The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-30
De LeSSepS' Scheme and How
1t LOOts.
THE FAILURE OF THE CANAL
The Amount Of Money Needed to
Place the Company on Its Feet
The French Bribed

De LessepS, 1t Is hard to acknoWleC &c
that the scheme is a dismal failure.
But even the most sanguine of these are
compelled to admit it, since the rejec-
ton Of the canal bill by the Govern
ment of France. Those most disgrunt.
led affirm that the French Chamber
was bribsd to play into the hands Of
the Americans, who, in their Nicar-
aguan project, have great reason fol
desiring the non-completion of the
Panama route; and that in conse-
quence, war will result-here, in France
and goodness knows where.
Be that as it may, it is certain that the
desperate gaming of the great contrac-
tor is virtually at an end, though in
his ruin, thousands of his too credllous
admirers are involved. In that useless
ditch, a million and q half of the
savings, sou by sou, of the hard-work-
ing poor, is buried beyond hope of re-
surrection. Nor can the French GOV
erRment be Justly charged with betrayal
of the interests of the nation in refusing
its assistance, for the blame rests en-
tirely upon NJ. de Lesseps, who used
his mighty prestige as the hero of S1ez,
to extract funds from those ignorant OF
the engineering obstacles on the 18TH
mus, which he knew so well.
Besides the wisdom, In a financial
light, of not assuming the abortive
enterprise, costly works, enormous
debts and all, the French government
has probably not been unmindiul of
the fact that the United States, in its
strict adherence to the Monroe doc
trine, would not consent to any but q
neutral enterprise on their continent.
So long as it remained in the hands of q
private corporation to whatever foreign
country they owned personal allegiance,
Americans would have no cause for in
reference; but when it came to gov
eminent enterprise, owned and con-
trolled by a power across the ocean
would be quite another matter.
The total
LENGTH OF THE CANAL,
when completed was to have been forty
six and one-half miles; through the
Chagres Valley to be y feet wide at
the bottom (the same as the Suez
Canal, and between San Pablo and
Pedro Miguel to have been 70 feet at
bottom, with 1O2 feet at water level.
Through the Cardillera, the width
would be y feet at bottom and 100 feet
at water level. The navigable depth
was to be 30 feet, and all the curves to
have a radius of not less than 5000
feet. The plan Involved also the con-
struction of a basin, 1000 yards long
by 100 feet wide, at Panama, for the
accommodation of vessels passing
through the canal, and for those that
load and unload there. and another
large basin or siding" about three
miles long, for turnout, midway be-
Although M. de Lesseps has posi-
tivelv declared that if funds are fur
nisL -, the whole stupendous work
WILL BE COMPLETED
by February Sd, 1S9O-in point of fact,
that already accomplished in ALI the
years since its beginning, scarcely re-
presents one-twentIeth OF what would
yet be required. According to es-
Inmates recently made on the SPOT, an
aggregate of at least 81 800 600 cubic
metres remains to be done, and at the
highest scale at progress yet reached
(about one million cubic metres per
foot) it would require at least four
years of steady work, with plenty of
money and no hindrances, to bring the
canal to successful completion.
The least amount of money necessary
to flush it is computed at something
over two hundred and thirty millions,
which would be represented by five
hundred millions of new securl-
ties. And that is sum not easy to
obtain, for an enterprise whose back
bone appears to be SO completely broken,
and in which the people have lost con-
idence. Even appeals to the gambling
spirit innate in every Frenchman,
fails to draw money from the pockets
of De Lesseps' countrymen. The last
loan, with its lottery attachment, pro-
duced only enough to pay the COM
pany's current expenses few months,
leaving nothing for
THE PROSECUTION OF THE WORK.
From the sale of the lottery bonds
authorized by the French chambers,
about $64 900 900 were realized for the
company, only half the authorized
issue having been subscribed. From
this amount must be deducted $11, 000,-
600 for expenses, and the sum recently
borrowed from the credit establish
uoHts 10 Dc repaid from Gne prOcoeus VI
the new issue. This leaves fifty-thre
millions. Then further deduction of
twenty-four millions must be made to
provide the guarantee fund for the
lottery prizes, which by the terms of its
concession, the company must provide.
Only twenty-nine millions remain
as the net addition to the available re-
sources of the loan. And as the price
of the bonds is payable ia seven in
stallments. the last of which will not be
due until November, of next year, the
resources available before next Febru-
airy will hardly pay the interest on the
eompany's obligations, leaving nothing
for the prosecution of the work. The
plain and immediate duty of the Pan
anna Canal Company seems to be to
acknowledge itself bankrupt, gather to-
gether for distribution among Its stock
holders the odds and ends of property
that remain to it and go into liquida-
ton.
The appearance of the great canal
to-day is enough to discourage the
most hopeful.
A GREAT CUT
has been made straight across the 18TH