Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-20
LOCK CANAL IS WANTED
President Transmits to Congress His Recon-
mendation on the Subject.
SENDS REPORTS or TWO ORGANIZATIONS
Majority of Canal Board Favors Locks,
while Majority of Engineers
FRVors Sea Level Canal
at Isthmus.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10. - President
Roosevelt today transmitted to congress
the report of the board of consulting en-
glheers on the Panama canal. together
with the letter of Secretary Tart the re-
PoIt Oh the lsthmian Canal commission
and letter by Chief Engineer Stevens.
Inc letter of the president is as follows:
70 the Senate ann House of Representa-
yves: Il submit herewith rho Letter nj inc
secretary OF war transmitting the reporI
" tne BOARD of consulting engineers on
Isl 1naiia canal ana the report of the
asl,Ii1ilan Canal commission thereon and
ietter written to the chairman Of the
a5iIntnlan Canal commission BY chief En-
sulting engineers and the canal comnis
s.oi divide In their reports The majority
Der nf inc cEnsnitng engineers. eight in mum
fsy,or neiuulng the nve foreign engineers,
ISNVr sea level canal; ana one member
"a tat .ne canal commission, ADMIRAL Endicott,
american members of the board OF CON
i sthrIs engineers and five members of the
n dstniinian canal commission favor the lock
lanai ana so does Chief Engineer Ste
sehs. The secretary of war recommends
men 09n ,,o cana pursuant to the recom-
80 nuatloh OF the minority of the board
iar,t tonsutlng engineers and of the ma
ccoraEE, Oh the canal commission. After
full and exhaustive considerstion az a tne
"nois SUBJECT concur in this recom-
Americans Favor Locks.
CIV, ~ viii be noticed that the American en-
sineers on the consulting board and on
tie commission, by more than two to one
nldJoilty favor the locK canal whereas tho
ioinne enklheers are unit against It, 1
tiiiuh inns is partly to be explained by the
Iaet that the great traffic canal OF tile
olu world ~ the Suez canal sea level
the new word is the Sault Ste. Marie canal
lock canal. Although the latter the 500
mo nGSeo 70 nayisatlon during the winter
1Ioh.ns, IL carries annually three times
lhe tralfc of the Suez canal. In my ildg-
mem, men, the very able argument of the ma
Jorlty or the BOARD of consulting engineers
IS vltiated by their failure to pay proper
need 10 the lessons taught by the con-
s,rucuon and operation OF the 500 canal.
~ must De borne in mind, as the commits
sion points out, that there is no question
OF building what is picturesquely termed
tne stfalls or Panama that is, a water
way through which the largest vessels
could so with safety at uninterrupted high
speed, Both the sea level canal and the
proposed lock canal would be too narrow
ana shallow to be called, with any truth
of Vide eep Sr to s 4ye any
"ould pe canais, pure and simple.
Cost and Advantages.
Each type has certain disadvantages and
certain advantages. But in my judgment
the disadvantages are fewer and the ad-
Nantaees very much greater in the case Of
a lock canal substantially as proposed in
the papers forwarded herewith, and | call
especial attention to the fact that the chief
englneer, who will be mainly responsible
q
feat, and therefore who has a peculiar per-
sonai interest in judging Alright, is EN-
pnatlcally and earnestly i'm favor of the
level project
a careful study of the reports seems to
establish strong probability that the fol-
lowing are the facts: The sea level canal
would be slightly less exposed to damage
IN the event OF war; that the running ex
penses, apart from the heavy cost OF in
terest on the amount employed to be bull,
would be less and for small ships the time
OF transit would probably be less On the
other hand the lock canal at a level of
eighty feet or Whereabouts, would not cost
much more than half much to build
and could be built in about half the time
while there would he very much less risk
connected with building It, and for large
ships the transit would be quicker while.
taking into account the interest on the
amount saved in building, the actual cost
OF maintenance would be less. After being
lock canal than the sea level canal More
over, what has been actually demonstrated
in making and operating. the great lock
canal, the 500, a more important factor
of traffic than the general sea level canal
the Suez, goes to support the opinion of the
minority of the board of consulting engi-
neers and the majority of the canal com
mission as to the superior safety feasibility
and desirability of building a lock canal at
Panama
Plans for Lock Canal.
The law on our statute books seems To
contemplate lock canal In my judgment
lock canal, as herein recommended. is
sea level canal be constructed 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 papers such changes being
made as being necessary, including possi-
bly, the change recommended by the secre-
tary of war as TO the site Of the dam on
the Pacific side.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
+ THE WHITE HOUSE, Feb. 49, 1906
The letter of Secretary Tart treats at
Ier 9th IN the recommended lions of the
board. the commission, and discusses the
reasons why he is led to approve the con-
struction of a lock canal instead of sea
leve; canal. In closing, he invites atten-
ton to the satisfactory character of the
discussion of the two types of construc-
tion by the greatest canal engineers of
the world" which, he says, insures to the
president and to congress an opportunity
to consider all the arguments. pro and
con, in reaching a proper conclusion.
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