The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-21
Panama Canal Is Nor a Difficult
Task for American Engineers

about 500 men at the cut, taking out 1000
cubic meters a month, and the work is
progressing with a hideous lack of alac-
rity.
DOWN TO SEA LEVEL AGAIN.
What we shall be able to do at Culebra
can only be guessed at. Nobody supposes,
however, that we will fail to complete this
portion of the task in about eight years, as
with the modern machinery we shall intro
duce the greater facility resulting from the
OF electricity. the possibility through
the use OF electric lights of prosecuting the
undertaking with three shifts of men work.
ing eight hours each. and the generally en-
ergetic manner in which we will undoubted-
ly grappel with the undertaking, we can
easily make greater progress than the
French ever dreamed OF making
From the deepest part of the Culebra cut,
through which the waters of Lake Bohio
will flow without restriction to Pedro Mi
guel, the southern extremity OF the lake, is
a distance of only about two miles. At
Pedro Miguel will be another double set or
locks TO lower OF raise the ships. IEese
locks will have q lift of about fifty feet,
and that they can be constructed so that
their successful operation will never be a
matter of doubt is freely admitted.
From Pedro Miguel to Mtrafiores Will be
a short level-the distance is less than two
miles-necessitated by the excessive tides
the Pacific side OF the isthmus- Water
for this level will be furnished by overflow
from Lake Bohio but at the foot OF the
Pedro Miguel locks the sea-level section
on the Pacific side actually begins. The
Pacific tide has an average flow OF about
twenty-five feet ordinarily, and reaching
twenty-six feet with the spring tides IL
becomes necessary, therefore, TO introduce
tidegates at Mirafiores TO simplify the tran,
II, nj 70 Da6rO
dam and locks from the tidal action.
MERELY DIGGING.
The lift at Mirafiores will not be more
than eighteen feet at high tide, and from
that point to the ocean there will be a
perfect sea-level section, which has only TO
be dredged to the required width and depth
to be ready for commercial use. On this
sea-level section there is no engineering
problem except that of keeping the channel
omen. the rush Of the tides forming a silt
carrying current which will have to be
guarded against. This will be done by
constant dredging, just as will the similar
condition on the northern end.
On this route, which has been entirely
traversed in the foregoing description, the
shortest radius of curvature will be about
$500 feet, giving almost entire freedom In
the handling of ships along the entire line,
and reducing the problem OF navigating the
canal to minimum. Through Lake Bohio,
except in the Culebra cut, it will be posi-
BILE for ships 10 sail practically at full
speed, while the great width of the canal
in the sea-level sections, and its freedom
from Instructions, will make possible near
ly full speed in those portions. BY SUBJ
merging the country between the Bohio
dam and Culebra the work Of excavation
over a good portion of the route will be
largely done away with. The lake will
form a channel, IL being necessary, instead
aln ms n
take off the top OF the ground at such
places as present elevation will interfere
with a depth of thirty-five feet of water.
Drilling and blasting will have to be done
under our management or the enterprise as
now, at Culebra, but everywhere else the
excavation will be in soft mud or soil so
that the work of making the canal itself IS
reduced to a simple question of digging.
Within the lake will be ample room for
ships TO anchor during storms, securing all
the advantages of a protected harbor and
the lake itself will make IL possible by
dredging in future years TO bring the
waterway along its entire route down TO
the sea level should that be deemed adj
visable without interfering with it's COM
mercial usage.
II Is. as | said i'm the beginning, a project
free from any grave engineering difficulties
The French, had they been sane and set
tied In their plans and honest I'm their ex-
ecution should have completed il a de-
cade ago. That we can complete IL and
open IL 70 commerce in less than decade
seems entirely reasonable; that we will do
so is implicitly believed by everybody on
the isthmus
MERRILL a. LEAGUE.