Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1906-02-20
MAJORITY AND MINORITY
REPORTS ARE EXHAUSTIVE

Washington, Feb. 19.-The reports
of the board of consulting engineers
of the isthman canal commission
were made public today. The majori-
ty report favors the sea-level plan,
the minority favoring the high-level
or lock canal. Both reports are at
great length, the combined reports
making a very bulky document. The
summary of the report of the major
ity favoring the sea level canal "
made as follows by the commission;
The Sea-Leyel Plan.
The plan recommended by the ma
jority Of the board Is a canal at the
sea lcvel, following essentially the line
heretofore adopted by congress, ex-
cept near the terminals, the depth to
be 40 feet. and the width at the bot
tom to be $50 feet where the side
slopes are gentle. and 200 feet where
the side slopes are nearly vertical, as
In rock The least area of cross Sec
tion Is S,276 square feet AT the Pam
anna end is a tide lock, having usa-
hle length 1000 feet, width 100 feet,
and depth over the miter sills 40 feet.
In Panama bay the channel is to he
80 feet deep at extreme low water OF
spring tides, which will give the full
40 feet provided elsewhere in the
canal except upon rare occasions.
To control the Chagres river dam
Of masonry. or of earth and masonry
is proposed at Gamboa, just off the
line of the canal built to height
$50 feet above the sea, forming res
ervoir called Gamboa lake, of which
the maximum flow line is to be at cl-
ovation 170. into which the flood
waters are to he received, but no de-
sign therefor is submitted.
This dam is to be fitted with con-
trolling sluices by which maximum
discharge of 5000 cubic feet per sec
ond is to be admitted to the canal
| prism all in excess of that amount
being temporarily stored until tho
| subsidence Of the flood. or the trib-
utaries entering the Chagres below
] Gamboa. the most important are d.
verted entirely from the canal ana
conducted by separate channels To the
| sea. There will still remain num-
! her Of tributaries and other streams 10
| he taken into the canal Their vol
ume is assumed by the board to be
such that. added to the 10000 cubic
feet To be admitted through the sluic-
cs. they will create currents of whl'h
the highest mean velocity Is comput-
ed by the majority to be 2.6 miles per
hour. Ordinarily the velocity will not
exceed / mile per hour
Extensive harbor improvements arc
proposed at Colon.
The cost of the canal under this
plain is estimated by the majority AZ
S247, ,0OO. 900. From the nature OF thH
case this estimate cannot be made
with great precision.
The time required TO build the canal
is estimated at twelve to thirteen
years. The number of unknown fac
tors which enter into this estimate
is still greater than In the case OF
estimates of cost. There are two
methods available for reaching a con-
clusion upon the subject One Is that
followed by the board, viz, to assume
that the largest single piece Of work.
the Culebra cut--will fix the time re-
qurod and that all other work can
be completed while that Is being ex-
ecuted. then TO ascertain how many
excavating machines can be employed
at one time in the Culebra cut. and
then assign to each machine its daily
or annual working capacity, under the
conditions which prevail There iS
great uncertainty about all of these
elements. The number Of steam show
els which can work to advantage In
Culebra cut Is not known, but Is
probably much less than the number
mentioned in the report 100; and
there is no experience TO show what
the output of steam shovel Will be
under all the extremely varying con-
ditions which obtain there. The other
method ls to examine the results oh
talned In the great operations Of the
} old French company IN this same
work. II Is not unusual to hear that