The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-20
CANAL REPORT
IS SUBMITTED
President Favors the Lock System
Recommended by Chief En-
gineer Stevens.
CONGRESS MUST DECIDE
1900" CANAL HELD UP AS AN
EXAMPLE.

Washington, Feb. 19-President Roose-
welt today transmitted to congress the
report Of the board Of consulting engi-
neers upon the Panama canal, together
with the letter Of Secretary Taft, the re-
port OF the Isthmian canal commission
and a letter by Chief Engineer Stevens.
The letter OF the president Is as follows:
To the Senate and House Of Represent
atives:
II submit herewith the letter of the
secretary of war, transmitting the report
of the board of consulting engineers upon
the Panama canal, and the report Of the
Jsthmlan canal commission thereon. to-
gether with a letter written to the chair
man Of the ISthmian canal commission
by Chief Engineer Stevens. Both the
board of consulting engineers and the
canal commission divide in their report.
The majority of the board of consulting
engineers, eight in number, including the
five foreign engineers, favor a sea level
canal; and one member of the canal COM
mission, Admiral Endicott, takes the
same view Five of the eight American
members of the board of consulting en-
gineers and five members of the Isthmian
canal commission favor the lock canal,
and so does Chief Engineer Stevens The
secretary Of war recommends lock ca
nal, pursuant to the recommendation of
the minority of the board Of consulting
engineers and of the majority of the ca
nal commission. After careful study of
haustive consideration of the whole sub
ject, 1 concur in this recommendation.
Lesson of $500" Canal.
1T will be noticed that the American
engineers upon the consulting board and
upon the commission, by more than
two to one majority, favor the lock canal,
whereas the foreign engineers are unit
against it. I think this is partly to be
explained by the fact that the great
traffic of the old world IS the Suez canal,
1av-a -.4aH -H1-e %1E
fic canal Of the new world is the Sault
Ste. Marie canal. a lock canal Although
the latter, the 500, is closed to naviga-
ton during the winter months, II carries
annually three times the traffic Of the
Suez canal In my judgment the very
able argument of the majority of the
board of consulting engineers is vitiated
by their failure to pay proper heed TO
the lessons taught by the construction
and operation of the 500 canal It must
be borne in mind. as the commission
points out. that there is no question of
building what has been picturesquely
termed the Straits of Panama; that is.
q waterway through which the largest
vessels could go with safety at uninter-
Tupted high speed. Both the sea level
and the proposed lock canal would be
too narrow and shallow to be called with !
any truthfulness a strait, or to have any /
of the properties of a wide. deep water |
strip. Both of them would be canals, I
pure and simple. Each type has certain l
disadvantages End certain advantages /
But in my judgment the disadvantages /
are fewer and the advantages very much /
greater in the case Of a lock canal as /
proposed in the papers forwarded here
with, and I call especial attention to the /
fact that the chief engineer who will be /
mainly responsible for the success of this
mighty engineering feat, and who has,
therefore, a peculiar personal interest IN |
judging Alright, is emphatically and /
earnestly in favor of the lock canal prof.
ect and against the sea level project.
Array of Alleged Facts.
"A careful study Of the reports seems
to establish a strong probability that the
following are the facts:
THE sea level canal would be slightly
less exposed to damage in the event of
war;, the running expenses, apart from
amount employed 10 build it would be
less; and for small ships the time of
transit would probably be less. Upon the
other hand the lock canal at a level Of
eighty feet or whereabouts would not
cost much more than half as much to
the time. while there would be very much
less risk connected with building it. and
for large ships that transit would be
quicker, while, taking into account the
interest upon the amount saved in build
ing the actual cost of maintenance would
he less After being built it would be
easier to enlarge the lock canal than the
sea level canal Moreover, what has been
actually demonstrated in making and
operating the great lock canal the 500. a
more important artery of traffic than
TO support the opinion Of the minority of
the consulting board of engineers and of
the majority OF the Isthmian canal COM
mittee as TO the superior safety, feast
bilitv and desirability Of building a lock
canal at Panama L
Law FaVors Lock Canal.
THE law now on our statute books .
seems to contemplate a lock canal. In :
my Judgment a lock canal as herein rec
0Fnmended IS advisable. If the congress
directs that a sea level canal be con- /
structed, its direction will, Of course, be
carried out. Otherwise the canal will be |
built on substantially the plan for a lock
canal outlined in the accompanying pa
pers. such changes being made, of course. |
as may be found actually necessary. in :
Guiding possibly the change recommend I
ed by the secretary of war as to the site I
of the dam on the Pacific side.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 9
E'The White House, Feb. 1g, 1885, i
The letter of Secretary Taft treats at [
length the recommendations of the board / s
and the commission and discusses the / T
reasons why he is led to approve the
of a lock canal instead of / ,
sea level canal. In closing he invites
attention to the satisfactory character Of q
the discussion of the two types of ca
nal by the greatest canal engineers Of h
he world" which he says insures to the q
president and to congress an opportunity ! =
10 consider all the arguments, pro and
,on. in reaching a proper conclusion.