The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-12-03
GREEK CANAL OPENED.
IMPOSING INAUGURAL cFp
MES Held ar CORIsrH
A Project Dreamed OF by the Ancl.n,.
Compieted-King George Make.
spescb-Queen Olga. Part.

AFTER an almost endless series ~ mt.
haps OF every description II is now o,,,.,,,
ly announced that tho new Corinth ca,,,
is open for public traffic. A few v.o,.
ago the King OF Greece, with a hrrrsn,
following OF notables. presided Ar o.,
opening ceremonies. like nearly an s....
lar enterprises. the financial obs,,.,..
proved almost as embarrassing as tr,
natural ones. but a sufficient amo..,, y.
money was raised and the work is s,.-
cessfuly accomplished.
Though by no means appro7cb,,, q.
commercial importance or eneleas-,-.
skill the suez caral. suu there are ,bo.s
who predict a most prosperous future ,..
this new route. combining. as Il does ,h.
Mediterranean and the Black So,
these days or swift steamers 10 ia a r...'
difhcult 10 see how a few hundred mia.
more or less can boz OF any pIrfi.....
Importance, though for smaller coasfr.
vessels the canal will, no doubt. la III
valuable
The new canal, though but $3.50 ma,s-,
long about three miles and thfrU -
CURED eleven years for IT'S c0mr.afI--
More than three-QJarters OF the entire t..
lance was finished IN 1859. but a r.r,t.-
OF Unforeseen mishaps occurred abogt-,,s
time and prevented It's completion ri"
now.
The honor Of the work, though a malta,
OF some dispute, seems 90 belong n, l....
cral Tun, French engineer 0f WIDE r...
utatlon. The Greeks, however. claim fr.,
all glory belongs 90 their c0uutrymqr Az
Matsas, az the French had ab4rl.r.t
the undertaking aad a Greek 00r.,r,
finished their labor. Nevertheless r.ts,
very good job. The canal had t8 DO ..-
and blasted through solid rock far a. ..r.
siderable distance. Aside from This f..
land was less than $50 feet above t.
level OF the sea, and, thr0uch tl.s falt.rs
necessitating an immense amount OF, b.-
and corresponding expenditure of mono.
What was most aggrav1uns obstacle %
overcome was multitude NJ hr.s
pockets" which were met with in f.....
ing the rock. These were the r.elt DID,.
geological disturbances and wore m.t
with vast quantities Of quickari r Bal.
only through building an Immense a.H
along the sides OF the canal that a ...
lapse was prevented. This wall esn-s
for more than two miles and .s NJ .n.-.
nous strength.
Cut Through an Ancient Course.
The course is over exactly the san,
route followed by the au.iDrfs .-,
eighteen centuries ago. The canal a.s
straight in a northwest direction AIDA
sea current runs through u. The -ra
varying with the wind from hale trt
TO three knots an hour. The width 90 ts
bottom is seventy-two feet and me depth
OF the water will be twenty-seyen fsst
the entire length. There are poo sllr-s
or what is known as canal switches. 0n-
sequently vessels will not be able 90 Bass
each other in &C. The entrance 0a u1
Corinth side is protected by two m5es.
the heads approaching each other aHI
leaving a passage $50 yards wide. 40 hs
other end the entrance n the Bay ~
Kalamoki is protected by 20 single break.
water curving from the shore uOrt1Hu1
OF IT, IL is brilliantly lighted by huge
electric lights on each side. bai1l placed
at intervals about three hundred rt
apart.
The projectors OF the scheme have a..
ready doomed the enterprise sufficiently
10 cause two new towns to ho 1uHt These
are situated at each end of the canal
and rejoice In the classic names az Pose.
iOnia and lsthnia respectively.
The ceremonies at the opening were
'ery impressive. The venerable metro
'olitan OF the Greek Church. ATTENDED By
large number Of lesser dignitaries T.1A
n the superb vcstments ,f Their chlrH
INVOKED the blessings from above on tts
work. Then King George l., who iu Iug
urned the first turf, made a Ions speech,
Certifying and cOngratuiating The enc
.ineers in particular and an Greeks IN
General on their success. After tle King
lad had his turn, the charming queen
)lga stepped forward and with ID pair X
.Olden scissors cut the satin ribbon which
vas stretched across the Caula IU.Q
he band played and a large number o,
war vessels and merchantmel passed
through the canal
70 those who have not quite f0rg0ttat
II their Thucydides and Greek Te9amer.
here must be a touch OF melancholy
bout this final abolition OF the historic
sthmuS and the conversion OF the p-o-
onnesus into an island. What m0lau
ands have completed was seriously c1l-
emplated centuries ago. Alexander "
iacedonia had figured and thought ab1I
:. Periander, the tyTant OF C0r.Hh, rs
ears before our era. intended t0 DO no
anne thing. julius Caesar went s1 Or
5 TO have plans prepared. Ca1ra ana
zero, who, although they were pretty hard
4NAftNAA'f AAohA many tFAfftfhHE fI.H.H.."HI
iere also ambitious 20 connect tho 100
cas- at Corinth. But the eneirears n
Id argued that the Eubean quiz WAS NJ
higher level than that OF me bay ~
'orinth, and predicted a most fr.sn'tI
eluge In case Il was done The fanatic
al priests or Corinth made me super
utous laborers believe that they heard
roans proceeding from the rocky ground
= they struck IL with their picks Ihe.'
we're Few OF the reasons Why no
ncients abandoned the scheme
When looking at map nothing seems
asier or more feasible than cutting
through this stretch OF land. and when
he commerce OF the world was tle cone
nerce OF the Mediterranean the piercing
+ the narrow Corinthian isthmus m.srt
veil have seemed the work NJ world
vide Importance. The work ras beer a.-
emphasized which bafied the civil engine
ers OF Rome and Greece but 30 remains
o be seen n it is a work OF w0r.l-a.ls
Importance to-day.
Benefit So Commerce.
Among the cities which. perhaps 1911 -
more directly benefited are .Ilr.Df
ienoa, Alexandra, Trieste Barcet,
'enice. Constantinople. and many ma.
oints. AS strategical point OBJ case
var us usefulness cannot if hi uN.
ortance. The extremely stormy Tt
round Cape Matapan can be avoided p
he use OF this canal. ana that Is feature
q its favor by which its projectors mf
ope 10 gain greater income than mY
theirs 10 shOrtens the voyage - mics
rom the Adrlatic ard from Sicily ord
Ialta 20 Constantinople and the B.art s.-
Is chief revenue for years 10 come wi. ~
erived from the cOasting trade f'l
and Brindisi 90 salor.oh
myrna and the little ports az asa
ilnor 10 the north OF that emporium. a
IN ualDaI nhamla n-LLnh ..nl-L- --.-- 10