Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-09-11
FORMER MINNEAPOLITAN TELLS
STORY OF THE WORK.
BIG RIVER THE PROBLEM
Changes Wild, LawIess, Uneovern-
able Stream-WaIIace Gave Up Job
After Studying the ProbIem-Nica-
ragua Route Declared the Bet.
ter.

Minneapolis, Sept. 6-Frank Field. a
former Minneapolitan, who has Just
returned to this city after spending a
number OF years in Nicaragua, has an
interesting story to tell of his little
country and it's failure to secure the
big canal, which does not exactly coin,
eide with that advanced by the inter.
ests which caused the removal of the
great American canal from Nicaragua
TO Panama. In an interview Mr.. FELL
expressed himself as very much dis
gusted with the work which Uncle
Sam is doing on the isthmus.
why, it is utterly impossible" says
Mr.. Field, 'for Uncle Sam to ever com
plete that canal at the rate or in the
manner they are now goin on. They
have expended over 100000 already
on the project, and there is not enough
OF 1t completed to allow the passage of
any kind of a vessel for a distance of
five miles,
1.-The thing will never be canal. It
can be plainly seen by anyone who will
visit the place. I am sure that if it
We're possible to construct canal over
the isthmus at this point that Wallace.
who undertook the job. would have
completed the task instead of abandon
ing it as he did. Wallace plainly saw
what every one else will see who looks
into it. When the canal was planned
they depended upon using the Chagres
river. This is a stream of about $50
miles which flows down from the An,
des mountains to the Atlantic. It was
proposed to turn this stream into the
Pacific. When they planned this work
they did not know the Chagres. Up to
the present time they have been un-
able to do anything with it. Owing to
the immense volume of water and the
terrific current caused by it's abrupt de-
scent to the seacoast, they have been
unable to make any impression upon
it. They never will. The highest lock
of the canal is So feet above the level
OF the Pacific. They depend on the
Chagres to raise the water to this lock.
Thus far they have been unable to do
anything in the way of damming the
stream, however, owing to it's proper
tons.
Nov with the Nicaragua project It
was different. The only thing which
changed that canal from Nicaragua to
Panama was the vast consolidated rail-
way interests of this great United
States. 1t was nothing more than
plain graft. At Nicaragua they had
but eleven miles more to dig. The re-
mainder of the distance was covered
by the San Juan river which needed
only to be deepened and widened
tri1e to permit of the passage of the
larger ocean vessels. Sixty-nine miles
of the route was through a lake which
is large enough to float any vessel
there is. Why, bid was received to
complete the work for $48,000,O00. The
bidder was the old confederate general,
Thomas A. Rosser, the engineer who
did the great work on the Northern Pa
cific and the Canadian Pacifis railways
1t was refused, and the canal moved to
Panama. Now, there will never be
canal"
| Concerning his country Mr.. Field
tells a great story Although there
are no schools in the entire republic,
he says that it has the greatest pros
poets of any country on earth, and he
is now in Minneapolis Tor the purpose
OF accompanying large body of Min
neapolitans and other residents of the
northwest to that country, where he
proposes to locate them. Mr.. Field is
here as a representative of the Mica
ragUan government The small coun-
try has had it's boom in the last few
years About one-sixth Of it is now Un-
der cultivation, but the remainder
promises soon to be occupied. The
soil is very rich and is especially suited
to the raising Of bananas, cocoanuts,
| coffee, rubber ad chocolate. These are
the principal products and the planters
are earning enormous profits from
their holdings.
Mr.. Field claims that it is possible
for an American with a small capital
to become immensely rich there in
few years, and his tales are very inter
esting. He expects to return next
month.