The evening times., 1898-09-28
THE NICARAGUA ROUTE
No Great Obstacles to the
Building Of a Canal.
REPORTS OF ENGINEERS
ChicnEO Capitalists in the Field En-
deaVOrinE to Obtain Concessions.
Warner MiIIer's Company Aban-
dOns Plans to Build the Waterway
by Private Means.

New York, Sept. 2S.-All doubt as to the
possibility of building the Nicaragua Ca
nal on the route selected by the Maritime
Company win be removed when the COM
mission of which Rear Admiral Walker
is the head makes its report.
Eight Government engineers who have
been engaged upon the preliminary sur
vey arrived in this city on the steamship
Altai, of the Atlas Line. yesterday. They
remained in Nicaragua to complete the
work which was in progress when Ad-
miral Walker and other members of the
commission were recalled to take part
in the war with Spain.
Eben S. Wheeler was the chief engineer
of the party. It's other members were
Andrew Onderdonk, Harvey c. Miller,
Louis Hawkins. William D. Thomas,
Richard 3. Post, Percy j. Bruins and Ho-
ratio II. Trundle.
The preliminary work was finished be-
fore the party left the field, and vast
amount of data, the results of survey
ings, borings and soundings. has been
brought back, and will be included in
the official reports, which will be placed
before Congress at its coming session.
The surveys show that the proposed
canal is entirely feasible: that no serious
obstacles are In the way, and that the
cost will be considerably less than the
estimates made by the Ludlow commits
sion, or the sum named by Admiral
Walker a year ago likely to be need
ed.
change In the location of the Ochoa dam
and to other notifications of the, old
route.
The Ludlow Commission estimated the
cost of the canal at $133 900, 900. Admiral
Walker named sl25, go 900 as the aggre-
gate cost. The report of the engineers
will place the estimate at less than $780,,
000 600
By changing the location of the dam
from Ochoa to a point fourteen miles
lower down the building of the San Juan
basin and it's costly embankment can be
avoided and a saving of $40. 600 600 made.
While Mr. Wheeler and other men,
bers of the returning party declined TO
be quoted at any length in reference 10
the canal work, they said that their re-
ports will show that the canal is a pro-
ject containg no serious difficulty and
that II can be quickly and cheaply built.
They said that the war between the
United States and Spain demonstrated its
necessity. Aside from its value a war
measure its value commercially will be
enhanced by the raising OF the American
flag over Hawaii and the Philippines.
1t is TWO years now since any actual
work has been done on the canal by the
company of which Warner Miller is the
head. The concession obtained by the
company from the Nicaraguan govern
ment is said to still hold good. The at
tempt 10 build the canal by private
means has been abandoned by Mr.. Mil
Ter and his associates and all rights in
the premises have been offered to the
government. q
a syndicate Of Chicago capitalists.
headed by +. F. Cragin, has looked over
the ground and is now said TO be endeav-
oring to obtain a concession from Mic
aragua- Mr.. Cragin and a party of civil
engineers and contractors from Chicago
have recently returned from the Isthmus.
and are said 10 be interesting members
OF Congress in their plans.
Their statisticians have placed the VOL
ume of commerce that is likely TO pass
through the canal much higher than the
estimates of the Government, and their
opinion is that the revenues to be derived
will warrant them in spending consider
ably more than $lOO 600, 900 in building the
canal