The San Francisco call., 1898-12-24
PRELIMINARY REPORT
 HAS BEEN COMPLETED
Figures of the Walker Commission on the Enormous Amount of
 Work Required.

NEW YORK, Dec 23.-The pre- liminary report of the Nicaragua Canal Commission, consisting of General Haynes, Admiral Walker and Professor Haupt, has been completed and will be read before the Senate committee either during the Christmas recess of Congress or immediately afterward. This report will give many details of construction in regard to the proposed route and also a close figure on the en- tire cost of the undertaking as far as human ingenuity can foresee.
 A summary of these costs has been made out in sections, and, without go- ing into the details of curves and levels, they are as follows: The eastern harbor and jetties will require about 9,O0000O cubic yards of soft excavation. The jetties themselves require about 100000 cubic yards of riprap stone.
 The Greytown section of the canal which is the section beginning at the harbor and reaching to the east divide will require 1000, 900 cubic yards of earth and clay excavations. The three locks in this section will cost in the neighborhood of ten million dollars complete, with three millions for ex- cavation. This section is about thir- teen and a half miles in length and runs through the jungle country near the coast. There will be 700 acres of clearing and grubbing also in this sec ton. The incidental expenses will amOGnt to little besides those above enumerated; therefore they are omitted.
 The divide section reaches from here through the higher rauge of hills to twenty-four miles further. There are seven and a half million cubic yards of rock in this cut and about five million 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 200 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 a half miles from the Caribbean Sea, will only add 10O0O,0 900 yards to the figures, making a trife over 4O.0OO. 900 cubic yards to the dam
 From here a summary of the cut through the San Juan River will az gregate 34,000, 900 cubic yards with about 5,000,000 more for curve widening and 2000 acres clearing and grubbin9 This will not include any of the dams pi Dul SlI1lDly the chan nel cutting the bed of the San .Jran River. This makes 75,000, 900 cubic yards of all grades of cutting to Lake Nicaragua. The cost of the Ochoa dam, upon which rests the entire feast bility of the route, has not been ac- curately computed, as the undertaking is of so colossal a nature as to be he. yond figuring within unit or even more. The dam will be over 1900 feet in length, its foundation 75 feet below the bed of salt in the river bottom and its rise over 130 feet. As the river will nave to be turned from it's course dur ing its constTGCttr--i = s--ai --- s---4 c3-77 many details will have to be taken into consideration for an estimate of it's cost
 The San Carlos embankment will cost several million dollars and the esti- mates are being made. The cuts in the shallow part of the lake will aggregate 10,000,000 yards, making total of S5,-