New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-11
FOR THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
IT'S CONSTRUCTION FAVORED
prpopT OF THE ENGINEER BOARD LAID
BEFORE THE HOUSE.


BEFORE THE HOUSE.
,,,,n,xc or THE GREAT WATERWAY DECLARED
TO BE FEASIBLE ALTHOUGH THE WORK Will
RE MORE DIFFICULT THAN HAS BEEN
s,,PposED-THE COST ESTIMATED AT
NOT LESS THAN slS3i'2 9S'--
RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE EXPERTS
Inv TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIsuNEl
Washington March lO-There came from the
Public Printer to-day the report OF the D'''N 20
Engineers appointed in April by the ffes'ue"' 'o
the purpose Of ascertaIning the ieasoHi's' p
manence snd cost of construction and eo"pie"o"'
of the Nicaragua Canal by the route coAtemPia'e'
and provided for by the act which passed the sen
ote In January 1886 The report was TRANSMITTED "
. The House in compliance with resolution p's:.u
on January 80. Contrary TO pubiished s'oi''S' ','
report is not adverse to the project OF puiohs 'e
canal Colonel Ludlow. Mr.. End'cott 'He CIV" V
gineer and Mr. Noble. who composed 'he ho"''
sre NJ the opinion tina; the work Of construction anu
completion will be greater than has Dee" suppose,
hut they say that the canal can be cohsuuc'e" on"
az natural and artificial obstacles overcome -
,pe,,bor NJ the Board said 10 Tribune correspond
ent to-day that he was satisfied from 'he ies".'
OF his experience. that the canal couiu ne 49, Jun
that il ought TO be constructed and that 'ie PioJ-
Get should and would be undertaken anu pus"cu ~
completion either by or under the dnecuon Vi u,
United States lie does not believe tha' ''e .n,''
cost will be less than the Board estimates 'i'''-
AZ 9s3. The conclusions OF me po''u CIV
married 5 follows: 10.
Greytown Harbor.--The entrance 10 te nd, r DJa
as p.oposed by the company Is TOO ne 81 eastward
about a mile and half the present !aSooHH .b the
used as the inner Earb9r ana widtS Of 100
feet The harbor throughout should be Gregg in ~
thirt, feet below low wafer am Us U'P'' "
creased to six fathoms at the entrance
From GREYToWN TO THE LAKE
capal--t;re,town to Lock No. IA bottom
width Of 100 feet, with clear depth OF thirty iee'
al low water and TWO intermediate ana one
minal sdIngs fer meeting OF vessels Is piei'iao'e
10 the companys cross section oil I-V lee' ooo
width. twenty-eight feet depth and no sidnsS. Inc
location of the canal through the Benara hasoo"
is Objectionable. and the line may probably ne
moved 10 the southwark and Strengthened WIN au-
vantage ~
Lock No TO erd of summit level a; Lock NO
sTo reduce the lift Of LOCKS ana mann II f Of
twcnty-eigh fee, preferable TO three WIN IN ma n
m Gt Sry ss ye ss Of the The
summit level elevation from Jos 10 n Nv 81 fe he canal
between locks has bottom width OF l-V Zee NM
indicated in Paragraph 2 the Board nnsy ,n;cr.
the width OF 100 feet. with siahss d. p'oP' n.y.
4 Eastern Divide CutAddltional borings on n ,.e
avis of The cut and parallel herewith 10 cover p'o
posed excavation are necessary for iniorhalcmi N
TO materials and their dsirouuona ~ -" me 10 com
and ooe-hfth TO one slopes proposed ID! t"e III
pany may have to be increased and the cuoe 'he'e-
by hat enlarged .oa h,s;ps he
tween the east divide and the San Juan nn. n in
ochoa involve long ssn lines Sn o. bottoms at some points
which will call for great care IN V nv me
d,n o, a SO feet might be increased 100 feet
10 correspond with that OF other Scctlons, ~, os
&c NOT Imperative The height of all embankmen's
te
elevation of 40 more, instead oil iVp as pIVPpu
,Ss sae the heavy rainfall to which
they will be exposed and the high head wien he
~ ;hen, will sustain the accumulated lish VIII W.
Cons,derabie and their maintenance VIII requfe
special vigilance The Board 6eems hrearb might
he Effected at any point Of the long series OF EN-,
6ankments employed in SnTpos w ' time Of
War or at the prompting of malicious intent
A DIFFICULT ENGINEERING PROBLEM
g. Lake and River Divison-Ochoa Dam'-Iho'
ough search should be made in the vicinity OF the
site now proposed for the Ochoa dam FOR the mos.
advantageous location Of the structure ana the lu
nature Of the foundations and the shore cohhec-
t,ons he exhaustlvey ascertained. AS proposed by
The company the dam Is TO be rock I'LL across
powerful river on a sand foundation Jam I so
CONSTRUCTED has precedent, and It's eTectior IN
conflict with the unknown volume OF the floods. pre-,
difficulties Its fetal dimensions ms; ana
data. A masonry structure would De preieraoiss
suitable foundation Gould be beeved hat
p rock All dam could be built after careful study
of the physics OF the river and NE geo"g S n nr
a due regulation of the water level it may be ex-
pede ut to build sufficient succs In the san carlos
Ridge to relieve the dam while under construction
The of the dam as weir IS regarded as mao
the surface level to be maintained at an elevation
Of ll2 feet above the sea: or possibly heher.
cd in the ridge capable of diverting the full volume
Of the river in flood; wers in suitable positions on
system OF movable dams should be provided the
object being TO maintain the lake a summit ;se e dry
season and to limit Its use during the RAINY season
such height as may be OF no av0'
should be thoroughly surveyed and leveled through
year to determine its varying slopes: volume. sur.
face S sS. snS the rTer bed or
suitable means to determine the materials to b.
both for ne Th anc 10
should have a botsomhwjath OF not less than :"
ie5 feet and the deepening should be to 30 feet in
stead Of 2s feet as proposed by the COMPANY. -,
lake should be determined and the extent and APP
proximate value Of the lands that would be oyer
The fourteen miles of excavated channel on the cas-
feet. instead OF 100 feet as proposed
FROM THE LAKE TO THE PACIFIC.
10 Western Division Lake to Brito.-The Laja.
Rio Grande route adopted by the company to con
meet the lake with the Pacific is preferable to
other that has been examined The information
with reference to the site of the proposed la Flo,
dam indicates that its construction is impractcabe
and an alternative low level route which offers M
special difficulties In construction avoids any ne
cessty for 1t. This alternative line may follow
either the right left hank in the Rio Grande Val
ley from point s2 miles distant from the lake
which would constitute the western limit of The
san been located By the The southern
left bank route should be fully located and boret
40 determine its relative merit II has the ad
vantage of avoiding compiled ton with the discha ~
from the lola watershed and the cost of divertnl
fhe upper Rio Grande and the disadvantage OF re
ou.ring more diversions OF the Rio Grande in tn
main valley.
Erito Harbor.-The exposure TO the full fore
Ieo clos