Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-04
THE PANAMA CANAL
----az
Report Of Miuister Barrett to
@.E Il
State Department.
III
WORK IN SIX MONTHS
-S-s
;SEn m
WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
IN EVERY DIRECTION.
If Progress is Continued in Proper
tionate Ratio Canal Can Be Ready
in Ten Years.


as to the status of the work of canal dig
ging on the isthmus and as to the exact
amount of work executed SO far by the
Americans since they took up the task
John Barrett, the American minister to
Panama, has after consultation with Chief
Engineer Wallace and close personal in
spection of the route of the proposed canal,
submitted to the State Department a re-
port upon this subject. Mr.. Barrett's COM
munication Is practically brief summary
of the vast amount of detail statistics and
facts that will eventually be produced by
the canal commission. showing the actual
construction On the canal ACCOMPLISHED
since July last. when Mr.. Wallace took
charge of the engineering department The
statement does not include the vast
amount of work done by Governor Davis
in organizing the government of the zone,
by Colonel Gorgas in conducting the SAM
ia ton of the isthmus and by the minister
himself in the adjustment of diplomatic
questions. The most important statement
in the report is this:
'If the next six months show a progress
corresponding to that of the past six. it is
the conviction of the best engineers on the
isthmus that a sea-leyel canal can be con-
structed in ten years and be ready for large
vessels by January 1, 1915"
The report declares that there Is no
ground for the current reports that little
construction of the canal during the past
six or eight months, and proceeds to set
out facts upon which this declaration is
based, in substance as follows:
I. Colon Harbor and City.
1. A careful survey has been made of
Colon harbor. on the Atlantic side of the
isthmus Soundings and borings have been
completed which give full information in
regard to the subfoundatons in the haroor
and for some five miles up the canal.
9. Plans and specifications have been
made for the dredging of the inner or sec
ond harbor, raising the level of the city of
Colon and filling in the extensive Swamps
adjacent thereto.
3. Large areas of jungle have been clear
ed away in the vicinity of Colon railroad
tracks repaired and put into serviceable
condition and a temporary wharf has been
constructed for the unloading of material
consigned to the canal work.
II. The Three Dam Plans.
1. A party of engineers in the vicinity of
Gatun have completed full and detailed
surveys and borings across the valley and
have obtained the necessary information
for the commission to decide as to whether
OF not it will be practicable to locate
dc.l at that point. ,as
2. Another party of engineers have been
put at work in the same manner at Bohio,
and have acquired data sufficient for the
commission to decide on the possibility and
cost of dam at this location, their fig
ures making this plan. which was once
ticable Il 20 j
8. A third party of engineers have DEM
onstrated the practicability of. and have
of dam at Gamboa. They have explored
the watershed of the Chagres river and
have located two tunnel sites or routes
through the lateral mountains in order to
| ida g.,
pounded by this dam at Gamboa; one be-
tween seven and eight miles long discharg-
ing water into the Pacific and the other
three or four miles long discharging the
waste waters into the Caribbean.
4. The Investigations made in the vicinity
OF Gamboa and the upper Chagres have
further demonstrated the all-important
fact of the feasibility of the control of the
Chagres river for a sea-level canal with
dam which will also provide water for a
lock canal if one is built. and, incidentally
furnish not only electric power to be util-
lied in the work of construction, but also
wafer Tor the various towns along the line
of the canal
III. The Great Culebra Cut.
l.. AT Culebra the work under the old
French organization has been continued
and extended, and experiments made with
the various French machines to determine
how much material could be moved and
what 1t would cost per cubic yard TO move
it.
z The quantity of material now moved
per month IS about double what it was
at the time the commission took over the
work and organization, and the cost has
been reduced about 25 cents per cubic
yard-a 80 per cent reduction. Four thou
sano cubic yards of earth and rock are
now pelng excavated per day at Culebra.
ana MI wallace intends that this shall be
increased to 5000 yards by July l. 1905.
d. flans and specifications have been
uia"n Tor American steam shovels and
American cars. Fourteen American shovels
have been designed and contracted for,
tnree OF which are already installed and
at work In the cut The other eleven are
expected TO be delivered on the isthmus in
side OF the next ninety days. Two hum
dred American fiat cars are also being
constructed for this work
,, + In the Vicinity of Culebra twenty-four
a ana roa tI The other twenty are old
e lsncn tracks, which, after laying unused
d9r over eighteen years. have been repair
s. Extensive surveys have been made to
material in the summit excavation. A
competent division engineer. W. E. Dauchey.
mas been placed in command Of this, work.
sbsting Of bright young Americans; to take
acting as superlntendents' supervisers sand and
foremen At the present time 1900 men
daily sare}Ra in this d Teedeta and
keeping, has been put into effect, which
formation as to the. cost of every move
ment connected with the work. The eff
nclency of the various machines and tho
unit or expense of doing work in the diff
aerent Kinds of matsra is by this system
Z. The. data already. obtained has been
absolutely necessary to enable the COM
mission to make its plans and its esti-
mates, not only toIdetermine the kind of
machines to substitute for the French ma
chimes In order to get the best results and
how much the work will be cheapened by
the use of such machines but also to de-
termine how many, machines can be used
on the work, for this is the basis of find
ing out how long it, will take to complete
the canal IA 81
Nv. Mechanical Department.
1. A mechanical department has been or
ganized under trained mechanical engi-
neer. Mr.. Strom. The machine shops at
Cristobal Colon Bas Aatachin and En-
pre, and the smaller shops in Culebra Cut
have been repaired, cleaned up and put
in operation. This mechanical department
is being rapidly enlarged. additional tools
and machines installed and every effort
made to provide extensive shops to rebuild
fJn ,<rfv, lforo F.rr,