The record-union., 1896-02-08

Problems Affecting the Design and
Construction OF the Canal system at
the Present 1Ime-The Matter of
Procuring Labsv Another Serious
Question. =
/ WASHINTON, Feb. I'm the judg-
ment of the Boardsof Engineers, which
thoroughly investigated the subject last
summer, it will cost 3,472, 1913 to
/ construct the Nicaraguan Canal. These
figures are $64, 600 600 in excess of the
estimates of the company which now
/ holds charter from Nicaragua to build
the waterway
! The board which made the investiga-
/ ltion consisted of Lieutenant Colonel
William Ludlow of the United States
navy, Mordena Endicott, civil engineer
IL the United States navy, and Alfred
] Noble, also a civil engineer The
boards report, which is included in 200
pages of typewriter manuscript, was
sent to-day by President Cleveland to
the House.
! The board sailed from Mobile Ala,
in the United States steamship Mont
gomery on the 7th Of May last, arriving
a GreytOwn, Nicarag qua, six days later.
! They returned in the Montgomery to
4 New York on the 21st of the following
i July. On the day after their arrival at
/ Managua a special audience was ccord-
4 ed them by President Zelaya and Cabi-
net, and they We're granted the free use
OF the State telegraph and of the Gov
ernment vessel on Lake Nicaragua.
They were accompanied by the Chief
Engineer and an assistant of the Mari
| time Company, through whose courtesy
the work of Investigation was greatly
facilitated.
! The most serious problems affecting
the design and the construction of the
canal system at the present time, the
report finds. are those involved in the
heavy rainfall and consequent heavy
discharges from the lakes and streams,
whose variations of surface and volume
must be taken into account. The rain
fall record at Greytown for a period of
three years shows a mean of 267 inches.
4 4 record at Envas, on the west side, for
fourteen years gives a mean of 60
/ inches. In addition to these there is
reliable information Of precipitations of
/ three degrees in an hour, of nine de-
grees in nine hours and thirty-fve de-
grees in eight days.
A record Of nearly % feet of water in
a year on the caribbean coast to 51b be-
tween the lake and the Pacific needs no
comment to indicate the important re-
suits that must ensue with reference to
matters of local drainage and engineer
/ ing construction.
The report shows that the climate of
| Nicaragua is misun sgerstood. 1t is the
continued moderate heat in conjunction
with the high humidity that so seriously
reduces the value of labor in the trop-
les. There has never been any yellow
fever at Greytown, except when i'm
| ported. The heavy rainfall will in
crease largely the cost of excavating
the deep mud at several embankments,
in excavations, building embankments,
etc. The natives are not likely to prove
useful in the severe and steady work
of canal construction. Jamaican ne
groes, who have been employees on the
Panama Railway, are docile and, from
a tropical standpoint, Industrious and
fairly effective. They will undoubtedly
form the labor supply for the canal.
Wages are only about one-half as much
as in the United States, but the eff
| DIODOEllOHdIGIY
/ much less.
Machinery viii be used largely, but
will be of little value after the compile
ton of the canal, and little, if any, will
be worth removal. Its entire cost would,
therefore, be charged to the canal con-
struction, making the plant charge
higher than usual There are now no
shops or facilities of any kind on or
|
to be supplied as adjuncts of the work
Skilled labor will have to be imported.
Fuel will cost more than double The
freight on materials and supplies will
increase their cost greatly, particularly
if sent to interior points.
A large part of the report is devoted
to a description of the character of the
soil, the work necessary to be performed
at points along the proposed route and
| the expense attached to this work
Detailed recommendation with re-
gard to the locks, dams and basins fol-
lows. The board deems it proper to
make note of the facilities with which
a breach might be effected at any point
of the long series of embankments en-
! ployed in connection with the canal
project.
Greytown Harbor. the entrance to the
canal, as proposed by the company, the
report says, is too near the angle Of the
coast line, and the entrance to the canal
should be moved eastward about a mile
and a half The harbor throughout
should be dredged to thirty feet below
shallow water, and it's depth increased
| to six fathoms.
In regard to the Ochoa dam, as pro-
/ noSad bv the. eomDanv the renort saws
this dam is to be a rock fill across a
powerful river on sand foundation
A dam so constructed, the commission
says, has no precedent, and its erection
in conflict with the unknown volume of
the floods present grave difficulties.
In regard to the western division from
the lake to Brito, the report says: The
information, with reference to the site
proposed for the La Flor dam, indi-
Gates that its construction is impracti-
cable, and the commission suggests an
alternative low level route which offers
no special difficulties in construction.
AS to the terminus at Brito, the COM
mission suggests the desirability of
moving it southwark from the location
proposed by the company.
The report closes with the following
Il general conclusion: The official state
8 ment by the company of $66, ,664, $50 is
insufficient for tie work In several
important cases the quantities must be
| greatly increased, and in numerous
casts the unit prices do not make
i proper allowance for the difference in
cost Of work between the United States
and Nicaragua. The provisional esti-
mate by the board is $133. AZ, ,S93.
II - IL