Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-01-10
PLEA FOR the
PANAMA CANAL.
New Waterway Company Anxious
to Sell to Uncle Sam.
INTERESTING COMPARISONS.
According Go n. croron's pisnsc the
Proposed Nicaragua Ditth WIN he
Four Eincs Longer.

T..
". choron. who 60 anid TO be- connected
with the now Panama canal company.
Con. Abbott. who was a member OF The.
International technical commisaions
con roncd of engineers 81 the United
ststct, Franco. Russia. England. Ger.'
many and Colombia, which rcecntiy|
made an inspection OF the plans ana
work and nugrcs,cd changes In tho
route % the Panama canal II on hi
way to Washington TO lay before ih,l
United states government all the int
formation he Possesses regarding tht'
sf'ocsnnic waterway AZ the llihuut
of Panama. lie said that the frcncl.
government had no longer Anything 10
do with the proporc1 canal. and that
new company could dispose u ~
iutttruta ~ the work 60 the United
states without opposition from ann
Houicc. provided the terms offered were
Hatllinctory
Ilc further said that the new canal
company. with the g. million francs
watch " ppHNcrsed when n accurud tho
control ~ tho big cut. has simply been
doins preliminary work necessary on
account Of the mlntakcn ideas Of the
old cuginecfa. Now MI obstacles. such
nr the overflow ~ the Chr grea fivct
during tho period OF frcshitr. have
been arranged FOR and the o'd iicn u
making the connection botwl sn Occan
and Ocean a tldowntcr unc has Dtcn
modified 10 that the part that T. set TO
b. finished win BE- built on the lock
principle. Two-nfthH Of tho cntile
canal work n now actually completed
ana the balance under active conAtruc.
ton with a.oCo workmcn and a infHr
force u cnginccfn. Thus Tar abou, "a
r. -
on the Atlantic eide have been CONS
nletcd and ara naviEablc To Ncraeis
drawing . foot OF water. Theru arc
few bars that only need dredging TO
make " pasaablc for vessels 81 GREATER
depth. ne,ond that point there han
bc.n conHidcrahie excavation " the y =
mile line frum the Atlantic. over four
miles Of the tide water work on the
rGeinc ride Of the canal have aito teen
finished.
ucn. Abbott says the new plans for
COMPLETION Of the Panama canal are
perfectly feasible, and that the canal
can be- completed IN one-haif the t,mc
and at much less cost than u viii take
20 dix the Nicaragua canal.
Were the two routes completed 60.
day" said don. Abbott. eight vcsnels
Ia one would prefer the Panama route.
becaure Il h only 20 miles across. and
the Nicaragua coufso Will be four
times that length, and the wlndinga ~
the San Juan iiNcf are very short and
sharp,
There Ia no reason why this country
should not take hold OF aud finirh tho
Panama canal President Mckinley
has recently been furnished with the
full report OF the international tech
nieal commission. and the present stat
uz Of the canal, AZ stated. may be- the
means of the abandonment 81 tho Nj.
the completion by tn United states of
tht Panama route. have been called
to Washington TOT consultation and can
talk lntcliiFently ON any subject con-
corning the canal,
The report OF tho commission II
probably III. most authoritative docu-
mont ever presented on any engineer
Ing subject. II has been prepared with
the greatest care, after the most
thorough ana competent investigation
ANA examination with most exhaustive
surveys before tho membcrr which cov-
or ovefy foot ~ the ground To be- treat
cd, and by the most experienced cnEin-
ccrr N ave different nations.
''rhc total length u the Panama |
canal IL id.2 milrs Including ass miles |
drcdEed Ia the Pacific 10 deep water.
The profile Of the canal presents. IN the |
central part a hIgh summit from which |
I he ground niopca gradually. although |
toward the low ground /
adjacent to the sea.
'"rhc portions OF the canal adjacent 90 |
the sea have been oNcavated, aud al /
though the ChaErcs river has beca for |
years flowing through them thcy can |
be partially utilized. AZ the present |
time tho topography of an the grounds |
Involved In the project and the charao- |
ter of tho mrtcriais 10 be encountered |
are accurately known and dcllneatcd. 4
deep and extensive excavations. as |
wei nH noundings and borlngn have /
nadH known the Hubtcfrnnean strain /
underlying the surface, aud by those /
means, no doubt, N len as TO the sound |
ness OF tho materials through which /
the canal IL 10 be- dug 20 rct depths and /
IN which the foundations of the locks, /
dams and other structures are 10 be-
Sixteen different plans
have been worked out In detail. lnclud.
ms estimates OF ccft and time needed
Tor construction. II IN ON these COM
plcte data furnished by the local en-.
sineern ana by the observations of It's
own men ON the iHthmua that the inter-
national technical commission has
based It's conclusions,
The original purpose Of tho old CONF
pany Was 10 build a canal without locks.
freely open from ocean 10 ocean, but
after several years " work the plan
was abandoned, owing TO the enormous
|h'ANAhNNA N'A'NNtNN ~ tul the frffls
Iral mass OF the mountains 1.-THE Guile
bra) and the difficulty and expense OF
properly taking care of the occasional
lorrential How OF the river CHARGES.
rhe alternate plan which has been
adopted by the new company is TO re-
luce materially the depth of the CEN
raj excavation ana 10 establish there
n u system OF locks, 10 be fed from
he Charges river. In order TO proper
regulate the How OF the river, dams
Sill be erected, one OF the dams will
le located al liohlo. NJ the last group
n locks on the Atlantic side. This dam
VII transform the charges Into n vast
AXE, which VIII extend TO Obispon, a
distance Of thirteen miles. and Will
over an area % over twenty-onc miles.
I'he dam, besides as acting as a rcgu-
atur OF the Charges Hood Will ollvi-
tie strong currents where the canal
raverHea tho bed of the river, an ex-
mpplng.
The other dam win be located at Al
iajuela. on the Upper chagres. about
" miles from the canal II will form