Clarksville evening tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1890, 1890-03-11
4 GREAT GREAT FAILURE.
De Lesseps' Ditch Across the
Isthmns Of Panama.
Report of the Commission Sent
to Investigate.

After Hearing Their Report the Hereto
fore Enthusiastic Frenchman Is Obliged
to Confess That the Panama Canal
scheme is Defiuite and Disastrous
Failure Refuses to Talk.
PARIS, March 1.-THE commission of
engineers which was sent to Panama to
report on the state of the De ,Lesseps
canalshave returned to Paris, and most
disastrous story they tell. NJ De Lesseps,
who always hoped that the result of the
report would be in the nature of war
rant for further appeal for funds, is
obliged to confess that the canal scheme
is a definite and disastrous failure. De
Lesseps is very much broken down
about it.
Refused to Talk.
M. De Lesseps was seen Saturday.
Contrary to his usual custom, he was
unwilling to speak about the canal, al
leging rs an excuse that the report of
the compissioh has not yet been laid be-
fore him. Monchicourt also refused to
talk as to- the tenor of the report but
from other sources it has come to
knowledge that all that has been done
with the millions of money spent over
the concern is the extraction of about
one-fourth of the earth that has TO be re-
moved for the construction of the canal
according to the reformed plan of the
canal with lock gates, which is great
modification of the original scheme.
There remains to be extracted for the
construction of the canal, according to
the second plan, 40,000,000 cubic meters
of matter, besides which there is the
very difficult work of changing the
course of the Chagres river removing
and reconstructing the line of the Pana-
ma railroad, and the construction of
lock gates would have TO be carried out.
II may be added that the fourth already
completed would need further very
large expenditure before the work done
could be turned TO useful account In
the present state of the company's
finances any attempt to continue the
work is totally out of the question. All
concerned in the old scheme, except a
few deluded shareholders, appear to be
resigned to the fact.
Contractors Criticized.
The engineers report contains little
else beside these melancholy figures and
a very full list of names of the people
who are chiefly to blame for this colossal
fiasco. The list is principally made up
of the names of the different contractors
who, if the allegations made against
them are true, have acted in most
scandalous manner Several of them are
charged with deliberate neglect of their
engagements with the view to being in
vited to annul their contracts with the
company and get out of them consider
able profit.
The charges will be fully investigated
and prosecutions instituted So the
directors of the company threaten. But,
as such proceedings will cost money, it
is more than likely that nothing win be
done. The only thing in the report that
has any comfort for the shareholders is
the statement that most of the material
and machinery is still in good condition
and can be turned to profitable account.
1t has already heen suggested that this
material should be acquired by the gov
ernment for eventual use in the con-
struction Of the canal between the
Atlantic and the Mediterranean, which
appears to be definitely decided upon,