The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-24
REPORT ON THE CANAL
Deals in Overwhelming Fig
ures, of Work and Cost.
.CLAYTON-B WEIR TREATY
Said to be on the High Road
to Abrogation.

port of the Nicaragua canal commission
| consisting of General Haines, Admira
Walker and Professor Haupt, has beer
| completed and will be read before the sen
ate committee eithtr during the Christina:
recess of congress or Immediately after
ward.
This report will give many details OF
construction IN regard to the proposed
route and will give close figure on the
entire cost of the undertaking as far as
human ingenuity can foresee.
A summary of these costs has been made
out in sections and. without going into the
details of curves and levels. they are as
! follows:
The eastern harbor and jetties will re-
quire about 100000 cubic yards of soft
excavation. The jetties themselves require
about 10000 cubic yards of riprap stone
! The Greytown section of the canal, that
| is, the section beginning It the harbor
and reaching TO the east divide. viii re-
| quire 100000 cubic yards of earth and
clay excavations. The three locks in this
section will cost in the neighborhood OF
so, 900. 900. complete, with 100000 yards ex-
cavation This section is about twenty
| three and one-half miles in length and
runs through the jungle country near the
coast. There will be 100 acres of clearing
and grubbing also in this section The in
cidental expenses will amount to little be-
sides those above enumerated, therefore
they are omitted.
The divide section reaches from here
through the high rocky range of hills to
twenty-four miles further. There are T.
100000 cubic yards of rock in this cut and
about 5000, 900 yards of earth and clay. The
depth of this cut will be mitigated by the
height of the canal, which is here 112 feet
above the sea The actual cutting will be
about 300 feet in the deepest part. From
here begins the Ochoa section, which runs
through the San Francisco basin and
Florida lagoon. This is low country and
the cutting which will reach to the Ochoa
dam, thirty-four and one-half miles from
the Caribbean sea, will only add 10, 0e0, 600
yards to the figures, making trifie over
40, G0O,O 900 cubic yards to the dam. From here
a summary of the cut through the San
Juan river i'll aggregate 340oO.OOO cubic
yards. with about 5000, 900 for curve widen
ing and 1900 acres clearing and grubbing
entertainments, but simply the channel cut
ting in the bed of the San Juan r!eer.
This makes 100000 cubic yards of all
grades of cutting to Lake Nicaragua. The
cost of the Ochoa dam, upon which rests
the entire feasibility of the route, has not
been accurately computed, as the under
taking is of so colossal a nature as to be
beyond figuring within a unit, or even
more. The dam vii be over 1900 feet IN
length, its foundation 10 fet below the
bed Of salt in the river bottom and its
rise over $50 feet. As the river will have
to be turned from its course during it's
construction. it will be seen that many de-
tails will have to be taken into considera-
ton for an estimate of its cost
The San Carlos embankment will cost
several millions dollars and the estimates
are being made. The cuts in the shallow
part Of the lake will aggregate 10000, 900
yards, making a total of s50Oo,0O0 to the
western division of the canal.
The estimates for the western division
have not been made vet. They are Under
the direction of Admiral Walkers son. V.
W. G.. Walker. and they viii amount to
not les sthan 10000. 900 cubic yards more
making a total of 115 900, 600 cubic yards of
all kinds of excavation to the harbor at
Brito and allowing 5000 600 cubic yards for
dredging here the total estimate Will come
to nearly 125. 100000 yards, exclusive of all
dams and entertainments. 1t will be seen
that s155, coo 600 will be a conservative esti-
mate of the entire cost OF the canal. and
this almost agrees with those Of General
LUdlow's report of 1896.
New York, Dec. 23.-Ex-Senator Miller
said today that the quantities and esti-
mates mentioned in the report of the
Nicaragua canal committee indicated that
the company proposed to build broader
can al than the one provided for IN the
estbates OF Engineer MenocaI's report
10 the old Nicaragua Canal company. The
estimates for Menocal were FOR the total
excavation of 700S.S77 cubic yards of rock
and earth and the old board of consulting
engineers estimated the aggregate cost
of So. 799. coo. The commission OF which
Admiral Walker Is chairman proposes 10
make the channel in San Juan river much
wider than was proposed in the Menoc1l
report.