, 1900-12-06
N|CARAGUAN CANAL
WALKER COMMISSION UNANI.
MOUSLY SELECTS THAT
ROUTE.
The Cost is 5000, $40. ooo-An exhaus.
tive Review of the Situation and
an Elaborate Argument Why the
Nicaraguan Route is the Best.

mltted by the president to congress to
day, gives as the unanimous conclusion
OF that body that the most practica
bic and feasible route for an isthmiar
canal. under the control. management
and ownership of the United States
is that known as the Nicaragua
route"
The commission estimates the cost
of this route at 5000. $40. 900. This as.
innate is much in excess of any here
tOfore made. and is due to increased
dimensions and other features not
heretofore considered. The commits,
sion also estimates the cost of a canal
by the Panama route at $l42.342.57g
according to II route. or $~l56,37S,2jS
according to another route. As be.
tween the Nicaragua and Panama
routes, the commission sums up a mum.
Der of advantages favorable to the for.
mer. 1t states, also. that under the con.
cession given by the government of
Columbia to the Panama Canal com.
pany that government is not free to
grant the necessary rights to the I'm
tied States except upon conditions
made by the company.
A VoIuminous Report.
The report is a document of about
Il 900 words. almost as long as the pres
ident's message. Although the work of
the commission is not yet completed.
yet it has been sufficiently advised to
make it practicable to present this pre-
liminary report, giving the essential
findings. A thorough investigation has
been made. not only of the Nicaragua
and Panam routes, but of other posi-
bic routes. the commission keeping in
mind the industrial. commercial and
military value of an interoceanic can
al. and also the privileges and fran
chises necessary to be secured for the
construction of a canal under the con-
troll, management and ownership of the
United States. In all thirty-one work
ing parties were organized and sent in
to the field, making a force of about 22O
engineers and assistants. besides about
600 laborers, boatmen and other work.
men employed in the various countries,
a total of more than 500. Meanwhile
the members of the commission per.
sonally conducted various branches of
the work. One party vent to Paris.
where it examined the details of the
Panama canal project now being exc
cuted by the French company.
Dimensions of the Canal.
After going owe the several routes,
the commission considered the dimen-
sions of the canal to be built. Having
in mind the increasing size of ocean-go-
ing vessels, it was determined to fix up
on a depth OF thirty-five feet at mean
low water and Il bottom width of 1870
feet, with some increase of dimensions
at certain points. These dimensions
are larger than those proposed for any
prev louS canal SCueIlt. VINE tney
may seem excessive today. the commits
sion says that the canal is not likely
to be opened within ten years, during
which time the Increase in maritime
dimensions is likely to continue. 4
width of $50 feet will allow all but the
very largest ships to pass each other
i'll the canal, while the locks are of a
dimension to permit eve the largest
ships atloat to be maneuvered. The
size of the locks is $40 feet in length.
eighty-four feet in width in the clear.
with n depth of t%hirty-five feet TAX
ing up the Nicaraguan route in detail.
the commission says the route adopt
ed follows essentially the lines laid
down by the N~icaraguan canal COM
mission in its report of 1S97-lS99. 1t
begins near Greytown. on the Atlantic
side, follows the San Juan river, en-
tiers AXE Nicaragua and terminates at
Brito, on the Pacific side. The distance
from ocean to ocean is about 1S6 miles.
Plans are given for the great harbors
required at Greytown and Brito. The
most difficult engineering work is the
dam across the San Juan river to regu-
late the waters of the lake. The time
required to build the canal hinges al
most entirely on the time required for
the construction of this dam. The
commission says eight years would
probably be a reasonable estimate for
the building. At least two years will
be consumed in preparatory work and
opening a harbor at Greytown. so that
If work on the dam should be commenc-
ed Immediately thereafter the time re.
quired for completing the entire work
will be about ten years.
Cost Of the Undertaking.
The commission then submits the
following estimated cost II a canal on
the Nicaragua route:
Eastern division (from Greytown to
Boca San Carlos dam, 1872, 662, 900.
Middle division from Boca San Car
los dam to Las Lajas), $25,425 900.
Western division from Las Lajas to
Britos), $51, CSC, 1000.
N~inety-eight miles of railroad, s..
$50, 900.
Total, 1857, III, 900.
Engineering, police. sanitation and
general contingency. s33,423, 900.
Aggregate SOM 640 nm