The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-08-29
THE PANAMA y

According to recent advice. from
Washington, the labor problem that
threatened to delay the Panama canal
project will be solved by the employ
ment of Chinese coolies. Every effort
has been made, but without success,
to obtain some other kind OF labor,
and the federal authorities have finals
ly decided to accept Chinese help to
prosecute the work. The canal CON-
mission. it is announced. will contract
for 5000 Chinese laborers at au early
date.
The Panama canal is a gigantic I'm.
dertaking. Details have not been fully
settled, and plans must necessarily be
subject to changes, but the main rec.
concentrations of the commits ioners
are on record. From ocean to ocean,
to deep water at each end, the lock
canal will be 1912 miles long. From
the Atlantic side q sea.leve! channel
500 feet wide will he constructed to
Gatun, where a double flight of three
locks will lift vessels into an artificial
lake large enough for unrestricted
navigation. Then the continental di.
vide is approached, and the width of
the channel through the Culebra cut
is narrowed at the bottom to POO feet,
which is so feet wider than the sea-
level proposition. On the Pacific side
q lock lowers vessels into 30 artificial
lake, and a final flight of two locks
conveys the ships to the Pacific level.
Whether the total lift will be 80 or
so feet has not been determined. AS
locks and dams on this gigantic scale
have never before been undertaken,
engineers are not in agreement as to
their security and working efficiency.
The locks must be 900 feet long, 80
feet wide aud 10 feet deep to give the
margin Of room needed for modern
sea leviathans devoted to naval and
uses. They must be in
SO that when one series Of
locks is out of order the other will be
av ailable. Taking the lock canal in
its entirety, as planned, 1t will afford
q channel width of over 1000 feet for
10! miles and of over 500 feet for %
miles, with only u miles reduced in
width to from 200 to 300 feet. Some of
the engineers doubt the permanency OF
the dams that must control two noun
tain rivers, and think the unprecedent'
eddy large locks are beyond the limit
OF prudent design, but the long lock
at the 500 has worked we'll In cOnnec-
ton with an enormous traffic. The
lock canal would be straighter than
n at sea.level, and unimpeded with
u current. For larger vessels the lock
system gives the speediest transit, and
its COST of operation, counting that OF
construction, will not exceed $685. DOC
u year, or one-tifth of a sea.level ca
nal.
When it comes to digging, the mat
ter is merely one Of labor and thu
money to pay for it. The vast enter
prise is fortunately free from the ii
nancial crises that continually bese'
the French scheme, and complicated
its engineering features with the stocl
market and the public support that i.
quick to take alarm. The money tt
build the canal is available as needed
SO no anxiety exists on that score
even though the estimate should b.
exceeded by the actual outlay, which
will probably be the case. Canal dig
ging in these times is decidedly differ
ent from that employed in the last cen
fury. 1t is found in the enlargement
of the Erie canal, now going forward
that 10 men with machinery u do tn
work that formerly called for 400
Machines now in use seize q larg
load of blasted rock and swing i
where wanted. Other machines bull
levees and dig wide bitches, one sue,
implement e%xcavatiug 1000 cubi
yards in eight hours. In the variou
phases of excav ating and dam build
ing the Americans at Panama ar
practically certain to surpass forme
achievements in that line.
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