The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-23
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au Nv Caribbean s4fsfs. fhe ffip flnH atttf
elaht isfs fnd ffai aiutSw aud rtefrtudr
tHtd ~ Hnrr thH' fr rrIst have = canal sefrss
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WHOM NJ Wfv \ ipn1. y pIrIlr tuud uH the frp
NJ = hr4uufi effsR MN w tte Wrsi tntisa
va frnt ssurdef. aNd tdfrtnir gts Ani 1f'
Filird U1 taupie hsfufr firy rUuli swear
w tfaV, rvefVtvdV faif Tho Nir1ftauf
frUis, siir sieprlrs yuifHuort NJ 'hr Ftr
frfNss the iHhmua. Ia uHt ~ ne rnesfiun
NiN. bf ne ~ i1uate ~ atn tr4nrisrn =
lHst sec ltspitite sirp IN NATURE . fs1Weht ~
thsHfdH# . ar1 lUvrl canal has hr~n sh"Fn
~ be- thr fafesi and Hesi ~ ranrna
when Mont irld, hlrv ~. tha greet rsral
rh%slnert, Urofs- Nor ison twir wta not 4
ploua man, trnd M Tho event tho nr~i I'M.
pfesaive pfnvidentlal WHtniha ever a'ven anT
hatipn AGAINST tho oAraI hs Tho Nicaragua
fpute. We're h. living to-day aud he wsa
jus, about ~ be appointed chief engineer
whom he died, In lpnt hr would hflns his
cirnrhcd nat down ~ tho drawing hoard IN
ona ~ his shirt sleeve hAranFucs aaalnat the
fatuonsneaa NJ those who would build y pnr-
manent hlghi NJ locks IN n osatfe NJ a"lstnic
disturbances. Tho Datum dam and iwo
locks n the high level canal are located IN
tho vicinity n Colon, the point hardest hit
by tho greet earthquake 81 1881, whereas
The single tidal lock NJ tho sen level plan ~
any lock IL needed, IL situated NJ Mlrahorca.
on the opposite aide Of the isthmus, In tho
region least affected
The effects NJ tho earthquake NJ 1897 are
recapltulatcd In wolfred Nelson's rare
and valuable book published In 1891. on
titled Five Yeara at Panama The facade
Of the Cathedral peeled away NJ the top. and
the t%utelnry saints OF the city pitched headlonR
into the banana trees Of the plaza opposite.
For a distance Of twent Vt wo miles from
Colon the Panama Railroad was shufled
into a child's game Of jack straws. and the
900 foot bridge at Barbacoas was Jared
hopelebsly out Of alignment. A big chunk
Of the cliffs Of the island Of TaboRa mine
miles out AZ sea from Panama was broken
of and flung into the water, At Cruces,
near Gamboa. a stone church was shaken To
pieces. In tho town II Colon itself q cash
was made in the soil. extending from the
freight sheds OF the railroad alon x Front
street to the embankment Of earth that
unites the porous island on which Colon
teeters with the mainland of the Isthmus.
A ~fssure. varying In width from a hands
breadth to an inch, parnllel"d the course OF
the Chagres for three miles. The Pan anna
and West India Company's cable was put
out of business. A tidal wave dro wned
some small islands in the vicinity OF D arien.
killing at least sixty-flve persons and dam
aging the poor little crops of the survivors.
Earlier earthquakes were far more dis
astrous. About the time of the American
Revolution no fewer than 100000 people are
said to have lost their lives In an earthquake
that shook the whole region from Santa Fe
de 30 gotta to Panama as a man shakes a rug;
and about 1872 the pueblo of Cucuta. in the
State of AntioQuia, Colombia, was reduced
to sticks and shards by an earthquake that
killed 5000 people. Panama Star and Her
The effect Of such shocks would be dis
astrous to either type Of canal, but in the
be moro easily, reparable. The more rigid
and infexihle the structure the greater the
injury to which i! Is liable: The steel frsmed
was seen at San Francisco to withstand the
SHOCK, better than its stiff, unyieldinR neigh
breaking. Rock filled dams, earthen EN-
dams, would not be much distressed by an
accompaniment Of a tidal wave, snTsing up
the ohsnnel, Ei6% RRlis , t havo oe. With TaYa, earth s5 T
any damage is readily ,remediable by means
of dredging. whereas damage in the case of
the lock canal Is of far greater moment as
Is as delicate a mechanical proposition as
he works OF a watch; and Chief Engineer
lately drawn attention. with his characterize
tic frankness, to the effects Of the least mall
adjustment IN the operation Of the LOCKS OF
earthquake is to throw, the doors OF a house
out OF plumb, so that they cannot be opened
Gro shut and and a a. lo cios sat : loSR cha rs bmTreif e
Is thrown an inch out OF adjustment. is abb
solutely useless.
that one lock. a tidal lock, IS necessary n the
ence In mean tide level between the Atlantic
md tho Pacific Ia only FEN feet. creating a
current OF 3 knots an hour. The current
in the Detroit River opposite Detroit is about
at mean sea level, Even II the single tidal
lock were d n fSd ira trafi : t Top Inct not oba be ne held
OF the high level canal were damaged by
earthquake shock or by a stick of dynamite
In the hands Of a malcontent,
Again. the high level advocates say that
the Gamboa dam Of the sea Level plan Is more
destruGtible than the G9tun S dam OF the nigh
signed as a MI dam with an earth core, whereas
the Gatun dam is simply a huge AL They
G fSs shown ff By i tSe data Snas q e the hee en SifmSPs S Sise
the dam there ia q firm and acces-
slble rock fGund ,1tI while ob a G lat ds1 the
and the dam will have to depend on It's great
mass to minimize seepage and filtration.
Satun dam can oppose an effective resistance
to the flood torrents Of the ,Chagres in the
rainy season is not made n1.a clear pos,d.r. En-
IL lpNIlu bo thi hSA 'nNN NSaNASi Ah
saPse wall hn an e essential tia! feature sSt t Of bis f plan for
the Gamhoa, dam. The core wall is intro
duced with the design of cutting of all Ultra
ton, and If II Is eliminated, the great earth
dam-like the mass of the Gatun dam-may
be depended on to minimize the leakage,
The mere fact thnt the seismograph. at
did not record the earthquake that
demolished San Francisco does not mean
very much. The fact that the Canal Zone
Is itself liable to severe earthquake shocks
is an argument against the lOcR canal which
the Administration and Congress are hound
to consider-an argument that cannot be
deprecated, much less evaded. The report
on May II by Senator KittrcdGe
In behalf Of the Senate Committee on Inter
Canals. stating the reasons which
the committee In deciding for q
sea level canal, says most pertinently:
The assertion that any particular spot in the
tropics Is exempt from all danger from such con-
vulsions OF nature as recently visited California
. . . would not be hazarded by any wise man.
/ have just received through Senatorial
courtesy a copy Of Senate Docnm ent 2e4 Of
the Fifty-ninth Congress, published March
IL, 1909, which contains a letter from the
Of State transmitting information
In regard to the earthquake at Panama in
1882. The weekly edition of the Panama
Star and Herald for September IA. 1882, con-
tains the following graphic account, which
is reprinted in full In the document:
ON Thursday, 7th Instant, at 3:2o in the morning,
the inhabitants OF Panama were aroused from