The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-11-20
COLON OUTSIDE
THE CANAL WORKS
San Cristobal to Become the Chief
City on the Isthmus.
PLANS OF THE ENGINEERS
FINAL REPORT BY THE END OF
NEXT MONTH.

IbIASHINGTON. Nov. Is.-The board
wv Of consu' tiRg engineers Of the
isthmian canal commission has
decided TO substitute Brussels for Faris
as the meeting place of the forei'n
members next January. The reason
for this decision is that Brussels is
more conveniently situated for several
OF the members. The American en-
gineer who viii go TO brussels vi h
the documents to be sigI ed has not
Yet been chosen. Dur ng this week a
committee of three members Of the
board, with General Davis as chair
man, viii make q rough draft o. an
final report which win then have 10
be worked ont in detail and is eS-
pecteJ TO De ready about tae end or
Decent er. The sea he e. canal which
has been voted u on t- he mem crs
vii have a width az the .ottom q
feGt. except in the CJlehra CUT whore
that width viii be 10 feet The greaI
er width in the cut is necessary %
allow two sh.is 10 = s. each otheg
safely between the hish banks Of tie
canal which will be formed by the very
deep excavation.
Great Hsrbor at Limon.
The plan as ado-tel by the board
Won make Linon tay one OF the
greatest har' ors OF the GRID. A most
through the middle of the Ray break
water will be built and a shoi ter
bTeakwater viii be built from San
Cristobal. which is American territory.
thereby leaving Colon, which belon
to the republic of Panama outs de OF
the American canal works. UndeF The
plan as adopted by the board, San
(r.sErnllaT Ia hAgnf11a
chief city on the Atlantic side of the
canal and the pronoutory Oh which
q Uses the statue of Columbus will be
covered with official hui d ngs. docks.
codling stations and all the works nee
essdFy for an important har or. The
canal constructed by the French be-
gan at san Cristo5aL II s now pro
posed by the board TO build a short
direct canal from Miudi 10 LimOn bay
thereby making the distance shorter
by a few hundred yards and also IA
cilitating navigation and making il pos-
sible for shis 5 to sail into the canal
without having to make any difficult
turns.
The breakwaters necessary for the
formation of this harbor Of san Girls
to al will be an item Of great CE-
Pc Sc. They were the subiec. OF
lengthy discussions in the meetings or
the LOdIu lnEF NOulQ I'D = cen AlIf-
es AIRY in case lock canal had been
chosen.
On the Pacific Side.
on The Pacihc side at Panama The
plans as adopted yesterday are also
different from those of the French
Canal company. The French canal
ends at La BOca. and IL WAS found ss
| one of the difficulties that the Rio
Grandc. with its many branches,
crosses the canal and i'm the rainy sea
son mandates it and does great dam
age TO the works already constructed
! by the French. Therefore. il was de
cided that the cOhal should be built
nearer 10 the city of Panama and
should run between two hills. one called
SoSa and the other the well known An
con. AGcon is the higher OF the two.
On it the American hospitals are built,
and it is one of the most healthy places
on the isthmus. At this place the ore
lock, necessitated through the differ
ence in the tides of the Atlantic and
| the Pacific, will be built. This lock.
( however. win not retaTd the progress
of ships through the canal. In the first
| place. ships coming from the Pacific
viii have to stop some time anyway 10
| be visited by health officers and by
! civilian authorities and, furthermore.
/ during d large part Of the day this lock
VIII be entirely open. as the levels Of
/ both oceans viii be equally high. A
+ the Panama side no plans have Vet
: been made for brealzwaters.
Board in Two Groups.
| The plans for constructing q lock
/ canal at thirty feet altitude were never
[ discussed, and from the beginning the
/ board was divided into two groups. OF
eight and five members. one in favor
/ of sea level plan and the other in favor
J OF lock canal \ compromise plan
/ was never brought up al any time.
1t can be authOritatiyely reiterated
/ that none of the foreign delegates %
! the board came here with specific in
/ stTuctiOns from their governments. The
| members of the board came here at the
/ bidding of the United States. and their
! governments gave them i long leave
/ of absence so that they might give their
/ services to this country, sending them
| without any Instructions whatever
! They will leave Washington by next
! sunday and stay Il few days in New
/ York before leaving for Europe.
| on Tuesday night next. General Da-
! Wis, chairman Of the board OF consult
! ing engineers. viii entertain the foreign
| delegates at a farewell dinner at his
| home.
Cost of Canal $23o.ooo,ooo.
! The cost of the sea level canal is es-
timated by the engineers at about $780,
OO0. 900. Although this amount seems
much larger than the amount neces-
sary for the construction of the lock
canal, it is claimed by the advocates
/ OF the sea level plan TO be in reality
only comparatively slightly higher. II
was pointed out in the meetings Of the
| board that u lock canal would neces-
state between $50, 000. 600 and $40 GOO 0O0
payment for the private grounds and
! the lands belonging 20 the republic o.
Panama which would be inundater by
! the construction of a lock system This
item. in the view OF the majority OF
the board, is entirely done away with
by the adoption of the sea level canal
Fifteen Years Time.
| A. for the time it viii take to con
struct the sea level canal, several men,
bers of the board today expressed the