The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-12

fell. and the ruin of Panama is aking place
much faster, TO Panama was merely Q par
tial attempt. and. in addition, nature down
there has q much more fertile sell to help
her.
OF course work on the canal might be re-
sumed years from now. No one can predict
about such things, but it would be a new
canal. Many calculations have been made
rs tn the amount of money 1t would require
to complete steven If work were begun right
away. None falls under 500. 000,o 600. Some
run as high as $3.50. 600. 000. and a few go SO
lar as to say that the canal cannot be built
at ell SO that it will return q fair interest
on the investment. Skilled engineers from
the United States. Great Britain and Ger
many nave gone down to the isthmus and
looked 81 the work. They ere impartial,
ana they agree that in any event the cost
of completion would be enormous. Lieut..
Bonaparte Wyse. Who obtained the orig
inal concession from Colombia and was
then crowded ont OF the enterprise. was
called back after the company began to
fall into difficulties. He is n friend of the
canal, and he says that a billion francs Is a
moderate estimate for the cost Of compile
ton.
CALCULATIONS OF EXPERTS.
w. p. Williams. a member of the Ameri-
can Society of Civil Engineers, visited the
isthmus two or three years ago. before the
work bad fallen into Its present state or
dilapidation. aud spent five weeks inspect
ing the canal. He said then: 1.-The atmos-
phere of the whole work is Indicative of
Extravaganza. The contractor regards the
canal company as . bank OF l~nexhaustlble
supply. TO be drawn upon at all times" ME-:
Williams said that the canal would cost, If
completed. one billion dollars. Supposlng
that the tonnage passing through 1t should
be so much as 6,C00.0C3 a year, De Lesseps's
calculation. double that of any other. he
figured out that the yield on q tax of % per
ton wOul0 hA only lL2 ner cent. on the In.
An English engineer. A. H. Hewetson.
also made a thorough investigation. and he
says that to complete the work on a paying
basis is impossible. He thought that the
expense OF completion would not be less
than z, o00, eco, 900 franc
Dr.. Wolfred Nelson spent several years
at Panama. He came 10 New York, and
I'll en- vent to Paris, where he told much
about the canal. He said: When one
talks OF this canal it is necessary to consid-
or the spot In which this work is done. In
short, 1T Is a place resembling nothing
with which we are familiar. Ii cannot be
compared with any great undertaking OF
our times, and to Judge of IL by European
experience and work will DO to lay our
selves open to the most serious miscon.
struction. Under the hot. enervating
climate of the isthmus. surrounded by
emanations of q rich clayey soil. amid
swamps, in a country bat sparseIy popu-
lated, covered by u dense tropical vegets-
ton hat nothing can check. the white
race cannot undertake work of q steady
character without returning from time to
time 70 = healthier climate to reinvlgorate
themselves.
Under such conditions they can exist.
handle machinery and work under cover,
away from the sun and rain. But TO dig
into the earth and do steady manual labor
In the open. as men do in our climate. is in.
possible unless they expect the early fail
ure of their health and strength
Severe as were the physical difficulties,
DR.. Nelson thought that questions of time
and expense were more important; and he
did not see how the canal could be com.
pieted without All enormous expenditure.
After the canal passed into the hands Of
III. Monchicourt as receiver, Lieut.. Bon
aparte Wyse WAS again sent to Panama,
and be took with him two distinguished
engineers, NM. Sosa and JacquemiD, the
first having been head OF the old Technical
Bureau. and the second the constructor of
the vast workshops that have been rusting
for O long time in Idleness at the isthmus.
Lieutenant Wyse and his associates have
prepared a scheme for the redemption and
completion of the canal. He proposes the
creation Of n single central lake by means
of Two dams, one closing the valley OF the
Chagres at BOhio, the other the valley of
the Rio Grande at Pedro Miguel. Then he
would construct two series of locks, and
following out this plan be thinks that with
plenty of men and money no could complete
tho cahalin five years. Lieutenant Wyse's
.'~plentyiof money" according to his calcu-
latlons. meant about q thousand million
francs.
The lieutenant made a report of this
character to the French government, but
the French public. though it has confidence
In Wyse. would have nothing more to do
with Panama. The wooden stockings"
remained locked up and Panama shares
still dropped
There is talk of appealing to English.
German and American capitalists Co finish
the canal, but none of these has shown the
slightest desire to invest.
NO MIoRE MONEY FROM FRANCE.
Nor is there any hope of further French
capital. What has been done already was
IN q burst of enthusiasm, which is not
likely to come again to the French people
in Ahis matter. Anybody who Is acquaint-
ed at all with French history knows the
character of the French people. They take
fire readily and are filled with vim and 60
so long as their enthusiasm lasts. Then
they press over everything. It is so
Down at the isthmus a trife is seized as
an indication that more money is coming
and the canal is to be completed. One day
it is announced that De Lesseps, despite
his great age, is coming to the isthmus
himself. On another it is said that a syn.
dictate of American capitalists Is going to
complete the work, and then somebody
starts the report that the French govern.
ment will undertake the task. Any body
who he's been In q Western town during
the decline of q boom needs no further de.
scription.,
But the canal is threatened with o dan
ger which may speedily ~eXtinguish the
hopes of the faithful few. The concession
from Colombia under which the work was
done expires on Feb. %. 1898. 1t is said this
concession has been renewed, one report
mentioning a period of ten years, and an
other of twelve years. but neither has been
confirmed. If the concession is not re-
newed and the company reorganized within
eighteen months. the canal. It's buildings
and the material belonging to the company
revert to the Colombian government with
cut compensation.
That Colombia will complete the canal
is. of course. out of the question. The re-
public is unable. even if it wished TO dc SO.
So far only the financial loss has been
considered. But there is another question
that appeals. not TO the pocket. but to hu-
manity. The negro laborers are still on
the isthmus. and are the prey of fever and
sometimes of starvation. The number i'm
ported was very large. At one time there
were sixty thousand people at Colon.
They worked hard and spent their money
freely for anything that pleased their
fancy. The merchants found them profit
able customers. None ever saved q cent.
When work ceased and the negroes no
longer had.employm ent they were unable
10 get back TO their old homes. They
conld not pay the price of q passage. They
were abandoned on the isthmus. and there
fhey afill ara lasa rho thOuaapds who hovo