Smyrna times., 1888-03-21
The Panama Abyss,

The face of NJ. De Lesseps appears
in the illustration in to-day's paper
and beneath it yawns that fearful hole,
the Panama canal. The most daring
of the worlds engineers, it is mourn
fully appropriate that his greatness
should be doomed to burial in the most
stupendous work that man ever at
tempted.
For it seems to-day absolutely GER
tain that the canal will never be COM
pleted.
According to the figures given by
De Lesseps himself the Panama Canal
Company has taken out 42,5O0,OO0
cubic meters of earth and at the lowest
estimate 10000, 900 meters of earth and
rock remain to be removed. The
money received to date-almost entire
ly from the people of France-amOunts
to 1,O6O, 100000 francs ($212,0OO,O O,OOO)
and nearly every franc has been ex-
pended. All except $18,6OO,OOO paid
for the railroad has gone into the
abyss. TO complete the excavation,
the experts say, will require 8OO,OOO,OOO
francs more; to build the locks and fit
up the ports 100000 francs more
and to provide the necessary dams and
reservoirs 200, 100000 francs more MAX
ing a total of 1.20O,O0O,OOO francs still
to be raised and expended. But, esti-
mating the time required to complete
the work at five years, the company
will have paid 365, 100000 france of in
terest on it's obligations, which makes
total of 1865, 100000 francs to be
added to the l ,O6O, 900 already gone
an aggregate Of 1926, 100000 francs !
And even this is not all.
In order to raise !, ,O6O, 100000 francs
the company has had to issue obliga-
tions amounting to 1872, 800, ,OOOrequir-
ed should be raised on similar terms
the total obligations would be ALL
$4,000 francs or 817.725, 800!
But this total, enormous as it is, is
deduced in the main from the figures
most recently stated by De Lesseps
Tested by results his figures must be
multiplied. His original estimate fol
the entire cost of the canal was $12O,
100000 which he raised after thai
sum gave out he increased his estimate
to $2l4, 100000 then to $4,000, 900 anC
finally to 3OO,OOO,OOO where he stopped
The two greatest obstacles to tht
work are the peculiar hill section 0
the isthmus called the Culebra, which
is formed of greasy clay that slides, anC
the Chagres river, which the cana
crosses twenty-eight times and whicl
is often converted into a resistless tor
rent by the heavy rainfall. The deadl,
climate is another obstacle, but higl
wages have kept the force of men ant
officers at a total exceeding 1000, tn
dead being rapidly replaced. 1t is her
AhbCAOolAuS " hOtO tudU bu6 pLluCi pd
hospital maintained by the compan
has cost over $83O,OOO.
/ 1t is the opinion of the wisest fnan
ciers that the money needed to CON
= plete the canal can never be secured
f The poorest and most industrious {
the French people, who so long poure
their savings into De Lesseps' ou
. stretched hands, never waiting to Sc
; how he tossed it in his lofty style bC
I. yOnd recall, are now standing aghas
A Only the hope that the governmer
=. will do something to protect their il
d vestment prevents an outbreak ths
; might we'll result in a political revolt
=. tiOn. But the government dare nj
i take responsibility for the hubble an
:, can only postpone the terrible da
= when it must burst. De Lesseps' la
: desperate device was to propose a 10
/, terry; but the government has so Fl
n adroitly advoided recommending tt
e scheme, and, indeed, if the necessal
d bill should pass, the lottery would fa
5 for the people would not buy Il
tickets.-BGLtimOre EUery Saturday.