Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-24

NEW YORK, December 23.-The prelim-
mary report of the Nicaragua canal COM
mission, consisting of Gen. Hams, Admir-
al Walker and Prof. Haupt, has been
completed, and will be read before the
Senate committe either during the Christ
mas recess of Congress or Immediately
afterward. This report will give many
details in regard to the proposed route
and will give pretty close figure on the
entire cost of the undertaking. A sum-
mary of these costs has been made out in
sections, and without going into the de-
tails 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 re-
quire about 100000 cubic yards of rip-rap
stone.
The Greytown section of the canal. that
is the section beginning at the harbor and
reaching to the east divide, will require
100000 cubic yards of earth and clay ex-
cavations. The three locks in this section
will cost in the neighborhood Of SO 000,oo0,
complete, with 100000 yards excavation
This section is about 1872 miles in length
and runs through the jungle country near
the coast. There will be 70 acres of clear
ing and grubbing also in this section. The
incidental expenses will amount to little
besides those above enumerated: therefore
they are omitted
The divide section reaches from here "a
miles further. There gre 10000 cubic
yards Of rock in this cut and about 500 :
90 yards Of earth and clay The difficult
2 Of h.. L. Cd Ky he
height of the canal. which is here ~ feet
above the sea. The actual cutting will be
about 30 feet deep 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
10 the Ochoa dam, 5il2 miles from the Cir
ibbean sea, will only add 100000 yards TO
the figures, making a trihe over 10000
cubic yards to the dam. From here a
summary of the cut through the San Juan
river will aggregate 100000 cubic yards,
with about 10000 more for curve WIDEN
ing and 2000 acres clearing and grub
bling. This will not include any of the
dams or entertainments, but simply the
channel cutting in the bed OF the San Juan
river. 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
undertaking is of so colossal a nature as
to be beyond figuring within unit, or
even more The dam viii be over 1,500
feet in length, its foundation 70 feet be-
low the bed of silt in the river bottom, and
it's rise over $50 feet. AS the river will
have to be turned from its course during
this construction it will be seen that many
details will have to be taken into consid-
Grafton for an estimate of its cost.
The San Carlos embankment will cost
several million dollars and the estimates
are being made. The cuts in the shallow
part of the lake will aggregate 100000
yards, making a total of 100000 to the
western division of the canal.
The estimates for the western division
have not been made. They are under the
direction of Admiral Walkers son. V. w.
G. Walker. and they will amount to not
less than 100000 cubic yards more, max
ing a total of 115.G00,C00 cubic yards of all
kinds of excavation to the harbor at Brito
and allowing 100000 cubic yards for
dredging here the total estimate will
come to nearly 125, 0o0000 yards exclusive
of all dams and entertainments. 1t will be
seen that s135 O09OoO will be a conservative
estimate of the entire cost of the canal,
and this almost agrees with that of Maj
Cen William Ludlow S report of 1896.