Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1898-03-11
BUILD THE CANAL.
object of IL Newly Formed Syndicate OF
Eastern Capitalists.

OBJECT OF Newly fOfheu SyHulChte VI
Eastern Capitalists.
Chicago, March Z. The Tribune
ays: A syndicate to take the conces-
iions granted the Maritime Company
" the republics of Nicaragua and
Costa Rica for the construction of the
,anal is in process of organization by
f. F. Cramin, of this city, who is now
II New York negotiating the contracts
0y which the new owners of the conces-
sions granted by the Central American
republics and for the work already ac-
,omplished will come into his possess
,ion. 7. +. Cooley, who has been as
;ocated with Mr.. Cramin in the enter
prise, is also in New York, gathering
material for the specifications, which
will be within the next 10 days present.
ed to contractors for bids on the differ
ent sections of the work.
The new syndicate for the construc-
ton of the Nicaragua canal will soon
know within a few million dollars
just how much it is going to cost, fin
shed and ready for the passage of the
irst ship A rough estimate from the
lata at hand on the return OF Mr..
Uramin and Mr. Cooley from their trip
aver the canal few weeks ago, placed
the cost within $75,00O,0 900. Mr..
Cooley was of the opinion that as fur
ther data was collected regarding the
nature of the excavation over a part OF
the route, the cost might be cut down
to $50, ,000,0 900. This is far inside the
estimates which have been presented
to congress in the appeals of the Mari
time Company for government aid.
The preparation of the specifications
of the contractors has been as thor.
Ough as the data in existence permitted
Mr.. Cooley secured all the material col
lected by the engineers for the Mari
time Company. He then took the re-
ports of the commission from the
United States engineer corps and to
these he added all the material to be
had during his thorough inspection of
the canal at the capitals of Nicaragua
and Costa Rica. Immediately upon
his return from his trip of inspection a
force of engineers was set to work un-
der his direction, bringing into form
this mass of material. Just prior to
his departure from New York, he inti-
mated that the specifications were so
nearly completed that in short time
they would go into the hands of the
contractors for bids. Bonds will be re-
quired with all bids, and when the
figures have been added, for the first
time in all the years that men have
been trying to join the Atlantic and
Pacific by ship canals it will be known
somewhere near the actual figures just
how much the work is going to cost.
1.-THE Nicaragua canal" he said, "is
being treated as business proposition
Our people want to know where the
thing is going when they begin putting
in their money. We are going to tel
them. There is no great mystery in
canal-building that it should not be
determined approximately what a cana
is going to cost, if engineers are honest
enough to estimate properly the work
before them. The construction of the
Illinois drainage canal has educated the
contractors who did that work, and they
know just what to expect on the Mica
ragua canal. Their representative.
have been over the ground, they have
studied climatic conditions, learned
what their labor would cost, can esti
mate closely the cost of transportation
to the canal of their machinery anC
material. With the specifications IL
their hands they can bid as intelli
gently as If the work was in an Ameri
can state"
The terms by which the control O
the property and concessions of tn
Maritime Company has come into tn
hands of the new syndicate are no
given out. Their arrangement was tn
work of several months before the tri
to Nicaragua was made.
Who are back of the syndicate is no
given out by the promoters, but it i
claimed that the contractors have beel
satisfied OF its financial stability. How
much government aid and in wha
shape will be asked are also matter
which neither Mr.. Cramin nor Mr.
, Cooley gives out for publication at tn
present juncture. Mr.. Cramin and Mr.
j Cooley are expected to remain in New
York about week longer in the settle
, ment of the transfer of the canal from
the Maritime Company to the ney
syndicate.