that. it was re-
| ported. TO one paper alone they gave an
amount equal to $50, OO0-the less
important papers being treated in a
similar manner according to their
value-so that they might cease from up
holding the Nicaraguan scheme and declare
the French to be the more feasible. The
collapse of the great NJ. de LeSsepS under
taxing Is now merely question of time.
A recent movement OF the company in send
a committee to the iSthmus to consider the
advlsaOltlty of continuing the work is a suf-
hcient proof of this. If one is at all doubt
ful OF such crisis visit to the isthmus is
sufficiently convincing. Hundreds of
thousands of pounds worth of machinery
is to be seen lying along the proposed line,
IN most places overgrown and almost hidden
from sight or so deeply imbedded in the
/ earth from the excavations as to render is
| practically useless. Taking their own fig
ures (Which are very much exaggeratedl to
| complete the Calebra cutting, which is the
heaviest piece of work on the line, they
VIII take twenty years; removing at the rate
OF 2OO, 900 cubic metres per month. This
quantity of excavation has
NEVER BEEN EXCEEDED
and has for many months fallen far short
of that estimate.
Their funds are rapidly decreasing. and,
from information L gathered, l have no hest
tatiOn in saying will be exhausted before
the easier half of the canal is completed.
And now with regard to that of Nicaragua.
Although the route proposed does not pre-
sent nearly as many obstacles as that of the
Panama, still there are many great difficult
ties attending it, which, perhaps. have not
been as carefully looked into or reported on,
as the necessity for carrying out such
scheme demands. GreytOwn. at the mouth
OF the river San Juan, is the proposed en-
trance on the Atlantic side, and here at
once permanent opening has to be estab-
| llshed by means of a breakwater extending
| n IN md MIA Of
such an angle with the coast as to form a
receptacle for the continuous drifting sand
Caused by the Influence of the trade windS),
and so prevent the filling up of the channel.
The entrance to the harbOr being thus es-
tabllshed, distance across the bay of about
two miles has to be dredged to permit YES
sells of even the smallest draught to enter
the canal which then commences. This OF
itself is no little difficulty to contend with,
as the river, which here really forms the
bay, is of insufficient velocity, either to
carry out into the sea the debris which it
brings down, or maintain for Itself any one
opening through the sand banks which form
the outer boundary of
THE HARBoR.
consequently the harbor has been gradually
filling in and is now little more than a shall
low swamp, requiring therefore constant
dredging, or diversion of the stream.
This, however, was not always the case,
for as late as 1870 frigates of the largest size
could anchor at any of the piers, where now
not more than four a. feet of water is OBJ
tainable. To account for this change it is
necessary to follow the San Juan up, a dis
lance of twenty-thTee (23) miles, where the
Colorado, the main outlet of the San Juan,
is then encountered. Previous to 1870, no
such outlet existed and the whole body OF
| xtrata 1 10 Tee
to tie coast through the main channel of the
San Juan. A sudden and unexpected
breaking off of the river at this point. on
the Costa Rica side, deprived the San Juan
of two-thirds (2s) of its volume of water,
and gave to the Costa Ricans magnificent
river. The Nicaraguans seeing their river
so very much reduced and fearing that they
would ultimately lose their only means Of
ingress into the interior from the Atlantic
coast, proposed to construct draw at the
diversion, and so turn the water back into
its old channel; but a formidable obstacle
here presented itself in the shape of the
Costa Ricans, who strenuousIy opposed
their doing so, claiming that the river had
found for itself new channel, without hui
man aid. and therefore should not be inter-
fered with; several disputes ensued, and at
last the question was submitted to arbitra-
ton and finally decided in favor Of
COSTA RIGA.
Now the damming of the Colorado river or
the entire diversion of the San Juan is
necessary to keep the harbOr of GreytOwn
and the channel clear. In the former case
so much impetus would be added to the
current as to enable its keeping q channel
open for itself, which, as | have before
said, in its present condition it is not
capable of doing. In the latter case the
stream being once diverged and the harbor
dredged. there would be no reason to fear
its again filling in.
An artificial channel is then constructed
from Greytown, passing thSough LagunaS
Lilico and JOsefina to point about two (2)
miles above the Colorado river, where it
connects with the main stream which is
followed without interruption until the
rapids of Machuca and Costello are reached,
at both of which places locks are required.
The lake is then utilized for distance Of
forty or fifty (49 or 50) miles and then the
downward slope to the Pacific commences.
The distance being short, not exceeding
fifteen (15) miles and the difference in the
levels of the two waters about two hundred
(2OO) feet, a succession of locks will be re-
quired. making this portion of the work
exceedingly costly and rendering navigation
slow. A good harbor and entrance on this
side can be maintained at comparatively
SMALL COST.
and the whole work completed in five
years. This line therefore as compared
with that of Panama, although nearly four
times as long, does not offer as many OBJ
structions to building, and has also the adj
vantage of being more in the direction OF
the main commercial lines, thereby saving