New-York tribune., 1906-11-12
PANAMA MADE CLEAR.
WHY PRESIDENT WENT.
p,;Id;pu O n Great Fresh IFater Lake
O. FEET 4bore the Sea LeOet.
IRON The Tribune Buresu.l

= se,,erai of the most marvellous led'S VI eil-
.r,-g ever done by the hand or man ana
-. of the most wonderful artihclaI changes
sO'-I .e.oa1 geography ever wrought on the globe.
~ p-st - r,ez-n- who saw the completion of
-a,,i6s that their predecessors had begun
a. 5-nssties long before their reigns never
- ,,-or half the task that President Roose-
- uiII see all planned and we'll on the way TO
.oessful accomplishment when he inspects the
..,-,ansous ditch at Culehra- The Colossus OF
D.oses the hanging gardens OF Babylon. the
-L.,es. wall and any other Of the many ancient
A,,.e,5ents that writers have described from
a., di77 ages OF the past TO the present would
-, 7reak and small when compared with the
-, lake which American engineers are
Lu5ine IN the isthmus that now connects the
So Americas Think OF a great sheet of fresh
-stsr measuring 10 square miles and large
.,ongh 10 float or fight all the navies Of the
no-l6 With room TO spare. 10 he made where now
,-flares svarnps and even mountainsi Think
20 carving the largest battleships ever built up
rrecipices higher than many modern sky
,,ransrs." and conveying them mile after mile
,Iorg an artificial watercourse 500 feet wide.
snd then dropping them over preclpices without
even scratching their paint. into another ocean,
These are but a hint Of the things that are to
he done on the canal strip, and the man who is
:, see that they are done and done right is now
rsrded hy history as his greatest work
LIKE NICARAGUA
v-re, The advocates OF the Nicaragua route
were making their fight in Congress- they point
ed 10 the Lake Of Nicaragua as their chief asset.
.c7ou VIII save millions by digging your canal
,,sre. they said 70 the statesmen who were 10
decide the question. for there are miles Of
nsvgable water already at your service. II
Ill Ifc-
dirt every inch Of the distance from ocean TO
ocean"
They were wrong. They never dreamed that
President Roosevet's engineers would duplicate
IN a practical way the Nicaragua lake in Pam
ena But il Is exactly what the engineers are
r-era-irg 10 DO. and when Mr.. Roosevelt makes
his seoo- trip 10 the canal zone a few years
hence. he VIII sail his battleship through Gatun
lake for nearly third of the way from the At
lsn,ic n the Pacific across the bisected isthmus.
Perhaps when Re goes again he will start from
tae other side by way OF change and do what
no man has yet done in all history-sai from
Panama 10 Colon. When the time TO
open the canal. whether President Roosevelt is
in the White House OF not. the men the helm
Of things can do no more graceful act than in
rite him TO be on the ship that makes the initial
trip II the invitation is extended as 1t will un-
ing be viii Just as surely accept. The ditch
Is Is all inJents and purposes the Roosevelt
canal" and he viii have become different
man if he is not eager 10 see the waters OF the
ocean clasp their briny hands for the benefit Of
human progress.
MAGNIFICENT FIGURES
The Canal Commission has just issued COM
prehensive descriptive pamphlet for the benefit
If
various sections OF the work, These are 10 be
without doubt the largest contracts ever offered.
Tie figures are simply stunning In their magni-
tude and after one reads over the items and
stops 10 think for 4 minute the tre-
Ioerdous character Of the Job that the Canal
Commission has in hand begins 10 dawn upon
tie brain. For instance. the contractors who
move the earth viii he expected TO dig out about
S-33S 60o cubic yards of material which is now
n The way Of the ships that 10 pass through
lhe canal more than 100000 cubic yards Of
roncrete are called for in the construction Of the
dams and locks: more than $4,000 cubic yards Of
hHcs VIII he built into the walls, and the giant
yates. which ,yiu be raised and lowered 10 fill or
'Tnp'y the locks, viii be made Of more than S5,-
thn0oo pounds of steel. Much Of the material
nat is to be dug out Of The canal route will be
Jumped into the dams that 10 make the
Gatln Lake. near the Atlantic. and the Sosa
Lake. near the Pacific. Were they not planning
for the Gatun Lake. with its 10 broad miles OF
surface, the Sosa pond would be considered well
worth Dragging about. for when It is done it will
have an area Of more than eight square miles
cGits large enough. in fact, 10 support several
good sized summer or winter resorts upon its
shores. But when we become familiar with
large figures are likely 10 despise small
ones that little sosa Lake, formed by damming
10 50 5e alb
AN INLAND SEA.
Gatun Lake VIII be made by stopping the
Chagres River with an immense dam. reaching
from the Gatun hills, $500 feet westward 10
another hill and thence some zoo feet further
70 the high ground which Will form the per1na-
nent bank of the inland sea We're there moth
ing else 70 be done al Panama beside the build
iag Of this dam q mile and a half long and
half mile thick at its bottom. Uncle Sam would
Re justified in doing some handshaking with
himself when 81 was finished The great regu-
latins works which 10 take care Of The water
that IS stored in the Gatun Lake will be built
I'D Tie hin which lies nearly midway Of the huge
"a- These VIII consist of q system Of gates
Constructed on foundations Of concrete. The
gates, hy tie way. are 10 he the exact counter
psIrs 81: those used in the Chicago Drainage
Canal. although they viii be much larger and
stronger because of the greater bulk Of water
n'eE ara 10 contro.. At the Gatun locks. as at
'"e 'iAer points along the canal where gates are
- oe painted and manipulated ali the machin-
- VIII oe in duplicate Only one system Of
1@S VIII be used al time. that if it be-
'.'S necessary Il" make repairs IN the works
d complete oVerhauliug may be made without
i''iaen's interruption 10 traffic The corn,njs-
F'oh- IN calling for bids quotes the ect % Con-
- creating The lock type Of canal. and speci-
-01 me summit Of the level Of water IN he
'''ll lake IS 10 be eiehfv-1ve feet sbo,.e ~,