Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1906-05-25

nav
and maintenance.
The estimates OF the minority and
the majority of the board OF consult
ing engineers on the time that would
be required to excavate the different
types Of canal are reviewed, and the
majority report concludes that the
s~ea-level canal would not require more
than two or three years more than
the lock type.
Risks encountered in the opera
ton Of the sea-level canal are made
light Of by the report, which says the
Gamboa dam would be ready to con-
troll the Chagres floods before the
Culebra excavation is half finished,
and the balance of the excavation IN
the prism and below sea level could
go IN without interruption. When the
Chagres Is subsidized and controlled
and the sea.level canal made, its use
will be attended with no more risk
than equal sailing distance In the
oceans.
Locks and Dams.
A chapter of the report Is devoted
to the locks and dams proposed by
the minority report of the consulting
engineers, and these are asserted to
be an element OF danger. The vari.
Gus accidents to which such mecanism
might be subject are %recounted, and
the report asserts that these hazards
can be avoided by the small sacrifice
Of time necessary to the construction
of the sea-level canal.
The claim Is made by the report
that ships Of all classes could be
passed through the sea-level canal in
eight hours, and that half that time
would be consumed in passing ships
through locks alone. The cost of an.
nual maintenance is estimated at ST..
$4,000 for the sea level and $780,.
900 for the lock type.
Discussing the advantage OF the sea,
level canal to the country controlling
1t in time of war, the report says:
IF free from. all obstacles to quick
transit 1O warships of average size, NOV.
Ing IN one direction. route clear. could be
rassed from ocean to ocean in less than
IAN naval commanders and commercial
coasters OF the great national and pri-
duction o Of any i% ock to- iift 70 Tes sns 'n over
us to remove"
The majority urges that an enemy
could destroy a lock canal much
easier than a sea.leve! ana with ex.
plosives
The ultimate Anal cost OF the sea-
level canal, as estimated by the ma.
jority, is s25o,OOO 900, while the cost
of the lock canal Is regarded as un.
certain. The minority OF the board
OF consulting engineers estimated the
cost at 1888, 705. 200, and to this the
majority says should be added the In.
terest on the extra cost of mainten.
ance, the expenses of clearing the
titles to the $4,000 acres of land that
would be submerged by the central
lake proposed by the lock plan, which,
1t Is estimated, would make the total
cost at least $3.50, ZOO, 900. The cost OF
transferring the lock plan into a sea.
level canal, after the former is com.
pleted, Is estimated at 5000, 900, 900.
In conclusion, the majority says:
your committee feels entirely conn
dent that the board Of consulting engi
neers. selected to study this problem
has submitted a plan that responds
IN every respect to the conditions stat
ed above, and that the sea-level cana,
can be realized in ten or eleven years
at a cost not to exceed $780, 900, O0(
ABOVE that required by the construc
tion of the multI-lock canal propose
by the minority"