The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-29
WHICH CANAL ROUTE?
JULIUS MOERSCH DISCUSSES THE
FEASIBILITY OF PANAMA AND
NICARAGUA PLANS
HE WORKED ON PANAMA DITCH

His Familiarity with the Topogra-
ply of the Country Leads Him to
Favor of the Panama Route If
Possession OF the Necessary Ter
United States.
Factory Inspector julius Moersch
was for three years IN the employ of
the Panama Canal company in the
capacity of civil engineer. Discus
sing the proposed Nicaraguan canal, of
which so much has been said of late,
Mr.. Moersch gives The G | o the fol-
lowing interesting interview:
TIE idea of connecting the Atlantic with
the Pacinc ocean was first taken up by the
Central American governments. As early as
$50 proposal was made to John Quincy
Adams. then president. and to Henry Clay,
the secretary of state to build canal Joint
ly by the United States and the republics of
Central America. President Jackson, in 1895
sent a special commissioner to the Isthmus
OF Panama to study the situation. The pro-
Ject became OF more interest to our country
arter the acquisition Of California by the
United States and it was generally expected
that by the ratification of the Clayton Bulwer
treaty with England in 1850 the project Of
building an interoceanic waterway would be
materialized. But not until after the War of
the Rebellion was the project again taken UP.
Real Admiral Ammen. who was appointed
chief OF the bureau of navigation in 1870, sent
dlferent expeditions to Central America for
the purpose of making surveys and determin-
appointed by President Grant In 1874 after
going carefully over the ground. made a re-
port in 1876 and recommended the Nicaragua
route as being the most feasible from the
engineering standpoint and Of greatest beue6,
to American commerce.
A private company was organized in the
Fob fr
Nicaragua Maritime Canal company, which
started ut once, extensive surveys and prs
1minary work. Finally in the bygone year
a United States commission went to Nicaragua
to make study Of the situation and their re-
port is now before congress. But during all
this intervening time European enterprise
also nad been taking more or less lively
interest IN the project on hand. Encouraged
by the success of the Suez canal which con-
meets the Mediterranean with the Red sea
and opened shorter and direct waterway be-
tween Europe and India and the Orient
Ferolnand de Lesseps. the builder of the
FORMER canal organized in 1881 a company
Tor the purpose Of building canal across the
1sthmus of Panama. But before the Paris
congress, Count de Lesseps admitted that he
should have given preference to the Nicaragua
route, 1t had been possible to build this
canal without system of locks. The i'll sue
cess OF the Panama Canal company Is too
well known to be repeated suffice it to men
ton that the company went in bankruptcy in
1859, almost precipftating the French republic
into panic A new company has been
formed in 1894, and is engaged at the present
time In the. work. Turning our attention to
the proposed Nicaragua canal route we will
ma the same to be over three times the
lengths of the Panama route (the latter being
46 to At miles from ocean to ocean,, but
nevertheless, Il seems to have some advant-
ages. Inc mountain range which extends
from Cape Horn to Alaska and is known in
South America as the Andes and in North
America as the Rocky mountains slopes down
on the Isthmus Of Panama to within 300 feet
above sea level and its greatest declivity is on
the Nicaragua canal route. being about $50
rect above tide water On the Panama route
clear cut through the mountains down to
and 81 feet below the sea level has to be
made in order to float ships. But the great
est difficulty experienced by the former Pan
ANA Canal company came from the floods
which rush down from the mountain slopes
during the rainy season and transform in
nocent looking rivulets into roaring torrents.
Inc R1o Charge, which er1pties near Colon
into the Bay of Lemon, Is crossed by this
canal The river bed. during the rainy season
can not carry all the water of and foods in
consequence the whole lowland towards the
Atlantic and Is liable to fill the canal with
sand and rock, thereby obstructing naviga-
ttcn seriously. The new Panama Canal COM
pany adopted new system of work and Il
is peheyed that they will overcome this OBJ
staele.
The Panama canal being a canal on sea
level, nevertheless must have on it's western
extremity a lock in order to overcome the
difficulties arising from the difference in the
tide water of the two oceans. The distance
Panama canal. both on the east and west
side, is far greater than that to the Ncara-
qua canal, but since the worlds commerce
does not require two canals across the Amer
lean continent, it becomes a serious question
which will be better for the United States to
embark in the doubtful enterprise of building
the Nicaragua canal or to acquire possession
OF the Panama canal. The United States for
commercial and defensive reasons, must have
better and quicker communication between its
eastern and western coast and should have
control of any waterway across the continent.
Lake Nicaragua, which lays in the proposed
canal line and covers 5000 square miles, is
| navigable and would facilitate the construc-
| ton of this route. The lake is 10 feet above
sea level and It's western shore reaches with
in twelve miles OF the Pacific ocean, the
Intervening range being only forty feet high.
The San Juan river forms the eastern outlet
Of the lake, and is about 100 miles long and
empties into the Caribbean sea at Graytown.
| 1t is intended to build a dam across the
the lake, and so raise the waters to the
| level of the lake. direct canal will be built
from the dam to the sea. The canal, so
constructed, will require a series of power
ships can be raised and lowered. The argu-
ment often brought forward that the coun-
try which this canal line is to traverse Is
| mere in danger Of earthquakes than the 18th
mus of Panama has been set at rest. But
another obstacle presents itself. There are
no natural harbors on the Atlantic side and
powerful breakwaters would have to be built
in order to shelter ships from the inrolling
waves of the ocean and make their entering
the canal possible at any time. On the shores
of Lake Nicaragua is the once hourishing city
Of Granada, and further away north Is the
beautiful little town Of Nindidri, with it's fine
would be greatly benefited by the new canal
and a prosperous future could be prognosti-
Gated to the interior Of Nicaragua and Costa
RIGA"