The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-12-31
SOME OF THE HEAVY MAC HI NRnYs
USED IN THE CANAL we K.

DullL1
government itself OF. shall be sub-let8 to-
contractors Is q question as yet unde-S
cided At present 1t appears probable
that tho latter method Will BIO selected
though no ono can tell how far official
fcupiaity will go.
The Immense success of this plan In
the construction of the Chicago drainage
cannl recommends 1T stronglyto the con-
sideration. Of Panama authorities, as IT
Us tho cheapest and most expedl tiousS
method possible under average eondl IONS
'rhe scheme5is to divide tho route up into
sections, each about 4,$:s mile Ion and
lot each; section to a lisivate contractor,
who shall furnish and care for his Q Wt,f
men. If this arrangement Is 4 I'D 20 pted, u
which ut present seems extremely prob
able, theS,work Of making the great cut
at 5S'1,'ehra. the surmitSof thee vide. WI \
doubtless be withheld from the general
81 n and performed by the government
Itself l,5si 81 }}Ss5 # d
In any event, the present organization
will retnin control over t he work, an q
the staff of engineers. under pm Sta
vens will direct tho work OF the SUD
contractors. III this way q canal cons
forming to tho Ideas OF the most Il emil
snent engineers Of modern times, can he \
dug at a minimum OF expense, time and I
risk :nnd thare is little doubt OF the COM
Emission advertising for bids as soon as 81 \
6the engineering plans are complete l'st g.
When Will We sHave5a Canal
:5 IowE much time viii DO required to
build the cana? This question iss often
asked and cannot be answered wi th8 en-
tire sa tisfaction OF any degree OF e. GER
tainty. 1t Is possible,S however, to- llgt1re
how long It may tai .tH3 Let US assume (
that the Culebra cut lis TO pe reduced TO
sea level, and that the remand Of the Ill
work can be compile ted by the tim 6. this
tremendous ditch is flnisheds In addition
to tic. f$Sy:oyls already dom at Culebra.
there remain I'M this section OF territory
100 900, 900 cubic yards of earth and rock
To be removed. or the equivalent Of the
total removal 1T Suez. About thirty-fiye4
&c s team shovels could work on this
division without 81 interfer ence. VorklnE
on one shift ten hours a day, and max
| ing due allowances for stoppage eel
Ling work, they should average ao0, 900
yards per shovel, or, say, 10 900, 900 cubic
yards a year for the thety-f Ave shoyels.s
With two shifts they could double tins rs
| speed. $i 3gS & 81 IN ,Bss3 4, ,g5, WV
twill Be at least "a year before thirty
I'VE shovels can be set ito 9Siwo Two Tvs
year more may expire before the light
Ling system will he In order TO fperrntt OF
double shifts. Therefore, the best that
removal L In the next three years, and
90. COO ON per year afterwards, or. q total
If aeye,,s years Of cutting with the steam
shovels, supplemented by two years more
work in completing the canal ready for
TRANSFORMATION This would make 1913
the earliest date at which the canal could
be completed, and some enthusiasts have
declared that It will be |. opeaed " IN that
Year. But these do not reckon with
serious accidents and interferonces, which
are practically certain, not TO mention
the dreadful yellow fever, which mas
heretofore proved the most SER OPS
stacle, and against whose r avages no
practical remedy has even been suggest
ed. Conservative men say that the COM
mission will do remarkably $Ewell II they
are able to complete the canal by 1917.
and that there should he mo cause Of
complaint If 1t Is not finished before 1920.
Competition in Ten Years. 81
In oppostion to this is the opinion Of
certain eminent engineers notably lslltm
Randolph, who built the& g h,cago9 drain
axe canal, and who thinks the great work
viii be completed in ten years. Mr.. Ran
dolph has taken into account probaple
accidents and has MADE sallowahce Tor
unforeseen difficulties, which may delay
the work indefinitely and his estimate
IS accepted as fairly accurate by expert I!
engineers who have overlooked II. the
ground. Fisl
THAT chips will be passing through the
Panama Canal In 1916 seems possible to
many. and some sayit 10 sure thing
but, ] doubt 1t. e rs "
Certain Washlngt on tlicials declare that
from twenty to one hundred years will
be required to complete the work, but
ptad oiIt
with the retardlng movement which. Il
anything, will delay the completion OF
the enterprise beyond fifteen years, and
their estimates are not taken seriously
by any one. lssg
The Financial End
Up to the present moment the Panama
Canal has cost!th limited statesseo. 600 ooQ,
OF which two-thirds went togsbuyl tho
many SIC, 900, 900 to satisfy the Republic
OF fI'apamn, and the remaining SO, 900, 600
has been spent. or almost spf'pt, IN tho
work on THE IRthmus. Just how this
$40, COO 900 has faded away without any
material digging has been made PUBLIC
in statement rendered to the colnlllia- A
sion by Tho dlsbursing departments the 4
statement shows that there ~ stu some 4
thing like sl.aop,0oo on hand, hut this as !
what will be required for the work, IA
Completing the Canal,
statement made recently shows SHAT
In the tbirty,aix months which have
elapsed slnpe the appropriation was made,
sTS40s5 had been spent for salaries OF
the numcrnua officials, while sl2g,aG2 was
charged against "excapation,V Altogeth-
en- UP to June Let, s4,009.95s had been
and nj ny, mar
or SS84,282 went for the expense OF actual
construction. or the sbsl,s6s which the
report shows as expended for the salaries
OF men not engaged 9sin tcxcayati on,H'
sl4.328 WAS for the special commissioners
appointed to assist the regular comnls-
sion IN making up their minds what 70
do, and $3.50 went TO the Offices pf the
Committee on Engineering. The rest was.
DIVIDED as follows; Department Of admin
istr4tion, sl24,92Q; department of goyern-
nent and sanitation; s97.S0b; department.
OF construction and engineering, $e3a. 0lo: