Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-18
Board of Consulting Engineers
Finally Reports.
REVIEW OF THE WORK
WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN AC-
CoMPLIsHED ON THE ISTHMUS.
Organization and Salaries of the Pres
ent Commission and a Sketch of
the Sanitary Work.

Isthmian canal commission today declared
itself by a large majority in favor OF a
sea-level canal
The board met this morning at half-past
0 in what was expected to be its last ses-
sion. 1t was expected that definite vote
on the future state OF the canal would be
taken this afternoon. Indications were
that the sea-level canal would be chosen,
but the minority, which is for the lock
canal, fought its ground with great energy.
The members had first to vote on two state
ments of minor Importance and to vote on
the project as a whole The board met all
day yesterday and voted on about twenty
points of no particular Importance, but
which had all to be considered before the
work could progress.
The conclusion of the consulting engineers
was reached after a long and careful study
of the project. Since the beginning of Sep
,tember the board had held meetings and
in special subcommittees had studied the
plans for a sea-level and a lock canal with
the greatest care. trip to the isthmus
was made to enable the members to form
better idea of the physical difficulties which
had to be considered
The members of the board are men of the
greatest reputation in their line Of work.
France. Germany and Holland had sent
l'Nr''NAth'N'-
of the American government
From the beginning II was evident that
a majority of the members was in favor
of the sea-level canal. Their point Of
view was that. even if II cost more than a
lock canal and would take longer In build
ing. il would ultimately be of greater use,
as It will enable ships to make a much
shorter trip than if they were obliged to
go through three or four locks. On the
other hand was minority which wanted TO
see the canal built In as short time as
possible and with the least cost. declaring
that few hours longer for the trip through
the isthmus made little or no difference
one of the members gave this explanation
for Ills way Of voting:
at may be that several of us will not
see the sea level canal finished In our life
time as Il will take considerably longer
than ten years. But, then, we have the
satisfaction to know that for all genera
tons TO follow we have made the shortest
and most practical way of communication
between the Pacific and the Atlantic, and
as long as we had to decide on a question
for all eternity we do not think that a few
years more or less makes very important
difference That is the way our party
thought about it, and whatever may be
said in favor of it or against it, We have
ion we saw our way to do It."
No official statement Will be given out
before the report of the commission reaches
President Roosevelt which will be about
January.
The decision Of the consulting engineers
as to the relative value of a sea level or
lock canal marks the most important
period in the canals history since the
United States secured the right of way
over the isthmus. In fact, till that decis-
ion was rendered IL was impossible to
proceed intenigently with the work.
Everything that has been done up to the
present moment has been of a prelim-
mary character, chiefly confined to sani-
tution and clearing the ground for actual
operations. Now the canal can go for
ward with definite plan. knowing what
will be expected in the completed work
The Three Routes.
Now that the decision has been reached
II Is interesting to follow the course that
the canal has run up to date and see what
has been done IN the past two years 1t
will be recollected that there was a seri-
Gus discussion. and one in which a con-
Clusiun probably never will be reached
as 10 which of the three possible routes
across the isthmus was the best OF
course. speaking in general terms the
best route for a canal is the shortest and
this would have been neither the Panama
nor the Nicaragua route The line across
the isthmus at Darien would have made
the canal but thirty miles long but there
was In the way mountain that would
have to have been tunneled for a distance
Of about five miles. This would have ne
ceSsitated "A tunnel 100 feet high above
as
son to suppose the interior of the noun
tain was not of self-supporting rock but
would have had 10 have an artificial roof
the whole way. the Darien route had to
be shut out from consideration at the
start
on the other hand the Nicaraguan
route while it would have presented less
serious engineering difficulties, would
have been 1871 miles long and would have
necessitated extensive dredging and the
use of a lake some 110 feet above sea
level. The routes were all thoroughly
surveyed by the defunct Walker commits
sion and the decision was in favor OF the
Panama route. which was finally author
ized by the Spooner act in 1902
Now the route as settled begins at CO.
lon, on the north side of the isthmus and
ends at Panama. on the south. The actual
mouth of the canal is neither at Panama
nor Colon, however. but at small sub
urbs Of the two towns. Chrstobal en- the
north side and la Boca on the south The
general course of the canal will follow
the Mindi and Chagres rivers on the At
lantic side of the mountains and that of
the Rio Grande on the Pacific
Engineering Difficulties.
The two great engineering difficulties are
the control of the Chagres river, which is
subject to torrential floods and the COM
pletion of the famous Culebra cut, on
which the French engineers had made
some progress when the work finally fail
ed. Now, 1t may be said at the outset
that neither OF these obstacles are insur-
mountable from an engineering standpoint.
The United States has spent literally mil