New-York tribune., 1905-08-21
FINAL PANAMA PLANS.
To Be Recommended to President
and Congress by Board of Engineers
[sRoM THE rRIBuNE nURrAu.l d


Washington, Aug 20-Everything is in readi-
ness at the Mills Building Annex of the War
and Navy Departments. in this city, for the
session of the international board of advisers
of the Isthmian Canal Commission. which body
will meet September l. For several months
the commissioners have been preparing facts
and figures relating to the project on Panama
and have accumulated vast amount of
terial. All of the pertinent plans for a canal
between Cristobal and La Boca will be placed
before the advisory body. Many of the sug-
gestions made worthless, of course, and 1t
Is now being determined which Of the more Sc
rious propositions are entitled to the considera-
ton of the international experts The sessions
of the consulting engineers will continue so long
as there appears any need of their deliberations.
and arrangements have been made for a trip to
Panama, if It shall appear that the experts
desire a personal view of the situation. This
will not be known until the board meets here
probably. 1t is expected there will be a ma
1orty and one or more minority reports. Il Is
known already that the members of the board
are not agreed as to the type of canal some ia
voring the level project and others being
disposed to have the canal built above the sea
level by the use of locks and dams. 1t is big
question and upo1 the result of the recommen-
dations of the board will depend the policy of
the canal commission. 1t will then be known
its estimates of cost and ask for further au-
thorization from Congress
1t has not been decided just what plans re-
ceived from outside the commission will be pre-
sented to the board when 1t meets in Washing
ton. OF course there will be the plans of the
first commission. that of 1901 together with the
later schemes from the same authoritative
source. Then there will be the plans of the old
De Lesseps company. 1t has not been decided
to place the project of NJ. Bunau-varilla before
the board or those OF Lindon W. Bates. of New
York They the principal plans from out
side sources, but they have the defect OF not
being in sufficient detail AS one member of
the commission said to-day, any one can get UP
a scheme for building the canal-and there are
plenty of persons engaged in that pastime
But 1t is another thing to develop the details
and apply the project practically a working
basis The Bunau-Varilla plans contemplate a
130-foot canal with big dam at Gamboa to
control the troublesome Chagres River It's
author estimates that canal according to his
plans be built in four five years. but no
on the commission entertains any such
complacent view of the outcome. The engineers
say it is impossible to construct a canal In any
such period, and that a promise TO that effect is
absurd. The Bates plan is supposed to be a
sea level one but it is not quite in that class,
say those who have examined it. Like the
plans of NJ. Bunau-Varilla 1t is lacking in
necessary details and is too indefinite
Along with these serious propositions
from people who might be in position to make
valuable suggestions there are lot of projects
of varying uselessness. People who have spe-
cial appliances for digging canals, mostly on
paper and altogether impractica BILE, have DEL
uged the commission with their offers They
have one thing in common that of doing the
work in an incredibly short space of time. all
the way from one year to three or four. Few
OF them think of naming a longer period. One
man trom the West has written in and asked
to have the commission pay his way to Wash
lhgton in order that he may place before the
international experts a confidential scheme
which he could trust to the United States
mails. OF course. nothing will be done in his
case.
Some of the members of the commission have
ideas, which will be impaired to the consulting
engineers. but no one has a complete plan of
canal construction. outside of the project of the
commission as body. far as it goes The
engineers on the present commission will make
suggestions. of course, and some of them have
drawn up communications regarding the special
problems, such as the control of the Chagres
RIVER. the lock construction and location and
the building or dams. including the terminal
works.
General George w Davis. L. s A (retireSl.
formerly governor of the canal zone who is nor
an engineer I'm the professional sense although
he put a new foundation under the Washington
Monument and finished the obelisk will head
the list Of consulting officers. He has been in
structed by the President 10 communicate with
his associates and arrange for their reception
while i'm this country The question of fees is
yet to be determined.
The American engineers who will serve on
the board with General Davis Alfred Noble.
civil engineer of Lovonia, Mich. formerly
member of the Nicaragua canal board and the
canal commission OF 1895 1903 whose home is
at No. sol West 120th-st.. New-York City:
William Barclay Parsons who lives at No. 81
East 53d-st.. New-York City. who was formerly
chief of engineers of the New-York National
Guard, and who has been in general practice as
an engineer since 1894. being chief engineer of
the Rapid Transit Commission of New-Y York;
Professoc William H. Burr. of Columbia Univer-
sity, who lives at No. 151 West 74th-st, New
York city, and who has been a consulting engi-
tanned the first prize in the national competition
for the memorial bridge across the Potomac
River, and who served on the canal commission
of 1902; General Henry l.. Abbott. u. s. A. Ge-
tired, the engineer officer who designed the sys-
TEN of submarine mine defence adopted by the
country and the system of mortar batteries:
+. 7. Stearns, a well known civil engineer or
the country: Joseph Riply, Herman SchusSleF
and Isham Randolph. of Chicago. who has been
chief engineer of the sanitary district of that
city and held prominent consulting places on
number of public projects. The British gov
ernment has named the distinguished English
engineer Henry Hunter, TO serve on the hoard;
the German government has named Herr Eugen
Tincauser; the French engineering profession
v-iu he renresented by NJ. Guererd and NJ Quel-
ennec who is the consulting engineer of the
Suez Canal and whose advice is likely TO be or
great practical value, and Netherlands has des-
fGaoa ted professor Jacob Kraus of the Technical
I7ni,,ersit, Of Delft and best known for his con-
,oanttor T-ith the harbor of Valparaiso, Chill,
which he built In 1901.
BARGE FIRE VICTIM FOUND.