The Indianapolis journal., 1898-11-06
THE NICARAGUA CANAL
PRESIDENT 'M'KINLEY'S COMMISSION
AT WORK ON ITS REPORT.
Admiral Walker Confident the Wa
terway Can Be Constructed at a
Cost OF Less than $125,OOO,OOO.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5.-The Nicaragua
canal commission, appointed by the Presi-
dent under an act of Congress directing a
complete inquiry into this project, with par
ticular reference to its placticability and
cost. has about completed its work, and the
present prospect is that the report will be
handed to Secretary Hay in about month.
The commission has taken a building on
Fifteenth street. formerly used as the Ger
man legation, and. under the direction Of
Admiral Walker. chairman, force of thir-
ty-six computers, craftsmen, engineers, ETC.,
are at work on the report and the mass of
technical matter which will accompany it,
making in all the most elaborate presenta-
tion of the subject ever attempted. The
commission is laboring, however, to avoid
prolixity and to center attention on the
salient features of this great project, leav-
ing the statistics and details to follow in
supplements. This promises to give re-
port which will be intelligible by its con-
ciseness and yet sufficiently comprehensive
TO meet the requirements of such large
problem The commission has gone about
its work feeling that it was likely to furnish
the basis for the final action of this govern
ment on the building of the canal.
The conclusions reached by the commits
SlOn Will not De announced untll the report
is submitted. 1t is known, however, that
on the two salient -practtcabllity
and cost-the commission will report, first,
that the project of a canal joining the At
lantic and Pacific, by what is commonly
known as the Nicaragua route is entirely
feasible and practical presenting no en-
gineering problems which cannot be met;
and. second, that the cost can be presented
with a fair degree of mathematical exact
ness, allowing for excavation, construction
and all other items. The report will give
this cost in figures, but the amount is not
yet known, even to the commissioners, as
1t will depend on the careful computations
now being made. The purpose is TO make 1t
as near mathematically exact as possible
and not to give mere opinion of the various
commissioners. Admiral Walker has al
ready expressed the opinion before a con-
gressionai committee that the cost would be
within $125. 600 900, and this is understood TO
be his opinion still. But the report Will
the careful calculations of the many eX-
perts who are now a work on every branch
of the project. The only element of doubt
will be in establishing the unit of cost for
certain estimates, as there may be differ
ences as to this unit, depending on condi-
tions of the soil, climate, etc. For instance
while the commissioners might fix with eX-
actness the total number of cubic feet of
excavation required in such a vast under
any other sum the unit for reckoning the
whole or any considerable part of the work
This viii be done as close as possible under
the circumstances, and the indications are
that the figures to cost will be exception
ally conclusive in showing the utmost limit
of cost to which the government could be
put if the building of the canal is begun.