The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-12-21

more nan IL WOul0 DING III. !
WORK OF CONSTRUCTION.
The work is now going on with Il
vigor and efficiency pleasant TO WIT
ness. The three big problems Cf he
canal are the la Boca dams. the Gatun
dam. and the Culebra cut. The Guile
bra cut must be made, anyhow: but OF
course changes as TO the dams, or at
least as 10 the locks adjacent 20 the
dams. may still occur The La Boca
dams Cfer no particular problem, the
bottom material being 50 coed that
there is a practical certainty. no. mere !
ly as 10 what can be achieved. but as
to the time Of achievement. The Ga
tun dam offers the most serious prob
lem which we ave 10 solve: and yet
the ableSt men on the IsthmuS believe
that this problem is certain of Solu-
ton along the lines proposed: altho,
Of course. il necessitates great toll,
energy, and intelligence, and a!tho
equally. of course. there will be s. me
little risk in connection with the V *.
If the huge earth dam now cOntemn At
ed is thrown across from one foe ill
10 the other We will have what is / c.
tically a low, broad. mountain TIdga
behind which will rise the inland lake.
L IlS dI lluCldi LiouAItd4u Will Oboci
show less seepage, that is. will have
greater restraining capacity than the
average natural mountain range. The
exact locality Of the locks at this dam
as at other dams-is now being de-
termined. In April next Secretary Taft
with three Of the able~t engineers of
the country-Messrs Noble. Stearns.
and Ripley-will visit the lsthmus and
The three engineers will make the final
conclusive examinations as . the
exact site for each lock. Meanwhile the
work is going ahead without a break.
The Culebra cut does not offer such
great risks: that IS. h damage Liable
to occur from occasional land Sins
will not represent what may be called
major disasters. The work will merely
call for intelligence. perseverance, ana
executive capacity II is, however. the
work upon which most labor will have
To be nent. The dams will be CON-
posed Of the earth taken Il OF the
cut and very possibly the building Of
1he locks and dams will take even
! longer thar the cutting in Culebra it
self,
The main work is now being lone
in the Culebra cut. It was striking and
impressive to see the huge steam
shovels in full play, the dumping trains
carrying away the rOck and earth
they dislOdged. The implements Of
French ~eXcavating machinery. which
often stand a little way from the line
of work. tho Of excellent construction,
look like the veriest toys when COM
pared with the long trains of huge cars,
dumped by steam plows. which are
now in use. This represents the enOT-
NOUS advance hat has been made in
machinery during the past quarter OF
a century No doubt a quarter Of a
century hence this new machinery, Of
which We are now 20 proud. will SINH
larry seem out Of date, but it is GER
tainlv serving it's purpose we'll Tow.
The old French cars had to be entirely
! discarded. We still have in use a few
of the more modern, but r ST
modern. cars, which hole but aids
of earth. They can be em"'"-cd On
certain lines with sharp curves. But
the recent cars hold from 25 to so
yards apiece, and instead Of the Old
clumsy methods Of unloading them, a
steam pillow is drawn from end &c cad
of the whole vestibuled train. thus i'm
mensely economizing labor. In the
rainy season the steam shovels can do
but little in dirt, but they work steadi-
" in rock n in the harder ground
There were some Is at work during the
, time. / was on the Isthmus, and their
tremendous power and efficiency were
most impressive.
NEW RECORDS FOR EXCAVATION.
AS O as the type of canal WIS
decided this work began in good earn
est The rainy season will shortly be
/ over and then there will be an I'M
mense increase in the amount taken
!. 0ut; but even during he last three
months, in the rainy season, steady
progress is shown by the figures: In
T; August, 242, 900 cubic yards; in Sep
f, TENDER. 291 1000 cubic yards, and in
| October, 1926, 900 cubic yards. In Octc-
! Der new records were established Tor
81 the output Of individual shOvels Is
! we'll as for the tonnage haul of in
: dividual locomotives. | hope TO see
t he growth Of a healthy spirit Of emu
! lation between the different shovel and
: locomotive crews, just such Il spirit as
:. has grown on our battleshipS between
? the different gun crews in matters OF
craftsmanship Passing thru the cut
the amount Of new work can be seen
= at a glance. In one place the entire
:. side of a hill had been taken out re-
. Gently by q tons Of dynamite, which
were exploded at one blast At an
. other place I was given a presidential
: salue of q charges Of dynamite. On
= The top notch Of the Culebra cut the
prism is now as wide as it will be;
r all told. the ana bed at this point has
now been sunk about 200 fees below
what it originally a II will have
- 10 be sunk about $50 feet farther. Thru
ont the cut the drilling. blasting. show
. cling. and hauling are going on with
constantly increasing energy. the huge
: shovels being prest up, as if they were
. mountain howitzers, into the most I'M
likely looking places, where they eat
: way into the hillsideS