The St. Louis Republic., 1904-12-19

two locks Of sixty feet. there being two
locks on the western siop-: second. the
construction OF dam sixty feet above
the level at Gatun, eighty-seven miles
from Colon, with two thirty-foot locks in
the same vicinity.
Adoption Of a !ixty-fCot level also will
Gamboa In order to provide for a r=ser-
voir TO accumulate water enough during
the wet season to furnish water fo- the
summit Level OF the canal.
A FOUR-MILE TUNNEL.
THE construction of a dam at Gambca
in this connection would also control the
Chagres River except that It would be
| necessary TO proviGe safety spillway by
the construction OF a tunnel some eight
miles in length through the divide. dis
chafgfg the surplus waters of the ChaEres
into the head waters OF the Juan Diaz CT
the alternative plan OF constructing tun-
ne! four miles long through th.. divide.
separating the ChaEras basin from the
headwaters Of the Gatuncillo. a stream
! which enters into the Cnagres Valley a.
Gatun.
Should this latter course be adopted II
would be necessary to construct an aux
Hilary channel for the Chagres from Gatun
70 the sea in order to divert its flood
waters into the bay eastward of Colon.
/ he tnlrd general plan under conSidera-
ton would be tho construction of a cana
Win a tventyfoOt or thirty-fOot level
ABOVE the sea. with & single lock ut Mira.
.. :
immediate vicinity. the construction of the
Gamboa dam. 10 be reIg!red in this IN
stance the same as In the sixty-fout level
plan
TIDES ARE VARIABLE
The fourth plan would be the construc-
ton 0: sea .evel. with a tidal lock at
Mirafores. In this connection it is neces-
sary to explain that while the mean sea
| level Of the Pacific and Caribbean are the
same, high tide in the Bay OF Panama
rises ten feet above mean sea level and
ials ten feet below: whereas the fiuctua-
! non OF the ttce of the Caribbean at Colon
ls less than two feet. The construction
oI dant at Gamboa. with the necessary
spli-Nways, s1-Ns as Noted in the previous pan.
MoLio De IN" same under the sea-l"vel
piah as unaer the thirty or sixty foot
The construction of the Gamboa dam
would provide th.. water supply for the
| entire line OF the canal. Including the
cities Of Panama and Coon II would
.o also provide q power plant for the genera
.,,,,,l .,g Oh eiectrc power sufficient TO furnish
aInpie power for the operation Of the Pan
ANA Railroad. and for the operation, of
any machinery. that might be i.,:ed in the
! ccrafr'ucticr OF the canal
1t would require two wears IN rom
! struct this dam and roughly estimated its
I cost. irGludin" spifiwayS -yorId he he
tween tV si5 $500 ard si6,ooOo, not includ-
Asked by members of the commission for
| an estimate OF the cost of the vartous
| plans. Mr.. Wallace said the bes, estimate
| that could be made a; presen; would be
! pdseq on tEe estimate of the former com
! mission OF S2G0.GD1.0lp for A rinetv-fon.
! level canal. 'O
Figuring with this as a basis. the
slxty-foot level would cost sZ55 90 90
could be, open for traffic in ten
| years. and fully completed in tweiye
| years: the thirty-foOt level y,n,-IJ cost
| Sc,e.VJcrt. open for traffic in t-el,-a
| years and fully completed In tff-
| teen Yeas: the sea level would cost ss6O-
| cJc.cSJ. could be open for traffic IL, flftsen
! years and completed in twenty vaarS
! Chairman Hcpburn's questions deyeiorefi
| that the estimate Of time to build n canal
was based on q ten-hour dav and that
! with the construction of the Gamboa da m
and the operation of the power plant cleo
| trio light sufficient to illuminate the whole
| OF the Culebra cut might be had, thus
| making practical the working Of tvn or
| more shifts. and the shortening of time of
! construction. Mr.. Wallace stated that tn.
| excavation Of this cut would be the faa
| ture Of the construction of the canal tina.
| took time. He said:
| CULEBRA CUT PARAMOUNT
Upon the economical and efficient han-
/ ding Of the material from Culebra cut
| depends the cost and the time 1t will take
| to complete the canal Every other cues
| tion and every other problem come ctei
with the entire work Is subordinate and
| inferior to the problem of the excavation
and disposal Of the material from the
Culebra cut; that is the principal problem
Of this work.
1.-The control Of the Chagres, the COZ