The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-02-23
President, Secretary Taft and Engi.
neer Stevens Recommend It.
CONGRESS GETS FINAL REPORT
Majority OF Commission Favors Sea
Level Ditch-Taft, In a Letter,
Points Out Its Many Disadvantages
LESS Time and Cost to Lock Canal.

the report of the board of consulting
engineers on the Panama canal, to-.
sether with the letter Of Secretary
Taft, the report of the isthmian canal
commission and letter by Chief En-.
glnser Stevens. He appends a let.
ter In which, he, like Secretary Taft
and Chief Engineer Stevens, recon.
mends lock canal.
Washington, Feb. 20.-Secretary
Taft transmitted the commissions re-
port and the accompanying documents
to the president, summarizing closely
the conclusions Of the majority and
minority, which respectively favored
a sea level and a lock canal. He call
ed attention to the fact that the act
OF congress in effect fixes the mini
mum dimensions of the locks and the
width and depth Of the canal prism
by the requirement that the canal shall
accommodate the largest vessels afloat
or such as may be reasonably antici-
pated. At two ships now building,
which are 500 feet long, SO feet beam
and 3S feet draft, can be passed
through the locks proposed by the mi
nority, he says 1t is evident this re-
quirement Is met.
The secretary says:
I'm the high level canal, a vessel
Of the dimensions noted would have,
MI hA ne
where the width Is only 200 feet,
ample leeway for safe navigation and
good speed, without Objectionable cur
rents and without difficulties at the
points where changes In course are
necessary.
Wouldn't Be Deep Enough.
with the proposed sea level canal
conditions are different. The depth is
but two feet greater than the draft
OF the ship, not sufficient to permit
her to proceed under her own steam,
except at great risk; twenty-one miles
Of the canal is not sufficiently wide for
two such ships to pass; currents caus-
ed by the regulation Of the Chagres
and by the flow of other streams into
the canal, and It's many curves COM
bine to increase the difficulties and
dangers of navigation. In short, the
sea level canal recommended Is not
of sufficient capacity and depth to
afford convenient passage for vessels
Of the largest tonnage and greatest
depth, and can be made SO only by
materially increasing the depth and
width, and at a considerable increase
OF time and money. If the suggested
width Of $50 to 200 feet is the greatest
width economically permissible, for a
sea level canal, the cost of the enlarge
mont required must be prohibitive
ut therefore follows that the high
leval canal more fully meets the re-
Quirements Of congress-"
Cost and Time.
"The estimated cost is $247,021 900
for the sea level canal and S139,7O5,-
200 for the enghty-five foot level canal,
difference Of $iO7 100000. Inc 18TH
milan canal commission and the chief
engineer regard the estimate for the
sea level canal as too low by at least
$25, 100000, for reasons stated In their
reports.
"The estimated time for completing
the sea level canal is stated by the
majority of the board as from twelve
to thirteen years, by the isthmian ca.
nal commission and the chief engineer,
from eighteen to twenty years. The
minority report estimates the time for
completing the high level canal at
eight and one half years, and this IS
regarded as conservative by the other
competent authorities.
an view Of the foregoing, 1 recon-
mend the adoption of the type of
canal proposed by the minority of the
board of consulting engineers, except
so far as relates to the location OF the
locks at Sosa hill.