Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-30

| istence of which has been generally con-
cealed from the technical sight
A plant working on water Is three times
| more powerful at least and three times
more economical at least than plant on
rails.
A fair comparison between the two may
be drawn from. The comparison OF the cheap
ness and poEser OF sea transportation COM
pared with overland rail transportation.
1t Is known that the frefghts on sea can
| be so reduced that a competition Of the
American Goals with the French. Belgian
and English ones can be made In the mar
| bors of France.
Who could think of such an enterprise II
| the three or four thousand miles across the
| Atlantic had to be made on rails?
| In a plant upon water single floating
| dredge will have q theoretical excayating
power Of q, 0o0 cubic yards a day as against
an excavating power of 1900 to 5000 in q
steam shovel.
/ In a Plant Upon Water.
A scow will take $50 cubic yards at once.
when train scarcely can take more than
| one hundred on account Of the necessarily
| light and bad tracks on which trains must
circulate inside of the cut, on tracks con-
| stantly shifted and moved to follow the
progress of the terraces, on tracks winch
cannot be well ballasted on account OF their
mobility, on tracks washed by the heavy
rains and maintained by class Of work
men infinitely inferior to those of our ell
| mates, in intelligence, In care. In activity:
A plant on water Is not disturbed by the
rain, by the invasion of water In CUT
below the water level of the valleys. There
Is no derailment neither for the dredging
nor for the transporting Instruments on
water when they are incessant inside OF
the cut rails
All instruments of work are independent
of each other on water when they depend
on each other in railroad plant.
The sinking of a Scow, IL it rarely nap
pens, does not stop the movement of the
others; the derailment of train which is
a continuous eventuality, stops the circu-
lation and the works of the enormous
quantity of men and machines, the service
of which ds made on the track INSTRUCTED
by the dcrailed trains.
Another and capital advantage is that
the very little number of men working on
q floating plant are sheltered from rain
and sun, and are not obliged to the physical
exertions attending dry works.
Such system is admirably fitted to the
solution of all the difficulties of the 18TH
milan works, much as the railroad plant
is untitled for that, and will meet with
gradually increasing difficulties as the
depth of the cut Will increase.
A week or two ago we have read that
the water had flooded the Culebra cut and
stopped the works of excavation by the
plant on rail, for about week. What VIII
it be when the hole in the ground Will be
$50 feet deeper than it is now?
These considerations must always be
borne in mind If the real source of difficult
ties is looked for. 1t is the transportation
inside of the cut which is the essential
point to consider. 1t is not at all the
smaller or greater power of the steam
Shovels. The hope of changing the s1tua-
ton by trying to have more powerful
steam shovels will surely be followed by
bitter disappointment.
Modification of Locks.
The basic principle of the system of
transformation consists in a modification
of the ordinary type of locks.
Let US examine a single lock and let US
suppose a depth of thirty-five feet in the
canal and a fall of forty-five feet for the
locks.
In the ordinary type the upper gate of
the lock has a height equal to the depth
OF the canal and it is seated on a wall
This wall plays two different parts in the
structure: 1t serves as the basis of the
gate and at the same time it serves as a
retention wall for the ground of the high
er level
Let us see now the conditions created by
this ordinary type of construction of lock
In a canal with a summit level.
1t is obvious that to remove the summit
level with the least Inconvenience it will
be necessary first to excavate by floating
dredgers the ground of it's bottom down
to the level, an for that purpose to
dredge down to the abnormal depth of
eighty feet.
interrupt navigation In order to remove the
locks on both sides. because the locks can
not be touched as long as transit is going
on
These explanations being given, let us
come to the solution 1 gave to the ques-
ton.
1t simply consists in giving to the gate
above the lock exactly the same height as
to the gate below, and the same level of
sill.
OF course, the ground forming the bot
tom of the summit level will have to be
excavated down to the level of the bot
OP the adjoining naViPahia level m a
distance of 400 500 feet above the. gate
of the lock. 1t cannot be any more linn
tied by the wall which In ordinary locks
supports the gate above
The locks being so disposed. If we dredge
5 feet into the bottom of the summit
level we shall not touch. during such
dredging, any vital part Of the canal. and
the locks will remain exactly as they are
When the dredging is finished as we
have feet too much depth of water in the
summit level nothing prevents us from
letting the level of the water drop feet.
When this is done the ships will still
find the 35 feet depth of water they re-
quire. and nothing will have been changed,
except that the canal will have then its
summit feet lower above the level of the
sea than before.
After nine successive operations of the
same order the level of the summit will
be lowered Is feet, and the gates of the
locks, being from now on useless can be
removed.
The summit level being removed and con-
founded with the two lateral ones, the
new summit level can in its turn be ex-
cavated by the same process.
1t Is obvious that for the dredging of this
new summit level the masonry of the old
locks after removal of their gates will be
nothing but mass of rock in this new
summit level. The elimination of this mass
of artificial rock will be handled exactly
any other rock which may be found
anywhere else in the summit level.
/ scarcely need say that l do not attach
any Importance to the particular dimension
OF feet which / have chosen only for the
sake of the exposition of the theory.
The Transformation may go on just as
well, If 10 feet or Is feet deepening at a
time is adopted as being more favorable
for the work of the dredges
1t is obvious that the advantage which
results to the transformation from the sup
preston of the wall is consequence of the
fact that with 1t disappears an hybrid or
gan which belongs at the same time to the
lock and to the summit level.
Lock Must Remain in Absolute
Integrity.
During all the digging of the summit
level the lock must remain in Its absolute
integrity to insure the passage of the ships
1t is clear that the retention wall limiting
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