The evening times., 1900-01-03
JOINING OF Two OCEANS
Tn, Is;hmian Canal Commission to
Select a ROu:e.
Tbc Governments Representatives
10 sail for Nicaragua Saturday-A
Thorough Examination OF All
Plans to Re Made Before a Final
Report Is Sent to the President.

The Isthmian Canal Commission will sail
from New York for Greytown, Nicaragua.
on Saturday to make its tour of inspection,
and will not return TO the United States for
at least four. and possibly five, months.
Rear Admiral Walker. President OF the
Commission, said to a reporter Tor Inc
Times last evening that the visit 10 Paris
during the past summer of himself and
several members of the Commission had
been Of much advantage to them in learn
ing just what had been previously done in
regard to the proposed French canal. and
that they had secured considerable data
with which to begin their work.
I'VE have 500 men at work down there
now" said the admiral, boring TO learn
the character of the sub-strata, so that We
will know what scTt of a bottom We VIII
have for the heavy foundations of concrete
that must be erected for locks, approaches
and the like Others are surveying various
proposed routes. and going over the ground
in every way so that when the Commits
sion arrives at Greytown there viii prooa-
bly, be much new data awaiting US.
The real work of building, when that
stage is arrived at. may be more or less
retarded by the rains. but these will rot be
seriously obstructive. Ii rains about all
the time on the Atlantic side OF the Isth-
] mus while on the Pacific side there are
about five months of dry weather. AT
! GreytoWn, recently il rained for twenty :
| three consecutive hours, and the pIecipi,
| tation was u Ia inches or about one-tnird
of years rainfall here IN washington,
! As a resident of the place once expressed
il to me, they have a wet season and
very wet season.
Admiral Walker was asked his opinion
of the early building Of the canal, and said
that he had no doubt that ii would very
soon reach 4 stage when actual work VIII
be begun.
1T being perhaps the most tremendous
engineering work the world has ever un-
dertaken it will naturally not be rushed.
for when il is once completed, il must have
been built SO substantially as TO be an en-
during monument for all time. a multi
tude of tremendous obstacles must be
overcome. and they must be so thoroughly
surmounted that no slightest error may
in the future be found. This viii be cne
of the objects OF the visit and careful in
spection Of the Commission. and a 9ral
route may be decided upon before we re-
turn, though nothing definite can safely be
said on that point.
"On the interior of the Isthmus, in the
J region of Lake Nicaragua, there is very
/ EOOl tlllildie, WHICH. AtStAbSA Win NAtt
! simpler form of engineering work TO bt
! done. VIII probably promote the speed OF
the work when once it is actually under
; taken. II is all speculation now. Nothing
| definite can be said until after our nspec-
! tiOn. when the report in its entirety viii
! be laid before the President.
| In my opinion the canal will not be o.
any serious injury to the trauscontiuenta
! railway lines. and il may be that Il vii
/ help them in roundabout way by caus.
! iug them to decrease their time schedules
and 10y this, gaining in freight traffic Tn,
1 saving of something like S.0G0 miles o
| water to be trayersed between New Yorl
| and san Francisco will be a feature whici
! the people cannot well overlook. The ca
| nal ought to be built. and there is not tn,
east doubt that it will be built. but how
| soon cannot be said. We are well on tht
way to it. and every day brings us neare
| the point.
! 4 do not think the canal. when con
structed. will be a fortified affair but tina
/ this question will be amicably adjusted
before its completion. That is some tim
away yet. We may be back with our re
port in April but it may not be until May
| We are going 10 make a most careful ant
| thorough inspection and will not return
! until il is as complete as We can make it.
The Admiral and others of the Com
mission win probably leave for New Iorl
| tomorrow or Friday.